The mission of the National Ice Center (NIC) is to provide operational sea ice analyses and forecasts in support of the Department of Defense, U.S. Government and civil interests. NIC ice products, tailored to meet varying spatial and temporal requirements, range from weekly global-scale sea ice analyses to specially requested optimum ship track route recommendations to daily and weekly ice edge forecasts. These products are generated through the interpretation and integration of satellite imagery, meteorological and oceanographic observations, and output from numerical prediction models for weather and sea ice. The Polar Ice Prediction System (PIPS) 2.0 is a coupled ice-ocean model, with a domain including all ice covered seas in the Northern Hemisphere, that provides daily forecasts of key sea ice parameters out to five days. This study focuses on role of PIPS in creating sea ice products at NIC. It is shown that PIPS hindcast of sea ice drift in the East Greenland Sea agree very well with observed buoy drift. A 5-day ice edge forecast for the Bering Sea, validated against SAR imagery, is surprisingly accurate in some areas considering the long forecast period. However, this case also illustrates some weaknesses in PIPS, such as a tendency to form too much new ice in open water areas beyond the ice edge. Future developments in the PIPS model and the potential for expanded use of PIPS are also discussed.
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