= Labrador Sea Water
{c}
<Labrador Sea Water> is a water mass formed by deep winter mixing in the <Labrador Sea>, identifiable by its temperature, salinity, density and ventilation history. Surface heat loss increases density and can deepen <convection>, producing a relatively uniform water column that subsequently spreads into the surrounding North Atlantic.<2024 and 2025 Oceanographic Conditions in the Labrador Sea by Igor Yashayaev>[Abstract and Introduction, formation and spreading]{ref}
A motivating measurement combines shipboard profiles of temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen with repeated profiling-float observations. A deep layer with weak vertical property gradients indicates mixing; oxygen and other tracers help reveal recent contact with the atmosphere. Comparing successive winters distinguishes renewed formation from the later movement of an older water mass. Surface freshening can preserve stable stratification even during substantial cooling, so heat loss alone does not determine the depth reached by convection.<2024 and 2025 Oceanographic Conditions in the Labrador Sea by Igor Yashayaev>[Introduction and Winter Convection and Hydrographic Conditions in the Central Labrador Sea]{ref}
The observational lesson is that a water mass is identified through a combination of properties and history. A cold reading at one depth is insufficient to establish its origin or to measure the whole ocean overturning circulation.
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