The Changing Climate Of WAR and PEACE - The Emerging Arctic

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This is a long article but well worth the read as to why the Coast Guard has been spending so much time in the Arctic of late.  If you haven't been keeping up almost daily with what the Coast Guard is doing with numerous cutters and aircraft in the Arctic on our Coast Guard News thread here are links to the articles.

Coast Guard Cutter MELLON Patrols U.S. Artic
U.S. experts say Russia 'is winning the Arctic race'
Congressman Stupak pushes for another icebreaker
CG Operation Salliq Continues Above Arctic Circle
Cutters Hamilton And Spar Patrol The Artic Ocean
Video Interview ADM Brooks Aboard CGC HAMILTON
Ice Breaker Healy In Artic For Chukchi Cap Exploration
CGC SPAR Crosses Arctic Circle On Anniversary of NW Passage
Rear Adm Brooks Warns Of Conflict Over Artic Borders - BBC
Cutter Hamilton Returns From Arctic Patrol



The changing climate of war and peace
Mike Barber
September 18, 2008

My colleague Lisa Stiffler's enlightening yet troubling story in Wednesday's P-I about the rapidly melting of Arctic ice has significance for the military, as environmental security increasingly dovetails with national security.

While voices in the political world remain locked in inertia, alternately debating and decrying the science of global warming itself, top military leaders and defense think-tanks have been taking it seriously.



Terrorism is a malevolent problem, but climate change, observers say, is a malignant problem, and the world can't ignore neither.

The American military has been examining future implications of global warming as a threat to peace, hoping to head off a world fighting over reduced natural resources, food and water, and conflicts brought on by population locations created by droughts, floods, and diseases.

At a forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center in May 2007, eleven retired three- and four-start generals and admirals, brought together by the 66-year-old non-profit Center for Naval Analyses Corp, released a report called "National Security and Climate Change" that said flatly that global climate change is a serious national security concern.

The heat of war and thawing of relations take on newer, more literal meanings. Among the conclusions:

• Projected climate change poses a serious threat to America's national security.
• Climate change acts as a threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world.
• Projected climate change will add to tensions even in stable regions of the world.
• Climate change, national security and energy dependence are a related set of global challenges.

While U.S. military units like the 25th Marines for years have trained in Arctic warfare, military leaders are stressing more Arctic familiarization training to learn to command forces there if needed.

In the June 2006 issue of "Proceedings," the magazine of the U.S. Naval Institute, Navy Lt. Magda Hanna, who now is with the U.S. State Department's "Office of Global Change" in Washington, D.C., wrote that global warming was opening sea lanes, and potential conflicts, between nation's over access and natural resources.
You can find Hanna's article, "In the dark and out in the cold," at the Naval Institute's web site, but you will have to register to call it up.

The Arctic became a strategic submarine shortcut in Cold War days after the USS Nautilus in 1958 made the first submerged visit to the North Pole – which you can read about farther down in this blog.

But these days surface ships from countries that do not border the Arctic Rim are venturing there, while those on the rim explore and lay claim to potential waterways and natural resources. Within the last year, Coast Guard vessels in the Arctic have been surprised to come upon Chinese research vessels venturing there.

Adm. Thad Allen, the Coast Guard commandant, is beating the drum on the service's new Arctic mission. In August he testified about the situation before Congress. The Coast Guard now is engaged in test operations along the coast of Alaska's North Slope to explore the "unique challenges" the melting polar caps are creating.

In March, Rear Adm. Gene Brooks, who commands the 17th Coast Guard District encompassing Alaska, oversaw a a new operation called Arctic Domain Awareness, to train and learn more about the Arctic and what other countries are venturing there.

"Climate change is upon us," Brooks told The Associated Press at the time. "The Arctic sea ice is leaving earlier and coming later."

Continue With Story at "Seattle will have a front and center role."  (About halfway down the page)

NOTE:   This story will be merged into Coast Guard News at a later date.

[mike220]

They got all five cutters into Pier 36? I thought that wasn't possible. Bet Station Seattle has a fun time getting in and out.

[BuoyJumper]

Arctic Journal Series - CGC Healy Part 1
9/8/2008 3:05:00 PM

Arctic Ocean, Friday Sept 5th

USCGC Healy, America’s Eyes and Ears in the Arctic

Greetings from the Arctic Ocean aboard Coast Guard Cutter Healy. At 420ft and 16,000 tons, Healy is the Coast Guard’s largest ship. We spend our summers in the Arctic, and in many regards are America’s “eyes and ears” in this remote corner of the world. While we spend the vast majority of our time and effort collaborating with other federal agencies such as the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), like all Coast Guard Cutters, we are a multi-mission unit. I’ll discuss those collaborative efforts in a follow on Journal entry.

 

We have capabilities that only Healy, and the Coast Guard’s other operational icebreaker, Polar Sea, can bring to the Arctic. Healy can operate capably in 8 feet of ice; Polar Sea in an amazing 21 feet of ice. Healy has superior scientific instrumentation and facilities, and an edge in seakeeping comfort in the heavy seas that dominate Alaska waters. We can cut a path through ice-covered waters to “escort” a thin-skinned ship safely. And it’s no small feat of seamanship, but we can also tow a disabled vessel through modest ice conditions.

