"The overall objective of SIDARUS is to develop and implement a set of sea ice downstream services in the area of climate research, marine safety and environmental monitoring. SIDARUS will extend the present GMES services with new satellite-derived sea ice products, ice forecasting from regional models and validation of sea ice products using non-satellite data. The demand for improved sea ice information in the Arctic and Antarctic by many user groups is growing as a result of climate change and its impact on environment and human activities. The presently observed reduction of the Arctic sea ice extent, in particular during the summer months and an increasing demand for natural resources are key mechanisms driving human activities in these areas. In Antarctic, ice discharge from several ice shelves is a significant climate indicator, leading to enhanced iceberg population in the Southern Ocean. SIDARUS will develop, validate and demonstrate five sea ice services using satellites as the major source of data. The services include (1) high-resolution sea ice and iceberg mapping by SAR, (2) sea ice albedo from optical sensors, (3) sea ice thickness from satellite radar altimeter and passive microwave data, (4) ARGOS tracking of marine mammals combined with sea ice maps, and (5) ice forecasting based on numerical models and satellite data. In addition to analysis of satellite earth observation data, the project will analyze in situ, airborne and under-ice data from previous and new field campaigns. These are essential data for validation of satellite retrievals. Data products with large or unknown accuracy are of limited values for most users. It is therefore of high priority that data products from past, present and future satellites are validated for quality control and error estimation. SIDARUS will be implemented by a consortium of six partners all with long experience in observation of sea ice and icebergs and implementation of operational services."