The mass balance of sea ICE is a simple yet powerful concept that can attribute the ongoing observed changes in the arctic sea ICE cover to changes in ICE growth surface melt and bottom melt

We have addressed the how arctic sea ICE is changing by deploying autonomous sea ICE mass balance buoys. Data from ICE mass balance buoys provide a time series of snow accumulation and ablation ICE growth ICE surface and bottom melt internal ICE temperature fields and time averaged estimates of ocean heat flux. Taken together these data delineate whether there has been a change in the mass balance of the ICE due to ICE growth surface melt bottom melt or snow accumulation. These measurements provide insight on the how of ICE loss by determining the relative contributions of atmospheric and oceanic forcing. Each september we deploy two ICE mass balance buoys in the beaufort sea. Data from these buoys are transmitted home via iridium and posted online within five minutes of the time of the observation (HTTPS4 //WWW. Cryosphereinnovation. COM/data ). We developed strong collaborations with other arctic ocean research groups and are part of the arctic observing network and the international arctic buoy program. Through our collaborations other groups are posting their ICE mass balance buoy results on the cryosphere innovation website greatly expanding the geographic scope of sea ICE mass balance observation. The ICE mass balance buoys are collocated with other autonomous buoys measuring atmosphere and ocean properties. ICE mass buoys data have shown what changes are occurring and what is driving those changes. Results demonstrate that substantial increases in bottom melting are a major contributor to ICE losses in the beaufort sea. This increase in bottom melting is linked to a regional decrease in ICE concentration and an increase in sunlight absorbed in the upper ocean. This work directly supports goal 1 in the NOAA s trategic plan ocean exploration. The seasonal ICE mass balance buoys will be using innovative methods to make and report in real time observations in waters north of alaska in the beaufort sea and arctic ocean. These buoys will add important data on environmental conditions in a region where observations are sparse. We will also conduct outreach activities to make k - 1 2 students and the public aware of our findings. One activity will be collaborating with a filmmaker (AMY lauren) to make a virtual reality film reveries of an ICE mass balance buoy aimed at a general audience.