We can operate in the arctic for months without outside support. That’s critical at the end of the world because the nearest port with any form of ship support such as fuel, repairs, and bulk food is Dutch Harbor, 4-12 days away depending upon conditions and just how far north we’re operating. We can also carry 35-50 guests to supplement any mission. And we sail with a Physician’s Assistant as our Medical Officer, which is more medical capability than any other Coast Guard cutter.

Our flight deck is larger and stronger than any other in the Service, which allows us to land the Coast Guard’s long range helicopter, the HH-60 “Jayhawk”, as well as the ship deployed HH-65 “Dolphin.” Under the right circumstances, we can help double the off-shore range of those helicopters for search and rescue or surveillance.

The 80 men and women comprising the crew of Healy are all Coastguardsmen first and foremost. We’re trained and ready for search and rescue or to place an armed boarding team aboard another vessel. In a pinch, we could probably deploy navigational buoys in deep-draft waters.

There’s not much call for some of those capabilities today, but that’s changing, sooner rather than later. When I first sailed the Arctic 21 years ago, we were truly alone up here. We didn’t see another ship during 4 months in the Arctic; our first sighting was in the southern Bering Sea near St. Paul Island on the way home.

By contrast, we’ve already seen a handful of research vessels in the light ice around Barrow earlier in the season. In early August, we were called upon to assist three Canadian ships transiting in ice west of Barrow, although they freed themselves before we arrived. Perhaps most surprising, we sighted the Chinese research vessel Xue Long operating north of our position at 82 degrees north latitude. We knew she was operating in the Arctic—we just didn’t expect to see her so far north. Her advertised ice capabilities are a bit less than those of Healy. Her captain is boldly completing his mission.

When we think about capabilities in the Arctic, we need to remember the distances are huge and the elements unforgiving. We can do all these things, if we’re in the right place at the right time. Capable as we are, we’re just one ship and one crew. Capability is one of those things you don’t miss—until you need it. If you’re not ready, it’s too late.

For a more complete view of the changes in the Arctic and how the Coast Guard is responding, I encourage you to read the Journal entries of Rear Admiral Gene Brooks, the Coast Guard Commander for Alaska. Those entries are in the archives section of the Coast Guard Journal.

Stay tuned for what we’re up to this summer in my next entry.

Captain Fred Sommer
Commanding Officer, USCGC HEALY

LINK

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Arctic Journal Series - CGC Healy Part 2
9/9/2008 8:20:00 AM

Arctic Ocean, Saturday Sep 6th

Finding the Extended Continental Shelf

The primary, day-to-day mission of Coast Guard Cutter Healy is to support scientific research in the Arctic. The ship was built with this in mind, and the National Science Foundation provided scientific experts to help with the final design and construction details. Thus, Healy combines two key capabilities found in only a handful of ships world-wide: Arctic icebreaking and a multi-beam echo sounder.

A conventional echo sounder or depth finder provides a single reference for determining the depth of water. It generally works well when the bottom contours change slowly, but is subject to a limited view in areas where there are underwater “cliffs” or other steep contour changes. A multi-beam echo sounder sends out an array of echo sounder signals at the same time, and thus provides a “three dimensional” picture. To illustrate the difference, a recent multi-beam survey in the Marianas Islands revealed 14 previously unknown seamounts. While that’s not such a big deal to surface ships, it’s a very big deal to submarines.

 

Healy is spending the summer mapping the Arctic Ocean floor in collaboration with NOAA, USGS, and the Canadian government. The purpose of mapping the ocean floor is to find the extent of the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS). The multi-beam data provides a much more accurate picture of the exact extent of the ECS. It turns out the Arctic Ocean floor is full of “cliffs” which are very important to defining the ECS.

The mapping operations are directed by an embarked Chief Scientist. For the month of August, we operated in the area roughly 500 miles north of Barrow known as the Chukchi Cap or Chukchi Borderland. Dr. Larry Mayer of the University of New Hampshire, working under a NOAA grant, served as Chief Scientist. In addition to mapping, we also obtained rock samples from the sea floor. These rock samples will help define the geologic formations that form the continental shelf. Dredging for rock samples in water 2 miles deep proved far more art than science. Our efforts were rewarded with about a ton of samples which are headed to U.S. research labs for analysis.

During the month of September, we are operating jointly with the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Louis S. St. Laurent in the area of the Canada Basin. This is a joint operation because both countries have an interest in the area. We expect the entire basin, which extends for the Canadian Archipelago to the Chukchi Cap is part of the ECS. Both countries will need the data; we’re saving time, money, and resources by cooperating. The Chief Scientist directing this month’s work is Jonathan Childs of the U.S. Geological Survey. We also have representatives of the State Department, NOAA, the National Ice Center, the Native Alaskan Community, and the Canadian Coast Guard aboard.

Defining the ECS is in the national interest. Under the Convention of the Law of the Sea, nations may define a continental shelf beyond the 200 nautical mile limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under certain circumstances. In May of this year, the United States met with other arctic nations at Ilulissat, Greenland and reinforced the law of the sea will govern Arctic waters.

I’ve read plenty of press reports that characterize the ECS project as a “land grab”. However, my view of the ECS project goes beyond this. The Convention on the Law of the Sea also provides tremendous environmental protections, and other provisions in support of humanity as a whole.

