the track shown in figure 9, located only 22 ice- 

 bergs and 12 growlers strung out from 51 °N to the 

 Tail of the Banks and east to Flemish Cap. Fif- 

 teen (15) of these were already south of 48 °N, 

 having crossed during March. They had decayed 

 significantly since previously sighted. Although 

 a few were scattered to the south and east, the 

 major grouping was clustered around 46°30'N, 

 47°W. By the end of the first week in April, all 

 sea ice was north of 49° N with the concentrated 

 pack north of 50°N and west of 51 °W. The 

 southern ice limit consisted of open pack, thin 

 first year. The number of icebergs on the Grand 

 Banks gradually dropped during the month due 

 to the increased melt rate and small supply of 

 upstream icebergs flowing into the area. Flights 

 on 15, 16 and 19 April (See Figure 11) found 

 only 15 icebergs below 48°N, the southernmost 

 being at 44°30'N, and only 11 growlers and one 

 small iceberg between 49°N and 50°N. By 28 

 April, there were only 28 icebergs and growlers 

 south of 52°N being tracked by the Ice Patrol 

 (See Figure 12). Since the Ice Patrol tends to 

 be conservative in removing icebergs from this 

 plot, some of these icebergs may have been dupli- 

 cates with slightly different positions from two 

 or more sources, or they may have already com- 

 pletely melted. Only 10 bergs were estimated to 

 have crossed 48°N during the entire month of 

 April, usually the most active iceberg month of 

 the year on the Grand Banks. This number rep- 

 resents only 10% of the long-term normal for 

 April. 



May 1975 



On the 3rd and 4th of May, flight tracks (figure 

 13) were flown with reasonably good visibility 

 encountered. A total of 12 icebergs and 15 

 growlers were sighted south of 48°N, all of these 

 located just to the north or west of the Grand 

 Banks. Repeat sightings have been removed 

 from figure 13. A group of 4 icebergs and 5 

 growlers, grouped within a 30 mile radius of 

 42°30'N, 48°30'W, marked the southern limit of 

 all known ice at the time. The western berg of 

 this group (sighted on 5 May), was reported two 

 days later by the British passenger liner 

 ORIANA in position 41°45'N, 47°58'W. This 

 proved to be the southernmost iceberg reported 

 during 1975. On 5 May there was no sea ice 



south of 51°N or east of 53°W (figure 4). So ice- 

 bergs were sighted east of 44°W off the Grand 

 Banks in 1975, although a number of bergs were 

 reported in the vicinity of Flemish Cap between 

 44°W and 46°"\V, the easternmost of these, a 

 medium iceberg (47°05'N, 44°42'W) and four 

 growlers (out to 47°01'N 44°30'W), were ob- 

 served on 14 May. Beside these sightings, flights 

 on 13, 14, and 15 May located only two small 

 icebergs (one with a number of growlers) south 

 of 47°30'N (figure 15). Also sighted were a 

 large, berg (47°57'N, 49°08'W) and 3 medium 

 and 3 small bergs with growlers off Cape St. 

 Francis, all of which were resighted further 

 south on 20, 22, and 23 May (figure 16). On 

 19 May, a coastal flight was made along New- 

 foundland and Labrador coasts up to 56° N. Al- 

 though visibility was generally poor for most of 

 the flight, 3 medium and 10 small icebergs were 

 sighted south of 52°N in Bonavista and Notre 

 Dame Bays and off Cape Freels. Most of these 

 were grounded and were not considered to present 

 a serious threat to the Grand Banks area unless a 

 sustained period of offshore winds occurred in 

 late May or early June. A total of 20 icebergs 

 were estimated to have crossed 48°N during this 

 month, which is considerably less than the nor- 

 mal of 94. Most of these crossed 48 °N while in 

 the Avalon Channel between 52°W and the New- 

 foundland coast. 



June 1975 



In early June the only sea ice south of 52°N 

 was very diffuse and rotted ice along the north- 

 east coast of Newfoundland (figure 17). The 

 only ice south of 48°N and east of 51°W that had 

 not yet melted were the remains of a large ice- 

 berg first sighted on 14 May and possibly the last 

 of a small iceberg last sighted by Ice Patrol on 

 23 May. These small bergs and growlers were 

 deteriorating rapidly in an area southeast of the 

 Banks (figure 17). As is typical in the spring, 

 fog and low cloud cover reduced visibility on the 

 Grand Banks to near zero for most of June. 

 Reconnaissance flights on 11 and 12 June aver- 

 aged less than 30% visual coverage along the 

 tracks flown (figure 18). With the exception of 

 sighting those icebergs scattered along the coast 

 and south of Newfoundland (all west of 



