Of special note were the sightings of several flat tabular bergs about 

 15 feet high and of various widths and lengths up to 2,000 feet. These 

 bergs were believed to be fragments of the ice island blocking Kennedy 

 Channel in the spring and summer of 1963. Sixteen ice island frag- 

 ments were sighted off Hamilton Inlet, five scattered from Hamilton 

 Inlet to Cape Chidley and eight very closely concentrated near 

 61°15'N.,63°30'W. 



The ice island, designated WH-5, was first sighted in February of 

 1963 by a U.S. Navy "Bird's-eye" flight. At that time WH-5 was 

 lodged across Kennedy Channel north of Hans Island between Elles- 

 mere Island and Greenland and measured 6 x 13 miles. WH-5 drifted 

 free and broke up into three major pieces and several small fragments 

 in late July 1963. The three major fragments designated Alpha, 

 Bravo, and Charlie were observed several times by U.S. Navy aircraft, 

 by the USCGC Evergreen^ the Ice Patrol Oceanographic vessel, and 

 by the USCGC WestioiTid during the next 2 months as they drifted 

 into Kane Basin and Smith Sound. Charlie (2x3 miles) apparently 

 drifted free of Smith Sound in the south-seeking current system in 

 mid- August when it was last sighted. Alpha (4x6 miles) did not 

 drift free of Smith Sound until late September. It is believed Bravo 

 (1x5 miles) had broken up into smaller fragments before late Sep- 

 tember in the vicinity of Alpha. It is believed that the fragments 

 sighted off Hamilton Inlet in February originated from Charlie, and 

 that the pieces off Cape Chidley originated from Alpha. Charlie or 

 its fragments were believed between Cape Dyer and Cape Christian on 

 4 December 1963 as there were no sightings of them under excellent 

 visibility conditions during the 3-5 December survey. 



Analysis of the information obtained from the two 1964 preseason 

 northern ice surveys combined with results from the regular presea- 

 son and seasonal Ice Patrol Flights enabled the following determina- 

 tions for the 1964 berg crop : 



1. An estimated 15 bergs, all south of 58° N. during the first survey, 

 deteriorated prior to the February survey. 



2. An estimated 40 bergs south of Cape Chidley stayed aground 

 during most of the period between surveys. An estimated 75 bergs 

 remained trapped or aground between Cape Chidley and Cape Dyer 

 between surveys. 



3. Of the 124 bergs located south of Cape Chidley on 4 December, 

 an estimated 70 made significant movement toward tlie Grand Banks 

 between surveys. It is estimated that about 50 of these 70 bergs 

 drifted south of 48° N. before the end of March, all close along Avalon 

 Peninsula. An estimated 10 others probably drifted south of 48° N. 

 in April ; thus an estimated 48 percent of the total 124 bergs survived 

 to south of 48° N. 



71 



