Although the location of the mid- 

 May southern ice limit was near normal, 

 the areal extent of sea ice in east 

 Newfoundland waters was more extensive 

 than normal. The amount of ice declined 

 during the second half of May, but the 

 retreat of the southern ice edge was about 

 a week behind normal. Sea ice continued 

 to stream southward from Labrador's south 

 coast to the vicinity of the Strait of Belle 

 Isle. During the third week, a period of 

 east winds moved a substantial amount of 

 ice into the strait. 



An estimated 308 icebergs drifted 

 south of 48''N in May, while the average for 

 the month is 146. Although the mid-May 

 southern iceberg limits were between 

 extreme and the 25'^ percentile, the density 

 of icebergs south of 45°N declined 

 substantially from April's. The eastern 

 LAKI remained at the 25'" percentile. By 

 the end of the month, the southern LAKI 

 moved northward to 44°N and was 

 between median and the 75"" percentile. 

 The eastern LAKI was at the 25"" percentile 

 due to an isolated growler far to the east of 

 the closest iceberg. 



On 28 May, the easternmost iceberg 

 seen during the 2002 ice season was a 

 growler seen by the National Ice Center at 

 46°12'Nand41°52'W. 



In the 102-year record of the 

 number of icebergs that pass south of 

 48°N, May is usually the busiest month of 

 the ice season. In 2002, April (316 

 icebergs) had the most icebergs passing 

 south of 48°N for the year, but, at 308, 

 May was not very far behind. 



June 



By early June there was no 

 significant sea ice south of 52°N. The 

 southern ice edge began its slow retreat up 

 the Labrador coast at a pace about one to 



two weeks behind normal. Starting 20 

 June 2002 the Strait of Belle Isle was again 

 recommended for shipping. 



Although the number of icebergs 

 south of 48°N declined substantially during 

 early June, the southern LAKI surged 

 southward over a two week period. By 

 mid-June it was at 41 "N, which is near the 

 extreme, while the eastern limit was 

 between the median and the 25'" 

 percentile. In the second half of the month 

 there was a dramatic reduction in the 

 number of icebergs south of 48^N. On 30 

 June there were only 15 icebergs south of 

 48°N, but they were widely distributed. 

 Two were well south of the Tail of the 

 Bank, holding the southern limit south of 

 40°N, an extreme position for the date. 

 The eastern LAKI was also being held at 

 39°W, also an extreme position. 



The easternmost estimated iceberg 

 position for the year was at 46°18.6'N and 

 39°37.2'W on 1 June 2002. In June, Ice 

 Patrol estimated that 64 icebergs passed 

 south of 48°N, below the monthly average 

 of 86. 



July and August 



Throughout July the southern sea 

 ice edge retreated northward along the 

 Labrador coast at a pace that was a week 

 or two slower than normal. In early July, 

 the number of icebergs south of 48°N and 

 the extent of southern LAKI declined 

 precipitously. By 5 July, the southern LAKI 

 was at 46'N and there were five icebergs 

 south of 48 'N. However, there remained a 

 large population of icebergs north of 

 Newfoundland, with most near the 

 entrance of the Strait of Belle Isle or 

 between St. Anthony and Cape Freels. 

 Throughout the remainder of July and 

 August these icebergs disintegrated in 

 place. 



21 



