2003-2004
2002-2004
2000
2000
2000
Will Ambrose, Michael Carroll, Jody Deming, Glenn Lopez,
Jeff Johnson, David Griffith, Ming-Yi Sun, Cecilie Von Quillfeldt, Terry Tucker
Alex Whiting, Laura Beer, Kate Meltzer, Scott Betournay, Melinda and Terry Reynolds
Jill Schmidt, Shelly Carpenter, Pete Tilney, Melissa Grable, Kelton McMahon
US Coast Guard, NSF, NOAA-NURP
Can you see Russia from Alaska?
Yes, but only on the Diomedes
Arctic
Topographic
Map
UNCLOS implications
Middle Silurian Plates (425 myr)
Continents Begin to Collide as Paleozoic Oceans Close. Laurentia collides with
Baltica closing the northern branch of the Iapetus Ocean and forming the
"Old Red Sandstone" continent. Coral reefs expand and land plants begin to
colonize the barren continents. http://www.scotese.com, 2001
Late Permian Plate Map (255
myr)
•
At the end of the Permian was Greatest Extinction of All Time. Vast deserts
covered western Pangea during the Permian as reptiles spread across the face of
the supercontinent. 99% of all life perished during the extinction event that
marked the end of the Paleozoic Era. http://www.scotese.com, 2001
Late Jurasic - Plate
Pangea Begins to Rift Apart. The supercontinent of Pangea began to break apart in
the Middle Jurassic. In the Late Jurassic the Central Atlantic Ocean was a
narrow ocean separating Africa from eastern North America. Eastern
Gondwana had begun to separate form Western Gondwana.
http://www.scotese.com, 2001
•
New Oceans Begin to Open. During the Cretaceous the South Atlantic Ocean
opened. India separated from Madagascar and raced northward on a collision
course with Eurasia. Notice that North America was connected to Europe, and that
Australia was still joined to Antarctica. http://www.scotese.com, 2001
•
50 - 55 million years ago India began to collide with Asia forming the Tibetan
plateau and Himalayas. Australia, which was attached to Antarctica, began to move
rapidly northward. http://www.scotese.com
~50 Myr ago, Eocene warm period
Crocodiles in the Badlands and Elsmere
Island
.
Location of palm trees
(Wing and Greenwood 1993)
(Markwick 1998)
• How do you get crocodiles (cold-blooded) to survive
through the polar night on Ellesmere Island?
• Or palm trees in Wyoming (interior of continents)?
•
The Earth has been in an Ice House Climate for the last 30 million years. When the
Earth is in its "Ice House" climate mode, there is ice at the poles. The polar ice
sheet expands and contacts because of variations in the Earth's orbit (Milankovitch
cycles). The last expansion of the polar ice sheets took place about 18,000 years
ago. http://www.scotese.com, 2001
Earth’s General Climate
History
Paleo maps shown
The last one thousand years
Mann
Causes of Climate Change
For a Warmer Earth:
Two Causes: More energy in, and/or less energy out
MORE IN: Sun emits more energy
Earth is closer to the sun (orbital variations)
Fewer REFLECTIVE clouds
LESS OUT: Increase in Greenhouse gases or
decrease in albedo (likely both)
NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE,
Ocean circulation an issue too
Johannessen and Miles, 2001
Holland, 2000 (web)
And Thinner Ice
The organisms on the
“upside-down”
seafloor
The organisms on the
seafloor
• “A federal fishery panel voted Thursday to
close off a large swath of the Arctic sea to
commercial fishing. The move was a preemptive measure to protect more than
150,000 square nautical miles north of the
Bering Strait that have become more
accessible as a result of the warming Arctic
climate.” NY Times Feb 5, 2009
US Icebreaker History
• Alaska purchased- 1867
• Bear-Revenue Cutter
Service
• Wind class icebreakersUS- Soviet Union-US
Navy- US CG
• Since 1966 USCG only
Project Chariot- late 1950’s-early 1960’s
USCGC POLAR STAR
www.polarstar.org
USCGC POLAR SEA
POLAR STAR and POLAR SEA
Primary missions:
Scientific support in the Arctic and
Antarctic
Ice escort of shipping and logistics support
Equipped to function as a major scientific
platform.
