Figures 25, 26, and 27 show respectively, the dynamic topography in 

 the vicinity of the section across the Labrador Sea from South Wolf 

 Island, Labrador to Cape Farewell, Greenland, and the temperature 

 and salinity distributions along that section. The temperature and 

 salinity distribution and the indications of the GEK have been considered 

 along with the dynamic heights at the stations, in the construction of 

 figure 25 which, of course, must remain an estimate away from the line 

 of the section. 



In figure 26 showing the temperature distribution along the section 

 from South Wolf Island, Labrador to Cape Farewell, Greenland, one 

 of the most interesting features is, as usual, the temperature minimum 

 of the intermediate water in the central part of the section with the 

 temperature maximum immediately below it. The minimum is con- 

 sidered to be a relic of the previous winter's cooling. In 1957 this 

 minimum was cold and the temperature of 3.09° at station 6564 is 0.02° 

 colder than any observation in the series of occupations from 1934 to 

 1941 and 1948 to 1957 (the previous low of 3.11° was observed in 1952). 

 The northeastern end of the temperature minimum is narrowed in 

 depth by the warmer water of the offshore portion of the West Greenland 

 Current which returns eastward between stations 6566 and 6568. This 

 eastward-returning flow explains the exceptionally wide band of warm 

 water which might otherwise be misinterpreted as a broad band of the 

 Irminger Current component of the West Greenland Current. The 

 surface flow pattern is shown in figure 25. 



The Irminger Current contribution to the West Greenland Current 

 is shown more clearly by the salinity maximum near the Cape Farewell 

 end of figure 27. As indicated in this figure the maximum salinity 

 observed here was 35.00 °/ 00 . This again is below the prewar values 

 of the maximum which, in the 1930s was consistently about 35.04 °/oo. 



The motionless surface along this section does not lie at a uniform 

 depth. It is at a deeper level than it is beneath the Labrador Current 

 in the Grand Banks region and usually between 1,500 and 2,500 meters. 

 The selection of a single level as reference for showing the dynamic 

 topography of the entire section is then a compromise and its selection 

 is materially assisted by studying the shape of the surfaces of equal 

 potential density. These surfaces intersecting the Labrador Sea section 

 occupied in 1957 indicated the most nearly motionless single level was at 

 about 2,000 meters. The dynamic heights for this section therefore 

 have been referred to the 2,000-decibar surface. The net volume trans- 

 port across the section above this reference surface was computed to 

 be 1.36 X 10 6 cu. m/sec net southeasterly. 



-W) ile the volume transport for the Bonavista triangle has been based on a reference surface of 1,000 decibars and the 

 2,000-decinar surface has been used for the South Wolf Island section about 90 percent of the transport at the latter section 

 takes place above the 1,000-decibarsurface which still leaves some 9.0 X 10 6 cu. m/sec off South Wolf Island compared 

 with 5.5 past the Bonavista triangle. 



102 



