area was declared officially ended. Presumably all bergs present in the 

 area south of 48° N. at this time disintegrated by the end of July. 



It is estimated that no bergs entered the area south of the 48th parallel 

 during the month of Jul}'. 



AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER 



No bergs are known to have drifted south of latitude 48° N., during 

 these months. 



NOVEMBER, DECEMBER 



On 2 December, two bergs were reported at 46°32' N., o5°52' W., 

 southeast of St. Pierre Island. To arrive in this position by 2 December, 

 they must have entered the area south of 48° N. during the month of 

 November. However, a plane from the Coast Guard Air Detachment, 

 Argentia, Newfoundland, had occasion to fly over this area shortly 

 after the 2d and reported no bergs in evidence. They did report numer- 

 ous fishing vessels in that general vicinity. In addition, the reporting 

 vessel indicated the sighting was made at 0120 G. c. t. or during darkness. 

 Past experience has shown that during the hours of darkness it is very 

 easy to mistake a fishing vessel under sail for an iceberg. For the above- 

 mentioned reasons, it is believed that no bergs drifted south of 48° N. 

 during the months of November and December. 



ICE CONDITIONS NORTH OF 50° N. 



The meagerness of information regarding ice conditions north of 50° N. 

 precludes tracing the progress of the advancing season in northern waters 

 with any satisfactorj^ degree of continuity. Less than 10 ice patrol 

 flights extended north of 50° N., and very little information was received 

 from surface vessels and other aircraft. In general, during the months 

 of February and March the eastern pack ice limits along the coast of 

 Labrador were displaced from 50 to 100 miles to the westward of the 

 monthly mean limits as contained in the Ice Atlas of the Northern Hem- 

 isphere. 2 The eastern pack ice limits during April, May, June and July 

 are unknown. It is probable, however, that this westward displacement 

 of the eastern limits characterized the entire season off the coast of 

 Labrador. Reports received from a United States Navy vessel enroute 

 from Argentia, Newfoundland, to Hamilton Inlet, Labrador, late in June 

 indicated that the eastern hmits of the pack ice were displaced approx- 

 imately 25 miles to the westward of the average hmits. This is based 

 on the fact that the route of this vessel was approximately 30 miles to 

 the west of the normal eastern limits of sea ice unnavigable by unrein- 

 forced vessels during the month of June. Suspecting that there was a 

 greater than normal onshore wind component during the preceding winter 

 months which moved the ice on shore, the normal and actual pressure 

 gradients between Resolution Island and Belle Isle were examined for 

 the period 1 October 1947 through 31 IVIarch 1948. 



2 H. O. No. 550, First Edition (1946), Washington. 



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