Labrador Sea

The Labrador Sea (French: mer du Labrador) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is surrounded by continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait. It has been described as a marginal sea of the Atlantic.Boundary Currents and Watermass Transformation in Marginal Seas

The Labrador Sea is about 3400 meters deep and  wide where it joins the Atlantic Ocean. It becomes shallower, to less than  towards Baffin Bay and passes into the  Davis Strait.

The water temperature varies between  in winter and  in summer. The salinity is relatively low, at 31–34.9 parts per thousand. Two-thirds of the sea is covered in ice in winter.

Fauna
The northern and western parts of the Labrador Sea are covered in ice between December and June. The drift ice serves as a breeding ground for seals in early spring. The sea is also a feeding ground for Atlantic salmon and several marine mammal species. Shrimp fisheries began in 1978, as well as cod fishing. The cod fishing quickly lessened the fish population in the 1990s and was stopped in 1992. Other fishery targets include haddock, Atlantic herring, lobster and several species of flatfish and pelagic fish such as sand lance and capelin. Bigger amounts are in the southern parts of the sea.

The sea has one of the two major stocks of Sei whales, the other one being the Scotian Shelf. Also common are minke and bottlenose whales.

The Labrador Duck was a common bird on the Canadian coast until 19th century, but is now extinct. Coastal animals include the Labrador Wolf, caribou, moose, black bear, red fox, arctic fox, wolverine, snowshoe hare, grouse, osprey, raven, ducks, geese, partridge and American wild pheasant.Eastern Canadian Shield taiga (NA0606), WorldWildLife.org

Flora
Costal vegetation includes black spruce, tamarack, white spruce, dwarf birch, aspen, willow, ericaceous shrubs, cottongrass, sedge, lichens and moss. Evergreen bushes of Labrador tea, which is used to make herbal tea, are common in the area, both on the Greenland and Canadian coasts.Ledum groenlandicum Oeder – Labrador Tea

References

Other websites

Category:Seas of the Atlantic Ocean
Category:Geography of Greenland
Category:Newfoundland and Labrador