National / Naval Ice Center (NIC) USCGUSNNOAA Operational Support in the Arctic NGA Arctic Domain Awareness St. Louis, MO 4-5 March 2009 CDR Denise Kruse Commanding Officer/Director Caryn Panowicz Operations Technical Advisor

Outline National Ice Center (NIC) Mission & Scope Changes in Arctic Resources Operations Products/Uses Customers Future Expectations

NIC Mission & Scope Tri-agency organization ~60 military and civilian personnel Excellence in global sea ice analysis Mission: to provide the highest quality timely, accurate, and relevant snow and ice products and services to meet the strategic, operational, and tactical requirements of U.S. national interests across a global area of responsibility.

Mission & Scope International Partnerships –North American Ice Service (NAIS) National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) Canadian Ice Service (CIS) International Ice Patrol (IIP) –International Arctic Buoy Programme (IABP) (9 participating countries) –International Ice Charting Working Group (IICWG) –WMO Expert Team on Sea Ice (ETSI) Integrated Excellence through External Partnerships History Hitory

Area of Responsibility M sq.mi. Arctic, Great Lakes, Antarctic Arctic (including Sea Of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, and Yellow Sea) Chesapeake / Delaware Bays Great Lakes Antarctic North America / Canada Russia Antarctica

Ice Extent 16 Feb 2009 vs. Climo

7 New Focus on Arctic Changes in Summer Minimum Ice Conditions Total Ice Extent 4.99 million sq km Total Ice Extent 3.98 million sq km Total Ice Extent 4.67 million sq km

Arctic Sea Ice Extent vs. MYI Distribuition MYI Ice Area = 6.2 million sq kmTotal Ice Area = million sq km

Arctic Sea Ice Extent vs. MYI Distribuition MYI Ice Area = million sq kmTotal Ice Area = million sq km

Inputs Satellites Aircraft Surface Obs Models Buoys Products Data Fusion Operations and Product Generation Human, Derived, Automated, and Reconfigured Derived Data Automation Direct Data Dissemination Fractures, Leads and Polynyas (FLAP) Hemispheric and Regional Ice Charts Annotated Images IMS snow and ice maps Microwave Sea Ice Concentration products Ice Forecast Outlooks Ice Thickness Estimations Expert Ice Analyses, Forecasting, and Quality Control Ingest 45GB Daily

Current Resources Applicable Remote Imagery Sources Resolution Day/Night<150m>150m- <1200m >1200mAll Weather RADARSAT √√√ MODIS √ ALOS √√√ OLS √ Envisat √√√ AVHRR √ QuikSCAT √ SSM/I √ Capturing sea ice parameters from a changing and diverse pool of remote sensing sensors necessary to meet requirements

Current Resources 12 Subject Matter Experts Military/Civilian Visiting Scientists Science Department 24/7 Availability Duty Ice/CDO Value Added Products Human interface – active imagery sources On-board Ship Support Observation, analysis, and forecasting Buoy Data Real-time/near real time info Model Input PIPS (3.0) Polar Ice Prediction Ancillary Data International Ties F oreign Ice Charts Professional relationships International Partnerships Flexibility Imagery and products tailored to specific operations

NIC – Routine Products Weekly-Daily Weekly Products: Weekly and bi-weekly Arctic and regional charts Weekly Hemispheric Chart Weekly Thickness Char t Charts produced based on the detailed analysis of satellite data, observations, and model sources: RADARSAT-1 and 2; ESA Envisat; NASA QuikSCAT; NASA Terra and Aqua; DMSP; NOAA Ship observations Buoy data Model Output Daily Products: Ice Edge and Forecast Marginal Ice Zone Snow and Ice Product (IMS)

