The circulation of eastern Canadian seas

The eastern Canadian seas including Baffin Bay, the Labrador Sea and shelf, the N.E. Newfoundland Shelf, the Scotian Shelf and the Gulf of St. Lawrence form an integrated hydro-dynamical system. The circulation is investigated using current meter data and a high resolution three dimensional coupled ice-ocean circulation model, CECOM (Canadian East Coast Ocean Model) covering the entire area. The model is forced with realistic atmosphere fluxes and the results are compared to the current meter data collected in four selected periods between 1987 and 2008. Many features of the model current fields are similar to those from the previous regional circulation models for the shelves. New findings from CECOM include seasonal differences of the circulation around Davis Strait, the detailed structure of the Labrador Current re-circulation, two cross-shelf currents on the Scotian Shelf, and strong currents in Halibut Channel which connects the waters of the western Grand Banks and Scotian Shelf. The annual variation of the circulation is investigated. Both the model and data show the Labrador Current is strong in fall and weak in spring. The outflow from the Gulf of St. Lawrence through Cabot Strait and the currents on the inner Scotian Shelf are strong in winter and fall and weak in spring, and are in phase with the Labrador Current. The model currents are compared to observations using a qualitative method of visual comparison, and a quantitative method based on statistical analysis. The comparisons indicate that the main features of the current fields from the observations are successfully reproduced by the model. The quantitative analysis indicates that the model currents are in reasonable agreement with the observations. Specifically, a good agreement is found in the Labrador shelf, Newfoundland Shelf and Flemish Pass, a fair agreement is found in Davis Strait, the inner Scotian Shelf and Sable Bank. However, the agreement for Cabot Strait and the Scotian Shelf break is less satisfactory. An analysis of the spatial variability of the current field suggests that the degree of agreement is closely related to the spatial variability of the current field. The regions with low spatial variability generally have good agreements. The volume and freshwater transports through several sections from the model are in good agreement with available estimates based on data.

► We model circulation structures in eastern Canadian Seas.
► We show the seasonal and spatial variations of the circulations.
► The model was validated with 11-year observational data.