Scope of activities
With a decrease in sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean, there is a concurrent increase in ship traffic, both commercial shipping and tourism. And, with that increase in activity, there comes greater responsibility for our military forces and Department of Homeland Security to increase their monitoring and capability to conduct search and rescue. However, due to the relative lack of experience working in Polar Regions, there remain tremendous challenges that could seriously hamper or impede response efforts. A collaborative research community has grown around the need for greater domain awareness of the Arctic Region. These collaborative researchers are striving to help the U.S. Coast Guard and branches of the Department of Defense improve their capability for prevention, detection, response and recovery in the event of an accident or incident in the Arctic Seas. This self-forming team will enable better communications among researchers and users of scientific achievements.
Accomplishments
We hope to make the Arctic Ocean and marginal seas a safer place to work and recreate, while helping keep our defense forces safe from harm. We also hope to enhance the efficiency of their procedures where possible to minimize the possibility of problems occurring during normal operations. We are also striving to increase community relations with local communities to better enable local assistance as needed.