International Ice Patrol Annual Iceberg Reports with Severity Rankings

International Ice Patrol (IIP) annual summaries and reports document iceberg activity in the North Atlantic from 2024 onward. Each year provides a severity ranking and graphical context against a historical record dating back to 1900. The dataset, managed by NSIDC, includes PDF reports for each iceberg season covering the area from 40° N to 60° N and 40° W to 60° W.

Use Cases

• Analyzing annual iceberg season severity rankings (light, moderate, severe, extreme) for climate impact studies.
• Comparing monthly iceberg counts south of 48° N against climatological averages to identify anomalous years.
• Studying the geographical distribution of iceberg risk within the IIP's Area of Responsibility (40° N to 60° N, 40° W to 60° W).
• Placing recent iceberg activity into historical context using the provided graph of annual severity beginning in 1900.

Strengths

• Provides over a century of historical context with severity rankings referenced back to 1900.
• Reports are generated by the authoritative International Ice Patrol, which has monitored the region since 1913.
• Data is available on multiple government platforms (NASA Earthdata, Data.gov), indicating institutional importance and reliability.

Limitations

• Core dataset begins in 2024, with older reports only accessible via a separate U.S. Coast Guard webpage.
• Primary data files are PDF reports; underlying tabular sighting and tracking data requires accessing three separate NSIDC datasets.
• Conflicting license metadata: one source specifies 'other-license-specified', while another lists 'None'.

Provenance

Source

International Ice Patrol (IIP), hosted by the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC).

Collection Method

Yearly monitoring and synthesis of iceberg sightings within the designated Area of Responsibility.

Time Range

Historical context from 1900, with formal annual reports beginning in 2024.

Freshness

2026-03-13 01:25:46.489354

Geography

North Atlantic Ocean, IIP Area of Responsibility (40° N to 60° N, III 40° W to 60° W).