Time Charting the Grand Banks Bio-Engine

• • The confluence of the cold Labrador and warm Gulf Stream currents across the shallow bathymetry of  a series of gravelly underwater plateaus (ideal environments for Cod nurseries) south of  Newfoundland island. 

  • As geological formations of the North American Continetal Shelf,  these relatively shallow ledges range from 15 to 91 metres in depth.

  • The confluence of marine geology and oceanic gyres generated an explosive plankton bloom that anchored a rich, marine ecosystem web of fish and whale populations.

  • The early modern “invention” of the Grand Banks, facilitated massive and unprecedented extractions of Gadus morhua (cod) from the waters of the north Atlantic. 

  • The invention of this oceanic plantation, the result of a confluence between cartography, commerce, and cultural agency, contributed to capitalising modern European and North American societies, creating conflict between the bourgeoning Western empires.

Lost on the Grand Banks , Winslow Homer, 1885