Technology and climate change may soon allow exploiting resources that have been previously inaccessible. Using a little imagination, consider a world without the legal framework of the Convention on the Law of the Sea. Such a world is one of an ungoverned free-for-all across the Arctic. No regulation, no environmental protections, no broader considerations of humanity--any nation with sea going capability does whatever they want in the Arctic.

Sovereign resource management works. The Bering Sea fishery is cited by some as the only healthy fishery on the globe. The reason: 2/3 of the Bering Sea is in the U.S. EEZ. The U. S. Coast Guard aggressively patrols the EEZ to keep poachers out. The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and its partner agencies monitor and control the fish harvest. As further evidence, consider the “donut hole”, a triangle in the Bering Sea that is in international waters beyond the EEZ. In the 1970’s the donut hole was unregulated and fished to depletion. Shortly thereafter, an international treaty closed the donut hole to all fishing. It still hasn’t recovered.

While mapping is our primary focus, we also carry scientist studying marine mammals, polar ice formation, climate change, and purely scientific aspects of the ocean floor geology….35 experts in all. It’s quite cooperative a little village floating about the Arctic Ocean.

Stay tuned for future entries from the northern limits of the world.

Captain Fred Sommer
Commanding Officer, USCGC Healy.

LINK

[BuoyJumper]

Arctic Journal Series - CGC Healy Part 3
9/10/2008 8:02:00 AM

Arctic Ocean, Monday, Sept 7th

Musings of an Arctic Sea Captain

Well, word from the beach arrived and told me to keep the blog shorter, and make it more personal. Today, I’ll try to offer a glimpse into “what it’s like to be the Captain of Healy”. I summarize it in three words: Service, Responsibility, and Pride.

 

Like the other 42,000 men and women wearing a Coast Guard uniform, I choose to serve the country and ideals greater than myself. The men and women of the Coast Guard are an extremely talented and motivated group. We’re imminently employable in the private sector, in many cases, for greater financial rewards. But riches can’t buy job satisfaction. I want to leave our country and planet better than I found it, for my kids, and for their kids. The work on an agenda that large is never done. For me, the Coast Guard’s mission set provides a tangible way to make things better. In the case of Healy, we are doing the work needed to preserve arctic resources, and protect life and property as arctic development accelerates.

Responsibility. Leading 80 of our nation’s finest sailors and 30-50 of our best and brightest scientific minds on a modern polar expedition is a weighty responsibility. Their safety is on my mind every waking hour. Every ship at sea must be self-sufficient. We are our own power, light, propulsion, water, and sewage company; our own fire department and emergency room; our own hotel, restaurant, health club, movie theater, chapel and science lab. Operating 500-600 miles north of Barrow with a satellite phone for communications amplifies that isolation.

The prospect of a medical emergency is the one that weighs heaviest, largely because we can’t control it and our ability to respond is limited. Our Physician’s Assistant is immensely talented. But his skills and facilities end at minor surgery—if someone needs a procedure requiring general anesthesia, it’s a 3-5 day sail to Barrow, followed by a life-flight to Fairbanks. A big part of being the captain is to constantly think and re-evaluate the ship’s operations, the weather, the crew’s endurance. Captains get paid to constantly ask themselves: What can go wrong? How will we deal with it? What can we do to reduce the risk? What am I not thinking of (that I should be)?

We can’t eliminate the risks inherent in going to sea or operating in the extreme remoteness and weather of the Arctic. But we can be smart about managing the risks. My job is to get the mission done and to bring the people and ship back in one piece. Simple to say; harder to do.

By tradition and necessity, the job of sea captain is fairly lonely, even when you’re surrounded by 130 people for several months. We can be very social and care deeply about our crew…yet it’s prudent to leave a little separation, to stay a little aloof, because eventually the captain will face a decision requiring the utmost objectivity—probably a decision with no “good” options.

Pride. When I tell people what I do for a living, their reaction tends to be one of “being impressed”. I think this is born of an impression that the job is one of great privilege, respect, and perhaps ego. There’s a grain of truth to that, but only a grain: there are some good perks, and I don’t know a sea captain without at least enough ego to be confident in their abilities. Yet, I submit that the pride of being the Captain of Healy is much humbler than that. I’m humbled to be assigned the responsibility and the opportunity to serve. I’m proud to be collaborating among federal agencies to advance national interests, especially during a time when so much of the nation is cynical about the ability of the government to work constructively and efficiently. Above all, I’m proud to serve with our nation’s finest young people who absolutely impress me every day with their energy, dedication, idealism and service. I’m not alone in these views. The Coast Guard is a small service and the sea captains all know one another. You’ll find servant leadership a key quality in all my colleagues.

Just for fun. By Coast Guard standards, I am an old man at age 45. In light of our medical strategy, maybe that’s a good thing! Certainly the strange hours and physical stress of extreme climate favor the young man. Middle age seems like a nice balance of experience and youth for the captain.

For 23 years, I’ve counseled Coast Guard people considering other careers to have a clear plan that will make them happier. I tell them, “There will be time enough to work at Wal-Mart when you’re old.” I had to remind myself of that lesson last spring when my orders arrived and I contemplated leaving my wife and children for the better part of two years. It wasn’t a simple decision, but it was the right one for us.

