AGB Sf RUA 
Environmental factors influencing the formation and growth of 
sea ice in the area of North Star Bugt and Wolstenholme Fjord 
indicate that the peculiar characteristics of the harbor are the 
free water exchange with the fjord at all levels, the relatively 
small importance of fresh-water runoff, and the smail annual 
change in surface water temperatures during the open season. 
Because of these characteristics, the harbor is well situated 
for the use of long-range ice prediction techniques based on 
the thermohaline structure. 
The formation and growth of sea ice in 1953 was studied in 
detail. Data indicated that the observed and computed ice 
thicknesses were nearly identical, both for the original ice and 
for the newer ice which formed after the first ice was broken up 
by wind action. It is shown that in order to determine the 
weather conditions over the ice, observations from a ship 
anchored in the harbor are more accurate than those at a land 
station because of the greater wind velocity and warmer air 
temperature over the ice. Accumulation of degree days of 
frost corresponded closely to the ice growth in two different 
, but the el nee of degree days satin varied 
