Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Newfoundland and Labrador, including fishing banks and major seabird colonies.
The offshore branch is deflected northward, where it becomes part of a counterclockwise gyre in the Lab-
rador Sea. The inshore branch hugs the coast of Newfoundland, before an offshoot turns the corner into the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, skirting the south and west coasts of the island and transporting cold waters to the North
Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The end result is that the island of Newfoundland is wrapped in Arctic wa-
ters, which, at the cold heart of the current, are just above the freezing point of seawater, at close to 2
‹c
(28°F). The major portion of the Labrador Current then continues on its southward journey, flowing over the
Scotian Shelf before spending itself somewhere near Cape Cod. Meanwhile, the Gulf Stream turns to the
northeast as the renamed North Atlantic Current, which will eventually warm the northern countries of Europe.
