very large grouping of icebergs into the core of 

 the Labrador Current north of the Banks. Some 

 96 icebergs and 57 growlers were sighted between 

 48°30'X and 50°20'N during reconnaissance 

 nights on April 18, 20 and 23 (Figure 8). These 

 bergs were apparently east of the reconnaissance 

 tracks flown during the second preseason mission. 

 Some were sighted dining early March flights 

 (Figure 3), but most were east of visual and 

 radar coverage and outside the sea ice, between 

 56°X and 59°X. In hindsight, it appears that 

 these bergs were blown some 90 to 100 miles off 

 the Labrador coast in late February just before 

 the reconnaissance flights and then blown back 

 into the protection of the sea ice during early 

 March after the preseason tracks were flown. It 

 was estimated that only 13 icebergs crossed 48°X 

 during April. The southernmost of these was a 

 medium size blocky sighted on April 4 at 46°24'N, 

 46°09'W, and the easternmost was a small dome 

 on 4 April in position 48°47'X, 44°08'W. 



May 1976 



Flights on April 30 and May 1 and 2 located 

 a heavy concentration of icebergs off the north- 

 east corner of the Grand Banks extending south- 

 eastward to Flemish Cap (Figure 10). These 

 bergs, plus some drifting in from the north, were 

 resighted during flights on May 6, 8, 10, 12, and 

 13 (Figures 11 and 12). Due to prevailing west- 

 erly winds, they had drifted east passing north of 

 Flemish Cap. The easternmost iceberg for the 

 month was a medium drydock sighted on May 10 

 in position 48°07'N, 43°27'W. On 24 May a 

 growler was sighted further east at 46°37'X, 

 43°17' W(Figure 14). By mid-May, an open 

 water route existed through the Strait of Belle 

 Isle. Very open to close pack first year ice ex- 

 tended southward to about 51°X but remained 

 approximately 30 miles east of Newfoundland's 

 Northern Peninsula. The southernmost iceberg 

 of the month was sighted with two other bergs 

 and three growlers on May 30 at 44°10'X, 

 48°49'W. An estimated 67 icebergs crossed 48°X 

 during May. 



June 1976 



Observation flights on May 31 and June 5 and 

 6 (Figure 15) revealed a diminishing iceberg 

 population. Small groups of bergs and growlers 

 were observed scattered just north of the Banks 

 and east to Flemish Cap and others along 45°X 



east of the Banks. In June, warming air and sea 

 temperatures brought a rapid disintegration of 

 both pack ice and icebergs. By mid-June there 

 was no sea ice south of 52° X. Flights on June 

 12 and 14 located only 17 icebergs and 12 growl- 

 ers, none east of 46°30'W or south of 44°30'N 

 (Figure 17). By June 22, those bergs off the 

 northeast corner of the Grand Banks had drifted 

 south to between 45°20'N and 46°20'N. One ice- 

 berg surviving from the group sighted east of the 

 Banks on June 14 had drifted to a position 

 slightly southeast of Flemish Cap by June 23 

 (Figure 19). All these icebergs had undergone 

 extensive deterioration since their previous sight- 

 ing. On June 29 the passenger liner Queen 

 Elizabeth II spotted two groups of growlers, one 

 at 43°30'N, 48°38'W and one at 43°30'N, 

 48°36'AV. Two other merchant ships reported 

 four icebergs and a number of growlers on the 

 same day about 25 miles north of the QEII 

 sightings. Predicted positions of this ice are 

 shown in figure 20. This was the same ice that 

 was spotted on June 22 (Figure 19) but was in 

 final stages of decay. These reports were the 

 southernmost for the month. Also on 29 June, a 

 TWA flight returning from Europe spotted a 

 medium sized berg at 46°36'N, 43°22'\V. An 

 estimated 35 icebergs crossed 48°X during the 

 month. 



July 1976 



Flights on July 8 (Figure 21) spotted a small 

 iceberg with a growler at 43°41'X, 48°58'W. 

 This was believed to be the last ice presenting 

 any danger to trans-Atlantic shipping during 

 1976. These two pieces of ice were resighted 

 again by a merchant vessel on July 12 in position 

 42°28'X, 48°39'W. This was the southernmost 

 ice sighting reported in 1976. Heavy fog per- 

 sisted over the Grand Banks for most of July. 

 Although the iceberg at the Tail of the Banks 

 was predicted to have melted by July 15, this 

 could not be visually confirmed due to the fog 

 and the season was continued for an additional 

 week. On July 22, feeling confident that the 

 southernmost iceberg had totally melted, Ice 

 Patrol advised the maritime community that 

 there were no known icebergs south of 49°X and 

 none expected to drift south of 47°X during the 

 remainder of 1976. Ice Patrol services were 

 terminated and the Ice Reconnaissance Detach- 

 ment returned from St. John's on that date. 



