ice and ocean products, and forecasts from daily to decadal timescales, enabling safe marine operations, decision-making in a rapidly changing Arctic. record, which began in 1979. In 2023, the 1.21 million square kilometers below the percent decline from 1979 values. This loss twice the size of Alaska. Changes in sea ice affect coastal communities (see Goal 6), weather patterns (see Goal 3), transform ecosystems (see Goal 1), and impact polar food harvest to informing emergency oil spill response and damage assessments. Food webs are shifting from benthic-focused (e.g., Arctic cod) to pelagic-dominated (e.g., capelin) systems and affecting beluga whale diets and feeding patterns. Changes in sea ice and its effect on waves lead to increased erosion and flooding risks in coastal villages, while traditional practices tied to shorefast sea ice are becoming increasingly expanded in the spring and autumn. Commercial maritime traffic has increased in the North West and North East passages and through the Bering Strait. There is growing demand for accurate, high-resolution, and near-real-time sea ice analyses and forecasts. These data are crucial for maritime safety and emergency for oil spills, marine debris, and other environmental risks in the region22. Accurate and timely sea ice Goal 5). This rapidly evolving context requires regular observation of Arctic atmospheric and ocean states, circulation, and sea ice characteristics from a robust observing network. Understanding the interactions and dynamic processes in coupled atmosphere-ice-ocean models. The Arctic is likely to experience mostly sea ice-free summers at least once before 2050, demanding urgent action and adaptation. Recent studies?3 suggest that sea ice-free Arctic summers may be observed as early 21 W. N. Meier et al.,"Sea Ice, in Arctic Report Card 2023, ed. R. L. Thoman, T. A. Moon, and M. L. Druckenmiller (2023), 2 Henry P. Huntington et al., “Effects of Arctic commercial shipping on environments and communities: context, governance, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pi/S1361920923001281. 23 Yeon-Hee Kim et al.,"Observationally-constrained projections of an ice-free Arctic even under a low emission scenario," Nature Communications 14(2023): 3139, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-38511-8.