80 



increase in the West Greenland Current component, with a more 

 rapid deterioration of bergs along the Labrador coast resulting in 

 slightly fewer bergs than were expected actually appearing in the 

 Banks region in 1936. The next and probably final effect of this 

 flood was that in 1937 the Baffin Land component of the Labrador 

 Current was strengthened and a greater than usual proportion of the 

 Labrador Current followed the western branch along the Avalon 

 Peninsula of Newfoundland and resulted in concentrating the 1937 

 berg crop along that branch rather than along the usual path down 

 the eastern edge of the Grand Banks. That the cause of this spurt in 

 the Baffin Land component of the Labrador Current was the 1935 

 flood of West Greenland Current seems entirely reasonable. In 

 United States Coast Guard Bulletm No. 26 it was remarked that the 

 effect of the flood would be dual — the freeing, along the Greenland 

 side, of large numbers of bergs which would appear in the Grand 

 Banks region in 1937, and the more rapid disintegration of the bergs 

 because of the higher temperatures during the interval of travel. 

 The disintegration effect seems to have preponderated as the number 

 appearing was less than expected on the basis of purely meteorological 

 considerations. 



A quantitative investigation of the contribution of water eastward 

 off the Grand Banks was attempted in order to see if any appreciable 

 effect of the flood discussed above was evident. Jakhelln's method ^ 

 of determining the net volume of flow between two stations was 

 applied, taking the volume of flow to be proportional to the difference 

 between the second depth integrals of anomaly of specific volume at 

 the stations concerned. The stations were referred to the 1,500 

 decibar surface by means of Helland-Hansen's and Nansen's method. 

 The volume of flow was thus determined for each of 12 surveys made 

 over the 4-year period 1934-37. For each survey the northern 

 station selected was the shallow-end termmal of section T and the ; 

 southern station selected was the highest Grand Banks station of the i 

 survey indicating the center of the Grand Banks whorl. The result- | 

 ing volumes of flow seem to be much too large and indicate erroneous 

 assumptions either as to the distribution of anomaly of specific 

 volume on bottom along the section of approach, or as to the static 

 condition of the reference surface, or both. Nevertheless, it is be- 

 lieved that the errors involved are sufficiently similar to make the 

 results useful as trend indicators, and in the absence of any other 

 data on the subject the computed volumes of flow are shown here ,j 

 graphically in figure 38. 



It will be noted that in 1934, 1935, and 1936 the trend is one of 

 diminisliing volume through May and June, whereas in 1937 the 



» Jakhelln, A: The Water Transport of Gradient Currents. Qeofysiske Publikasjoner. Vol. XI, No. IIJ 

 Oslo, 1936. 



