A 120 Year Record of Icebergs in North Atlantic Shipping Lanes is Now Available

NOAA@NSIDC is pleased to announce the “International Ice Patrol Annual Count of Icebergs South of 48 Degrees North, 1900 to Present” data set. The data are being released in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) International Ice Patrol (IIP). Every year during the ice season, the IIP surveys icebergs in the vicinity of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland within the western Atlantic Ocean and issues daily iceberg charts. The number that drift south of 48° N is significant because these pose a larger threat to transatlantic shipping. The annual count is an indicator of the severity of the iceberg season and its impact on mariners in the region. This long, simple data record provides a wealth of information for identifying and explaining trends in iceberg season severity. Over the years, the technology used by the IIP has gotten better at detecting icebergs; and because of this, the count has trended upward. The User Guide points readers to a method of normalizing data to take this into account. The method was devised by USCG IIP researchers. To learn more and to access these data, please visit the International Ice Patrol Annual Count of Icebergs South of 48 Degrees North, 1900 to Present web page. Data set DOI: https://doi.org/10.7265/z6e8-3027