Fresh Water Balance of the Northeast Continental Shelf: Influence of North American Climate Variability

Using oxygen isotope analysis, the hypothesis that the variation of freshwater flux in the Labarador Sea is responsible for much of the variations in water properties along the northeast U.S. continental margin will be tested. In particular the effects of variations of this flux on the shelf-slope water exchange and the freshwater volume along the Middle Atllantic Bight and the circulation and mixing in the Gulf of maine will be investigated.