Laboratories, offices, and sleeping quarters to
support 20 scientists and technicians
New U.S. Research Community Asset
HEALY
4-season icebreaking Arctic research vessel
with UNOLS-like science facilities,
operated by the U.S. Coast Guard
www.uscg.mil/pacarea/healy/
Vessel Characteristics
Length
420 ft
Beam
82 ft
Draft
29 ft
Displacement 16,000 LT
Propulsion: diesel electric
AC/AC cycloconverter
Shaft horsepower: 30,000 HP
Propellers: 2 fixed pitch, 4-blade
Speed 17 knots at 160 rpm
Endurance 16,000 nm @ 12.5 kts
Icebreaking capability:
4.5 ft at 3 kts continuous
8 ft backing and ramming
Vessel Characteristics cont.
Accommodations: 75 Coast Guard, 35 scientists, 15 surge
Helicopters: 2HH-65 Dolphins (or 1 HH-65 & 1 H-60J Jayhawk)
Science outfitting: similar to new AGOR’s, 4000 sq ft lab space
Home port: Seattle, Pier 36
Science Data Network
Knudsen sub-bottom sonar
Bathy 2000 sub-bottom sonar
SeaBeam Swath Mapping System
XBT Data Acquisition System
ADCP (150 kHz broad band)
5 hydraulic deck cranes
2 hydraulic A-frames
10-L CTD rosette
science fridge, freezer, climate control
TeraScan satellite imagery system
2 Interocean oceanographic winches
1 Interocean trawl/core winch
30 m jumbo corer
bow-tower
Healy goes south….
And Palmer goes north
22 June departs Nome, Alaska
03 August returns Nome, Alaska
Arctic Impacts
“…the POLAR class icebreakers are essentially
unavailable for support of Arctic science
missions for the next few years.”
“In the future, Arctic science support may
require the hiring of foreign vessels to fully
support funded Arctic science.”
AICC & ARVOC letter 6 April 2003
Antarctic Impacts
“At the extreme, failure of the Antarctic
logistical support mission could result in closure
of two of the three US Antarctic science stations
(McMurdo and South Pole stations).”
“At the very least, logistic support of the
stations would have to change in drastic, and
likely undesirable ways.”
AICC & ARVOC letter 6 April 2003
Lou Dobbs Tonight (also Feb 5,
2009)
• Tonight we look into the stimulus bills
proposed $88 million dollars for designing a
new arctic icebreaker for the Coast Guard.
This funding only covers the cost of
designing a new icebreaker. Engineers say
icebreakers take up to 10 years to build and
cost up to $800 million dollars.
A Brief History of the
Early Geopolitics of the
Arctic
Fear interfered with early
attempts to connect Europe with
Asia
It all starts with Columbus in
1492
And this search went well into
th
the mid 19 century.
With ever more expdeditions
geographic knowledge of North
America and possible routes
south grew.
With this increased geographic
knowledge, the hope for
discovering a route east moved
ever more to the Arctic.
• Expeditions were mostly English reflecting
their interests in colonial expansion.
• In the 16th-17th centuries the explorers
included most notably Frobisher, Davis,
Hudson, and Baffin.
• Resource exploitation efforts (Hudson Bay
Company) led to further exploration and
more knowledge of Canadian waters.
th
18
In the
century hopes were
diminished that a truly navigable
Northwest Passage existed.
• There were a large number of expeditions in
this period by such explorers as Knight,
Middleton, Hearne, Cook, MacKenzie, and
Vancouver.
• These expeditions clearly showed there
were no mid latitude routes connecting the
Atlantic and Pacific.