I’m going to leave the blogging to the crew for a while.

Captain Fred Sommer
Commanding Officer, USCGC Healy

LINK

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District 17 PDF Document

The Emerging Arctic
  A New Maritime Frontier

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News Release
Date: October 7, 2008
Contact: D17 Public Affairs

Coast Guard cutter Healy arrives in Kodiak
after completing Arctic mission



KODIAK, ALASKA - The nation's largest icebreaker, the 420-foot Coast Guard cutter Healy, arrived here today for a brief port call before continuing on to their homeport of Seattle.  The Healy's arrival in Kodiak comes at the conclusion of the cutter's Arctic West Summer 2008 mission.

The Healy crew spent the past four months in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean studying the ecosystem and the Extended Continental Shelf.  The Healy crew will depart Kodiak Wednesday and is scheduled to arrive in Ketchikan, Alaska Saturday.  The Healy will not be available for public tours.

The Healy, which was commissioned in 2000, is the nation's newest and largest of the nation's three polar icebreakers.  The cutter has a permanent crew of 80; her primary mission is scientific support.  In addition, the Healy is capable of other missions such as logistics, search and rescue, ship escort, environmental protection, and the enforcement of laws and treaties in the Polar Regions.

Press Release

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Media Advisory
Date: October 14, 2008
Contact: D13 Public Affairs

Coast Guard Cutter Healy returns
from Arctic after scientific mission



SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - The Coast Guard Cutter Healy, the nation's largest icebreaker, is scheduled to arrive here to Pier 36 at Integrated Support Command Wednesday at 9 a.m., after completing a four-month scientific mission to the Arctic.

With up to 50 embarked scientists, the Healy's crew studied ecosystems in the Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean and the Extended Continental Shelf (ECS). The Healy will undergo necessary maintenance in Seattle before the cutter gets underway for next year's mission.

"The cruise greatly improved our understanding of the Arctic Ocean sea floor morphology and geology north of the Chukchi Cap, and will provide valuable data and insight for the delineation of the limits of the U.S. ECS," said Chief Scientist Dr. Larry Mayer.

The Healy, which was commissioned in 2000, is the nation's newest and largest of three polar icebreakers.  The cutter is 420-feet long and has extensive scientific capabilities. The cutter has a permanent crew of 80 and is capable of other missions such as search and rescue, ship escort in polar ice, environmental protection, and the enforcement of laws and treaties in the polar regions.

For more information about the Healy's scientific missions visit these websites:

http://www.uscg.mil/pacarea/cgchealy
http://www.icefloe.net/

Media Advisory

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Photo Release
Date: October 15, 2008
Contact: D17 Public Affairs

October 14, 2008 Arctic Domain Awareness Flight

JUNEAU, Alaska -- Over the last few years the role of the Coast Guard has increased in the Arctic Ocean.  The Coast Guard will be responsible for providing search and rescue capabilities and protecting America's borders, along with many more roles, as there becomes an increasing amount of vessel traffic through the northwest passage and people that will be visiting the North Slope.

Because of the increasing roles and responsibilities, the Coast Guard has been conducting various exercises while patrolling in the Arctic Ocean, assesing which assets are capable of operating in the icy climate.

 
In the photo above left AMT1 John Ferrari, right, observes the safety of the media while the rear of the C-130 aircarft is open during an Arctic Domain Awareness flight north of Barrow.  Large pans of ice in the photo above right are obeserved from about 150 feet above. They are located along the ice edge north of Barrow.  (U.S. Coast Guard photos/PA1 Sara Francis)

Based on priorities outlined in the National Security Counsil's interagency review of Arctic policy, it is anticipated that the Coast Guard will have the following expanding Arctic roles and missions in the next five to ten years:

• Enhance National Security
• Project U.S. presence
• Protect sovereignty in Arctic
• Safeguard our oceans and resources
• Pollution prevention & response related to increased destinational shipping & offshore energy exploration in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas Living Marine Resource protection
• Facilitate safe navigation and protect Arctic maritime commerce associated with destinational traffic Waterways management Arctic shipping standards via IMO Enhance Arctic Domain Awareness SAR (eco-tourism and subsistence fishing/hunting) Arctic mariner credential/licensing standards
• Support expanding year round research in Arctic

MORE PHOTOS:
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USCG Arctic Domain Awareness

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Flashpoint: Arctic security heats up
Peter Brookes
November 5, 2008



By many accounts, the sea ice that covers much of the earth’s Arctic region is melting. The size — that is, the extent — and thickness of the Arctic ice floes are diminishing, following a three-decade trend and brushing up against last year’s historic lows.
 
While many ruminate about the lives of polar bears, climate change in the Northern Hemisphere and even the fate of small island nations from rising sea levels, there are other possible implications, too — those of the security kind.
 
It turns out that while the geographic North Pole belongs to no one, the area around it may hold significant natural resources, including large deposits of previously inaccessible oil and natural gas. Considering the high cost of energy to consumers and the high value of oil and natural gas to producers these days, people and governments, naturally, are paying very close attention to the dramatic changes taking place in the Arctic Ocean.
 
Circumpolar nations, most notably the U.S., Russia, Canada, Norway and Denmark, are scrambling to claim and control the vast untapped ocean floor under the disappearing ice — even the transit lanes through the Arctic.
 
