An Ice-Ocean Forecasting System For Eastern Canadian Waters
An ice-ocean forecasting system for eastern Canadian waters has been developed to provide short-term forecasts of ice concentration, ice thickness, sea surface temperature and other oceanographic variables. The system has been run operationally at Bedford Institute of Oceanography since 2007. Daily forecasts are provided to users in the offshore oil industrial, sea-ice research institutes, and government agencies responsible for search-and-rescue operation and marine shipping. Forecast results in graphic forms are posted on the Internet accessible by the general public. In this paper, the forecast model, forcing data, methods of data assimilation, operational procedure and evaluation of forecast skills are described.