Ice Centers
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Canadian
Ice Service (CIS)
It is both the responsibility and mandate of the AES Ice Branch to provide timely
and accurate ice information for Canadian waters (including lakes and major rivers)
on an operational basis, and to provide a national archive for the data. The
mandate
as updated
in 1988 reads in part:
" To provide ice and iceberg information
(analysis, prognostices and warnings) for the safety of Canadians
involved in fishing, marine transportation
and offshore petroleum exploration, and for the protection of life and
property such as ships and drilling platforms; and to protect the quality
of the marine environment by supporting the prevention of environmental
disasters."
The Ice Branch operates several divisions
which perform the requirements set out in the mandate. Ice information
is gathered by the Ice Reconnaissance
Division, accumulated, sorted, analysed and issued to users by Ice Forecasting
Division; archived and used for historical analysis by the Ice Climatology
and Applications Division. Support for this operational process is provided
by the
Ice Product Development Division (for the aircraft, communications and sensors
as well as improving ice products and developing new ones), Ice Research and
Development (for remote sensing technology investigation
and
development).
The
National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC)
The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) is a data and information
resource for snow and ice processes, especially for interactions among snow,
ice, atmosphere and ocean. NSIDC was established by NOAA in 1982 to serve as
a national information and referral center in support of research in glaciology.
We are a center of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences
(CIRES) operating under the auspices of NOAA/NESDIS, and NGDC through a cooperative
agreement between
NOAA and the University of Colorado.
The National Snow and Ice Data Center Sea Ice Products
NSIDC offers a wide variety of sea ice products derived from passive
microwave sensors and other sources. You can select the sea ice product that
best suits your research needs. To see the strengths, weaknesses, and recommended
uses for each product see NSIDC Data Summaries. Their Tools page provides information
on data access tools for several passive microwave products. You can select Other
Data Sources for a list of other sources of sea ice data and information NSIDC
recommends. For more information about current sea ice extent and concentration,
and the relationship between sea ice and global climate change, please visit
NSIDC State of the Cryosphere page.
The
Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS)
The Arctic Research Consortium of the United States (ARCUS) was
formed in 1988 to identify and bring together the distributed human and facilities
resources of the Arctic research community--to create a synergy for the Arctic
in which each resource, when combined with others, can result in a strength that
enables the community to rise to the many challenges facing the Arctic and the
United States. ARCUS provides an implementation mechanism for the Arctic community
to complement the advisory roles of other national organizations, such as the
US Arctic Research Commission (USARC), the Polar Research Board (PRB), and Interagency
Arctic Research Policy Committee (IARPC), that are concerned with the Arctic.
ARCUS is a non-profit corporation consisting of institutions
organized and operated for educational, professional, or scientific purposes.
An institution is considered eligible for membership in ARCUS if it has made
a definitive, substantial, and continuing commitment to a coherent research
program or course of studies leading to degrees in one or more disciplines
associated with Arctic research or related fields. The representatives of
member institutions constitute the Council of ARCUS and elect the Board of
Directors.
The
Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI)
The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) of the Federal Service for
Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the Environment is the largest polar research
centre in
the world.
The history of the Institute begins since 1920, when the Northern Research and
Trade Expedition was organized. In 1925 the Northern Research and Trade Expedition
was reorganized into the Institute for Nothern Studies. Since 1930 the Institute
was named as
the Arctic Research Institute.
In 1958 according to the Resolution of the Government the organization and coordination
of national Antarctic exploration were laid on the Institute and it has become
the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI). Further changes brought the
AARI in 1963 under the Main Administration of the Hydrometeorological Service
(now the Federal Service of Russia for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring of the
Environment). In 1994 the AARI has obtained the status
of State Research Center of Russia.
The
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC)
The Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Center (NERSC) is
an independent non-profit research institute affiliated with the University of
Bergen in Norway.
A Global Contribution
NERSC's vision is to make a significant contribution to the understanding
of regional and global environmental problems through research and development
within: 
- Climate process studies and modelling
- Marine monitoring and forecasting
- Global resource management
- Distaster monitoring
Research Activities
NERSC's research activities cover climate process studies and modelling, including
the role played by oceans and sea ice in global and regional climatic changes.
The centre also performs variability and trend studies of atmospheric ozone,
greenhouse gases and UV radiation, as well as studies of the marine carbon cycle
and injection of CO2 into the
ocean.
The research strategy of NERSC is to develop, validate, and apply integrated
methods using field observation, remote sensing, numerical modelling and data
assimilation
to conduct studies of:
- Ocean dynamics and currents
- Water quality
- Sea ice
- Wind and waves
