NEW LONDON, Conn. (AP) The U.S. Coast Guard says about 1,000 icebergs drifted into the North Atlantic shipping lanes this year, marking the fourth consecutive “extreme” ice season.
The Connecticut-based Coast Guard International Ice Patrol monitors iceberg danger in the North Atlantic and warns ships. It held its annual meeting Thursday in New London to discuss 2017 and look ahead to 2018.
The Ice Patrol says Greenland glaciers are retreating and storms broke up significant amounts of sea ice in 2017, freeing many icebergs.
The Canadian Ice Service predicts a normal population of icebergs, about 500, in shipping lanes in 2018, based on sea ice projections, surface air temperature and sea surface temperature.
Coast Guard units and other agencies such as the U.S. National Ice Center, the Canadian Ice Service and the Danish Meteorological Institute attended the meeting.