Research Document 1997/51

Overview of meteorological and sea ice conditions off Eastern Canada during 1996

By K.F. Drinkwater, R. Pettipas, and L. Petrie

Abstract

A review of meteorological and sea ice conditions off eastern Canada during 1996 is presented. Annual air temperatures warmed for the second year in succession and were above normal, in contrast to the cold conditions of the early 1990s. Seasonally, winter temperatures were above normal in all regions for the first time in over a decade. This relatively warm air is believed to be due to weaker northwest winds which carried less cold Arctic air southward. The reduced winds are associated with a weakening of the Icelandic Low, which is reflected in the low NAO index for 1996. The decrease in the NAO index relative to 1995 was the largest annual decline in over one hundred year's of record. The warmer-than-normal winter air temperatures and accompanying weaker-than-normal northwest winds caused ice to form late, be of reduced areal extent than normal and retreat sooner than normal off Newfoundland and southern Labrador. In addition, the number of icebergs reaching the Grand Banks decreased by approximately 2 times that observed in 1995 and the early years of the 1990s. The Gulf of St. Lawrence experienced a normal ice year but ice conditions were relatively light on the Scotian Shelf where it appeared late and left early. In general, 1996 off eastern Canada was the warmest and had the least amount of ice of any year since the mid-1980s.

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