Ice-Ocean Melt: Future Research Directions

Report on the first JCIOI workshop on ice-ocean interactions (17-19th October 2022).

The Joint Commission on Ice-Ocean Interactions (JCIOI) was formed in 2021 as an IUGG joint working group between the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) and the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO). JCIOI held its first workshop in October 2022, aiming to: (1) identify critical knowledge gaps surrounding processes that govern ocean-driven melt of ice sheets across a range of spatio-temporal scales; (2) identify options to address these knowledge gaps through observing, parameterizing, and modeling ice-ocean interactions, and their impacts on ice mass loss and ocean dynamics; and (3) bring together the community interested in ice-ocean interactions.

This Report provides a synopsis of the workshop activities. We first summarize the solicited talks in each of the four themed sessions, describing the current state of knowledge of (i) the physics of the ice-ocean boundary, (ii) the role of glacial melt in the wider ocean, (iii) the impact of ocean-driven melt on glacier and ice sheet mass balance, and (iv) new and emerging technologies for studying ice-ocean interactions. On the basis of these talks, and from the discussion sessions which followed, we then discuss community-defined key future research directions in ice-ocean interactions research. As part of this discussion, we highlight the need for an internationally-coordinated approach to tackle this complex problem.