Sea Ice Prediction Network News

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).

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.

The July 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 and July reports. For July, 36 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. Eight contributed Alaska regional extent predictions, 12 contributed for Antarctica, and there were two informal contributions. The July 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 of the Antarctic contributions.

The June 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 report; 33 contributions that include pan-Arctic predictions, 2 additional contributions with a regional focus, and 7 Antarctic forecasts. The June report includes analysis of the contributions, discussion of projected sea ice probability and first ice-free days; current sea ice and atmospheric conditions; and regional ice conditions.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) announced that on 7 March 2017 the sea ice extent over the Arctic Ocean reached 14.42 million square kilometers (5.57 million square miles), then gradually began its decline with the start of the melt season. The sea ice maximum refers to the point at which sea ice is at its highest seasonal extent. According to scientists at NSIDC, Arctic sea ice was at a record low maximum extent for the third straight year.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces availability of the 2016 Arctic Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) Post-Season Report! The SIO is an activity of the SIPN project as a contribution to the Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH).

The organizers thank the groups and individuals that contributed to the 2016 Sea Ice Outlook; there were a total of 104 submissions of pan-Arctic September extent forecasts, with 30 in June, 35 in July, and 39 in August (a record number of contributions). This year for the first time organizers also collected forecasts of the extent in the combined Chukchi, Bering, and Beaufort seas, which they refer to as the "Alaskan Region."

The post-season report was developed by the 2016 Sea Ice Outlook Post-Season Action Team, the SIPN Leadership Team, and with input provided to an earlier draft of the post-season report via circulation on the SIPN mailing list.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces an open meeting on Tuesday, 13 December 2016 from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in San Francisco, California, during the American Geophysical Union (AGU) fall meetings. The meeting will provide a forum to: re-cap the 2016 Arctic sea ice/Sea Ice Outlook season; discuss the next phase of SIPN and how best it can meet the needs of network participants; and share information on relevant efforts and potential collaborations. A boxed lunch will be provided for meeting participants who RSVP by end-of-day Tuesday, 6 December 2016.

The archive is now available for the 23 August 2016 Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) webinar presented by Walt Meier, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and entitled "Uncertainty in Satellite-Derived Sea Ice Extent Estimates.” The archive includes a video of the webinar, presentation slides, and a list of webinar participants.

This webinar, organized by Muyin Wang and the SIPN Leadership Team, focused on uncertainty in sea ice extent estimates from remotely-sensed data. Meier discussed the current understanding of related issues and proposed various methods of estimating extent uncertainty, with the aim of improving analyses of sea ice extent trends and variability. A question and answer session with participants followed the presentation.

The Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN) announces a call for registration for an open webinar entitled "Uncertainty in Satellite-Derived Sea Ice Extent Estimates" presented by Walt Meier, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. This webinar will focus on uncertainty in sea ice extent estimates from remotely-sensed data. Meier will discuss the current understanding of related issues and propose various methods of estimating extent uncertainty, with the aim of improving analyses of sea ice extent trends and variability. Time for participant questions will follow the presentation. This event is scheduled for Tuesday, 23 August 2016 from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. AKDT.