ACM29 (Labrador Sea)

This experiment produced 25 current meter records from 9 moorings. You can view metadata and download the current records by clicking on links in the table below. Each current meter record is identified in the table by its depth. A brief description of the experiment also is available. You may want to look at a map first to see where the mooring was. If you download any of the current meter records you should review the note on file format. From here you can also move up one level to the list of WOCE experiments.

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Time series of current speed, current direction, water temperature and in some cases pressure were obtained with Aanderaa RCM8 current meters. Moorings were placed at three locations: in the center of the Labrador Sea, where the water depth is about 3400 m; near the 3000 m contour at the base of the continental slope; and near the 1000 m contour on the slope (see map).

Related publications

Pickart, R.S., W.M. Smethie, J.R.N. Lazier, E.P. Jones and W.J. Jenkins (1996): Eddies of newly formed upper Labrador Sea water. J. Geophys. Res., 101(C9), 20711-20726.

Marshall, J.F. et al (1998): The Labrador Sea Deep Convection Experiment. Bull. of the American Met. Soc., 79(10), 2033-2058.

Lilly, J.M., P.B. Rhines, M. Visbeck, R. Davis, J.R.N Lazier, F. Schott and D. Farmer (1999): Observing deep convection in the Labrador Sea during winter 1994/95. J. Phys. Oceanog., 29(8) Part 2, 2065-2098.

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netCDF is a self-documenting format that can be accessed by a variety of software tools. We have included here a Matlab script that can be used to read netCDF current records in an environment that contains the Matlab/netCDF interface created by CSIRO. You can Click here to learn more about netCDF.

We are aware that users who are unfamiliar with netCDF or who lack software to deal with it, may find the netCDF format more a deterrent than an aid to effective use of the data. We have included in this CDROM set a second disk that is identical to this one, except that the current meter records have OSU's "Stranger" format. The Stranger format, like netCDF, is self-documenting but utilizes the ASCII code. It is easily readable by both humans and computers; you may find it preferable to netCDF.

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