In theory, the same sea-ice models could be used for both research and operations, but in practice, differences in scientific and software requirements and computational and human resources complicate the matter. Although sea-ice modeling tools developed for climate studies and other research applications produce output of interest to operational forecast users, such as ice motion, convergence, and internal ice pressure, the relevant spatial and temporal scales may not be sufficiently resolved. For instance, sea-ice research codes are typically run with horizontal resolution of more than 3 km, while mariners need information on scales less than 300 m. Certain sea-ice processes and coupled feedbacks that are critical to simulating the Earth system may not be relevant on these scales; and therefore, the most important model upgrades for improving sea-ice predictions might be made in the atmosphere and ocean components of coupled models or in their coupling mechanisms, rather than in the sea-ice model itself. This paper discusses some of the challenges in applying sea-ice modeling tools developed for research purposes for operational forecasting on short time scales, and highlights promising new directions in sea-ice modeling.

理论上，相同的海冰模型可以用于研究和操作，但在实践中，科学和软件要求以及计算和人力资源的差异使问题变得复杂。尽管为气候研究和其他研究应用开发的海冰建模工具产生了业务预报用户感兴趣的输出，例如冰运动、收敛和内部冰压力，但相关的空间和时间尺度可能无法充分解决。例如，海冰研究代码通常以超过 3 km 的水平分辨率运行，而海员则需要小于 300 m 的尺度信息。对于模拟地球系统至关重要的某些海冰过程和耦合反馈可能与这些尺度无关；因此，改善海冰预测的最重要的模型升级可能是在耦合模型的大气和海洋部分或其耦合机制中进行，而不是在海冰模型本身中进行。本文讨论了应用为研究目的而开发的海冰建模工具进行短时间尺度业务预测的一些挑战，并强调了海冰建模中有前途的新方向。