Report of the International Ice Patrol in the North Atlantic. 1983 Season Bulletin Number 69

• Other Authors: COAST GUARD WASHINGTON DC
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1983
• Subjects: Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Snow; Ice and Permafrost; Surface Transportation and Equipment; *SEA ICE; *OCEANOGRAPHY; *ICEBERGS; SHIPPING; COAST GUARD; SIDE LOOKING RADAR; *ICEBERG DETECTION; INTERNATIONAL ICE PATROL SERVICE; NORTH ATLANTIC; NEWFOUNDLAND; GANDER(NEWFOUNDLAND); SLAR(SIDE LOOKING AIRBORNE RADAR); AN/APS-135; ICE RECONNAISSANCE; Lanes; Newfoundland; Ice; Labrador Sea; North Atlantic; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA259815; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA259815

From 28 February to 27 August 1983, the International Ice Patrol (IIP), an office of the U.S. Coast Guard, conducted the International Ice Patrol Service, which has been provided annually since the sinking of the RMS TITANIC on April 15, 1912. During the past years, Coast Guard ships and/or aircraft have patrolled the shipping lanes off Newfoundland within the area 40 deg N-52 deg N, 39 deg W-57 deg W, detecting icebergs and warning mariners of these hazards. Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR), was introduced into Ice Patrol duty during the 1983 season. It proved to be an excellent tool for the detection of both icebergs and sea ice, and provided 97 percent of the 1983 iceberg sightings. The iceberg population was greater than normal this year due, in part, to lower than normal temperatures recorded throughout Newfoundland and Labrador which hindered the melting process of the sea ice and extended its limits farther south. A combination of northerly winds in the Labrador Sea combined with generally southwesterly and westerly winds off the Newfoundland coast also hindered the breakup of the sea ice, which protected the icebergs, allowing them to drift farther south and in larger numbers.