Sea Ice Modeling Workshop

A joint workshop was held that encompassed the ONR Sea State Sea Ice Forecasting Workshop and the NWS NGGPS Community Sea Ice Model Workshop. Both workshops had the general goal of advancing forecasting in high latitude regions. More information on the purpose for the individual meetings is below.

SeaState Workshop Purpose

This workshop assessed the performance of prototype sea ice modeling initiatives led by NOAA/ESRL and NRL in support of the ONR Sea State DRI fieldwork. The Sea State deployment included wave­-ice studies, atmospheric flux measurements, and sensor deployments from the R/V Sikuliaq from September 30 through November 15, 2015 in the marginal ice zone. Similar efforts led by NRL in support of the Healy Arctic missions conducted in July – October were also discussed.

NGGPS Workshop Purpose

The overarching purpose of the workshop is to inform NOAA on inclusion and selection of a community-contributed sea ice model into the Next Generation Global Prediction System (NGGPS) and on potential research and development opportunities and gaps. The NGGPS will be a single fully coupled Earth forecast system with application to forecasts from days to seasons. While the selected NGGPS sea ice model needs to have good performance for all forecast applications, this workshop emphasized the short- and medium-term sea ice forecast needs as part of the broader unified weather to climate modeling suite. Considerations included the performance of the sea ice model for both sea ice forecasting and as part of the coupled system. This workshop will brought together experts from the community to discuss the state of sea ice modeling and forecasting as part of the coupled system and the understanding of predictability to inform the selection of the NGGPS sea ice model, enhance collaborations and highlight areas of needed research and development.

Organizing Committee

Marika Holland (NCAR), Janet Intrieri (NOAA OAR ESRL), Rick Allard (NRL), Bob Grumbine (NOAA NWS), Cecilia Bitz (UW), Eugene Petrescu (NOAA NWS AR), Annarita Mariotti (NOAA OAR CPO)

Workshop Sponsors

NOAA National Weather Service
NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research - Climate Program Office
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Office of Naval Research