Historical record of sea ice and iceberg distribution around Newfoundland and Labrador 1810-1958

• Main Author: Hill, B.
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: National Research Council of Canada. Institute for Marine Dynamics 1998
• Subjects: sea ice; iceberg; chart; Newfoundland; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/eng/view/object/?id=c5127d69-b1cc-4f63-abc9-d108790a6fd2; https://nrc-publications.canada.ca/fra/voir/objet/?id=c5127d69-b1cc-4f63-abc9-d108790a6fd2

This study is an attempt to create representative historic ice charts off the east coast of Newfoundland for the winter months, January to April, on an annual basis for as long as records exist. Earlier work (Hill & Jones, 1990) had suggested a possible correlation between solar activity and the March ice extent for years 1920 to 1988. No such correlation could be found for the years 1860 to 1920 and this left some doubt as to the veracity and consistency of the older ice records. While established ice records had been used after 1920, ice indices from a variety of sources and authors had been used prior to that year. The search for ice information from original sources, therefore, was begun with emphasis on the years preceding 1920. As one might expect, the further one goes back in history, the scantier the records become. Although the earliest recorded sighting of ice found is in 1527, it is only from 1810 that we have mention of ice on an annual basis, and even then there are years with little information. NRC publication: Yes