Labrador Current in the context of Gulf Stream

An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of seawater generated by a number of forces acting upon the water, including wind, the Coriolis effect, breaking waves, cabbeling, and temperature and salinity differences. Depth contours, shoreline configurations, and interactions with other currents influence a current's direction and strength. Ocean currents move both horizontally, on scales that can span entire oceans, as well as vertically, with vertical currents (upwelling and downwelling) playing an important role in the movement of nutrients and gases, such as carbon dioxide, between the surface and the deep ocean.

Ocean currents are classified by temperature as either warm currents or cold currents. They are also classified by their velocity, dimension, and direction as either drifts, currents, or streams. Drifts, such as the North Atlantic Drift Current, involve the forward movement of surface ocean water under the influence of the prevailing wind. Currents, such as the Labrador Current, involve the movement of oceanic water in a more definite direction at a greater velocity than drifts. Streams, such as the Gulf Stream, involve movement of larger masses of ocean water with greater velocity than drifts or currents.

Iqaluit is the capital of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. It is the territory's largest community and its only city, and the northernmost city in Canada. It was known as Frobisher Bay from 1942 to 1987, after the large bay on the coast on which the city is situated. Its traditional Inuktitut name was restored in 1987.

In 1999, Iqaluit was designated the capital of Nunavut after the division of the Northwest Territories into two separate territories. Before this event, Iqaluit was a small city and not well known outside the Canadian Arctic or Canada, with population and economic growth highly limited. This is due to Iqaluit's isolation and heavy dependence on expensive imported supplies, as the city, like the rest of Nunavut, has no road or rail connections to the rest of Canada, and has ship connections for only part of the year. Iqaluit has a polar climate, influenced by the cold deep waters of the Labrador Current just off Baffin Island, which makes the city cold, although it is well south of the Arctic Circle.