1940 census and the 1948 and 1949 aerial censuses were most ambi- 

 tious, have produced most of our available knowledge of bergs in 

 that area, and have allowed some correlation between berg counts in 

 Baffin Bay and subsequent iceberg-years on the Grand Banks. For 

 example, the 1948 visual count was about 12,000 bergs as compared 

 to 17,500 visually counted in 1949. Since the 1949 survey was in 

 August and the 1948 survey in July, this difference can be attributed 

 to the fact that the 1949 survey included an additional month's 

 calving of bergs. A comparison of the number of bergs along the 

 east coast of Baffin Island from Cape Dyer north and well removed 

 from the productive glaciers is quite significant. The 1949 count 

 was about three times the 1948 count. See Bulletins 34 and 35 in 

 this series. The 1949 Grand Banks iceberg season was very light, 

 correlating with the apparent low supply of 1948, and the 1950 season 

 was heavy. It is especially noted that both the 1948 and 1949 ice- 

 berg censuses revealed that there were more than nine times as many 

 bergs in the eastern half of Baffin Bay as in the western half. Smith's 

 1940 census with the CGC Northland also revealed a preponderance 

 of bergs in the eastern half of Baffin Bay. At first glance this might 

 indicate very heavy attrition of bergs from the glaciers in eastern 

 Baffin Bay to the south-moving Baffin Land Current in western Baffin 

 Bay. Smith in 1940 observed that the fiords leading to some of the 

 most prolific glaciers were so jammed with icebergs that it took an 

 estimated 5 years for a renewal of icebergs there. Undoubtedly some 

 of the smaller bergs literally never get off the ground and deteriorate 

 completely while still imprisoned in the fiords, and many more 

 deteriorate without ever departing eastern Baffin Bay. 



The effect of pack ice on bergs is another factor that must be 

 considered. Pack ice can be an aid or an obstacle to the travel of 

 bergs. Bergs located in protected waters close along the coasts of 

 Baffin Bay as winter arrives are probably imprisoned by the formation 

 of fast ice mitil the breakup next summer. Bergs which are offshore 

 as the freezeup occurs probably have an excellent opportunity to 

 keep traveling. The pack ice may then act as a buffer to prevent 

 bergs from being driven aground or being driven into the many traps 

 along the route. This latter effect is probably most significant during 

 the winter months along the Labrador coast. In Smith's time, the 

 popular conception was that practically the entire Baffin Bay was 

 covered with fast ice from late autumn to early summer halting the 

 motion of icebergs. Since 1940, considerable ice reconnaissance by 

 the U.S. Navy over Baffin Bay has proven that there are many open 

 water areas and that offshore ice is in constant motion year round. 

 The net result of the pack ice effect on the travel of the berg supply 

 from source to termination is difficult to assess and can only be 

 assumed. While its effect might be negative in Baffin Bay, it is 

 probably positive along the southeast Baffin Island coast and the 



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