Mesoscale Variability in the Labrador Sea

My immediate objective is to understand the interactions between convection and mesoscale circulation, in order to quantify the in uence of convective events on the large scale circulation. Such interactions include: (a) The lateral mixing generated by baroclinic instability and geostrophic eddy interactions. How e cient are lateral mixing processes in convective regions? Can these processes account for the relatively homogeneous water mass found in the Labrador Sea in spring, in contrast to the highly spatially variable winter convection observed? (b) The formation and persistence of isolated chimneys of convected uid. Observations reveal isolated cores of dense uid with distinct water mass properties many months after convection ceases. How do such isolated cores persist despite the homogenization hypothesized above? (c) The tracer variability. What are the mechanisms responsible for generation of tracer variability observed on a variety of scales in the Labrador Sea? Are plumes or eddies more e ective at generating variability? How is tracer variability dissipated following convection? (d) Float signatures of mesoscale eddies in convection regions. How are isobaric oat statistics in uenced by the presence of a convective mesoscale eddy eld? What are the oat signatures of the eddies and the plumes?