Hello, climate change; goodbye, peaceful pole.

Resource-rich region

The Arctic (an undefined area, but generally above 66 degrees North latitude) may have as much as 90 billion technically recoverable barrels of oil and nearly 2 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas, based on current industry capabilities and practices, according to a just-released four-year study by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). By comparison, there are more than 1 trillion barrels of proven oil reserves and more than 6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas globally; the world consumes nearly 90 million barrels of oil a day.
 
In the first publicly available assessment of the region, the USGS estimates the Arctic accounts for more than 20 percent of the yet-to-be-discovered, technically recoverable resources in the world, including nearly 15 percent of the world’s undiscovered oil and 30 percent of its natural gas.

That is good news — but who owns it?

According to the 1982 United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea, states have a right to a 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off their coasts. The EEZ can be extended if it is part of a country’s continental shelf, where the state can claim sovereignty over natural resources. This, of course, can lead to conflicting territorial claims. Indeed, experts assert this issue could be particularly difficult in the Arctic, where states’ potential rights to the resources around the largely unexplored North Pole, especially the potentially rich Lomonosov Ridge, an undersea mountain range, more than 1,200 miles long, are likely to overlap.
 
In May, the five Arctic Ocean-bordering states met on Greenland. The resulting Ilulissat Declaration reaffirmed the nations’ commitment to an orderly settlement of conflicting claims concerning the continental shelf, among other issues tied to the Arctic region. Researchers from these countries have been collecting data from the sea bed to support their Arctic aspirations. Of course, some countries are not waiting to mark their territory.
 
In August 2007, two Russian deep-submergence research vehicles, Mir-1 and -2, planted a titanium flag on the sea bed near the North Pole at a depth of nearly 14,000 feet, claiming for Moscow a territory between the undersea Mendeleev and Lomonosov ridges the size of France, Germany and Italy combined. While some derided the flag-planting as a little more than a geopolitical stunt, the Russians are likely serious about their claims, considering their quest for oil and gas rights — indeed, energy hegemony across the globe. (Russia is the world’s No. 1 producer of natural gas and No. 2 exporter of oil. Some experts believe Russian oil reserves have peaked and will be depleted by 2030.)
 
In July, Moscow announced it would send its Northern Fleet Navy, based at Severomorsk on the Kola Peninsula, to patrol Arctic waters — perhaps, the first time it has done so since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Indeed, it was reported in late September that a Northern Fleet submarine had completed a 30-day transit under the Arctic ice, surfacing off the Kamchatka Peninsula in the northern Pacific Ocean.


Russian nuclear powered ice breaker 50 Years of Victory
 
Some experts are expecting more than a few new submarines and surface ships for Russia’s once-mighty Kola Peninsula, including, perhaps, another run at developing aircraft carriers that could be operating in northern climes in the out-years. The shipbuilding program will not include just warships, but also as many as 14 new ice breakers in the coming years. In fact, Russia commissioned the world’s largest nuclear-powered ice breaker last year, 50 Years of Victory, bringing the number of nuclear ice-crushing ships available for Arctic duty to seven.
 
The Russian Navy has tried to downplay its more muscular stance in the Arctic, insisting it is just part of its natural re-emergence as a great naval power. That re-emergence will be bolstered by a 30 percent increase in Russia’s defense budget next year. In a throwback to the Cold War, Moscow already has its Long Range Aviation operating widely, including in the Arctic, using Tu-95 reconnaissance and Tu-142 anti-submarine aircraft from bases in Russia’s northern and far eastern military districts.
 
In addition to its military maneuvers, in September, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev instructed the drafting of a new state policy on the Arctic, including a law expressing Moscow’s view of the country’s northern border. The Kremlin also has sent scientific exhibitions to the Arctic to survey the area and collect evidence, including soil samples, to support Moscow’s claim to the Lomonosov Ridge as an extension of Russia’s continental shelf. But the Russians are not the only ones gearing up for possible Arctic action.
 
Canada, for one, is not standing idly by when it comes to the Arctic. Canadian scientists are building their own case for claims on the Lomonosov Ridge — and a second sub-surface mountain range in the West, called the Alpha Ridge, in the Beaufort Sea. In support of this, Ottawa also has announced plans to build six to eight medium-sized ships, capable of operating in ice 3 feet thick, to conduct Arctic patrols. Canada has one large and five light- to medium-sized icebreakers; all are reaching the end of their service lives. Some say the mid-sized ships may not be up to the task, instead calling for larger ships for the job of looking after Canada’s so-called “High North.” One skeptical Canadian politician said the new ships are more aptly called “slush-breakers.”
 
But that is not all. In August, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced plans to establish a deep-sea port on Baffin Island to support Canadian air and sea patrols in the region, especially the new-construction ships. Ottawa also plans to build a new winter fighting school at a base on Resolute Bay in the Northwest Passage, 400 miles south of the North Pole, affirming that Canada plans a growing — and long-term — presence in the Arctic.
 
While Canada reportedly has fewer than 200 soldiers and 1,500 volunteer indigenous Inuit rangers operating in the Arctic, providing security to more than 1.5 million square miles of Canadian territory, large-scale, joint exercises, such as the Nanook series, have increased. The commander of Joint Task Force North, which kicked off Nanook ’08 in late September, said: “Our purpose is to exert sovereignty, demonstrate sovereignty and security, but also learn how to live off the land and learn more about the operating environment here in the north.”
 
