Navy Sea Ice Prediction Systems

Abstract

The availability of real-time information on sea ice conditions in ice covered seas has always been important, not only to strategic military operations, but to the economies of those countries that border the Arctic and its marginal seas. Knowledge of the thickness and movement of sea ice as well as the locations of open water is required for traversing the Arctic whether in a drill ship, in a cargo vessel or in an ice strengthened ship such as a Coast Guard ice breaker. ; This work has been funded through the Office of Naval Research's Navy Ocean Modeling and Prediction Program (program element 602435), the Office of Naval Research's High Latitude Dynamics Program (program element 61153) and the Naval Space and Warfare Systems Command (program element 603207N).