Sea ice is a major factor in the physics of the freezing seas but also in its relation to human activities. There are relatively densely populated areas at some freezing basins, such as the Baltic Sea, the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and the Sea of Okhotsk, where sea ice problems are part of everyday life, while in the more remote polar seas navigation and oil and gas exploration need to match the influence of sea ice in the working conditions. The EGU 2009 Applied Sea Ice Research Session focuses on the interface between fundamental properties and physical processes in sea ice and practical sea ice problems in ice-covered waters. The main topics are concerned with shipping, oil and gas exploration including oil spills, sea ice charting and forecasting, environmental problems, e.g., transport of pollutants by sea ice, and the influence of climate change on practical sea ice problems. Also presentations of other applied sea ice research questions are welcome to submitted into the session.