58 



than that necessary to keep track of these three bergs. On June 6, 

 while drifting with the southernmost berg in latitude 42°57' N., longi- 

 tude 50°05' W., the General Greene arrived to deliver the new current 

 chart. Senior Oceanographer Floyd M. Soule and the commanding 

 officer of the General Greene came aboard for a conference, and at 

 1710 the current chart was delivered and the General Greene departed 

 for St. John's, Newfoundland. On June 11, with moderate to good 

 visibihty, all the area south and east of the Tail to latitude 43°30' N. 

 was scouted and no new ice was sighted except the berg mentioned 

 above. The story of this berg, located in latitude 42°49' N., longi- 

 tude 50°07' W., is an interesting one. It is the same as the very 

 large berg sighted by the Pontchartrain on May 29 and described in 

 last cruise report as one of those bergs likely to keep the Patrol busy 

 for at least another month. It had drifted southward in the current 

 from latitude 45°51' N., to its present position, a distance of 225 

 miles at 18 miles per day (in accordance with the latest current map) 

 and had changed so little in appearance that the identification was 

 unmistakable. Wlien first seen on the 29th it was estimated at 150 

 feet high and 600 feet long and when sighted on the 11th it was about 

 120 feet high and only 400 feet long. By the 13th, due to loss of 

 weight above water and the resulting eccentricities of flotation 

 and mass distribution, its height increased again to 150 feet and the 

 portion of its underwater body which slowly emerged, as small pieces 

 dropped off, measured approximately 650 feet in length. 



Drifting with these three bergs for a week and attempting to relocate 

 each berg every day under conditions where observations were impos- 

 sible, or at best too infrequent due to persistent fog, and each berg 

 with a different direction and rate of drift gives an illustration of the 

 value of current maps. Often, not only was the search for bergs 

 based entirely on their estimated drift from the current chart, but also 

 the position of the Patrol vessel. The successive positions of the bergs 

 are shown on the track chart connected by dashed lines which also 

 forms the track of the Patrol vessel for this period. 



On the evening of June 13 the largest of these bergs described above 

 was in approximately latitude 42°09' N., longitude 50°20' W., moving 

 southward at about 18 miles per day which would take it across west- 

 bound track B in 2K days. This fact, together with the continued 

 foggy conditions which made it impossible to scout the area south of 

 the Tail, created a real threat to track B and a shift to the extra 

 southern route, track A, was advisable. A message advising head- 

 quarters of conditions and recommending such action was dispatched 

 at 2318 that date, and advice was received on the 15th that the North 

 Atlantic Track Agreement was shifting to the eastbound track A on 

 that date, and to westbound track A on the 21st. 



