Egg Code information is organized to give mariners and other users quick answers to their most vital questions: How much ice is there? How thick is it?

The key to understanding the Egg Code is to know how the coded information is arranged. Look at the diagram of the Egg Code. The most important information—the amount of ice coverage—is contained in the Egg Code's top layer, or section: Section 1. Mariners and other users should examine that section first.

The next thing most users want to know is the development of the ice they will be encountering. Since ice thickness can vary, the priority is to know the thickest ice, its amount and form. By reading down the first column of Sections 2a, 3a and 4a, (on the left side of the egg) mariners can obtain this interrelated information.

The information in box 2a gives the amount of the thickest ice expressed in tenths of the total coverage.

The information in box 3a gives the type of ice in each of the grades in the above section (2a,2b,2c).

The information in box 4a gives the form of the ice determined by its floe size for each section.

For example, in the Egg Code to the right, if the area is seven-tenths covered in ice (7) the thickest ice makes up two-tenths of that total (2). Next, box 3a describes the type of thickest ice (6) and last, box 4a tells mariners and other users what form the thickest ice is in— the size of the ice floe (5).

Additional information that refines the ice condition picture is contained in the remaining columns to the right and is also interrelated. The keys to these ice codes, (7), (2), (6) and (5) are contained in the ice code tables.

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Last Updated: 2003-03-20

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