iiig field liberates bergs which may drift hundreds of miles beyond 

 its limits. In the Greenland area occasional bergs may be found 

 at any time far beyond the pack limits. 



Near the end of January 12 bergs were sighted scattered along 

 a course line from 56°45' N., 51°15' W., to 59°25' N., 36°00' W. 

 I'nfortunately the individual positions of these were not given 

 but the closest point on the course was about 190 miles off Cape 

 Farewell, and shows the normal early season tendency of bergs to 

 drift far to the southeast of the cape. A single berg was reported 

 at this time in a position of 54°21' N., 44=24' W., but if of East 

 Greenland origin, had probably taken a circuitous course well to 

 I he westward of Cape Farewell rather than drifting directly from 

 that point. On 16 INIarch six bergs were sighted south of Cape 

 Farewell between latitudes 57° and 59° N. During the remainder 

 of the season none were reported south of 58° N., but a few could 

 easily have been present from time to time in that area and not 

 have been sighted or reported. On 15 March two bergs were re- 

 ported off the east coast of Iceland at 65° 10' N., 13°29' W., and 

 were probably carried to this unusual position by the field ice 

 which extended far bej^ond its normal limits at that time. 



During September and October scattered bergs well clear of 

 any other ice were reported towards the center of Denmark Strait 

 between Greenland and Iceland. Others were sighted up to over 

 150 miles east and southeast of Cape Farewell. 



The Portuguese fishing schooner Maria Preciosa was sunk by 

 collision with an iceberg off Greenland on 14 June. The crew was 

 reported as being picked up by other vessels of the fishing fleet 

 but the position and other details were not reported. No other 

 sinkings were reported but several vessels operating of necessity 

 in the ice were damaged. 



As a whole the ice conditions in the Greenland area were more 

 severe than on an average year. Until mid-April the storis en- 

 croached abnormally on the Iceland north, west, and east coasts, 

 and at times completely blocked Denmark Strait between Green- 

 land and Iceland. This was followed by an excessive amount of 

 storis on the Greenland west coast from mid-April through July, 

 during which time the amount on the east coast decreased to normal 

 and below^ normal. The extent of the pack along the east coast 

 north of the Arctic Circle in the late season appeared slightly below 

 normal and was less than at a corresponding period in 1943. 



CONCLUSIONS 



The general conclusions to be drawn from a review of the 1944 

 ice season are as follows : 



1. The amount of ice formed during the winter months of 1943- 

 44 in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland, Labrador, and 



740743—47—5 



61 



