February 



During the first half of February a group of twenty icebergs was 

 reported by the USCGC DUANE enroute Ocean Station BRAVO. The southern- 

 most of these was at 49-12N 48-34W on 8 February. Due to the presence 

 of icebergs this far south, preseason iceberg reconnaissance flights 

 were conducted 15-25 February, a week earlier than usual. Only four 

 of the five scheduled tracks were flown due to mechanical difficulties 

 on the aircraft. The results of this survey are shown in figure 3. 

 Iceberg counts in the area between Hamilton Inlet and Hudson Strait 

 were slightly more than half the 1963-71 average of 320 icebergs. The 

 counts south of Hamilton Inlet were more than twice the 1963-71 average 

 of 79. The latitudinal iceberg distribution is illustrated graphically 

 in figure 4. The southernmost iceberg during the preseason flight was 

 sighted on 17 February at 47-58N 47-17W. On the basis of the above, the 

 Ice Reconnaissance Detachment was deployed to CF!B Summerside, Prince 

 Edward Island on 28 February and the 1972 Ice Season began officially on 

 29 February. It was estimated that a total of 40 icebergs drifted south 

 of 48N during February as compared to 4 in a normal year. The southernmost 

 berg in February reached a position of 44-52N 48-33W while the easternmost 

 was at 46-43N 42-llW. Almost constant northwesterly winds and below normal 

 temperatures combined with the Labrador current to cause a rapid south- 

 eastern spreading of the pack ice. The southernmost extension of sea ice 

 varied between the latitude of Cape Race (46-40N) and 46N; the easternmost 

 extension reached 46-20W. The outer 50 miles of pack ice and the area 20 

 to 50 miles off the coast of Newfoundland, south of Cape Freels consisted 

 largely of close to open pack grey-white and grey ice with a few first 

 year floes. North of 50-30N the pack consisted of mostly first year ice. 



March 



By early March, heavy sea ice extended well below Cape Race to near 

 46N and eastward in a east-northeast direction to about 200 to 250 miles 

 offshore paralleling the Newfoundland coast northward, more than 100 

 miles beyond any known extreme. South of 48°N most of the ice was in 

 the new and grey stages while farther north, grey-white and first year 

 close to very close pack ice predominated. The sea ice was so heavy on 

 the western coast of Newfoundland that 36 vessels were trapped in the 

 vicinity of Cabot Strait during 3 to 6 March. There were no flights by 

 the ice reconnaissance detachment during the first 9 days of March due 

 to both poor weather and aircraft mechanical difficulties. During the 

 next three days consecutive flights located a total of 72 icebergs, 

 13 growlers and 32 radar targets as shown in figure 5. The westerly 

 winds during the previous two weeks and the heavy sea ice along the 

 Newfoundland coast account for the grouping in the eastern portions of 

 the search areas. 



