Workshop on the Role of Sea Ice and its Variability in the Climate System

The sea ice plays a key role in the climate system, through its impact on radiative fluxes and the modulation of freshwater, energy and gas transfers between the atmosphere and the ocean. Sea ice is also key to polar ecosystems and plays a central role in the lives of human communities in the Arctic. Sea ice has been ongoing drastic changes over the past few decades in the Arctic, and more recently in the Antarctic, with important regional and global implications that we have yet to unravel and quantify.

The objective of this workshop is to review the recent advances on understanding the variability of the sea ice in both hemispheres and its linkage with the climate system, and to discuss the important research avenues and opportunities to refine this understanding. To do so, the workshop will feature keynotes, group and panel discussions, as well as poster presentations with a focus on the following topics, each covering both polar regions: