Review of ice services in the Northern Hemisphere

This report provides a brief overview of sea ice monitoring and forecasting systems, both established systems used in operational services and new systems which are under development. First, the various ice charting and ice imaging services in Arctic are described, where satellites play the main role to provide data. The communication and dissemination system to ships is also described Many elements of the Baltic sea ice system can be implemented in the Northern Sea Route. Furthermore, there is a range of new satellite-based information products which are under development and testing. Of primary interest are products based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and altimeter products giving information about the vertical dimension of sea ice. Satellite SAR systems are now developed into operational systems for providing high- resolution information about sea. RADARSAT and ENVISAT are examples of such systems.

A brief review of some ice-ocean modeling systems is given to illustrate how models can be used in hindcast studies as well as in forecasting.

In situ measurements of sea ice is often a lacking element in an ice information system, especially for local scale and tactical information. Use of ship radar and other ship-based observation methods, automated ice buoys, helicopter surveys and in situ observations by personnel working on the ice are important components if the most detailed level of ice data is needed. Underwater sensors to measure ocean parameters as well as ice thickness and ice drift are used in several regions, but data from such platforms are not yet available in real time.