The Slope Water off the Scotian Shelf

The slope water off the Scotian Shelf forms a well-defined band between the coastal waters and the Gulf Stream. Its boundaries fluctuate widely with no apparent systematics, sometimes transgressing upon the Shelf.A survey in November 1951 indicates the presence of alternate bands of cold and warm water in the slope water and suggests that these are the direct result of instability in the northern edge of the Gulf Stream. Observed velocities support such a hypothesis. Temperature-salinity relationships indicate that the slope water is formed of waters from the surface layers of the Gulf Stream, surface coastal waters, Labrador waters and deep Atlantic waters which have upwelled under the Gulf Stream.