The Sea Ice Prediction Network–Phase 2 (SIPN2) is a network of US and international members working to advance research on the processes driving sea ice predictability, prediction products, and the communication of findings to interested stakeholders. SIPN2 is funded by NSF-Arctic Sciences Section and the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), with several collaborators and partners.
Sea Ice Outlook Reports
The Sea Ice Outlook (SIO) provides an open process for those interested in Arctic sea ice to share ideas and predictions for Arctic ice extent, sea-ice probability, ice-free date, and other variables. The full 2019 Post-Season SIO Report was published in early 2020. The 2020 SIO monthly reports for June and July are available online. The 2020 SIO August report and an interim post-season report (to be developed at the close of the current melt season) are forthcoming.
A full post-season report, with a more in-depth analysis of the sea ice season and an evaluation of the accuracy of the Outlook predictions, will be published in February 2021.
SIPN2 Webinars
The 2020 SIPN2 webinar series has included two events to date. The first webinar, Understanding Stakeholder Information Needs for Sea-Ice Forecasting, was held on 28 April with focus on stakeholder groups, their information needs, and how information gathered through stakeholder engagement can be of use to the sea-ice forecasting community. The second webinar, Machine Learning—Challenges and Opportunities for Applications in Sea-Ice Prediction, was held on 29 July. This webinar focused on the use of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, on how such approaches can be applied in cryospheric research, as well as related challenges and limitations. A third webinar is planned for fall 2020 to discuss the 2020 melt season and relative performance of the SIO. All past webinars are archived here, and future webinars are announced via the SIPN2 mailing list.
SIPN2 at AGU
SIPN2 convened a sea-ice community open meeting on 10 December during the 2019 American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco to promote knowledge exchange and collaboration among members of the sea-ice research community. This meeting included a brief overview of the 2019 Arctic sea ice/Sea Ice Outlook season, several one-minute project updates from members of the sea-ice research community, and lively discussion among the participants. More information about the meeting is available here.
More Information on SIPN2
More information about SIPN2 is available through the SIPN2 website and through the SIPN mailing list, or by contacting Betsy Turner-Bogren, ARCUS (betsy [at] arcus.org).
About the Author
Betsy Turner-Bogren is a Project Manager at ARCUS who provides staff support to the SIPN2 project and its team members. She also manages the NSF-supported publications Witness the Arctic and Witness Community Highlights.