ANALYSIS OF ICEBERG, PACK ICE, AND OCEAN CURRENT DYNAMICS OFFSHORE NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR FROM SATELLITE-TRACKED BUOYS DURING THE 2014 ICE SEASON

摘要

Shipping operations along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador associated with Grand Banks oil and gas production, as well as mining operations in Labrador, may be exposed to potentially hazardous ice conditions. Possible future development of oil and gas reserves offshore Labrador will also be exposed to risk associated with iceberg and pack ice conditions. Improved understanding of the characteristics of ice dynamics and metocean forcing mechanisms behind them will lead to more efficient operational planning and safer operations. Accordingly, CARD has initiated a long-term project to collect and analyze data on the pack ice and iceberg dynamics in these regions. This paper presents an analysis of the drift of pack ice features and two icebergs tagged with satellite-tracked buoys during April-August and July-August 2014, and characterizes their drift in the context of the winds and currents driving their dynamics.