We have released the summer Arctic sea-ice forecast of this year.
http://ccsr.aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/~kimura_n/arctic/2018e.html
*You can access same contents from https://ads.nipr.ac.jp/vishop/
First report was released on May 17, and the second report considering the ice condition until May was released on June 28. These reports show the daily sea ice concentration map from July 1 to September 30. Minimum ice extent in September is expected to be about 4.7 million square kilometer, which is almost same as the last year.
Third report released on July 31 involves a forecast of multi-year ice, which is an older thick ice. Information on the multi-year ice distribution has a potential to contribute to the safe and efficient use of the Arctic Sea Route.
These forecast used daily sea-ice concentration and ice velocity data derived from the satellite images by passive-microwave sensors, AMSR-E and AMSR2.
We are planning to release the fall-winter forecast within this month.
Noriaki Kimura(The University of Tokyo / a member of theme 5)
Predicted sea ice cover and multi-year ice distribution on September 11, 2018.
