U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment New York Fact Sheet

Date: January 4, 2005 Contact: (212) 668-7114

Ice Operations The purpose of the Ice Operations Program is to provide the United States the capability and resources necessary to carry out and support national interests in the polar regions, to facilitate the movement of maritime transportation (commerce) through ice laden domestic waters, to carry out the International Ice Patrol, and to assist other governmental and scientific organizations in the pursuit of marine science activities. The Ice Operations Program supports the performance of other Coast Guard programs in waters constrained by ice. Domestic icebreaking is normally conducted for search and rescue and other emergency situations, prevention of flooding caused by ice, and facilitation of navigation. Finally, the Coast Guard has been directed to assist in keeping open to navigation, in so far as practicable, channels and harbors per the reasonable demands of commerce. During peacetime, this form of icebreaking is done primarily to ensure a regular navigation season on the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence Seaway, and the northeast U.S. coast and to ensure commercial fishing fleets can enter and leave icebound transportation systems for strategic material movement. International Ice Patrol The Coast Guard has conducted the International Ice Patrol since 1913 in order to detect icebergs in North Atlantic shipping lanes and warn shipping accordingly. The Ice Patrol traces its origins directly to the sinking of the H.M.S. Titanic in 1912. The U.S. began patrolling the area to warn mariners of ice dangers shortly after the tragic loss of Titanic and the International Ice Patrol was formalized by the first Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) convention in 1914. The Ice Patrol is funded by 17 signatory nations in proportion to their vessel tonnage transiting the area during the ice season. Since the establishment of the Ice Patrol there has been no loss of life or property for vessels that have heeded Ice Patrol's warnings. The status of the Ice Patrol during periods of national emergency has not yet been determined, but during the two World Wars, Ice Patrol operations were suspended. The Grand Banks Operations Area is a hazardous and very dynamic environment characterized by poor visibility, (70 percent cloud or fog), due to the combination of the very cold Labrador Current and the warm North Atlantic current. Therefore aerial reconnaissance focuses on RADAR detection and identification. The International Ice Patrol uses long-range aircraft equipped with Side-Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR) and Forward Looking Airborne Radar (FLAR) to detect icebergs and determine the limits of all known ice in the patrol region. A computer drift and deterioration model is used to predict future iceberg positions that are validated by later reconnaissance flights. The model requires data on current, winds, waves and sea surface temperatures from the Navy's Fleet Numerical Meteorological and Oceanography Center, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Meteorological Service of Canada, and from satellite-tracked drift buoys. Source: G-OPN

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