Ice Conditions 

 1986 Season 



October - November 1985: No 



sea ice was seen south of 65°N 

 during these two months (Figures 

 8 and 9), however, sea ice forma- 

 tion was at or ahead of normal 

 north of 65°N, due to below 

 normal temperatures (Table 5). 

 There were no icebergs added to 

 plot south of 52°N in October or 

 November. 



December 1985: By mid- 

 December (Figure 10), under the 

 influence of continued below 

 normal temperatures, Ungava 

 Bay, Hudson and Davis Straits 

 and the Labrador coast all showed 

 9-10 tenths coverage with new 

 and young ice. Some sea ice 

 formation was also taking place in 

 the bays and coves of the northern 

 Gulf of St. Lawrence. Consoli- 

 dated first year ice extended as far 

 south as Resolution Island in 

 Hudson Strait. There were no 

 icebergs added to plot south of 

 52°N in December. 



January 1986: Mid-January 

 showed the advance of new/young 

 ice to the northern Avalon Penin- 

 sula in eastern Newfoundland 

 (Figure 11). The boundary of first 

 year ice was virtually unchanged 

 from mid-December. There were 

 no icebergs added to plot south of 

 52°N in January. 



February 1986: Under the influ- 

 ence of a strong northerly flow in 

 February (Figure 2), the sea ice 

 advanced south along the Labra- 

 dor coast and first year ice 

 reached alnrwst to the Avalon 

 Peninsula by mid-month (Figure 

 12). Six icebergs were added to 

 plot south of 52°N in February, 3 

 of which were south of 48°N. 



March 1986: The ice edge 

 continued to advance south 

 (Figure 13), with a tongue of 9-10 

 tenths first year ice extending out 

 to the vicinity of Flemish Pass by 

 mid-March. The westerly flow 

 over the region produced areas of 

 somewhat lighter sea ice concen- 

 tration along the east coasts of 

 Baffin Island, Labrador and 

 Newfoundland. During March, 42 

 icebergs were added to plot south 

 of 52°N, 40 of which were south of 

 48°N. The high proportion south 

 of 48°N was caused by icebergs 

 being carried south and east of the 

 ice pack by the Labrador Current. 

 The 1986 International Ice Patrol 

 season opened on March 27 

 (Figure 19). 



April 1986: The sea ice deterio- 

 rated and retreated along the 

 Labrador and Newfoundland 

 coasts during April (Figure 14), 

 normally a month of continued sea 

 ice development in the area. This 

 retreat was caused by the warm 

 conditions and southerly flow 

 (Figure 4) described previously. 

 During April, 60 icebergs were 

 added to plot south of 52°N, all of 

 which were south of 48°N. At mid- 

 month, the main concentration of 

 icebergs on plot at IIP was in 

 Flemish Pass and across the 

 northern half of the Grand Bank 

 (Figure 20). By April 30, icebergs 

 were widely distributed across the 

 area south of 48°N (Figure 21). 



May 1986: The ice edge contin- 

 ued to retreat in May and by mid- 

 month, the Strait of Belle Isle was 

 ice-free (Figure 15). Of the 74 

 icebergs added to plot south of 

 52°N in May, 59 were south of 

 48°N, the most icebergs south of 

 that latitude for any month in 

 1986. The southernmost iceberg 

 of the 1986 season was on May 

 10 at position 41° 06'N 48°06'W. 

 By May 1 6 (Figure 22), fewer ice- 

 bergs were seen on the Grand 

 Bank and south of Flemish Pass, 

 while the number north of 48°N 

 had increased. On May 30 

 (Figure 23), only 7 icebergs 

 remained south of 48°N and the 

 total number of icebergs on plot 

 had greatly decreased since mid- 

 month. 



June 1986: The ice edge was 

 north of Goose Bay by mid-June 

 and continuing to retreat (Figure 

 16). With 151 icebergs added to 

 plot, June was the heaviest month 

 for new icebergs, but only 24 new 

 icebergs were south of 48°N. At 

 mid-month, the only icebergs 

 remaining south of 48°N were 

 concentrated along the Newfound- 

 land coast near Cape Race 

 (Figure 24). On June 30, no ice- 

 bergs remained south of 48'"N 

 (Figure 25). 



July - September 1986: The ice 

 edge continued to retreat in July 

 and August (Figures 17 and 18) 

 and by mid-September, there was 

 no sea ice south of 65°N. There 

 were no icebergs reported south 

 of 48°N during July, August and 

 September.. The 1986 Interna- 

 tional Ice Patrol season closed on 

 July 3 (Figure 26). 



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