A Canadian commission also recently recommended Ottawa establish a surveillance network to monitor activities in the Arctic as well as build a new research station near the Northwest Passage. Ottawa also wants recognition of its sovereignty over the Northwest Passage, the once-mythical route that offers the quickest and most economic waterway between Asia and Europe, eliminating the need for, and limitations imposed by, the Panama Canal. The route, which by some estimates might be navigable year-round by 2050, would shorten shipping distances between the two continents by more than 2,000 miles, cutting costs and travel time for sea cargo.

Scandinavian scramble

Denmark, which lays claim to the Arctic through its possession of self-governing Greenland, also is getting in the race. Copenhagen boldly claims the Lomonosov Ridge is a geological extension of the large island land mass, which in reality is more white than green.
 
But conflicting claims are not restricted to the Russians, who are not likely to be intimidated by Danish claims. The Danes also are sparring with the Canadians over ownership of tiny Hans Island, a rocky Arctic outcrop, which both countries claim.
 
The Danes are not the only ones on the move in Scandinavia. Norway, an energy giant, plans to spend more than $100 million on a new electronic surveillance system to monitor Russian actions in the north, according to a Defense News report in June. Reminiscent of the Cold War and its role as a front-line NATO state in it, Norway will establish radar stations and open-water monitoring facilities in the Barents and Norwegian seas, according to Oslo. The proposed surveillance system is a response not only to Russia’s re-invigorated interest in the Arctic, but also to Moscow’s heightened military activity on the neighboring Kola Peninsula and surrounding environs.
 
The Americans, who lay claim to the Arctic through Alaska, also are paying more attention to the region. For instance, in May, the U.S. military launched its annual Northern Edge series of exercises in and around Alaska. Over a two-week period, the exercise involved more than 5,000 personnel from units from as far away as Hawaii and Japan, as well as more than 100 aircraft and a number of U.S. Navy ships. The Russians, not surprisingly, highlighted the annual Alaska exercise this year, using it as a rhetorical foil for justifying their own military build-up in the Arctic. Although always tight-lipped about its operations, the American silent service is believed to have held submarine exercises with the British last year in northern waters, no doubt to test itself in the Arctic’s changing environment.
 
The diminished ice coverage certainly will change the strategic situation in the Arctic region, long a hopeful safe harbor for Russian fleet ballistic missile submarines in their cat-and-mouse game with adversary attack submarines and anti-submarine aircraft.
 
While seemingly natural allies on Arctic issues, Canada and the U.S. actually dispute some territory in the Beaufort Sea, known as the Wedge, as well as the navigational status of the Northwest Passage. Washington views the Northwest Passage as international waters, while Ottawa sees it as an internal waterway. Canada has strongly objected to U.S. submarine transits of the passage, which has become a cause celebre in the Canadian press from time to time.


Canadian research ship, Louis S. St. Laurent
 
Despite this, in August, a Canadian research ship, Louis S. St. Laurent, and an American Coast Guard cutter, Healy, conducted joint exploration of the northern sea bed, working to develop a three-dimensional map of the sea floor.
 
So, while all the countries concerned have promised to allow diplomacy, science and international law to resolve how the potentially rich Arctic should be divvied up in terms of sovereignty, it is not clear it will end up that way. For instance, while the cold front that has descended on East-West relations over the Russia-Georgia conflict may not last forever, issues that appear nongermane certainly could get in the way of bilateral or multilateral cooperation. Indeed, even before the Georgia dust-up, an expert group expressed concern about the possibility of the Arctic becoming increasingly militarized as the global demand for energy and raw materials skyrockets, overwhelming well-intentioned diplomatic efforts.
 
In its report, the USGS called the Arctic region “the largest unexplored prospective area for petroleum remaining on Earth.” With little reason to doubt it, that assertion will not be ignored by the major powers that ring the Arctic. With the surge in energy prices being driven by sluggish new production, continuing limits on global refining capability, jittery energy markets and rapidly increasing demand from the likes of India and China, countries are likely to hedge their bets in the Arctic.
 
U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, during a recent visit to Alaska, said in a radio interview: “For the last 20 years, the conventional view for policymakers in Washington is that any activity in the Arctic is basically related to science.”
 
Those days are gone — probably for good. Indeed, Washington is expected to shortly issue a presidential national security directive on the Arctic — arguably the first major policy statement on the issue in more than a decade.
 
But it will take more than a presidential policy statement to address the challenges of the Arctic. More resources will have to be devoted to the task, including increasing the number of U.S. ice breakers, which stands at a paltry three superannuated ships.
 
The U.S. has a lot at stake in the Arctic. Now is not the time for getting a case of cold feet in projecting American power to protect and advance our national interests in the north.

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Arctic Sea Ice Decline
Shakes Up Ocean Ecosystems
14 November 2008

Uncertain as to how phytoplankton -- microscopic marine plants on which much of ocean life depends -- would respond to Arctic sea ice decline, researchers took advantage of NASA satellite images to show that the microscopic floating plants are teeming in regions of recent ice melt.

