16 



active iceberg-producing glaciers requires 5 or more years to accomplish 

 a complete renewal of the imprisoned bergs. 



After drifting out of the fiords into Disko Bay, Umanak, and 

 Karrats Fiords, the majority of the bergs are probably turned north- 

 ward by the current and, thus joined by many more bergs from Uper- 

 nivik, Giesecke, and jSlelville Bay, they follow northward along the 

 Greenland side, thence westward and eventually reach the south- 

 flowing Baffin Land Current. This is the previously regarded 

 general drift described in Coast Guard Bulletin 19, part 3, but not 

 all persons interviewed during the trip agreed on some of the generally 

 accepted views. At Upernivik the colonibestyrer was of the opinion 

 that the bergs there set southwestward across to the Labrador Cur- 

 rent, although no person had ever traced the drift offshore. The 

 abundance of bergs met between Disko Bay and Cv^^ York, and the 

 noticeable dimmution in numbers from Cape York southwestward, 

 indicated that the latter point marked approximately the progress 

 which the 1940 season's crop had made since being released from their 

 respective discharge points. (See fig. 4.) The bergs themselves also 

 had a sharper, newer appearance, east of Cape York, than those 

 observed later along the western side of Baffin Bay and Davis Strait. 

 The number of bergs, from all the accounts of the Greeulanders, was 

 about normal, but some glaciers this summer were claimed to be less 

 productive than normal (Upernivik), while others were more prolific 

 (Rink). This feature of variation in the annual rate of iceberg dis- 

 charge has never been seriously considered before, but is one which 

 may have a bearing on the variation in the number of bergs observed 

 every spring off Newfoundland. 



It was interesting to note that the three settlements, viz, Umanak, 

 Nugatsiak, and Upernivik, when questioned regarding the relative 

 productivity of the West Greenland glaciers, were certain that the 

 glacier nearest to them was the one most prolific. At LTpernivik and 

 Nugatsiak, it was stated, this summer's production was below normal, 

 but Rink Glacier, on the other hand, was more active. The officers 

 of the Danish steamer Gertrud Rask, who have been navigating along 

 the west coast for many years, stated the iceberg distribution in 

 Disko Bay this summer was normal and that many bergs had been 

 observed off Cape York, but no pack-ice in August in Melvifie Bay. 

 It appeared at the time from our own observations, however, that the 

 two Karajaks, and Rink together with Umiamako, were equaUy 

 active, while Giesecke and Hayes less so, but this may have been 

 deceptive as we had no good view of the latter two. All agreed that 

 the number of bergs produced by Melville Bay glaciers was rclntively 

 few, but here again this was based on hearsay, and not first hand 

 observation. 



