S2S Sea Ice Information

Improving communication to rural Alaska communities

Seasonal to subseasonal (S2S) forecasts offer significant potential to support risk-management decisions for subsistence, search and rescue, and transportation in Alaska coastal communities. In partnership with the Alaska Region National Weather Service (NWS), Arctic Testbed and Proving Ground, Alaska Environmental Science and Services Integration Center, and Alaska Arctic Observatory Knowledge Hub (AAOKH), this project seeks to improve NWS communication of S2S information on sea ice for coastal communities in Alaska. The project consists of two phases. First, we conduct a document analysis to assess previous engagement activities and S2S sea ice information needs. Second, conduct a series of community meetings in three regional hub communities (Nome, Kotzebue, Utqiaġvik) to develop a deeper understanding of decision contexts, preferences, and priorities as well as NWS capacities. This includes: (1) identifying important ice freezing, thaw, and intra-seasonal evolution that impact activities; (2) understanding locally-relevant environmental factors and time frames related to ice evolution; (3) identifying accessible means of communicating S2S information; (4) assessing understanding and use of S2S information; and (5) tolerances for uncertainty in S2S predictions.