between the normals for the volume transports of the eastern branch 

 at the Bonavista triangle and at section T as an indicator of the 

 seasonal change in the volume of the recurving current northward of 

 the valley between the Grand Banks and Flemish Cap. The accuracy 

 with which the two normals are known is too doubtful for the derived 



Figure 21. — Derived volume transport of part of Labrador Current recurving 

 northeastward northward of Flemish Cap and north-moving component of 

 normal geostrophic wind at 48° X., 47° W. 



volume of recurvature to be considered reliable. The derived recurva- 

 ture has been computed for each of 4 months, however, and the points 

 plotted in figure 21. They show an increase of about a million cubic 

 meters per second from the first half of the season to the second half. 

 The negative sign of the early season points (meaning an additional 

 contribution from the Labrador Sea), may not be real. 



The explanation usually offered in the past for the presumed sea- 

 sonal increase in this northeastward recurvature was the seasonal 

 change in wind direction into the southwest. An examination of the 

 monthly mean normal barometric pressure distribution shows not only 

 a shift in direction but also an increase in gradient as the Iceland low 

 moves westward and the Azores high moves northward. The geo- 

 strophic wind has been scaled from these normal charts at 48° N., 47° 

 W., and the south (north-moving) component has been plotted in 

 figure 21. Although in the case of the Labrador Current factors 



66 



