Proceedings magazine is a communication tool for the Coast Guard's Marine Safety & Security Council. Each quarterly magazine focuses on a specific theme of interest to the marine industry.
Issue link: https://uscgproceedings.epubxp.com/i/149372
A Coast Guard C-130 fxed wing aircraft overfies an iceberg during patrol. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Offcer Brandon Brewer. TheInternationalIcePatrolandCanadianIceService shareresponsibilitiestoobserveiceberghazardsin theNorthAtlantic,andreporttheiceberglimitto shipping.UndertheNAISpartnership,IIPandCIS have agreed to divide iceberg chart creation and distributionduties.TheInternationalIcePatrolproducesthechartfromFebruarytoAugust,andthen theCanadianIceServicedoessofromSeptemberto January. Collaborative Efforts Astheiceberglimitrecedestothenorthinthelate summerandearlyfall,theneedtoconductcostlyaircraftpatrolsdiminishes.Asicebergsbegintodrift southtowardthetransatlanticshippinglanesinFebruaryandMarch,theneedformorefrequentaerial reconnaissanceincreasesandisfocusedonthesouthernextentoftheiceberglimit. In addition to joint products and resource-saving collaborations,theNorthAmericanIceServicehas c ollaborated to provide extensive ice information supportforannualArcticoperationsincludingthe ExtendedContinentalShelf(ECS)projectandOperation Nanook, Canada'sannualwhole-of-government Arctic exercise. TheECSprojecthasbeenactivefor several years. From2008to2011,theU.S.CoastGuardCutterHealy 70 Proceedings Summer 2013 andtheCanadianCoastGuardCutterLouis St. Laurent conductedjointbathymetricandseismicdata collections efforts in the Western Arctic. The CanadianIceServiceandtheNationalIceCenterworked together to provide cohesive, detailed, and tailored iceinformationsupportwithsharedimageryandice analystsonbothvessels.Operation Nanook hasbeen supportedinasimilarmannerforseveralyears.The NAISwillcontinuetoprovideaunifedsourceofice informationinsupportofannualArcticoperations. Maritimeoperationsinice-encumberedwaterscontinuetopresentahazardousoperatingenvironment. CanadaandtheUnitedStatessharealonghistoryof cooperationtopromotesafeandeffcientshipping.In thepastdecade,theNAISorganizationhasfourished and evolved from one of information exchange into a truecollaborativeenvironment. About the author: Mr. Michael Hicks is the chief scientist of the U.S. Coast Guard International Ice Patrol. Prior to this assignment, he worked for the Aviation Branch of the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center. He is a prior commander of the International Ice Patrol, retiring from active duty in 2007. He earned an M.S. degree in oceanography from the Naval Postgraduate School. Bibliography: North American Ice Service Strategic Plan, 2012to2017. CanadianIceServicewebsiteatwww.ec.gc.ca/glaces-ice/. InternationalIcePatrolwebsiteatwww.navcen.uscg.gov/IIP. www.uscg.mil/proceedings