73 



the day the swell subsided somewhat. The following note was made 

 on the 9th, "the Avarm water, of 56°, and the biitfeting of the 

 southerly swell were reducing berg No. 2 Avith extraordinary rapidity. 

 It was calving continuously and numerous growlers were floating in 

 the vicinity. We experienced frequent passing rain showers and 

 sunny weather between." On the 10th probably the most rapid disin- 

 tegration of any day took place. The following note was made: 

 " When nearby the berg, constant loud cracklings were heard and 

 the moment the sea water ran off the entire exposed surface would 

 blister, the next sea washing away loose covering, followed by more 

 blistering. This, together with frequent calvings was reducing its 

 bulk rapidly. By dark it was apparent that the warm water, warm 

 air, and constant pounding of the seas would make an end of this 

 menace within the next 2-1 hours." The wind during this day vras 

 moderate, a moderate swell was running, passing rain squalls were 

 experienced, and the weather is described as " typical Gulf Stream." 

 Oceanographic station No. 388 was occupied near the berg at 9 a. m. 

 this day. The next day, the 11th, there were no signs of berg No. 2 

 and we all were convinced that it had completely melted. From noon 

 of the Tth until the morning of the 11th, a period of approximately 

 four days, a medium size berg was completely dissipated. This is 

 much faster than the normal rate of disintegration, which has been 

 observed to be about seven days. 



The winds for the month were well diversified around the compass 

 with the northern semicircle slightly predominating. The average 

 force of the wind for the first half of the month was 4. BeauforJ; 

 scale, while the second half of the month the winds were the strong- 

 est, being from the north and the northwest. There were 4 gales 

 during the month, 1 the first half and 3 the second half, all of a 

 force 6.5 or greater, and 2 of the gales were force 8 or greater. 

 Previous records indicate that this is the month during which the 

 direction of the winds shift from a prevailing northwesterly direction 

 to a prevailing southerly direction, but this year no such phenomenon 

 was observed. "We experienced 5 per cent of fog and 7.5 per cent 

 hours of fog and low visibility. This is considerably below the 

 average which we have experienced during the previous three years 

 which averaged 28 per cent hours of fog and 48 per cent hours of 

 fog and low visibility. The United States Pilot Chart shows 40 

 to 45 per cent days of fog. 



SUMMARY 



A current of 0.8 knot was observed during the first part of tlie 

 month flowing southward along the east face of the Grand Banks, 

 but no current was detected in this locality two weeks later. A. 



