Davis Strait volume, freshwater and heat fluxes

Volume, freshwater and heat transport through Davis Strait, the northern boundary of the Labrador Basin, are computed using a mooring array deployed for three consecutive years. The net volume, freshwater and heat transports are -2.6 +/- 1.0 Sv, -92 +/- 34 mSv, 18 +/- 17 x 10(12) W. Both southward and northward volume and freshwater transports are maximum in November. The seasonal variability is dictated by the variability in the main water mass transports: Irminger Sea Water, West Greenland shelf water, surface meltwater, and a cold intermediate layer (CIL) originating from Lancaster Sound. The southward freshwater transport seasonal amplitude is dominated by the CIL transport rather than the surface meltwater layer. Sea-ice transport through Davis Strait deduced from remote sensing data is equal to 528 km(3) /year which is much smaller than equivalent estimates for Fram Strait. Using these new estimates, we attempt to close the Arctic Ocean volume and freshwater budget. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.