- Interactive Multi-Sensor Snow and Ice Mapping System - Daily Northern Hemisphere analysis Imagery/tools inputs -Visible -Infrared -Microwave -Several derived snow/ice products -Web -Surface Observations - 4km product, which is archived at the National Snow and Ice Data Center - Used in Numerical Weather Prediction models Numerical Models National Weather Service, National Center for Environmental Prediction -Daily gridded ice concentration files - Initialization of Alaska and Great Lakes regional forecasts - Validation of the Polar Ice Prediction System 2.0/3.0 - New Great Lakes modeling initiative – NIC ice edge will initialize - Interest from Environment Canada to use NIC concentration products as initialization of weather models - Evaluate use of NIC products in USN models

NIC – Special Support Products Special Support Products: Annotated Imagery – high resolution imagery depicting ice concentration, ice types – thickness, location of icebergs, openings in the ice. May also be annotated with route recommendation (OTSR). Imagery may be ordered in direct support of customer. Fractures, Leads, and Polynyas (FLAP) – Text message delineating areas of weaknesses or openings in the ice. Also notes orientation of fractures/leads, ice types in vicinity, and any expected changes during valid period. Special Ice Conditions – Graphic/Imagery detailing special features such as the opening of the Northwest Passage, etc. Ice Forecasts – seasonal forecasts and tailored forecasts upon request Ice Climatology – planning, pre-sail briefs Notice to Mariners – icebergs outside ice edge

Recent Tailored Support Special Support Customers 16 SUBFORArctic Submarine Lab Deep Freeze/NSFIce Camp - ASL ONI Ice Camp – NASA NAVOCEANO (Climo)NGA/NORTHCOM MSCCCGC Laurier CCGC St LaurentUSCGC Polar Sea USCGC HealyR/V Gould R/V PalmerR/V Revelle M/V Oscar DysonM/V Oden M/V American TernM/V Miller Freeman USNS GianellaUSNS Paul Buck

Ice Area = million sq kmIce Area = 3.98 million sq km Intra-annual Extreme Ice Conditions Thickness inferred from stage of development Surfaced submarine in Arctic Environmental effects on ships Floe identification for Ice Camp 2007 Northwest Passage Routes Arctic Seasonal Outlook Mission Planning US Submarine Forces, Arctic Submarine Lab, US Coast Guard 33 year Arctic Climatology dataset Used by ASLArchived at NSIDC

Intelligence Community ApplicationProduct Monitor ice conditions Identify potential areas for missile launch Annotated satellite images Understand current and future harbor conditions Determine when vessels can get underway Aid in mission planning Climatology studies/Annotated satellite images Differentiate / identify acoustic signaturesAntarctic iceberg identification Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance Intelligence Community

US Submarine Force ApplicationProduct Safety of navigation through ArcticFractures, Leads and Polynyas (FLAP) Determines operational postureMarginal Ice Zone (MIZ)/ Ice Edge Determine potentially deep (hazardous) keelsArctic iceberg/floe analysis “This allowed [us] to evaluate and plan the final PD trip prior to the MIZ, determine when the arctic routine would commence and when the ship would enter the MIZ and pass under the ice canopy” – USS ALEXANDRIA Situational Awareness US Submarine Forces, Arctic Submarine Laboratory Annotated Ice Edge/Large Floes Polynya Lead Fracture Ridge SPAROS

“Within the hour I was able to find and safely conduct a controlled surface through a gap in the ice therefore avoiding any damage to the submarine” – Commanding Officer, HMS TIRELESS “More significantly I achieved a six-day under ice transit without incident…” HMS TIRELESS surfaced at ICEX ‘07 Situational Awareness – SAVES LIVES HMS TIRELESS – March 2007

