The Arctic Ocean is an important component of the global climate system. Global climate models indicate, to varying degrees, that processes occurring in the Arctic Ocean impact the rate of deep- and bottom-water formation in the convective regions of the high North Atlantic. An identification of the underlying cause for differences among climate models and model systematic errors in the Arctic Ocean region remains unchecked, despite being essential to interpreting the simulation results and their implications for climate variability. For this reason, the Arctic Ocean Model Intercomparison Project (AOMIP), an international effort, has been recently established to carry out a thorough analysis of model differences and errors. The goals of this project are to examine the ability of regional Arctic Ocean models to simulate Arctic evolution on seasonal to decadal scales, and to qualitatively and quantitatively understand their responses under changing climate forcing. A key deliverable of the project will be recommendations to global climate models for an improved representation of the Arctic Ocean in the Earth's climate system.