IceBox

IceBox 2.0.0 is a modernisation and refactor of IceBox v1.8.3, the Antarctic Sea Ice Processes and Climate (ASPeCt) observation software for collecting and analysing sea ice data during research cruises.

Please refer to the ASPeCt Sea-Ice cards for guidelines on classifying sea ice and recording data.

Overview

This application enables researchers to:

• Record sea ice observations with coordinates
• Track meteorological data (temperature, wind, cloud cover)
• Document ice conditions and concentrations
• Analyse and filter observation data
• Export data in CSV and ASPECT formats
• Import bulk observations from CSV files

Originally developed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), this is a refactoring by the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) using modern web technologies while preserving all original functionality.

Screenshots

Cruise Overview

Observations Overview

Analysis & Filtering

Importing observation data

Quick Start

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start development server
npm run dev

Visit http://localhost:5173/ to use the application.

Development

Available Scripts

# Development server with HMR
npm run dev

# Type checking
npm run build

# Linting
npm run lint

# Preview production build
npm run preview

Building for Production

npm run build

Output is in the dist/ directory, ready for static hosting or Electron packaging.

Configuration

TypeScript

• Strict mode enabled for maximum type safety
• Separate configs for app code (tsconfig.app.json) and Node tooling (tsconfig.node.json)

ESLint

• Flat config format (ESLint 9+)
• React hooks rules enabled
• TypeScript-aware linting

Tailwind CSS

• Custom configuration in tailwind.config.js
• PostCSS processing with @tailwindcss/postcss plugin
• Modern @import "tailwindcss" syntax (v4)

IndexedDB

All data is stored locally in IndexedDB via Dexie.js:

• Works offline, no server required
• Data persists across browser sessions
• Full CRUD operations with TypeScript type safety
• Database schema includes Cruises and Observations

Data Model

Cruise

Field	Type	Required	Description
uuid	string	Yes	Unique identifier
name	string	Yes	Cruise name
voyage_leader	string	Yes	Name of the voyage leader
captain_name	string	Yes	Name of the captain
start_date / end_date	Date	Yes	Cruise date range
voyage_vessel	string	No	Vessel name
voyage_ice_rating	string	No	Ice class rating of the vessel
rostered_persons	RosteredPerson[]	No	Observer roster with hourly assignments
measurement_reference	string	No	Reference point for measurements

Observation

Field	Type	Required	Description
uuid	string	Yes	Unique identifier
cruise	string	Yes	FK to Cruise
entry_datetime	Date	Yes	UTC timestamp of the observation
latitude / longitude	number	Yes	GPS position
total_ice_concentration	number	No	Total concentration (tenths, 0–10)
open_water_type	string	No	Open water type code
primary_ice	IceObservation	No	Primary ice category
secondary_ice	IceObservation	No	Secondary ice category
tertiary_ice	IceObservation	No	Tertiary ice category
air_temp / water_temp	number	No	Temperatures in °C
wind_speed	number	No	Wind speed in m/s
wind_direction	number	No	Wind direction in degrees (0–360)
cloud_cover	number	No	Cloud cover in oktas (0–8)
visibility	string	No	Visibility category
weather	string	No	Weather description
observer	string	No	Observer name
comments	string	No	Free-text notes

IceObservation (per category)

Field	Type	Required	Description
ice_concentration	number	Yes	Concentration in tenths (0–10)
ice_type	string	Yes	ASPeCt ice type code (e.g. FY, MY)
ice_thickness	string	Yes	Thickness code or range
floe_size	string	Yes	Floe size code (e.g. S, M, G)
topography	string	Yes	Topography code (e.g. R3, H1)
snow_type	string	No	Snow type code
snow_thickness	string	No	Snow thickness code
brown_ice	string	No	Brown ice indicator
melt_pond_coverage	number	No	Melt pond areal coverage (%)
melt_pond_depth	number	No	Melt pond depth (m)
melt_pond_length_1/2	number	No	Melt pond dimensions (m)

Credits

For IceBox v2.0.0 onwards:

• Author: British Antarctic Survey
• Developer: Thomas Zwagerman

This is a refactor of the original IceBox v1.8.4. For all version up to v1.8.4:

• Original Author: Australian Antarctic Division
• Original Developer: James Rakich (Maluco Marinero)
• Original Repository: https://bitbucket.org/MalucoMarinero/aspect

License

See LICENSE file for details.