Decadal Changes in the Ocean Climate in Newfoundland and Labrador Waters from the 1950s to the 1990s

Abstract

A review of decadal changes in the ocean climate in NAFO waters adjacent to Newfoundland and Labrador is presented based on standard station and section data and data from fishery resource assessment surveys. Both the annual trends and decadal means are examined for the decades of the 1950s to the 1990s. The analysis indicates that the 1950s and particularly the 1960s were the warmest decades during the latter half of the 20 th century and the 1990s represent the third consecutive decade with below normal temperatures on the Newfoundland Shelf. The decadal mean salinity indicate that the magnitude of negative salinity anomaly on the inner Newfoundland Shelf during the 1990s was comparable to that experienced during the 'Great Salinity Anomaly' of the early 1970s. In addition, the decade of the 1990s has experienced some of the most extreme variations since measurements began during the mid-1940s. Ocean temperatures ranged from record low values during 1991 to record highs during 1999 in many areas, particularly on the Grand Bank of Newfoundland. The potential impact of the changes in ocean climate during the past several decades on marine production in Newfoundland waters is discussed.

Season and site fidelity determine home range of dispersing and resident juvenile Greenland cod Gadus ogac in a Newfoundland fjord

“…The thermocline typically breaks down between October and early November along the northeast Newfoundland coast (e.g. Colbourne 2004). This period correlates with changes in the distribution of several fishes, including cod, and their predators in our study area (e.g.…”

Resilience and stability of north Labrador Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, subject to exploitation and environmental variability

“…The period of analysis extended into the early 1990s when anomalous environmental conditions occurred throughout the Northwest Atlantic (Colbourne et al 1997;Rose et al 2000;Colbourne 2004). Since 1993, there have been substantive reductions in the amount of directed effort to the extent that commercial harvesting of north Labrador charr has declined by 70-75% over the past 12 years.…”

The Coralline Genus Clathromorphum Foslie emend. Adey: Biological, Physiological, and Ecological Factors Controlling Carbonate Production in an Arctic-Subarctic Climate Archive

“…The main branch of the Labrador Current flows along the edge of the Labrador and Newfoundland shelf (Lazier and Wright, 1993), whereas an inshore branch follows the various cross-shelf saddles and inshore troughs (Colbourne, 2004). Rapid climate changes beginning in the late 1980s produced an enhanced outflow of low-salinity waters from the Arctic and a general freshening of the Labrador Current (Greene and Pershing, 2007).…”

“…However, the Labrador Sea and its coastal currents (the West Greenland Current and the Labrador Current) function somewhat independently of the NAO. Variability in North Atlantic Deep Water formation in the Labrador Sea impacts both the global Thermohaline Circulation and the cold and relatively fresh Labrador Current (Drinkwater and Mountain, 1997;Colbourne, 2004). Future climate predictions depend on a clear understanding, reaching back many centuries, of the relationships among the dominant climate parameters: the NAO, water temperature and salinity, the North Atlantic Deep Water formation, and Labrador Current mass transport.…”