Monthly-Mean Circulation in the Flemish Cap Region: A Modeling Study

A three-dimensional nonlinear finite element model is used to simulate climatological monthly-mean circulation in the Flemish Cap region. The model is forced with monthly-mean wind stresses from the NCEP-NCAR reanalysis data prescribed at the sea surface, and large-scale remote forcing specified at the open boundary from the steric height and determined from a North Atlantic wind-driven circulation model. The model results are consistent generally with previous study results and in approximate agreement with observations for major patterns. They indicate that shelf-edge and upper-slope Labrador Current water is the important source for the Flemish Cap for all seasons. The deep Labrador Current and the North Atlantic Current may modify the water properties and circulation of the Flemish Cap. The Labrador Current bifurcates north of the Flemish Pass, with one branch flowing southward through the Flemish Pass and the other flowing eastward around the Flemish Cap. The southward Flemish Pass flow has a seasonal evolution (peak in December) that is consistent with the upstream shelf-edge Labrador Current off central Labrador that peaks in October. The monthly-mean model solutions indicate that the Flemish Cap features a weak year-round anticyclonic eddy with a mean transport of 0.2 Sv within the 700-m isobath, intensified in August and winter. The eddy seems to be generated by the baroclinicity of the Labrador Current and the sloping bottom topography of the Cap. There is also an anticyclonic partial gyre around the Cap's northern, eastern and southern deep flanks. The associated transport within the 3000-m isobath decreases significantly downstream, and is strongest in summer on the seasonal scale.