The explosion in phytoplankton populations is the result of new open-water habitat and, more significantly, an extended ice-free growing season, biological oceanographer Kevin Arrigo and colleagues from Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., reported last month in the American Geophysical Union's Geophysical Research Letters.

Since phytoplankton cycle carbon dioxide into organic compounds and also form the base of the marine food web, the researchers believe the booming populations could have complex ecological consequences.

"Arrigo and colleagues have brought together the effects of air-sea interaction, warming water, and decreasing sea ice extent," said Paula Bontempi, a program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "You start to look at all of these interlocking pieces and think: there has got to be an impact on phytoplankton and the ecology of the system."

Phytoplankton, like any plant, require nutrients to survive. However, Arctic Ocean surface waters usually have a limited supply of nutrients, which has led some researchers to assume that new areas of open water would not necessarily promote additional phytoplankton growth.

To find out how phytoplankton respond to diminished sea ice cover, the team calculated changes in the sea ice extent and phytoplankton growth from ten years of chlorophyll measurements - which are used to estimate phytoplankton abundance - collected by the Sea-viewing Wide Field of View Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument on the GeoEye satellite. The team also collected measurements of sea surface temperature and ice extent from other satellite instruments such as NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites.

The researchers were most interested by what happened between 2006 and 2007, when the summertime minimum sea ice extent made its sharpest annual reduction since satellite measurements began in 1979.

By comparing maps of new ice free areas in 2007 with maps of increasing phytoplankton abundance since 2006, the team could deduce how much of that phytoplankton growth was due to newly ice free regions. In a similar way, the team could compare the maps of ice-free regions with maps that show the magnitude of an extended melt season, to deduce how much phytoplankton growth resulted from the longer season.

The team found that 30 percent of the increase in phytoplankton between 2006 and 2007 was due to large new areas of open water exposed by the extensive melting of sea ice. The other 70 percent of the increase could be attributed to a longer growing season, which in some Arctic regions was extended in 2007 by as much as 100 days, compared to 2006.

"We expected a big phytoplankton increase in the areas that were historically covered by sea ice because the plants now have sunlight." Arrigo said. "But the longer growing season is ultimately what allowed most phytoplankton to grow and increase productivity."

Phytoplankton and all plants naturally remove carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere. Newly open water in the Arctic could therefore act as a new "sink" for carbon dioxide if marine plants and their carbon sink out of the surface waters to the deep ocean. Still, the magnitude of such a carbon sink remains to be seen because further growth could eventually be limited by the supply of surface nutrients. Scientists also wonder if the uptake of carbon into the Arctic Ocean will be temporary or long lasting.

Whales, seals, marine birds, zooplankton, and other marine animals all depend either directly or indirectly on phytoplankton for food. Researchers are uncertain what effect a boost in plant growth will have on the ecosystem, particularly migratory species that depend on the timing of sea ice melt and food availability.

"The Arctic is undergoing so many changes already," Arrigo said. "Nobody knows how this will play out."

Original Article

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News Release
Date: December 3, 2008
Contact: D17 Public Affairs

Polar Sea departs the Arctic Ocean,
receives the Arctic Service Medal

 
Chief Mark Hulen hugs his daughter Molly after returning to Seattle from the Arctic Ocean with the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea December 5, 2008.  
(U.S. Coast Guard/Petty Officer Shawn Eggert)

JUNEAU, ALASKA - The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea, home ported in Seattle, concluded operations in the Arctic Ocean this week and was awarded the Arctic Service Medal for operating north of 60 degrees north latitude for 21 consecutive days.

This is the first time the ship has received this award in ten years.  Returning to Seattle on December 5th, the six week patrol in the Bering Sea and Arctic Ocean showcased the icebreaker's multi-mission capabilities and the breadth of maritime responsibility assigned to the Coast Guard.

The Polar Sea sailed into the Arctic Ocean to conduct ice trials on the improved engine power plant.  These ice operations also supported the Coast Guard's Arctic Domain Awareness mission.  The ship patrolled to 77 degrees 55 minutes north latitude, only 725 miles shy of the North Pole.  While north of the Arctic Circle, the icebreaker experienced five days of darkness when the sun did not rise and temperatures plunged to minus 7.

 
(L)  Chief David Diroll is reunited with his wife Kristina and son Joshua after returning to Seattle from the Arctic Ocean. (R)  Petty Officer Matthew Miles meets with his wife Danielle and friend Petty Officer Jerad Waring after returning from the Arctic Ocean with the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea.  (U.S. Coast Guard/ Petty Officer Shawn Eggert) 

In support of the Coast Guard's Marine Environment Protection mission, the ship crew tested a DIP-600 oil skimmer system off the coast of Nome, Alaska.  The crew of the Polar Sea also hosted a U.S. Fish and Wildlife ornithologist conducting a bird population study.

On the return trip south, the Polar Sea crew patrolled the Maritime Boundary Line between Russia and the United States to enforce treaties protecting American fisheries.  The cutter also enforced federal law by conducting an at-sea boarding of a U.S. flagged fishing vessel in the Bering Sea.

The 399-foot Coast Guard icebreaker is capable of conducting a variety of missions and is designed to operate in both Polar Regions.  The Polar Sea is capable of breaking up to 20 feet of ice.  The Polar Sea was commissioned in 1978 and is a conventionally-powered heavy icebreaker with a crew of 143.

