cover had advanced to a southern limit approxi- 

 mately by a line from 61°N 60°W southeasterly 

 to 51°30'N, 50° W then southeasterly to Notre 

 Dame Bay. 



February 1976 



With the southernmost icebergs still well north 

 of the major shipping lanes, only one report was 

 received from merchant shipping in February. 

 Although this report of a small iceberg in posi- 

 tion 51°10'N, 46°20'W on February 22 was the 

 southernmost for the month, the iceberg limit 

 established in early March indicated that bergs 

 had reached at least 50°X by the end of February. 

 Cold and persistent northwesterly winds across 

 Davis Strait and in the northern Labrador Sea 

 resulted in an abnormally extensive ice cover in 

 this area. The heavier sea ice served to better 

 protect those icebergs that would be reaching the 

 Grand Banks late in the season. Off Newfound- 

 land, the windflow continued to spread pack ice 

 eastward, extending to nearly 49°W between 50° 

 and 51°W by mid month. By month's end, the 

 ice pack reached some 200 miles east of St. John's 

 and south to 46°45'N. To the southwest of New- 

 foundland, pack ice was flowing out of the Gulf 

 of St. Lawrence through the Cabot Strait and 

 had extended approximately 100 miles east of 

 Sydney. 



March 1976 



The second series of preseason flights were 

 completed between February 27 and March 10. 

 Tracks flown and icebergs observed during these 

 reconnaissance flights are shown in figure 3. The 

 latitudinal distribution of observed icebergs is 

 displayed graphically in figure 4. "When adjusted 

 for poor visual and radar coverage in certain 

 areas due to adverse weather, these counts repre- 

 sent roughly 50% of the normal upstream iceberg 

 population for that time of year. As in January, 

 the icebergs were predominantly small or medium 

 sized with only a few large bergs observed. A 

 total of 98 medium and large size icebergs were 

 sighted between 55°N and 65°N. The southern- 

 most iceberg spotted was a small tabular at 

 47°45'N, 46°00'W, which was predicted to have 

 crossed 48°N on 9 March and was the first iceberg 

 to reach that latitude in 1976. By mid-March, 

 new and grey ice predominated in the coastal 

 waters from Cape St. Francis northward. The 

 heavy pack ice was east of Belle Isle and 60 miles 



east of Capes Freel and St. Francis. The eastern 

 limit of ice had almost reached Flemish Cap. 

 On approximately 12 March, the sea ice reached 

 its southernmost extent for 1976 at latitude 

 45°55'N southeast of Cape Kace. Based on pre- 

 dicted southward drifts of icebergs observed 

 during the second preseason flight, the Ice Recon- 

 naissance Detachment deployed to St. John's and 

 the Ice Patrol season officially commenced on 18 

 March. Flights on 23, 24 and 27 March (Figure 

 5) established the southern and eastern limits of 

 icebergs and growlers in the vicinity of the Grand 

 Banks. It was estimated that 33 icebergs crossed 

 48°N during March. Although this equals the 30 

 year average for March, the predominant drift 

 for the month was toward the east between 47°N 

 and 50°N. All of the bergs that crossed 48°N 

 during the month were predicted to have melted 

 before reaching 47°30'N. The southernmost 

 sighting was a small tabular at 47°45'N, 46°00'W 

 on 10 March and the easternmost iceberg for both 

 the month and the season was a small drydock 

 sighted in position 48°16'N, 42°37'W on 24 

 March. 



April 1976 



During latter March and early April, mild 

 weather caused the melt of the light ice which 

 had made up the major ice cover along New- 

 foundland's east coast. This resulted in a pro- 

 nounced northward retreat of the ice edge. By 

 April 5 (Figure 6), the concentrated pack had 

 retreated north of 50°N and west of 50°W with 

 diffuse pack extending south to 48°20'N and east 

 to 48°W. Aerial reconnaissance on April 12, 13 

 and 15 (Figure 7) located only one berg and 

 three radar targets south of 49°N. To com- 

 memorate the 64th anniversary of the tragic loss 

 of the RMS TITANTIC on April 15th, members 

 of the International Ice Patrol dropped a me- 

 morial wreath near an iceberg on the Grand 

 Banks. By mid-month, the southern limit of the 

 pack ice was near 51 °N with its eastern extension 

 ending near 49°W. Although a few strips and 

 patches of first year ice lay just off the North 

 Peninsula coast and northern White Bay, the re- 

 mainder of the Newfoundland east coast was es- 

 sentially free of sea ice. Near the end of the 

 month, prevailing northerly winds brought 

 patches of ice into Notre Dame Bay, but in the 

 process considerably reduced the seaward extent 

 of the ice pack. These same winds • brought a 



