Discussion of Ice Conditions 



September ■ December 1981 



No sea ice formed south of 65° N during tfie montfis of 

 September and October. Due to above normal air 

 temperatures and precipitation during the last quarter of 

 1982, the formation of sea ice along the coast was later 

 than normal. By the end of November, the ice had extended 

 only down along the Labrador coast to the northern shores 

 of Frobisher Bay, with some isolated ice forming around 

 Cape Chidley (Figure 1). The sea ice continued to move 

 southward during December. At the end of the month, the 

 ice edge began at Cape St. Francis and extended in a 

 northwesterly direction, about 100 miles off the eastern 

 shores of Newfoundland and Labrador (Figure 2). 



January ■ February 1982 



January was a quiet month for iceberg activity. As in- 

 dicated in Figures 3 and 4, sea ice concentrations con- 

 tinued to increase along the Newfoundland and Labrador 

 coasts as temperatures dropped below normal (see Table 

 4). Although the southern limit of the sea ice receded slight- 

 ly during January, the density of the pack increased con- 

 siderably as several major storms passed through the area 

 bringing high winds and record low temperatures. By 23 

 February, the ice edge had moved southward to 47° N. 

 Commander, International Ice Patrol received iceberg 

 sighting reports from several ships but they were all north 

 of 53°50'N. 



March 1982 



Ice Patrol reconnaissance flights were flown on the 2"^, 

 11"! and 12"i of the month. North of 48°N, IIP observed 

 icebergs approaching the Grand Banks area. Therefore, the 

 regular Ice Patrol season was opened on 13 March. Ten 

 more reconnaissance flights were flown over the course of 

 the month. 156 icebergs were sighted during the month, 17 

 of which drifted below 48°N. By the end of the month, 87 

 icebergs remained on computer plot. Figures 11 and 12 

 show the estimated iceberg concentration on the 15"^ and 

 30"^ of the month, respectively. Cold temperatures per- 

 sisted in Newfoundland and Labrador, with temperatures 

 ranging from 1 ° to 4°C below normal in most areas, and the 

 sea ice continued to move south as illustrated in Figure 5. 



April 1982 



The sea ice began to retreat northward while at the same 

 time it extended farther eastward than any other time this 

 year (Figure 6). Temperatures for Labrador and New- 

 foundland remained below normal. An estimated 61 

 icebergs drifted south of 48 °N which is below average for 

 April (see Table 1). The iceberg conditions on 15 and 30 

 April are shown in Figures 13 and 14, respectively, and by 

 the end of the month, only 37 icebergs remained on com- 

 puter plot. 



May 1982 



The sea ice continued it's northward retreat this month 

 as the weather remained wet and unsettled over New- 

 foundland and Labrador. By the end of the month, the coast 

 of Newfoundland was nearly ice-free (Figure 7). The 

 southern limit of icebergs also receded slightly, and by the 

 end of the month, the eastern limit of icebergs had moved 

 significantly to the west (Figures 15 and 16). On 31 May, 121 

 icebergs were on computer plot. 



June 1982 



Sea ice continued to move northward (Figure 8); however, 

 the unseasonably cold temperatures in Labrador during 

 April and May did not help melt the southward drifting 

 icebergs. The southern limit returned to below 45°N on 15 

 June (Figure 17). This month saw the greatest amount of 

 berg activity south of 48°N this year, with 94 bergs drifting 

 south of that parallel before the month's end (Table 1). By 

 30 June, the southern limit of iceberg activity was up above 

 46°N (Figure 18) and there were 115 active bergs on plot on 

 30 June. 



July 1982 



The sea ice continued its retreat northward and, by July 

 27"^, the sea ice had retreated north of 58 °N with most of 

 the pack north of 61 "N (Figure 9). The estimated southern 

 limit of known icebergs also started to move to the north. 

 Only 3 icebergs drifted south of 48°N during July. The 

 northward migration of the southern limit of icebergs al- 

 lowed the International Ice Patrol to concentrate more of 

 its reconnaissance flights north of 50''N. Consequently, IIP 

 sighted a large number of icebergs between 50°N and 52°N 

 (Figures 19 and 20). By the end of the month, there were 87 

 active icebergs remaining on computer plot. 



August - September 1982 



By 24 August, all sea ice south of 65°N had melted, with 

 the exception of an area of 1-3 tenths concentration along 

 the Labrador coast at 62°N (Figure 10). Iceberg activity 

 south of 52°N continued to decline (Figures 21 and 22) and 

 no icebergs were recorded drifting south of 48°N during the 

 month. Commander, International Ice Patrol felt the 

 iceberg threat to ships transiting the Grand Banks area had 

 lessened enough to discontinue Ice Patrol reconnaissance 

 flights for 1982 and the final reconnaissance flight was 

 made on 26 August 1982. The 1982 season was officially 

 closed on 2 September, with 23 icebergs still on computer 

 plot. Commander, International Ice Patrol continued to 

 receive iceberg reports during September, but none of 

 these icebergs posed a significant threat to Grand Banks 

 ship traffic. These sightings were forwarded to Ice Central 

 Ottawa, Canada which broadcast the information to North 

 Atlantic mariners. 



