The SCAR Antarctic Sea-ice Processes and Climate (ASPeCt) Expert Group, co-sponsored by the Climate and Cryosphere project (CliC), met in Wellington, NZ in February this year and had the main goal of increasing coordination with other groups conducting sea ice related research in the Antarctic region. The group mainly focussed on increasing linkages with ongoing and emerging initiatives such as the SCOR Working Group for Measuring Essential Climate Variables in Sea Ice (ECV-Ice), the Year of Polar Prediction-Southern Hemisphere, and the CLIVAR/CliC/SCAR Southern Ocean Region Panel (SORP).
Technical discussions also focussed on the development of standardised equipment for Fast Ice measurements and the goal of extending (automated) standardised fast-ice instrumentation to include underway, ship-based (and possible plane/airframe-based) sensor packages to complete in situ sea-ice observatories. ASPeCt also fills an important observation role in establishing technical standards in the World Meteorological Organisation’s Global Cryosphere Watch programme.