PHYSICAL OCEANOGRAPHY OF THE GRAND BANKS REGION 

 AND THE LABRADOR SEA IN 1954^ 



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



The U. S. C. G. Cutter Evergreen again served as oceanographic 

 vessel of the ice patrol in 1954. There were no major ship changes 

 affecting the oceanographic work. Earlier bulletins of this series con- 

 tain descriptions of deck and laboratory equipment for carr3nng out 

 the mission of ice patrol oceanography^ 



The work of dynamic topographic surveying for the 1954 ice patrol 

 season began with the departure of the Evergreen from Argentia on 

 the afternoon of 30 March. Because of the large number of early 

 season bergs which had been in the vicinity of Flemish Cap, it was 

 desirable to have some information as to the current pattern off the 

 northeastern shoulder of the Grand Banks and north of Flemish Cap. 

 To include this area in the first survey it was necessary to omit the 

 area south of the Tail of the Grand Banks. The southern limit of 

 the surveyed area therefore was fixed at about 42° N. The work of 

 collection of data began at the southern end of the survey on the 

 m.orning of 1 April and progressed northward. The weather was 

 more boisterous than usual and the succession of gales was more like 

 what might be expected in March than April. The work of collec- 

 tion of data was interrupted by weather for 4 hours on the 2d, 20 

 hours on the 4th, and 18 hours on the 7th and 8th. At the next to 

 the last station three of the Nansen water bottles had to be taken to 

 the laboratory to thaw out before the samples could be withdrawn. 

 Similar conditions existed at the final station, but additional personnel 

 were assigned to speed up the work of withdrawing the water samples 

 from the Nansen bottles as they arrived on deck before they had time 

 to freeze. The work of collection of data was completed on the 

 morning of 15 April, 93 stations having been occupied. A course 

 was then laid for Argentia where the Evergreen arrived on the after- 

 noon of 16 April. 



On the afternoon of 25 April, the Evergreen departed St. John's, 

 Newfoundland, for the purpose of making a second current surve}", 

 this time of the waters over and immediately seaward of the eastern 

 and southern slopes of the Grand Banks from the latitude of Flemish 

 Cap southward and extending just westward of the Tail of the Banks. 



1 To be reprinted as Contribution N^o. "58 in the Collected Reprints of tlie Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution. 



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