Sea Ice Prediction Network
News
Sea Ice Outlook
The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces availability of the 2017 Arctic Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Post-Season Report. The report includes reviews of the 2017 Arctic conditions, the melt season, contributions to the 2017 SIO monthly reports, as well as discussions of the statistical methods and local-scale analysis of 2017 Sea Ice Outlooks. The report also includes discussion of contributions to the call for forecasts of the Antarctic maxima, and discussion of the beginning of the Sea Ice Drift Forecast Experiment (SIDFEx), which is a contribution to the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP).
Arctic Sea Ice Prediction Stakeholders Workshop
An "Arctic Sea Ice Prediction Stakeholders Workshop" will be held on Monday, 22 January 2018 in conjunction with the Arctic Frontiers Conference in Tromso, Norway. This workshop will bring together sea ice stakeholders and forecasters to:
1) Assess the value of forecasts by the user community.
2) Determine if and how ice forecasts are currently being used in decision making.
3) Communicate the relevant metrics needed by various stakeholders.
4) Identify where improvements in sea ice forecasts would help stakeholders make decisions.
5) Communicate the limits and opportunities of current forecasting systems.
Sea Ice Prediction Network Open Meeting on 12 December 2017
The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces an open meeting on Tuesday, 12 December from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. (CST) in New Orleans, Louisiana, during the 2017 American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meetings. This meeting will provide: a discussion of the 2017 Arctic sea ice/Sea Ice Outlook season, an overview of the recently-funded "SIPN 2" project and collaborations, and opportunity for discussion and to share information on related efforts. A boxed lunch will be provided for meeting participants who RSVP by Friday, 1 December 2017. For questions and to RSVP, contact Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).
2017 Projected Onset of Sea Ice Freeze-up on the Chukchi Sea, NOAA PMEL
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, released a 2017 Projected onset of sea ice freeze-up on the Chukchi Sea continental shelf northwest of Icy Cape will begin near the end of November to the first week of December. This is approximately 36 days later than the long-term mean (1981-2016). The metric is defined by sea-ice concentration reaching 30% as determined by passive microwave observation.
August Sea Ice Outlook Report
The August report for the 2017 Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) is now available online. The goal of the SIO is to improve Arctic sea ice prediction on seasonal time-scales. The organizers thank the groups that contributed to the 2017 June, July, and August reports. For August, 37 contributions for pan-Arctic extent predictions were received with the median Arctic Outlook value for September 2017 sea ice extent of 4.5 million square kilometers. Nine of the 37 also contributed Alaska regional extent predictions and 10 also contributed for Antarctica. Additionally, two contributions for Antarctica only and two descriptive regional contributions were received. The August report includes analysis of the contributions, discussion of projected sea ice probability, first ice-free days, current sea ice and atmospheric conditions, Alaska regional ice extent, and discussion and analysis of the Antarctic contributions.
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Sea Ice Data at NSIDC
Through the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), SIPN manages a comprehensive list of datasets useful for sea ice prediction. Two new datasets for 2016 include "Arctic Buoys - Snow Depth Data and Images" and "Unified Sea Ice Thickness Climate Data Record."