DATA COLLECTION AND DISSEMINATION 



During the 1981 Ice Patrol Season (1 September 

 1980-31 August 1981) 129 aircraft sorties were 

 flown in support of tlie International Ice Patrol. 

 These included preseason surveys, ice observation 

 flights, and logistics flights. Preseason flights 

 determined iceberg concentrations north of 48 

 degrees latitude. These were necessary to estimate 

 the time when icebergs would threaten the North 

 Atlantic shipping lanes in the vicinity of the Grand 

 Banks. During the active season, ice observation 

 flights mapped the southwestern, southern, and 

 southeastern limits of icebergs. Logistic flights 

 were necessary for aircraft maintenance. Table 2 

 shows aircraft utilization during the 1981 season. 



U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft, deployed from 

 either Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, 

 North Carolina, or Coast Guard Air Station Clear- 

 water, Florida, conducted aerial ice recon- 

 naissance. These aircraft operated from St. John's 

 Newfoundland. 



As in the past, the Ice Patrol Office requested all 

 ships to report ice sightings, weather, and sea sur- 



face temperatures to U.S. Coast Guard com- 

 munications stations. Response to this request was 

 good, as shown in Table 3. Appendix B lists all of 

 the contributors. The ten most frequent con- 

 tributors of this information were: 



U.S. Coast Guard Communications Station 

 NMF/NIK Boston, MA was the primary radio sta- 

 tion used for the dissemination of the daily ice 

 bulletin and facsimile chart. The Ice Patrol Office 

 in New York prepared the bulletin and chart and 

 sent it to numerous radio stations for broadcast to 

 mariners. 



