Robert C. Rhodes, Ruth H. Preller, Pamela G. Posey, and Lucy F. Smedstad, Naval Research Lab.
Since the late 1980s, ice forecasting systems developed by the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), have been predicting conditions in the Arctic for operational use by the U.S. Navy. In July 1996, a coupled ice-ocean model, the Polar Ice Prediction System (PIPS 2.0) was implemented operationally at the Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center (FNMOC). PIPS 2.0 is a forecast system that consist of the Hibler ice model (Hibler, 1979; 1980) coupled to the Bryan and Cox ocean model (Cox, 1984). PIPS 2.0 forecasts conditions in all sea-ice covered areas in the northern hemisphere (down to 30N latitude). The horizontal grid resolution of the model is 0.28 degrees with 15 vertical levels.