26 



in this vicinity are not unknown, they are very rare, especially at this 



time of year.^ 



SUMMARY 



Reports from the Labrador coast, Hudson Strait, Davis Strait, 

 and Baffin Bay during the fall and early wmter of 1937 showed that 

 the season of navigation in this region was one of the lightest and 

 most open on record. With these conditions just preceding the 1938 

 ice season certam facts attract attention. One, the field ice encoun- 

 tered in the Grand Banks region in February and March was un- 

 usually heavy, containing an above-normal amount of true Arctic 

 pack. Two, above the average number of bergs obstructed the 

 steamer lanes this year. Three, local authorities at Holsteinsborg, 

 Greenland, state that the middle pack or west ice was unusually prev- 

 alent and ice conditions were very severe in that vicinity in the early 

 spring (April and May 1938); heavy ice completely blocking the har- 

 bour and fjords much later than usual. However, the 1938 season is 

 chiefly notable for the long period during which field ice and bergs 

 constituted a menace along the regular trans-Atlantic steamship 

 routes. Field ice moved into area across Canadian track F m the 

 early days of February and by the middle of March had spread 

 southward completely blocking both tracks E and F. These routes, 

 and also the vessels bound for Newfoundland ports, were endangered 

 by field ice until the very last days of April. Most vessels bound for 

 Canadian ports used track D during this period. The most southern 

 position of field ice for the year was reported March 24 m latitude 

 43°14' N., longitude 49°10' W. United States-European traffic was 

 shifted to' track B (southern) on March 26, over 2 weeks before the 

 prescribed date, April 11. The breaking up and melting of the dan- 

 gerous areas of field ice bringing the increased use of tracks E and F, 

 during the middle and last days of April, revealed many bergs drift- 

 ing onto the northern edge of the Banks across these routes, and a 

 few down the eastern slope of the Banks and south to the Tail to 

 menace track B. June, surprisingly, brought more bergs south of the 

 Tail of the Banks (latitude 43° N.) than any other month mdicatmg 

 a delay in the annual flooding of the arctic current this year and a 

 consequent lengthening of the ice season. The long southerly drifts 

 of 6 bergs south of Tail during June made track B unsafe and a shift 

 to track A (extra-southern) was recommended. Traffic was moved 

 to eastbound track A on June 15 and westbound June 21. This is 



• During the month of October 1938, 29 bergs were reported in scattered positions along the steamer route 

 to Belle isle from a point 155 miles south of Cape Farewell, Greenland, to a posit.on 330 -^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

 Cape Farewell. At this writing no discussion will be attempted, but two probable causes o ^'"svery unusual 

 position and number of bergs are presented: (1) Summer sea temperature on the west Greenland coast 

 indicated above-average activity of the arctic East Greenland Current, which ^''^'•"^f J^^^^^^/;^^.^" ^^f ! 

 Farewell, and (2) the pressure anomalies for the month of October 1938 show a marked predominance of 

 apparently strong northwest winds which would materially favor such a berg distribution. 



