emphasized on all flights and "fixes" are made every 5 minutes in the ice 

 area by use of the plane's two Loran receiving sets. 



Ice observation officers from the staff of Commander, International 

 Ice Patrol accompany all flights. 



Monthly flight data for the season are given in Table 2. 



Table 2. — Aerial Ice Observation Statistics for the 1959 Ice Season 



1 Days on which possible to search visually at least 50<v of scouting area with 25-mile spacing between legs of flight 

 plan. 

 - Ratio of area actually searched visually to area of search pattern. 



COMMUNICATIONS 



Primary radio communications for the International Ice Patrol was 

 conducted by U.S. Coast Guard Radio Station (NIK) at Argentia, 

 Newfoundland. Throughout the season this station broadcast twice daily 

 ice advisory bulletins to shipping commencing at 0048 and 1248 Green- 

 wich mean times. Broadcasts were made simultaneously on loo, 5320 and 

 8502 kilocycles with a power output of 2 kilowatts. Each bulletin was 

 transmitted twice; first at 15 words per minute and repeated at 25 words 

 per minute. 



All broadcasts concluded with the request that all ships in the patrol 

 area report to NIK all ice sighted and sea temperatures and weather 

 conditions every 4 hours. The importance of such reports is highly re- 

 garded by Commander, International Ice Patrol. Significance of ice 

 reports is, of course, obvious and it should be here pointed out that the 

 major portion of all ice information collected by Commander Inter- 

 national Ice Patrol comes from shipping. From the sea temperature 

 reports are constructed isotherm charts which play an important role in 

 the evaluation of berg reports, prediction of berg drifts and estimating 

 ice deterioration. The response to the program this year was most grati- 

 fying. A greater number of sea temperatures were reported than during 

 any previous season in Ice Patrol history. Charts constructed from these 

 reports are included in this Bulletin as figures 1-9. 



From all reports collected a plot was maintained of shipping traversing 

 the Ice Patrol area. On this plot the main routes of travel were ascertained 

 and any ship observed standing into dangerous waters due to ice menace 

 was warned by radio. 



