150 MAEION" EXPEDITIOX TO DAVIS STRAIT AND BAFFIN BAY 



Marion's records and from other various sources : Cape Chidley 

 to Hebron, 12 bergs; Hebron to Ca])e Harrigan, 500; Cape Harrigan 

 to Cape Harrison, 200; Cape Harrison to Belle Isle, 0; Belle Isle 

 offing-, 14. This shows that TOO out of the total of 726 bergs were 

 stranded on the coast in precisely the region where the Marion's 

 current map shows the prominent inshore encroachment of the stream 

 lines. Our repeated experience with a similar inshore swirl of the 

 current in the Grand Bank region and the resultant drift of the ice 

 em])}iasizes the importance of hydrographical features of this sort. 



Pack ice was noticeably scarce in 1928, as proved not only by the 

 observations of the ice patrol during the spring but also i)V early 

 reports along the Labrador coast. '^ The faihu'e of the pack to appear 

 in normal quantity and blockade tlie coast line permitted the Labra- 

 dor current to set the icebergs farther inshore than usual so that 

 more stranded. 



The course of the ciiri-ent and of the ice widens off NcAvfoundland. 

 The form of the dynamic isobaths, on figure 95, page 147, in the offing 

 of the Strait of Belle Isle, indicates the presence of an anticyclonic 

 eddy wdiich often controls the movement of icebergs especially in 

 summer and early fall. There is also indicated some inflow into 

 the entrance to the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and for that reason bergs 

 in considerable numbers pass through the strait during the season. 

 A few bergs are even carried far into the gulf along the Quebec 

 shore; they have even been sighted off Cape Whittle. 200 miles in. 

 Such ice rarely, if ever, reaches the Atlantic again, but disintegrates 

 in the gulf, a process heli)ing to cool these waters.'- A few bergs 

 also linger during tlie sunnner in the offing of the Strait of Belle Isle. 



The current that skirts the east coast of Xewfoundland sets a con- 

 siderable number of bergs and growlers on that shore during the 

 late season after the pack ice has disappeared. The observations 

 of the ice patrol during a cruise in May, 1924, to this region illus- 

 trate the drift of ice in this great coastal bight. (Smith 1924a, 

 p. 76.) Farther south the current, and probal)ly the bergs to a 

 certain extent, reaches the northern part of the Grand Bank region 

 in two belts, one following along the steep part of the continental 

 slope and the other close in to the coast. This inshore stream 

 carries ice as far south as Cape Race and even farther Avestward 

 around the latter through the Gully, between the coast and the 

 banks. 



Drift of Bergs South of Newfoundland 



The drift and fate of icebergs in the region south of New- 

 foundland have been intensively studied by the ice patrol for the 

 past 15 years. The published reports: Chiswell (1923, 1924); 

 Fisher, (1920, 1926, 1927); Fries (1922, 1923): Gamble (1922) ; 

 Johnston (1913, 1913a, 1915, 1915a, 1920); DeOtte (1921); Mollov 

 1930); Quinan (1915); Ricketts (1929, 1930); Smith (1922, 1922a, 

 1923. 1924. 1924a, 1925, 1926, 1926a. 1927, 1927a, 1927b, 192'7c, 1929, 

 1929a): Thuras (1915, 1916. 1921): and Zeusler (1926, 1926a, and 

 1926b). 



The various paths wdiich the icebergs are most liable to follow in 

 this region is diagrammatically shown by Figure 97, constructed from 



'1 MacMillan, wintering in Labrador 1027-28. reported a remarkable absence of pack ice. 

 '2 Huntsman (1925, p. 2) found an indraft of miles and an outflow of 8 miles, but tbe 

 circulation is largely controlled by tbe winds. 



