Russian iceberg observations in the Barents Sea, 1933– 1990

Abstract

Seasonal variations of iceberg distribution in the Barents Sea have been studied on the basis of Russian observations for the period 1933-1990. The maximum southern distribution is observed in January and the minimum in September and October. A significant correlation coefficient of 0.5 is calculated for the relationship between the latitude of the southern ice cover expansion and the corresponding expansion of iceberg distribution. There is a general temporal trend of increased southern locations of iceberg observations during the period considered. Some analyses of iceberg dimensions in the western part of the Barents Sea are based on observations obtained in 1988–1990 under the Ice Data Acquisition Programme (IDAP) and under the Soviet-Norwegian Occanographic Programme (SNOP).