Gulf of St. L<awrence and Newfoundland coastal waters, by the U.S. 

 Navy in the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bay, and other contributors. 

 Merchant marine ship reports on weather and ice conditions were an 

 extremely important source of information. 



The operations of the International Ice Patrol from 1 March to 6 

 June can be summarized as : 



1. Thirty-five Ice Patrol reconnaissance flights were flown for the 

 main purpose of guarding the southeastern, southern and southwestern 

 limits of all ice on the Grand Banks. 



2. Ice reports were collected from ships, aircraft, and other ice 

 observation agencies. 



3. Weather reports, including sea surface temperatures, were col- 

 lected from ships. 



4. Ice information was plotted and analyzed. 



5. Ice conditions were forecast twice daily during periods between 

 observed ice conditions. 



6. Ice advisory broadcasts were made twice daily to shipping and 

 transmitted twice daily to interested agencies. 



7. Facsimile transmissions were made once daily to shipping. 



8. Special ice information was provided on request. 



9. Position plots were maintained of all reporting ships in the Ice 

 Patrol area. 



10. Three oceanographic cruises were conducted between 30 March 

 and 25 May to collect oceanographic data affecting the drift and 

 deterioration of ice. 



USCGC Evergreen, made the oceanographic surveys in the critical 

 sectors of the Grand Banks area during the ice season and conducted 

 studies into the drift and deterioration of bergs. By means of the cur- 

 rent maps resulting from these surveys, semimonthly isotherm charts 

 prepared from sea temperatures reported by shipping, and wind data 

 supplied by the U.S. Fleet Weather Central at Argentia, estimates 

 of the set, drift, and deterioration of bergs and field ice were made. 

 With these data a current 12-hourly plot on ice conditions was main- 

 tained. These estimates were then used to plan ice reconnaissance 

 flights and in issuing the radio broadcasts. They were particularly 

 useful after extended periods of poor visibility when no ice observa- 

 tions could be made. For a detailed discussion of the oceanography 

 of this area, refer to U.S. Coast Guard Oceanographic Eeport Series, 

 CG-373. 



Only 76 bergs drifted south of latitude 48° N. in the Grand Banks 

 area during all of 1965, a low figure in comparison with the 1900-1965 

 average of 377 bergs. Only one of these bergs drifted into the United 

 States-European North Atlantic Track Agreement tracks B and C. 

 However, due to its small size it quickly melted and never posed any 

 great threat to shipping. 



