instead of 7.23 for the volume transport (divided on the basis of 

 temperatm-e as 5.31 East Greenland Current and 2.04 Irminger Cur- 

 rent) 3.84 instead of 3.86 for the mean temperature and 28.22 instead 

 of 27.92 for the heat transport. A greater change is produced in the 

 computed values for the Labrador CmTent, however, giving 6.41 

 instead of 5.02 for the volume transport, 2.64 instead of 2.43 for the 

 mean temperature, and 16.94 instead of 12.19 for the heat transport. 

 These values, using 2,500 decibars as the reference surface, are very- 

 close to the values obtained in 1952 when 1,500 decibars was used 

 as the reference surface and are considered to be more nearly the true 

 values than those derived in reference to the 1,500-decibar surface. 



Phosphorus in the sea forms an important part of the nutrient salts 

 and its concentration in that form is subject to alteration, as it passes 

 through the life cycle, with fluctuations in the activity of marine life. 

 The concentration of total phosphorus, howevei, should be a reason- 

 ably conservative property of sea water. Until recent years com- 

 paratively little work has been done on total phosphorus. Ocean- 

 wide differences have been known to exist. For instance, that there 

 is a lower concentration in the Atlantic than in the Pacific. There 

 seemed to be a possibility of using total phosphorus as a tracer which 

 might be of use in identifying the water in the high salinity core of the 

 West Greenland Current as being water supplied from the North 

 Atlantic eddy by the Irminger Current or as water recirculated from 

 the south central Labrador Sea. If total phosphorus could be used 

 as a tracer then the three water masses found in the Grand Banks 

 region, or at least the Atlantic Current water and the Labrador 

 Current water, were expected to show characteristic differences in 

 total phosphorus. Accordingly during the May survey of the Grand 

 Banks region in 1952, samples were taken from all levels at most of 

 the stations and during July 1952, samples were taken from all levels 

 at all stations comprising the section from South Wolf Island, Labrador 

 to Cape Farewell, Greenland. Similar sampling also was carried out 

 during the 1953 occupation of this section across the Labrador Sea. 

 The results of the determinations of total phosphorus concentration 

 in the samples (carried out by personnel of the Woods Hole Oceano- 

 graphic Instituition *) are tabulated at the end of the usual table of 

 oceanographic data. 



The stations in the Grand Banks survey were classified as to water 

 mass according to their temperature-salinity characteristics. As 

 there is very little overlap between Labrador Current water and 

 Atlantic Current water in either salinity or temperature it was 

 considered that a more illuminating plot would result if phosphorus 



' With only minor modifications, methods and procedures were as reported by Harvey, H. W., in "The 

 estimation of phosphate and of total phosphorus in sea waters," Journ. Mar. Biol. Assoc, vol. XXVII, pp. 

 337-359 (1948), Plymouth, England. Recent work at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (unpub- 

 lished) Indicates the probable error in the determinations to be abiut ±10 percent. 



86 



