Like many regions of our planet, the Antarctic is currently undergoing profound environmental changes. Not all of these changes are well understood, partly due to a lack of comprehensive observational datasets describing this region. The Antarctic is one of the most under-sampled places on Earth.
SIPN South is an international project recently endorsed by the World Weather Research Program (WWRP) Polar Coupled Analysis And Prediction For Services (PCAPS) project. The goal of SIPN South is to make an initial assessment of the ability of forecasting systems to predict circumpolar average, regional average, and local Antarctic sea-ice conditions, with a focus on the summer season.
In parallel, the need for reliable Antarctic sea-ice predictions is increasing rapidly. Tourism in the southern polar regions is booming, and intense observing campaigns are planned within the next few years, including in relationship with the Antarctica InSync effort and the International Polar Year 2032-2033.
For operational purposes, sea-ice conditions are one of the many challenges that face vessels operating in the Antarctic coastal region. Some parts of the Antarctic are experiencing declining sea-ice extent while other areas are seeing multi‐year sea ice persisting in areas where, previously, that was not the norm. These changing conditions impact on science, science support and logistic operations in those regions. Advance notice of seasonal sea-ice conditions would help reduce costs associated with providing alternative operational logistics.
SIPN South is driven by the following scientific question:
How well do current prediction systems forecast the seasonal evolution of circumpolar and regional Antarctic sea-ice conditions?
The project has three strategic objectives:
Provide a focal point for seasonal outlooks of Antarctic sea ice, where the results are exchanged, compared, discussed and put in perspective with those from the Arctic thanks to interactions within SIPN;
Provide news and information on the state of Antarctic sea ice, highlight recent published research, report ongoing observational campaigns and disseminate upcoming events (conferences, workshops, webinars, et cetera);
Coordinate realistic prediction exercises aligned with community projects, like previously the Year Of Polar Prediction (YOPP)’s Special Observing Periods.