Press Release

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News Release
Date: December 3, 2008
Contact: CGHQ Public Affairs

Statement by Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant
of the Coast Guard, on the new Arctic policy

WASHINGTON — Adm. Thad Allen, Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard, issued the following statement Monday on the new Arctic policy National Security Presidential Directive / Homeland Security Presidential Directive (NSPD/HSPD).

"The new Arctic policy signed by the President today re-affirms our Nation's obligation to protect the Arctic domain, its environment, and those who work and live in it. The retreat of annual sea ice has created new areas of open water where the Coast Guard has statutory responsibilities. The new policy is recognition of changing conditions in the Arctic region and the implications for our Nation. This directive will guide our current operational activities in the region and guide the allocation of current and future resources to meet mission demands. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our interagency partners, the people of Alaska and the Arctic nations to ensure safe, secure and sustainable activities in the Arctic region."

News Release

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New Arctic policy has big implications for agencies
By Katherine McIntire Peters kpeters@govexec.com
January 15, 2009

WASHINGTON - Ten days before leaving office, President Bush issued a new Arctic region policy that acknowledges the security, economic and environmental implications of melting ice at the North Pole and sets the stage for increasing responsibilities at a number of agencies, including the departments of Defense, State, Homeland Security, Interior and Commerce.

Bush signed national security and homeland security presidential directives implementing the changes on Jan. 9.

"This has implications for all of the departments," said Scott Borgerson, visiting fellow for ocean governance at the Council on Foreign Relations. The policy, which has been in the works for years, is overdue, he said.

The polar ice cap is shrinking at a much higher rate than scientists with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted just four years ago. The implications for security, trade, energy production and the environment are tremendous, Borgerson said. For example, melting ice is opening access to oil and gas deposits and creating shipping shortcuts between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The new policy states six objectives:

• Meet national security and homeland security needs.
• Protect the Arctic environment and conserve biological resources.
• Ensure natural resource management and economic development are environmentally sustainable.
• Strengthen international institutions among the eight Arctic nations.
• Involve the Arctic's indigenous communities in decisions.
• Enhance scientific monitoring and research.

The policy states unequivocally that the United States will protect its interests in the region with or without allies. "These interests," it declares, "include such matters as missile defense and early warning; deployment of sea and air systems for strategic sealift, strategic deterrence, maritime presence, and maritime security operations and ensuring freedom of navigation and overflight."

The policy also notes, "Human activity in the Arctic region is increasing and is projected to increase further in coming years. This requires the United States to assert a more active and influential national presence to protect its Arctic interests and to project sea power throughout the region."

Borgerson, who supports the overall policy, characterized this wording an unfortunate "poke in the eye" to Canada, which views much of the Northwest Passage as an internal waterway, not an international one. "There's nothing really here that the Canadians didn't already know," regarding the U.S. position on the Arctic, he said, but saying it so bluntly creates diplomatic problems.

In her confirmation hearing Tuesday, Secretary of State designate Hillary Clinton said, "I believe that the issues of the Arctic are one of those long-term matters that will dramatically affect our commercial, our environmental, and our energy futures," according to an account by KTUU television, the CBS affiliate in Anchorage.

Clinton told Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, that resolving boundary disputes with other nations was critical. "We've got to figure out where our boundaries are if people start drilling in areas that are ice-free most of the year, and we don't know where they can and can't drill, and whether we can," Clinton said, according to the KTUU account.

The implications of the new policy are especially great for the Coast Guard, which is responsible for safeguarding U.S. waters. In an interview at the National Press Club early last year, Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen declined to discuss his views about climate change, but said, "All I know is there's water where it didn't use to be, and it's my responsibility to deal with that."

The Coast Guard's aging fleet of icebreaking ships has long been a concern for the service. It has two 30-year-old icebreakers, one of which has been out of service for most of the last year. It also has one ship devoted to scientific research that has some ice-breaking capability.

Borgerson said the new policy gives the Coast Guard the ammunition it needs to make its case to receive funding for more icebreakers. Last year, military commanders at Pacific Command, Northern Command and Transportation Command all signed a letter to the Joint Chiefs requesting their support for the Coast Guard's request for icebreaker funding.

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin also has lobbied for greater Coast Guard presence in Arctic waters. In a letter to President Bush last March, she said, "At the same time as our icebreakers are hobbled by years of hard service and lack of maintenance funds, more freighters and cruise ships than ever before are traveling through the Arctic."

Original Article

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Arctic safeguards pressed by U.S.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
February 4, 2009

U.S. federal agency has joined calls for governments around the world to move past national concerns and work together to protect the increasingly busy Arctic.

A new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration points out there are few international rules protecting northern ecosystems.

It also recommends northern users contribute to a new fund to help pay for inevitable environmental accidents or search-and-rescue efforts.

"Standards really (do) need to be made mandatory," said Amy Merten, a spokeswoman for the agency, which advises the U.S. Coast Guard on science.

Arctic countries such as Canada are resisting international rules for northern waters made increasingly accessible by melting sea ice.

They say they will look after safety and environmental protection themselves.

But observers insist the Arctic is simply too big to be monitored and protected without a global effort.

"Co-operation is the key because we don't all have the resources to be able to respond to all incidents in the Arctic," said Merten.

Original Article