The use of weather, water, ice, and climate (WWIC) information in the Polar Regions: What is known after the decade-long Polar Prediction Project?

Abstract

The Polar Regions are facing a wide range of compounding challenges, from climate change to increased human activity. Infrastructure, rescue services and disaster-response capabilities are limited in these remote environments. Relevant and usable weather, water, ice and climate (WWIC) information is vital for safety, activity success, adaptation and environmental protection. This has been a key focus for the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Polar Prediction Project (PPP), and in particular its ‘Societal and Economic Research and Applications’ (PPP-SERA) Task Team, which together over a decade have sought to understand polar WWIC information use in relation to operational needs, constraints and decision contexts to inform the development of relevant services. To understand research progress and gaps on WWIC information use during the PPP (2013–2023), we undertook a systematic bibliometric review of aligned scholarly peer-reviewed journal articles (n=43), examining collaborations, topics, methods and regional differences. Themes to emerge included activity and context, human factors, information needs, situational awareness, experience, local and Indigenous knowledge, and sharing of information. We observed an uneven representation of disciplinary backgrounds, geographic locations, research topics and sectoral foci. Our review signifies an overall lack of Antarctic WWIC services research and a dominant focus on Arctic sea-ice operations and risks. We noted with concern a mismatch between user needs and services provided. Our findings can help to improve WWIC services’ dissemination, communication effectiveness and actionable knowledge provision for users, and guide future research as the critical need for salient weather services across the Polar Regions remains beyond the PPP.