National ice service operations and products around the world

This chapter is about sea ice - what it is, how it is monitored, by whom and how the information about the dynamically changing sea ice cover is conveyed to those that need this information for efficient and safe navigation. The increase of international shipping activities generated by economic and social developments, transportation needs and utilization of natural resources, are prominent particularly in areas susceptible to sea ice. As sea ice affects marine transport and navigation significantly and directly, provision and development of services for monitoring and forecasting sea ice coverage has generated an increased interest globally. Specialized meteorological services, originally developed to support local mariners, have developed their service portfolio to support users, providing a wide range of sea-ice information services. To understand the nature of sea ice, some knowledge is needed about how sea ice is formed, as well as the most important characteristics of the frozen sea. Sea ice occurs in many forms and the ice cover is described by ice analysts in ice charts summarizing the most significant parameters of the sea ice. Earth Observation technology (satellites) is playing an increasing role when monitoring the ice cover, especially in remote areas where it is difficult to obtain in situ observations. The possibilities and use of different satellite sensors is described in the sections below. Also advances in numerical forecasting methods that utilize improved weather forecasts, combined with satellite observations, will enable better and more reliable forecasts to be utilized in ship routing and guidance. This will result in safer and more economic transportation.