Organizers announce a call for registration and abstracts submissions for the Polar Prediction Workshop (PPW) 2017 and the 2nd Sea Ice Model Intercomparison (SIMIP) Project meeting. These workshops will convene 27-30 March 2017 in Bremerhaven, Germany.

These workshops are jointly organized by the Polar Climate Predictability Initiative (WCRP-PCPI), the Polar Prediction Project (WWRP-PPP), the Sea Ice Prediction Network (SIPN), and SIMIP.

The PPW 2017 will convene 27-29 March beginning with the public Alfred Wegener Lecture where a distinguished climate scientist is invited to report on emerging fields of research for scientific exchange. This year's lecture entitled "A Decade of Sea Ice Prediction" will be given by Cecilia Bitz from the Atmospheric Science department at the University of Washington. The lecture will review rapid advances in predicting skills of Arctic sea ice conditions since The Sea Ice Outlook began collecting and reporting predictions in 2008. The focus of the subsequent Polar Prediction Workshop is on environmental prediction in the polar regions on subseasonal to interannual timescales. As in previous years, sea ice prediction will play a central role. 

Desired outcomes include the compilation of recommendations for the 2017 Sea Ice Outlook season and the stimulation of collaborations in the context of the Year of Polar Prediction (YOPP) that will occur mid-2017mid-2019.

Abstract topics for the PPW 2017 workshop include:

- Predictability;
- Modelling, data assimilation, and forecasting;
- Observations;
- Verification; and
- User needs.

The SIMIP workshop will be held 29-30 March and is devoted to discussions about the sea ice simulations from the upcoming CMIP6
experiments (SIMIP), with three distinct aims:

- To discuss and define best practices for the evaluation of sea-ice simulations against observations,
- To identify and define new remote sensing and in situ sea ice observations that will allow for improved model evaluation and initialization, and
- To discuss and coordinate the analysis of CMIP6 sea ice simulations for improved understanding of sea ice processes and improved sea ice projections.

The SIMIP workshop will primarily be a discussion meeting with a few invited presentations and is organized by the WCRP-Climate and Cryosphere (CliC) Sea ice and Climate Modeling Forum.

There is some funding available to support early career scientists. To apply for early-career travel support, do so in the online form.

Abstract submission deadline for PPW 2017: 30 January 2017.

Registration deadline for both workshops: 30 January 2017.