Opinion: status, plans and needs of Southern Ocean modelling

Abstract

In preparation for the SOOS/OCEAN:ICE Workshop on ice-ocean observation harmonization and future priorities agenda, a survey targeting the modelling community was conducted to assess research priorities for the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. While this initiative was tailored mostly towards physical ocean and ice modelling, its outcome specifically supports the design of field activities from the open Southern Ocean to the Antarctic shelf for the forthcoming Antarctica InSync campaign and is aligned with broader strategic planning efforts ahead of the next International Polar Year. The survey results are a useful basis to further communication between modeling and observing science communities. We believe this is crucial for optimizing campaign planning, achieving enhanced data usage and improving numerical experiments.