Norwegian Ice Service

The Ice Service of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute (NIS) is responsible for ice monitoring within the Atlantic sector of the Arctic and provides daily (working day, Monday-Friday) ice charts with an emphasis on Svalbard and the Barents Sea. In addition, the Ice Service of the Norwegian Coastal Administration is responsible for informing vessels about the ice situation in southern Norwegian waters. NIS also provides a weekly (on Mondays) ice chart for the Weddell and Bellingshausen Seas of the Antarctic during the austral summer (October to April). For more information on Antartic ice charts, please refer to the "Collaborative Antarctic Chart" project between Norway, Russia and the United States at: http://ice.aari.aq/

The ice charts are high-resolution routine products based on variety of satellite data sources, primarily Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and optical, and provide sea ice concentration as well as delineating areas of fast ice. For the Antarctic, data from passive microwave sensors are also analysed to augment areas lacking in high-resolution satellite coverage. Satellites data are augmented by visual observations and meteorological weather forecasts. Sea surface temperatures are included as contours from thermal infrared imaging satellite data.

The Ice Service analysts study the current conditions primarily via remotely sensed data and provide ice charts, ice-edge information and an overview of the sea surface temperatures. More information can be found at the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) document-574: Sea-Ice Information Services in the World. The Ice Service is also the mandated authority for provision of sea ice and iceberg information in the WMO/IOC JCOMM GMDSS METAREA-XIX, and provides regulatory guidance as a core member of the (WMO) Marine Meteorology and Oceanography Programme (MMOP).

Several forecast models are being tested on a pre-operational basis. These include: (a) U.S. Naval Research Laboratory GOF3.1, (b) Copernicus CMEMS neXtSIM, and (c) the MET Norway Barents-2.5km model.

Address: Istjenesten Vervarslinga for Nord-Norge
Postboks 6314 Langnes
NO-9239 Tromsø
Norway
Telephone: +47 90 47 20 48
E-mail: istjenesten@met.no
Internet: 

Norwegian Ice Service charts: https://cryo.met.no/en/latest-ice-charts  (previous site: http://polarview.met.no/)

Collaborative Antarctic Charts and Archive: http://ice.aari.aq/

Social Media

Twitter: @istjenesten (climatological reporting, text alerts)

Instagram: @norwegianiceservice