BIRDS EYE 5-66, 12-22 JULY 1966.

• Main Author: Bourn, M. F.
• Other Authors: NAVAL OCEANOGRAPHIC OFFICE NSTL STATION MS
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1966
• Subjects: Meteorology; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; (*ICE; ARCTIC REGIONS); (*WEATHER FORECASTING; ARCTIC OCEAN); MARINE METEOROLOGY; SEA ICE; ICE ISLANDS; SEA WATER; DISTRIBUTION; SOURCES; ALASKA; COASTAL REGIONS; PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORDING SYSTEMS; POLAR REGIONS; TERRAIN; CLIMATE; DIURNAL VARIATIONS; AERIAL RECONNAISSANCE; PLAN POSITION INDICATORS; BIRDS EYE PROJECT; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Chukchi Sea; Arctic Basin; Chukchi; Ice; laptev; permafrost; Sea ice; Spitzbergen; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/AD0804997; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=AD0804997

Data collected by ice observers during Naval Oeanographic Office polar research flights known as BIRDS EYE missions are contained in this report covering the fifth mission of 1966. The ice data include distribution, stages of development, topography, types of water openings, and ice boundaries. Ridge counts provide geographic distribution, number, and height of topographic features. Water opening data include the number, width, and orientation of water openings. The overall percentage of effectiveness of the mission is included as an evaluation table. BIRDS EYE 5-66 was conducted during daylight hours. Concentrations across the Arctic Basin were generally nine to ten tenths with much lighter concentrations near the Alaskan coastal areas. Stages of development within the Arctic Basin were predominantly polar ice with thick winter prevalent in the Chukchi Sea and in the Spitzbergen area. Evidence of recent pressure was rarely observed. Puddling on polar ice was generally two to three tenths; winter ice was in an advanced stage of disintegration. Low clouds and precipitation generally restricted flight altitudes to less than 1,000 feet. Special ice features and arctic airport approaches were photographed for training and familiarization of new personnel. BIRDS EYE flight tracks are generally repeated over the same areas to maintain continuity. The tracks cover the Arctic Basin and penetrate all the bordering waters with the exception of the Laptev and Kara Seas. The aircraft is a specially configured Super Constellation manned by the Oceanographic Air Survey Unit based at the Naval Air Station, Patuxent River, Maryland. (Author)