The LAKI continued to expand in 

 early April, and by mid month (page 33) the 

 southern limit was between the 25th 

 percentile and the extreme and the east 

 was between the median and the 25th 

 percentile. For the remainder of April the 

 LAKI remained in approximately the same 

 position, with the southern LAKI position 

 near the 25th percentile and the eastern 

 limit at the median. 



The easternmost estimated iceberg 

 position for the year was at 45°08.4' N and 

 43°20.0' W on 19 April 2003. In April, 263 

 icebergs passed south of 48°N, over twice 

 the April monthly average of 121 icebergs. 



May 



With the exception of the third week, 

 Newfoundland and southern Labrador 

 experienced near normal air temperatures 

 in May, resulting in a normal retreat of the 

 sea ice (Canadian Ice Service, 2003). The 

 anomalous temperatures in the third week 

 were mixed with respect to location, with 

 St. John's experiencing slightly lower than 

 normal temperatures and northern 

 Newfoundland and southern Labrador 

 warmer than normal conditions. 



During the first week of the month, 

 the offshore winds that prevailed in May 

 continued, keeping the main ice pack well 

 off shore. This changed dramatically in the 

 middle of the month with the passage of a 

 intense low pressure system on 11-13 

 May. This storm brought strong (-35 kt) 

 east winds to the region, packing the 

 remaining ice against Newfoundland's 

 Northern Arm and southern Labrador 

 coast. By the last week of May, the 

 southern ice edge had retreated to the 

 Strait of Belle Isle, which is near normal. 



By mid May, the southern LAKI 

 moved southward to a position between 

 the 25th percentile and the extreme for the 



date, while the eastern limit remained near 

 the median. Both the southern and eastern 

 LAKI remained stable for the remainder of 

 the month. Although the day to day 

 numbers fluctuate somewhat due to 

 reconnaissance and predicted iceberg 

 melt, throughout most of May IIP was 

 tracking a steady population of 

 approximately 250 icebergs south of 48°N. 



On 5 May, the IIP reconnaissance 

 airplane dropped a satellite-tracked beacon 

 on a 250 m by 100 m fragment of an ice 

 island located at 46°52.4' N, 47°56.6' W. 

 The 1 3 day iceberg track was used to test 

 HP's iceberg drift model (Appendix D). 



May was the busiest month of the 

 2003 iceberg season with 494 icebergs 

 estimated to have passed south of 48°N, 

 over three times the monthly average of 

 147. 



On 20 May, the easternmost iceberg 

 seen during the 2003 ice season was 

 found by IIP aerial reconnaissance at 

 47°52.2' N, 44°40.0' W. May was also the 

 month of the southernmost sighted and 

 estimated icebergs, both for the same 

 iceberg. On the 16th it was found at 

 40°16.2' N and 49°36.0' W by a merchant 

 vessel. Five days later, on the 21st, MP's 

 drift model estimated it to have reached 

 39°18.6' N and 48°47.4' W. 



June 



June was a month of remarkable 

 change in the iceberg conditions of east 

 Newfoundland waters. At the month's 

 outset, there was no significant sea ice 

 south of 52°N, and the southern ice edge 

 had begun its northward retreat up the 

 Labrador coast. Because of the absence 

 of sea ice in the Strait of Belle Isle, it was 

 again recommended for transatlantic 

 vessels beginning on June 3, 2003, 

 although there were numerous icebergs in 



20 



