Iceberg Reconnaissance & Oceanographic Operations 



Reconnaissance Operations 



International Ice Patrol formally 

 begins its seasonal ice observation and Ice 

 Patrol service when icebergs threaten 

 primary shipping routes between Europe 

 and North America. This usually occurs in 

 February and extends through July, but Ice 

 Patrol commences operations when 

 iceberg conditions dictate. The 1992 

 season, the longest on record, ran for 203 

 days from 7 March through 26 September. 

 Except during unusually heavy ice years, 

 the Grand Banks of Newfoundland are 

 normally iceberg free from August through 

 January. 



IIP utilizes a U. S. Coast Guard 

 C-130 long-range aircraft equipped with a 

 Motorola AN/APS-135 Side-Looking 

 Airborne Radar and a Texas Instruments 

 AN/APS-137 Forward-looking Airborne 



Radar to conduct iceberg 



reconnaissance. Reconnaissance flights 

 are made on the average of five days 

 every other week during the ice season. 

 U. S. Coast Guard aircraft are the 

 primary means of detecting icebergs that 

 form the limit of all known ice. When 

 iceberg reconnaissance is not being 

 conducted, IIP relies on computer 

 modeling to predict iceberg drift and 

 deterioration and determine the LAKI. 



The Ice Reconnaissance 

 Detachment is a sub-unit under 

 Commander, International Ice Patrol with 

 U. S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth 

 City providing the aircraft platform. The 

 IRD is deployed to observe and report 

 ice and oceanographic conditions on the 

 Grand Banks of Newfoundland. 

 Oceanographic observations are used 

 for operational and research purposes. 



FLAR & SLAR Radar Coverage 



SLAR 



30 NM track spacing provides 200% radar coverage of search area 



30 NM 

 tracl< spacing 



Figure 8. Radar reconnaissance plan. 

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