APPENDIX C 



WEST GREENLAND GLACIER SURVEY 



R. C. KOLLMEYER, 

 U.S. Coast G 



The statutory mission for the conduct of the 

 International Ice Patrol provides for a study 

 of ice and current conditions affecting the occur- 

 rence of icebergs in the North Atlantic Ocean. 

 Commencing in 1914, the Coast Guard under- 

 took a systematic series of oceanographic and 

 ice studies. By 1928, these studies included the 

 glacier origins of icebergs. Expeditions carried 

 out by RADM E. H. SMITH between 1928 and 

 1935 identified twenty-one glaciers which make 

 major contributions to iceberg occurrence in the 

 North Atlantic Ocean. Average annual pro- 

 duction rates for these glaciers were estimated 

 and glacier front advance or retreat were deter- 

 mined qualitatively within the limits of available 

 information. 



The present ongoing West Greenland Glacier 

 Survey was established in 1968. The interven- 

 ing 33 years since SMITH'S work left questions 

 about changes and trends in the glaciers. The 

 decades of the 1950\s and 60's showed a decline 

 in the mean number of icebergs drifting into 

 the Grand Banks/Ice Patrol area. This was 

 precipitous in comparison to the steady iceberg 

 populations during the proceeding 50 years. 

 Future planning and budgeting for International 

 Ice Patrol, as well as planning for the possi- 

 bility of greater arctic shipping obviously re- 

 quired a reinspection of the general productivity 

 of the glaciers that produce the icebergs which 

 hazard shipping. Trends during the first half 

 of the 1970's turned out to be the reverse of the 

 50's and 60"s. 1972 became the greatest year 

 ever for icebergs on the Grand Banks and 1974 

 was the second greatest year on record. 1973, 

 although not record breaking, saw two and one- 

 half times the number of icebergs of a normal 

 year. Conflicting interpretations of these data 

 are obviously possible : advancing glaciers, ab- 

 normal meterorolojjical conditions or a catas- 



CAPT, USCG, Ph.D. 

 uard Academy 



trophic breakup of the great floating ice tongues 

 of "West Greenland are all possibilities. Cer- 

 tainly, any of the above explanations can impact 

 on the costs of operations for the Coast Guard. 

 Glacial advance portends more ice and greater 

 Coast Guard surveillance, and adversely affects 

 the prospects of greater oil and mineral surface 

 transport from the eastern Arctic. Glacial re- 

 treat, producing first a calving reduction, next 

 a thinning of the floating ice tongues and then 

 a rapid breakup, initially results in a declining 

 population of icebergs followed by greatly in- 

 creased numbers and then ultimately few. 



In order to provide answers to the questions 

 iterated above, the following objectives of the 

 West Greenland Glacier Survey are being pur- 

 sued : 



1. Survey the West Greenland iceberg pro- 

 ducing tidewater glaciers and compare the data 

 thus obtained with earlier records to ascertain 

 the advance of recession of the glaciers, future 

 trends and changes in iceberg production rates. 



2. Determine the annual number of icebergs 

 calved from the major West Greenland glaciers 

 and the regularity of production to determine 

 the causes of annual number variation of icebergs 

 founc' on the Grand Banks. 



3. Survey environmental conditions affecting 

 the calving and seaward drift of icebergs. This 

 includes fjord configuration, sill depth and 

 coastal circulation. 



4. Provide a present pictorial and data docu- 

 mentation of the outlet glaciers of the last con- 

 tinental ice sheet in the Northern Hemisphere 

 for future historical scientific use. 



5. Provide the opportunity for invited glacio- 

 logistr, and polar scientists to participate in the 



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