This good agreement between projections and observations is consistent with the conclusion that initial conditions of spring sea ice are often an important factor in determining ice development over the course of the summer. (searcharcticscience.org)
Setting up an analog computer required scale factors to be chosen, along with initial conditions — that is, starting values. (myintimcity.com)
A quantitative description of the former is straightforward, while to predict where and how the bird will fly from initial conditions is not feasible. (news.mongabay.com)