Interannual variations in the Beaufort Sea summer ice cover influence climatic, ecological, and socioeconomic conditions. Utilizing an ice severity index based on the distance from Point Barrow, Alaska, to the ice edge and characteristics of the shipping season, variations in summer ice conditions can be examined from 1953 through the present with respect to variations in winter and summer surface and meteorological conditions. This poster highlights current research in sea ice-atmosphere interactions in the Beaufort Sea, and outlines plans for additional research during the IPY.