backward in the Labrador Current at a rate of 7 

 miles per day (selected as the best average of sev- 

 eral estimates of the drift rate of icebergs along 

 the Labrador coast reported in the various Re- 

 ports of the International Ice Patrol Service in 

 the North Atlantic Ocean). The actual dates of 

 the "February" survey are given below : 

 27 February-4 March 1970 

 19-20 Febriiary 1969 

 27-28 February 1968 

 25-27 February 1967 

 9-10 February 1966 

 11 March 1965 

 26-28 February 1964 

 13-14 March 1963 



February iceberg concentrations along the Lab- 

 rador coast for the years 1963 through 1970 are 

 shown in figures 49 through 56 in icebergs per 

 two square degrees. Avei'age icebeig concentra- 

 tions for February are shown in figure 57. The 

 average chart and the chaits for the various years 

 indicate that icebergs extend as a band down the 

 Labrador coast with concentrations frequently oc- 

 curing near 57N to 58N, near 55N to 56N, and 

 near the Strait of Belle Isle. The average total 

 iceberg count south of Hudson Strait increases by 

 a factor of about 4 between mid-January and late 

 February, and by a factor of about 10 between 

 early December and late February. 



The correlation between the number of icebergs 

 south of 61N on the February survey and the 

 number of icebergs drifting south of 48 N is fair, 

 as shown in figure 58. The actual correlation co- 

 efficient is 0.61 using a least squares fit between 

 the two variables. 



The correlation between the northern boundary 

 of the southernmost one degree latitude interval 

 containing 10 icebergs on the February survey 

 and the date the first group of icebergs drift 



south of 48N is also given in figure 58. As indi- 

 cated by a correlation coefficient of 0.77 there is a 

 fairly good relationship between the southern ex- 

 tent of icebergs on the February flights and when 

 the icebergs will begin to drift south of 48N. The 

 average rate of drift which can be derived from 

 this relationship, based on a reasonable path of 

 iceberg drift, is 6.25 miles per day, a value in fair 

 agreement with the drift rate of 7 miles per day 

 estimated previously. 



Conclusion 



The primary purpose of this report has been to 

 present an analysis of the geographical distribu- 

 tion of icebergs in certain areas in the fall and 

 winter during the period 1963-70. Admittedly the 

 length of the record is quite short for such an 

 analysis. However it can be noted that the aver- 

 age number of icebergs drifting south of 48°N 

 onto the Grand Banks during the period 1963-70 

 is about 180 per season, not greatly below the 

 1946-70 average of 229. Also the 1963-70 period 

 has included a very heavy (441 icebergs) and a 

 very light (0 icebergs) season. In the course of 

 analyzing fall and winter iceberg distributions, 

 fair to good correlations between January and 

 February distributions and subsequent iceberg 

 conditions on the Grand Banks have been noted. 

 Further research should be directed toward an- 

 alysis of these January and February distribu- 

 tions in connection with other environmental pa- 

 rameters such as wind, temperature, and ocean 

 currents with a goal of developing accurate meth- 

 ods of forecasting the beginning, duration, and 

 severity of the iceberg season on the Grand 

 Banks. Meanwhile iceberg data collection in Jan- 

 uary and February should continue with the dates 

 of the surveys being stabilized, preferably cen- 

 tered on 15 January and 25 February. 



61 



