the rhumb lines was 7.75 X 10 4 square km during the first survey 

 and 8.31 X 10 4 square km during the third survey. These areas 

 are presumed to represent the net effect of the Labrador Current 

 tending to enlarge the area, and of the Atlantic Current tending 

 to reduce the area. The volume transport of the Labrador Current 

 passing section U (about 45 °N.) was 5.50 X 10 6 cubic m/sec 

 at the time of the first survey and was 4.29 at the time of the 

 third survey. 



In the general picture of the surface circulation of the North 

 Atlantic a meridional section from the southern end of the Grand 

 Banks to the central part of the North Atlantic eddy would cross 

 the eastward flowing Atlantic Current, the westward flowing 

 Labrador Current and branches of these. In the diagram shown 

 in figure 26 an important part of the Atlantic Current crosses the 

 section as A. Some of A recurves toward Bermuda as B, some 

 recurves northwestward as D and some continues to the eastward 

 as C without again crossing the section. D again recurves to the 

 eastward and is joined by a part G of the Atlantic Current which 

 recurves northwestward before reaching the longitude of the sec- 

 tion. G may be considered to include a small amount of water 

 from the United States and Canadian shelves and G and D to- 

 gether make up E. The Labrador Current F crossing the section 

 to the westward recurves and recrosses the section to the east- 

 ward, now, with small amounts of G and D, as mixed water 

 paralleling and on the northern side of E. E and C, then, repre- 

 sent the net contribution of the Atlantic Current to the eastward 

 of the Grand Banks region. 



There are geographical shifts in this pattern so that a section 

 at a fixed longitude may cross different relative parts of the pat- 

 tern at different times. Ships of the International Ice Patrol have 

 occupied this section on three occasions. In 1938 the General 



Figure 26. — Schematic diagram of currents crossing the meridian of 50°15'W 

 south of the Grand Banks. 



44 



