PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY OF THE GRAND BANKS REGION 

 AND THE LABRADOR SEA IN 1953 ' 



By Floyd M. Soule^ A. J. Bush, and J. E. Murray, U. S. Coast Guard 



The 180-foot tender-class cutter USCGC Evergreen again served in 

 1953 as the oceanographic vessel of the ice patrol. The only major 

 change affecting the oceanographic work was the installation on the 

 starboard side of the fantail of a davit and cradle to handle and hold a 

 new instrument lalo^vn as a deep electronic bathythermograph. As 

 the instrument traces a curve of temperature against depth it will be 

 be referred to by the abbreviated title TD in a subsequent description 

 of it and the work done with it. 



The oceanographic survey work of the 1953 ice patrol season began 

 with the departure of the Evergreen from Argentia on the evening of 1 

 April. Because of the rapid movement of a couple of early season 

 bergs along the eastern slope of the Grand Banks to and somewhat 

 westward of the southern end of the banks the first survey was planned 

 to include a small area just west of the Tail of the Banks and extending 

 around the southern end of the banks and northward along the eastern 

 elope of the banks to about the 46th parallel. 



The work of collection of data began at the southwestern corner of 

 the survey on the early morning of 3 April and was completed without 

 interruption from the weather on the early afternoon of 14 April, 66 

 stations having been occupied. A course was then laid for Argentia 

 where the Evergreen arrived on the morning of 16 April. 



On the evening of 26 April the Evergreen departed Argentia for the 

 purpose of making a second survey, this time of the waters over and 

 immediately seaward of the northeastern and eastern slopes of the 

 Grand Banks north of about 45° N., and west of about 45° W. The 

 survey began on the mornmg of 28 April at the northwestern edge of 

 the area and progressed southward. The survey work was interrupted 

 on the evening of 28 April after completing station 5063 to search the 

 area of probable drift of a berg reported at 47°55' N., 47°40' W., at 

 1430 G. C. T., on the 27th. Current fixes were obtained once an hour 

 with the von Ai-x current meter (GEK) and, following arrival at the 

 reported position at 0730 G. C. T., on 29 AprU, the ship proceeded 

 downstream as indicated by the GEK for 33 miles after which a ladder 

 search, beginning 6 miles farther downstream, was undertaken back 



» To be reprinted as Contribution No. 675 in the Collected Reprints of the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution. 



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