only three small bergs soutli of Belle Isle, all close ashore, with the 

 southernmost a small dome berg at 50°20' N., 54°45' W. The fact 

 that just a couple of days before a growler was reported 650 miles to 

 the southeast in the warm Atlantic Current is further baffling, for the 

 several larger bergs in colder waters farther north had long since dis- 

 integrated. By the end of July it is estimated that there were no 

 bergs south of 51° N. 



AUGUST 



August as well as July was notable for the almost complete absence 

 of berg reports in Belle Isle Strait and approaches. Ordinarily the 

 approaches to Belle Isle Strait are infested with bergs during the 

 Grand Banks ice season and through the middle of September, with 

 occasional bergs in October. The probable reason for this lack of 

 bergs is the fact that there was greater deterioration of the crop in the 

 late summer and early autumn of 1962 due to above normal tempera- 

 tures along Baffin Island, with less bergs and smaller sizes available 

 for the late season. Another possibility is the fact that the average 

 surface winds along the entire Labrador coast in June were on shore, 

 with the likelihood that the majority of bergs were driven into bays or 

 aground and prevented from moving farther south. During the 

 summer months the immediate coastal waters along Labrador undergo 

 considerable warming and become warmer than the offshore waters 

 of the Labrador Current. It is noted that in July and August the 

 average surface winds along the Labrador coast were southeast, 

 further impeding any southern movement of bergs. 



The only report of ice during August was a growler and three bergs 

 near Belle Isle on the 3d. It is estimated that these bergs deteriorated 

 within a few days, leaving no ice south of 53° N. for the remainder of 

 the month. 



SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER 



For the remainder of the year, only a few bergs are believed to have 

 managed to reach Belle Isle Strait or the eastern approaches, doing so 

 during the period from late September through early November. 

 None are believed to have drifted south of 51° N. Three special ice 

 observation flights were made 3-5 December for the main purpose of 

 making a northern iceberg survey in order to determine the Grand 

 Banks berg potential for 1964. These flights covered waters of prob- 

 able location of bergs from Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, to Cape 

 Dyer, Baffin Island. A total of 532 bergs were counted in these areas, 

 with the southernmost at Belle Isle and the first noticeable concen- 

 tration near 57°30' N., about 215 miles south-southeast of Cape Chid- 

 ley, Labrador. As a result of special preseason iceberg surveys made 

 in January and March 1963, combined with iceberg counts made by 

 the Canadian Department of Transport in the fall of 1961 and 1962, 

 and berg data accumulated by the Ice Patrol over the years, certain 



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