CCGS Wilfred LAURIER USS ALEXANDRIA Safety of Navigation, Life & Property USN, NSF, CCG, USCG “Our use of Arctic transits to support higher presence levels in the PACOM AOR is an example of how we are making full use of every asset we have in the most productive way we can” VADM MUNNS, COMSUBFOR 60N 166N168N170N172N174N 9/10 th First year Young ice 8/10 th First year Young ice 9/10 th First year Young ice 8/10 th First year Young ice 7/10 th First year Young ice 5/10 th First year Young ice National/Naval Ice Center USCGC Healy 2007 Support Radarsat Image 20 Apr 07 Analyst: AG1 Ball = Ice Drift DirectionRADARSAT 19APR07 – 1803Z COPYRIGHT CSA Support provided for Spring 07 USCGC HEALY cruise USCGC HEALY

“We have received the requested satellital information and we are extremely gratiful for the important collaboration that you offered us. For your knowledge the satellital information was very useful to us. It was a relevant element in our planning during the assistance to the M/V "Rosa" ship in proximities to the Islas Orcadas during the 11, 12 and 13 june.” -- AGENCIA NACIONAL SAR MARITIMA, FLUVIAL Y LACUSTRE ARGENTINA Panamanian Vessel Refrigerated Cargo Ship Operated by the Argentines International Emergency M/V ROSA

USCGC HEALY conducts operations in the Arctic RV PALMER during Sep ‘07 Antarctic cruise Scientific Research US Coast Guard & National Science Foundation Daily annotated SAR imagery Seasonal outlooks and forecasts Onboard analyst support Directly liaise with OPS and Science personnel

Mission/Goal Supported Battlespace Awareness SA / ISR / I&W Scientific Research Maritime Shipping Commercial Fisheries Oceanographic and Atmospheric Models (NWP) Safety of Life and Property At Sea Safety of Navigation WWW, Navy Message Traffic, Secure Network, INMARSAT, Iridium USCG MSC NWS NSF Local Gov. USN NOAA Public web page Disemination Products Hemispheric Ice Charts Annotated Images Special Arctic Oceanographic Synopsis (SPAROS) Fractures, Leads and Polynyas (FLAP) Marginal Ice Zone ONI approx 140 customers Customers

Over 140 known customers & agencies Federal Government Agencies Federal / State Agencies Research & Universities International Organizations

Distance (Nautical Miles) Hamburg to Yokohama Northern Sea Route ~ 6,920 Suez Canal ~ 11,073 Panama Canal ~ 12,420 Cape of Good Hope ~ 14,542 All Unclassified NIC Products available on the WWW for the general public. Maritime Shipping, Commercial Fisheries NOAA Fisheries Management US Maritime trade is expected to double by 2020 Search for resources, political boundaries Increase in Arctic and Antarctic eco- tourism (20% since last yr in Antarctic) Ecosystem changes as Arctic changes continue

Future Expectations Arctic changes expected to continue Important and expanding mission for Navy, NOAA, and USCG Current products support ice breakers and ice hardened ships Need for products to support non ice-hardened ship operations in Arctic waters Increases in data and resources needed to support safe operations 27 Navy, NOAA, Coast Guard, and other customers must clearly articulate ice product requirements for current and future arctic operations in order for NIC to plan, resource, and provide

Ice Support Requirements for Safe Navigation Real-Time availability of all-weather, day and night high resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery More analysts for increased detail and locations/icebergs in Arctic Marine radar systems tuned to find and track ice On board expertise by ice pilot or sea ice specialist Ice recon - Navy or USCG IIP (UAV Possibility?) Seasonal ice buoy and open ocean drifting buoys Ice observations from ships in Arctic waters 28

Questions? "And what of tomorrow in the world of men, ships and ice? Will there be a place for the ice sailor, the icebreaker and iceworthy vessels? The answer is simple. To seek it one needs only turn to a polar projection of the earth's surface and plot the shortest distances between the great metropolitan centers of North America, Europe and Asia. The economic as well as the political destiny of the United States and other nations of the world will creep ever pole- ward. So in war and in peace, the role of the ice sailor, the icebreaker and the iceworthy vessel is one of growing importance." - CAPT Charles Thomas, (Author of Ice is Where You Find It, 1953)

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