Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO): First Report Now Available
Study of Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH)
For more information, please go to:
http://www.arcus.org/search/siwo
Or contact:
Helen Wiggins, SEARCH Project Office, ARCUS
Email: helen [at] arcus.org
The first report of the Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook (SIWO) is now
available! To access the report and for more information, go to the SIWO
website at: http://www.arcus.org/search/siwo.
The Sea Ice for Walrus Outlook, an activity of the Study of
Environmental Arctic Change (SEARCH) Sea Ice Outlook
(http://www.arcus.org/search/seaiceoutlook/index.php), is a resource for
Alaska Native subsistence hunters, coastal communities, and others
interested in sea ice and walrus.
The SIWO will be updated weekly with information on sea ice conditions
relevant to walrus in the Northern Bering Sea and southern Chukchi Sea
regions of Alaska. SIWO updates will be released every Friday through
late June.
SIWO reports include:
- An assessment of current ice conditions relevant to distribution
and access of walrus;
- A 10-day outlook of wind conditions;
- Up-to-date satellite imagery for the Bering Strait and St.
Lawrence Island, which are two regions of interest to coastal
communities engaging in the walrus hunt;
- Written observations of ice development from Alaska Native
hunters, sea-ice experts, or National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) or university researchers;
- Additional data and resources on ice conditions; and
- Additional comments provided by local experts and other
contributors.
The SIWO is a collaboration between weather and ice forecasters; climate
scientists and sea-ice researchers at NOAA, the National Weather
Service, and the University of Alaska; Alaska Native sea-ice experts;
and the Eskimo Walrus Commission.
If you are a local hunter, expert, or a scientist with observations on
the development of sea ice or any other aspect of walrus and sea ice,
please send your comments to Helen Wiggins (helen [at] arcus.org) at the Sea
Ice Outlook Central Office at the Arctic Research Consortium of the U.S.
(ARCUS); your comments will be included on the SIWO webpage.
Preparations are also underway for launching the regional and pan-arctic
Sea Ice Outlook in May.
To access the report and for more information, go to the SIWO website at:
http://www.arcus.org/search/siwo.
Or contact:
Helen Wiggins, SEARCH Project Office, ARCUS
Email: helen [at] arcus.org