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REconciling Cross-platform Observations of Ice-sheLf melt (RECOIL)

In September 2024, a Best Practice Study Group workshop was help jointly with the Horizon Europe funded OCEAN:ICE project at the Danish Meteorological Institute (Copenhagen, Denmark). Arising from the workshop, a paper has been developed which presents formal guidance for observation or modelling of ice-ocean interaction. This guidance includes standards of operational parameters, time scales and variables of reporting, and a data sharing approach that will enable improved comparison of techniques and outcomes.

Goldberg, D., Meijers, A., Case, E., Cook, S., Davis, P., Dutrieux, P., Gourmelen, N., Greene, C. A., Hattermann, T., Heimbach, P., Heywood, K. J., Lee, W. S., Lenain, L., Lowery, K., Mankoff, K., McCormack, F., Nakayama, Y., Nicholls, K., Rosevear, M., … Wåhlin, A. (2025). IAPSO Best Practice Research Group: REconciling Cross-platform Observations of Ice-sheLf melt (RECOIL). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17469856

We thank the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) for their support of the workshop.

Practice bridge on ice-ocean interactions

A new practice bridge article in Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene outlines outstanding unknowns in ice-ocean interactions in Antarctica, and identifies the need for a framework which defines essential variables and provides guidance for reconciling data across different models and observational platforms. We hope that the article will provide useful input to community activities such as the Antarctica International Science and Infrastructure for Synchronous Observation (Antarctica InSync) initiative 2027–2030, and can act as a useful summarising reference in support of funding applications.

McCormack et al. (2024) The case for a Framework for UnderStanding Ice-Ocean iNteractions (FUSION) in the Antarctic-Southern Ocean system. Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. 12 (1): 00036. doi: https://doi.org/10.1525/elementa.2024.00036

Second online workshop on ice-ocean interaction: 14-18th October 2024

JCIOI held an online workshop on ice-ocean interactions 14-18th October 2024, drawing together researchers interested in the processes that govern ocean-driven melt of glaciers and ice sheets. The workshop addressed four key science themes:

1. New perspectives on melt parameterisations

2. Focusing on the grounding zone

3. Emerging techniques for observing ice-ocean interactions

4. Impacts of meltwater on ocean circulation

Recordings of invited presentations from the workshop are available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@jointcommissiononice-ocean2388

Southern Ocean Observing System Symposium 2023 community statement

The Southern Ocean is a critical component of the global climate system. The Southern Ocean controls to a large extent the uptake of human generated heat and carbon into the ocean. Yet, we are currently observing critical changes in the Southern Ocean that are seen in the record low levels of sea-ice extent, record high temperatures and dramatic shifts in penguin populations, among other striking changes. The chronic lack of observations for the Southern Ocean challenges our ability to detect and assess the consequences of change. As such, it is more pressing than ever to have a sustained and coordinated Southern Ocean observing system to provide an understanding of current conditions, inform predictions of future states, and support policies and regulations for the benefit of society.

Read it in your language here

Report 1st JCIOI workshop 17-19 Oct 2022.pdf

Report on 1st JCIOI workshop on ice-ocean interaction: 17-19 October 2022

JCIOI held its first workshop in October 2022, aiming to:

(1) identify critical knowledge gaps surrounding processes that govern ocean-driven melt of ice sheets across a range of spatio-temporal scales;

(2) identify options to address these knowledge gaps through observing, parameterizing, and modeling ice-ocean interactions, and their impacts on ice mass loss and ocean dynamics; and

(3) bring together the community interested in ice-ocean interactions.

We have now published a report, summarising the solicited talks, and defining key future research directions in ice-ocean interactions research based on the talks and the following discussions. The report can be downloaded here, and cited as:

McCormack, F., Cook, S., Phillips, S., Adusumilli, S., Hattermann, T., Nakayama, Y., Nias, I., Seroussi, H., Slater, D., Begeman, C., Goldberg, D., Jackson, R., Jenkins, A., Jourdain, N., Rosevear, M., Vaňková, I., & Wåhlin, A. (2023). Ice-Ocean Melt: Future Research Directions. Report on the 1st JCIOI workshop on ice-ocean interaction, 17-19t. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7960675

Online workshop on ice-ocean interaction: 17-19 October 2022

JCIOI held an online workshop on ice-ocean interactions 17-19th October 2022, drawing together researchers interested in the processes that govern ocean-driven melt of glaciers and ice sheets. The workshop addressed four key science themes:

1. The physics of the ice-ocean boundary

2. The role of glacial melt in the wider ocean

3. The impact of ocean-driven melt on glacier and ice sheet mass balance

4. New and emerging technologies for studying ice-ocean interaction

Recordings of invited presentations from the workshop are available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-K08KQA86pNh5oLHNZU0Hw

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