Monitoring polar regions interactively
Until now, little information has been available concerning the present and future surface and atmospheric conditions of the polar regions. However the IOMASA (Integrated observing and modeling of the arctic sea ice and atmosphere) project has expanded Earth observation technology regarding ice monitoring and meteorology in Europe. In an effort to improve knowledge, monitoring and forecasting capabilities for Arctic regions, IOMASA project aims to develop new validated earth observation products. Furthermore, it aims to transform these into higher-order products through integration with other data sources. This will in turn present the feasibility of a near real time forecasting and monitoring system for the Arctic weather and sea ice. For example, although the Greenland Sea region has vast amounts of information available, the data is dispersed, usually in formats which are not easily compatible. Thus it is very difficult to merge data into the set of information desired. Furthermore, the uses can vary from near real time usage to off-line browsing for climate studies. The challenge therefore was to process the information into mutual formats and construct a browser that would allow data to be viewed according to users' preferences. The data is distributed over the Internet using Java for a more global application with the latest version of the code. Specific target groups are companies involved in planning and/or executing navigation in ice frequented waters, ice services in the Northern and Southern hemisphere and scientific partners in various EC projects. The system is available free of charge by clicking at: http://www.seaice.dk
