Abstract The characteristics of the Polar Pack are generally thought to have a large influence on terrestrial weather. Yet the environment of the sea ice and its dynamic response to the seasonal cycle, as well as to gradually changing average conditions, have received little study or transport modelling. A specific measurement program was devised and taken to the Arctic, to determine some aspects of ice-pack transport. This information will be combined with other simultaneous far-field data. Then modelling of instantaneous rates and of net transport will be attempted. The characteristics of several new kinds of sensor arrangements are also discussed, along with the modelling strategies now envisioned.