ICE CONDITIONS, 1974 SEASON 



September — December 1973 



After the close of the 1973 Ice Patrol Season, 

 occasional icebergs continued to drift south along 

 the Labrador coast. In September only one ice- 

 berg report was received, that of a small berg in 

 the Strait of Belle Isle. Sea ice conditions were 

 normal over Baffin Bay and Davis Strait with 

 freeze-up starting in the extreme north of Baffin 

 Bay during the third and fourth weeks of Sep- 

 tember. In October and November, there were 

 numerous reports of icebergs in the Strait of 

 Belle Isle, its approaches, and northward to 

 Hamilton Inlet. The southernmost of these was 

 a small berg at 50° 48'N 57° 47'W at the Strait's 

 western approach. The sea ice developed very 

 slowly during October, but by the end of No- 

 vember, it had slightly exceeded its normal limits 

 in Baffin Bay. There were no iceberg reports 

 received in December. The slight excess of sea 

 ice was maintained in Baffin Bay while the ice 

 formation off the Labrador coast progressed 

 slower than normal. 



January 1974 



There were no icebergs reported to the Ice 

 Patrol office by maritime traffic in January. 

 During the first week, new and grey ice formed 

 south of 51 °N, extending into Notre Dame Bay 

 with some drifting around Cape Freels to 

 near 49 °N. The heavier Labrador pack ice ad- 

 vanced to 52°N. A preseason survey was con- 

 ducted January 6-15 along the Labrador and 

 Baffin Island coasts and across Davis Strait. 

 The flight tracks and observed icebergs are shown 

 in figure 1. Only a few icebergs were observed 

 south of 56°N, about normal concentrations from 

 56 °N to Cape Chidley, Labrador, and much 

 above normal concentrations along the Baffin 

 Island coast to north of Cape Dyer and across 

 Davis Strait. Of significance were two icebergs 

 (a small and a medium) just off the Newfound- 

 land coast near Cape Freels. This was the first 

 time the Baffin Island coast from Cape Dyer to 

 Cape Christian was investigated as part of the 



January preseason survey. The latitudinal dis- 

 tribution of icebergs is illustrated graphically in 

 Figure 2. By the end of January a large excess 

 of sea ice developed over the Davis Strait and 

 off Labrador and Newfoundland. New and grey 

 ice had progressed as far south as 47° 30'N and 

 as far east as 49° 18' W. Open water remained 

 along the Avalon Peninsula to Cape Bonavista, 

 but generally close pack new and grey ice lay in 

 the coastal approaches to Notre Dame Bay. 



February 1974 



During the first half of February only two ice- 

 bergs were reported, both over 400 miles off the 

 coast of Labrador. There was a rapid south- 

 southeastward spread of pack ice off Newfound- 

 land so that by mid-month it extended as far 

 south as 46° 10'N 52° 30'W and as far east as 

 47°W. The extent of pack ice returned to 

 normal over Davis Strait and along the coast of 

 Labrador. Offshore drift prevented any signif- 

 icant intrusions into east Newfoundland coastal 

 areas. In eastern Notre Dame Bay very close 

 pack white and grey-white ice developed, while 

 lighter conditions were the rule for the western 

 sections of the Bay. This month's preseason 

 survey, conducted February 19 through March 1, 

 revealed three times the usual iceberg population 

 south of Cape Chidley, Labrador. This was also 

 the first time the southern Baffin Island coast and 

 Davis Strait were surveyed during February. A 

 total of 2403 icebergs were located from the 

 Davis Strait southward. The flight tracks and 

 iceberg concentrations are shown in figure 3 with 

 the latitudinal berg distribution displayed graph- 

 ically in figure 4. The sea ice edge retreated 

 rapidly during the last two weeks of February 

 so that by the end of the month the southern 

 limit was lying east of St. John's with a tongue 

 of light sea ice extending eastward over the 

 northern Grand Banks. The computer drift of a 

 medium iceberg reported in position 48° 28'N 

 46° 28'W on February 24 had it south of 48°N 

 by the end of the month, the first iceberg of the 

 season. 



