Appendix D 



International Ice Patrol's Iceberg Sighting DataBase 



1960-1991 



lain Anderson 



Introduction 



International Ice Patrol has been ac- 

 tively collecting iceberg data in the vicinity of 

 the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and off the 

 coasts of Labradorand Greenland since 1913. 

 This paper concentrates on the period from 

 1 960 to present. The objectives of this paper 

 are to describe the iceberg sighting data for 

 the period 1960 to the present, describe how 

 the data was collected, the limitations of the 

 data set, and what the data set represents. 



In 1984, Ice Patrol placed all available 

 historical iceberg sighting information from the 

 original paper records into a computerized 

 format. The data covered the period from 

 1960 to 1982. The original sighting informa- 

 tion from the period prior to 1960 was no 

 longer available. Summaries of the sighting 

 information prior to 1960 is contained in the 

 International Ice Patrol bulletins (Alfultis, 1 987). 



Forexample, recently the scientific com- 

 munity has shown a renewed interest in the 

 International Ice Patrol's iceberg sighting data 

 base. This interest has been spurred by the 

 growing research into global warming and a 

 renewed interest in hydrocarbon production 

 off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Marko 

 et al. (1 991 ) and Davidson, et al. (1 986) have 

 used the Ice Patrol data base as part of their 

 research. There have also been numerous 

 efforts to predict the severity of the seasonal 

 variations of icebergs off Newfoundland (Ex- 

 amples: Schell (1961), Ebbesmeyer, et al. 

 (1980), Davidson, et al. (1986), and Walsh 

 (1 986)). The cautious reader might consider 

 a review of Kinsman (1957) before applying 

 the Ice Patrol database to another geophysi- 

 cal problem. 



The above studies have all used the Ice 

 Patrol data as the basis of their studies, but 

 there is a weak recognition of the subjectivity 

 of the Ice Patrol data set. Few authors have 



considered the importance of the subjectivity, 

 the implications of changing technology, or 

 most importantly, the nature of the Ice Patrol 

 mission itself. Although Davidson, et al. (1 986) 

 have more appreciation than most of the com- 

 plexity of the data set, even they do not con- 

 sider the significance of the nature of the IIP 

 mission itself. 



The International Ice Patrol Mission 



The U.S. Coast Guard conducts the 

 International Ice Patrol Service in the North 

 Atlantic under the provisions of U.S. Code, 

 Title 46, Sections 738, 738a through 738d, 

 andthe International Convention forthe Safety 

 of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, regulations 5 

 through 8. The above stipulate that the Inter- 

 national Ice Patrol Service be maintained "dur- 

 ing the whole ice season in guarding the 

 southeastern, southern, and southwestern lim- 

 its of the region of icebergs in the vicinity of the 

 Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and the patrol 

 shall inform trans-Atlantic and other passing 

 vessels by radio and such other means as are 

 available of the ice conditions andthe extent of 

 the dangerous region." 



The philosophy of Ice Patrol aerial re- 

 connaissance to accomplish the mandated 

 mission was described in the 1960 Ice Patrol 

 Bulletin. The philosophy as stated then and 

 repeated below holds true forthe entire period 

 covered by this paper. " Search areas are 

 determined by the degree and reliability of 

 available ice information overthe Grand Banks, 

 prevailing weather conditions of wind, sea, 

 and visibility, and the activity of the Labrador 

 Current. The primary objective (of Ice Patrol's 

 aerial reconnaissance) is to maintain accurate 

 information concerning the southwest, south- 

 ern, and southeastern limits of the ice. A 

 secondary objective is to fix the location of as 

 much ofthe ice within the limits as is consistent 

 with the accomplishment of the primary objec- 

 tive." 



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