_=--=© 



Figure 21. Median ice concentrations for 29 January. (Map 

 courtesy of CIS.) 



conditions from December through February 

 and the stormy January caused the 2004 

 progression of the sea ice to be far from the 

 predictions of the seasonal forecast. (CIS, 

 2003) 



No icebergs passed south of 48°N 

 during February; the average for the month is 

 15. 



March 



Normal air temperatures returned to the 

 region in March. On 2 March, the southern ice 

 edge reached Fogo Island, where it remained 

 until the last week of the month. The passage 

 of two potent low-pressure systems, one on 7-8 

 March and the other on 13 March, brought 

 strong onshore winds to northeast 

 Newfoundland waters. This pushed the sea ice 

 westward and compressed it along 

 Newfoundland's Northern Arm. During the 

 last week of March, west and north winds 

 loosened the ice pack, created a wide shore lead 

 along the Northern Arm, and drove the 

 southern ice edge to its southernmost 2004 

 position, approximately the latitude of Cape 

 Bonavista. In a normal year, the southern ice 

 edge spends most of March near the latitude of 

 St John's, which is over 75 nm farther south. 

 At month's end, the eastern ice edge was much 



closer to shore than normal. It 

 extended approximately 80 nm 

 offshore of Cape Freels. The normal 

 position of the eastern ice edge at the 

 end of March is about 80 nm farther 

 east. 



In early March, aerial and 

 surface iceberg reconnaissance 

 markedly changed the iceberg- 

 population picture. Up to this point, 

 the reconnaissance had been sporadic 

 and had found very few icebergs. 

 From 4 to 7 March, four 

 reconnaissance flights (three by CIS 

 and one by IIP) and a series of 

 surface reports from the Canadian 

 icebreaker CCGS Henry Lcirsen 

 documented the iceberg population 

 from 48°N to 60°N. The CIS flights 

 found 358 icebergs from 51°N to 60°N and 

 CCGS Henry Lcirsen found 21 icebergs within 



CanatS 



Figure 22. Sea-ice distribution in east- 

 Newfoundland waters on 29 January 2004. (Map 

 courtesy of CIS.) 



17 



