particularly in southern Labrador where 

 Goose Bay experienced an average air 

 temperature nearly seven degrees below 

 normal. This accelerated sea ice 

 expansion, and by month's end the 

 southern ice edge reached 50°N, about a 

 week later than normal. Beginning 20 

 January the Strait of Belle Isle was not 

 recommended for transatlantic marine 

 traffic due to ice conditions 



Two CIS reconnaissance flights in 

 late January found a small iceberg 

 population along the Labrador coast from 

 52 N to nearly 60°N. They located 59 

 visually confirmed icebergs, 22 radar 

 targets and 18 growlers/bergy bits, mostly 

 in the sea ice. No icebergs passed south 

 of 48°N during the month. 



February 



Although air temperatures in 

 southern Labrador and Newfoundland 

 moderated somewhat in early February, 

 they continued to be lower than normal. 

 The sea ice continued its rapid expansion, 

 and by mid-month the southern ice edge 

 reached the latitude of Baccalieu Island, 

 which is near the northernmost point of the 

 Avalon Peninsula. The southern extent 

 was close to normal and the eastern edge 

 was less than normal. Thus, despite the 

 slow start in early January, the ice extent 

 recovered to near normal conditions by 

 mid-February. In general, ice thickness 

 was less than normal. 



Air temperatures continued their 

 moderating trend in the last half of 

 February, particularly in Newfoundland, 

 where the mean temperature was well 

 above normal for the two week period. 

 Both the southern and eastern ice edges 

 retreated, the southern to the latitude of 

 Cape Bonavista. Periods of west and 

 southwest winds created a shore lead from 



St. John's to the vicinity of Fogo Island. 



On 30 January, Ice Patrol deployed 

 its pre-season Ice Reconnaissance 

 Detachment to Canada. The intent of the 

 IRD was to monitor the progress of the 

 icebergs toward the Grand Banks and help 

 determine the start date for the season. A 

 reconnaissance flight on 4 February 

 focused on the area immediately seaward 

 of the ice edge from 52°N to 59°N to 

 complement the late January CIS flights. 

 They found a small population of nine 

 icebergs and four radar targets off northern 

 Labrador. When combined with the results 

 of the late January CIS flights and several 

 iceberg reports from ships, the early 

 February iceberg distribution (Figure 18) 

 shows a sparse population of icebergs 

 from the north Newfoundland coast to 

 northern Labrador. 



On 19 February, Ice Patrol formally 

 opened the 2002 ice season. Throughout 

 the month, the Limits of All Known Ice 

 remained in the northern part of the Grand 

 Banks and did not extend eastward into 

 Flemish Pass. Ice Patrol estimated that 16 

 icebergs passed south of 48°N during 

 February, nearly average for the month. 



March 



Near normal March air temperatures 

 in Newfoundland resulted in a re-advance 

 of the southern ice edge during the first 

 three weeks of the month. A brief period of 

 west and southwest winds early in the 

 month caused the development a short- 

 lived shore lead about 20 to 30 miles wide 

 along the north coast of Newfoundland. 

 This lead closed at the end of the first 

 week of March. By the end of the third 

 week, the southern ice edge attained its 

 maximum extent for 2002, reaching the 

 vicinity of 47°N, 47°W. During the last 

 week of March the ice edge began a 



18 



