The Labrador Sea is an area of intense focus for scientific studies looking at water mass transformation and the oceanic carbon sink. However, winter-time measurements, particularly at the mesoscale are lacking. Through funding from the Ocean Frontier Institute (OFI) we are undertaking a multiyear program with gliders to measure oxygen and heat exchange in the Labrador Sea called HOTSeALS (Heat & Oxygen Transport Sensing Across the Labrador Sea). The project is a collaboration with the National Oceanography Centre Project TERIFIC (Targeted Experiment to Reconcile Increased Freshwater with Increased Convection) led by Dr. Eleanor Frajka-Williams.

During the winter season 2019-2020 we completed our first deployment with a Slocum glider (Pearldiver from Memorial) launched from the RSS James Cook (JC190) and two Seagliders (sg602, sg638 from NOC) launched from Greenland. The mission was a success lasting 7 months and collecting thousands of profiles in the winter period. Unfortunately, the Sailbuoys deployed did not survive the harsh winter season. The Slocum glider spent most of the time in the central part of the basin, encountering many eddies with convection depth estimates from nearby Argo floats reaching up to 2000m. The Seagliders sampled closer to the boundary current encountering many types of instabilities. All gliders were recovered in Trinity Bay, NL. The results from these campaigns are currently being actively disseminated through journal publications.

We are currently undertaking our second campaign with again three gliders in the water. This time the experiment is focussing on the boundary current and export of newly convected waters. Stay tuned for updates and new results.