Labrador coast. While conducting 

 eight cross-shelf oceanographic 

 transects along the Labrador coast to 

 the northern tip of Labrador, they found 

 no sea ice along the Labrador coast. 

 Their iceberg survey was somewhat 

 hampered by poor visibility, so they 

 believed that they did not conduct a 

 very good iceberg census. From their 

 discussions with natives and mariners, 

 the ice season along the Labrador 

 coast was light and there were 

 prevailing onshore winds. 



1 940 and 1 941 : The early World 

 War II years of 1940 and 1941 were 

 each very light iceberg seasons, in 

 both cases two icebergs were 

 estimated to have passed south of 

 48°N (in the original IIP annual 

 reports). In 1940, the southernmost 

 glacial ice was seen at 47°42'N at the 

 end of May. During these years, the 

 usually extensive reporting network of 

 transatlantic ships was largely absent. 

 War disrupted customary transatlantic 

 commerce, and most vessels, out of 

 fear for their safety, did not provide 

 radio reports of their position, course, 

 speed, ice and environmental 

 conditions. In neither year was it 

 necessary to inaugurate a continuous 

 surface vessel patrol. However, in both 

 years, the General Greene carried out 

 oceanographic measurements. Due to 

 the lack of the normal surface patrol, 

 they focused their attention on 

 southern areas of the Grand Banks and 

 the offshore branch of the Labrador 

 Current. In 1940, General Greene 

 found the Labrador Current had 

 decidedly warmer minimum SSTs than 

 normal, and surface waters on the 

 Grand Banks were warmer than 

 normal. In early July, a vessel reported 

 many icebergs and growlers near the 



Strait of Belle Isle. Ice Patrol's annual 

 report in 1941 suggests that Grand 

 Banks sea temperatures were warmer 

 than normal; however, there were 

 insufficient SST data to draw charts. 

 [Considering the risky operating 

 environment, General Greene's 

 presence on the Grand Banks in 1941 

 is a testament to the value IIP placed 

 on oceanographic measurements. In 

 fact, the General Greene served 

 another role in May of that year when 

 she picked up two lifeboats and 29 

 men from the Marconi, a steamer that 

 had been torpedoed.] 



1951: By the beginning of the 

 1951 iceberg season, the reporting 

 network of volunteer ships had long 

 since been re-established and Ice 

 Patrol had been using aerial 

 reconnaissance for several years. It 

 was an extraordinary year, even 

 among the ten extraordinarily light 

 years of this review. Records from 

 Argentia, Newfoundland and Goose 

 Bay, Labrador show that the winter of 

 1950-1951 was one of the mildest on 

 record with respect to snow and 

 temperature. In February, aerial 

 reconnaissance located few icebergs in 

 the pack ice. In March, a series of 

 easterly gales substantially reduced the 

 areal extent of sea ice, which prior to 

 that had been slightly less extensive 

 than normal. The surface patrol 

 vessels were placed on extended 

 stand-by. Due in part to continued 

 easterly winds, the April sea ice extent 

 was well less than normal. An early 

 April reconnaissance flight showed 

 very meager (six small icebergs and 

 several growlers) iceberg populations 

 up to 56°N. Further reconnaissance in 

 the Strait of Belle Isle showed only five 

 icebergs and growlers. In all, six 



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