- Contributed by Penny Wagner
The sea ice covers of the polar oceans are a critical element of the global system. With support from the Research Council of Norway, CliC, the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC) and the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), 48 researchers from 13 countries, including 10 early career scientists, met from June 5-7, 2013 in Tromso, Norway to discuss the next steps in better integrating sea ice observations and modeling. The group included field experimentalists, remote sensing specialists, and sea ice and climate modelers. The workshop featured overview presentations on sea ice observations, models, remote sensing, and data archiving plus ample time for group discussions. Five 7-9 person teams consisting of scientists from a mixture of areas of expertise were assembled to develop a list of key gaps of knowledge within sea ice observations and models. Targeted activities that could close some of these gaps were proposed with separate short (6 months to a year), medium (1-2 years), and long (3 years or more) term goals. A common theme from these projects was the need for standardization of sea ice observation data from the Arctic, developing and implementing a standardized, computerized ship-based ice observation protocols and creating an online center for summarizing ongoing field activities. The combination of ASPeCt and IceWatch efforts will help create an ongoing inventory of sea ice and sea ice related datasets for both Arctic and Antarctic. Download the report.