Project for refining the Iceberg Drift Model

Status: Active

Collaborating with clients and partners, the NRC is developing and enhancing technology to more accurately forecast the drift path of icebergs and improve safety in Arctic waters.

Objectives

Continue to refine iceberg drift forecasting, which is essential for safe shipping and offshore drilling operations

Deliverables

Develop and enhance the Iceberg Drift Model as a reliable method of forecasting the drift paths of icebergs

Activities

Enhance the Iceberg Drift Model by:
- ensuring the model continues to incorporate the comprehensive physics of iceberg motion, deterioration and calving
- using a robust numerical method and the latest generation of ocean current forecast products
- enhancing the model's usefulness in a range of Arctic conditions by studying the drift of icebergs in pack ice
Collaborate and share the Iceberg Drift Model with our Canadian government partner, the Canadian Ice Service of Environment and Climate Change Canada, and four international agencies that issue iceberg forecasts: the United States (International Ice Patrol), Norway, Denmark and Argentina
Through this international community, coordinate efforts to use and improve the Iceberg Drift Model to support safe navigation and offshore operations in all waters where icebergs are a concern
Lead one of the international community's first actions, with funding from the Government of Canada's Program of Energy Research and Development (PERD), to modernize the Iceberg Drift Model to:
- facilitate international collaboration
- use web services to quickly access a variety of weather forecast products required by the model