An evaluation of the PIPS 2.0 ice cover versus SSMI ice concentration from 1992-2000

The Polar Ice Prediction System 2.0 (PIPS 2.0) is a coupled ice-ocean model developed by the Naval Research Laboratory for the prediction of ice thickness, ice drift and ice concentration. The model has been run operationally by the U.S. Navy at the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC) since the mid-1990s and produces a 120-hour forecast of ice conditions in the Arctic and its marginal seas. PIPS 2.0 is driven by the atmospheric forecast fields from the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS). In an operational mode, PIPS 2.0 assimilates SSMI derived ice concentration each day. In a research mode, the SSMI ice concentration data is not assimilated, rather it is used for model metrics (validation). PIPS 2.0 results are presented as a time series for the period 1992-2000. Model results are correlated to the atmospheric forcing and evaluated against SSMI ice coverage data. In addition, the atmospheric forcing is evaluated against Sheba observations taken in 1997-1998. Biases in the model-derived ice fields directly related to biases in the atmospheric forcing fields