Although sea ice arrived somewhat 

 earlier than normal in east Newfoundland 

 waters, the maximum southern extent, 

 eastern extent, and thickness were less 

 than normal for 2000. A large shore lead 

 formed in mid-April and persisted 

 throughout the sea ice retreat from east 

 Newfoundland waters, which proceeded 

 two to three weel<s ahead of normal. The 

 pre-season sea ice forecast proved to be 

 accurate for the early part of the season, 

 including the progress of the ice edge to 

 the Avalon Peninsula. However, the 

 warmer than normal air temperatures 

 caused a less extensive sea ice distribution 

 and earlier retreat than predicted. 



Icebergs arrived on the Grand 

 Banks in March, a month later than normal. 

 However, the first two months of the 

 season were the busiest for IIP, with over 

 60% of the season's icebergs passing 

 south of 48-N in March and April. The 

 normal pattern is one of a steady monthly 

 increase in the number of icebergs passing 

 south of 48°N, building to a maximum in 

 May, after which it declines (Figure 18). 

 This pattern is evident in both the entire IIP 

 record (1900-2000) and the era of modern 



airborne radar reconnaissance (1983- 

 2000). 



Classifying the severity of the 2000 

 iceberg season is not straightforward. 

 Indeed, there are several ways to classify 

 iceberg season severity. The simplest and 

 most popular indicator uses the number of 

 icebergs that pass south of 48'N. Ice 

 Patrol estimated that 843 icebergs passed 

 south of 48N in 2000, which is well above 

 the mean of 479 for the 1900 to 2000 

 period. This places the 2000 iceberg 

 season in the extreme category according 

 to the iceberg season severity classes 

 developed by Trivers (1994). However, 

 fewer icebergs passed south of 48^N than 

 the mean for the modern reconnaissance 

 era, which is 1005. Season length, which 

 measures the number of days IIP provided 

 formal ice warnings to mariners, is also a 

 useful indicator of season seventy. The 

 2000 iceberg season length was 162 days, 

 which according to Trivers (1994) classifies 

 it as an average length season. Thus, 

 overall, the 2000 season should be viewed 

 as having been an average season, rather 

 than extreme. 



<0 

 0) 



n 

 u 



350 

 300 

 250 

 200 

 150 

 100 

 50 



4— r 



-2000 Season 

 ■Mean (1900-2000) 

 Mean (1983-2000) 







^^ 



^^ 



Month 



v5- 



^^^ 



/ 



Figure 18. The distribution by month of the number of icebergs that passed south of 

 48 N for the 2000 season, the mean for the entire IIP record (1900-2000). and the mean 

 for the era of modern airborne radar reconnaissance (1983-2000). 



20 