Enter Sir John Barrow beginning
in 1804—Second Secretary of the
Admiralty
• Directed the Royal Navy to search for the Northwest
Passage (further north) and explore areas near the North
Pole (there were theories at the time that there were vast
expanses of open water near the North pole).
• Until the Franklin Expedition in 1845 there were a number
of expeditions to the Canadian Arctic including such
explorers as Ross, Buchan, Parry, Beechy, Ross, Back,
Dease, and Simpson all contributing to the accumulation of
more geographical knowledge.
Explorer John Franklin
• Second in command for an expedition in
search of the North Pole in 1818.
• Two other expeditions in the Canadian
Arctic between 1819-1827.
• These and other expeditions led to more
knowledge of the Canadian Arctic with the
exception of an area west of Lancaster
Sound
Final Franklin expedition of 1845
purpose
• Find the Northwest Passage
• Royal Navy Strategic Interests
– Map the area (was successful)
– Attempt to better understand aspects of the
magnetic North Pole concerning navigation
(for the Admiralty)
(©National Library of Canada)
Ramifications of the failure of the
Franklin expedition
• Ended the British Admiralty's interest in further arctic
exploration.
• This loss of interest was further supported by decline in
popular interest in arctic exploration despite English public
interest in the sagas of “British hero explorers ”. (Think
Manned Space Flight)
• It wasn’t until 1876, with the Nares Expedition, that the
British once again attempted arctic exploration. The
finding of the Nares Expedition—no way through to the
North pole.
Side Note of ECU Interest
• Among the many attempts at discovering what
happened to the Franklin Expedition there was an
American expedition headed by an ECU Faculty
member’s ancestor:
• Search for Sir John Franklin-Dr. Kane's Expedition. (New York Times)
April 15, 1853, Wednesday
By reference to our Special Telegraphic Dispatch from Washington, it will be seen that Dr.E. R.
KANE, having just completed his arrangements and received his final instructions from the Navy
Department, expects to sail for the Arctic Ocean again, on or before the 1st May, in search of Sir
JOHN FRANKLIN, and his company of long lost navigators.
Roald Amundsen and the
Northwest Passage
• Between 1903-1905 successfully navigated
the Northwest Passage.
But it took two years!
(The first single season
passage would not take
place until 1944)
Bottom Line
Sea ice and climate conditions too
harsh to consider the Northwest
passage to be either commercially
viable or of military interest (except
submarines).
So, how has this changed?
The Geopolitics of the
Arctic post WWII through
the Fall of the Soviet
Union
Cold War Period: Arctic as the Maginot Line of
the Cold War
The Arctic was still relatively ignored except
for its military and security importance
Consequences of the Arctic being
off the Radar Screen During the
Cold War
• Allowed for the development of a political environment that fostered
indigenous rights and sovereignty, at least in areas outside the former
Soviet Union.
• But this benign neglect that lead to advances in native rights is
currently being threatened by the ever emerging geopolitical interests
of the various modern states involved in the Arctic.
Period Immediately Following
Demise of the Soviet Union
• Short-lived period of peaceful cooperation
in the Arctic—mostly under the guise of
scientific cooperation
Sidetrack on the Reasons for
Either Neglect or International
Cooperation at the Poles
It’s the harsh conditions stupid!
Remoteness, Climate and Darkness Still Limit
the Commercial Viability and Strategic
Importance of the Antarctic (despite the
discovery of natural resources)
How will climate change impact the geopolitics of the Antarctic?
Antarctic Treaty:
For Science
No military
In truth, science has historically
been the front man/woman of
geopolitical interests
Back to Ongoing Arctic Disputes
Canada and Denmark—Hans
Island
• Small island between Greenland and
Ellesmere Island claimed by both. Claims
delayed in 1973 but have recently
resurfaced.
Norway and Russia—The
Barents Sea
• Involves a dispute over 155,000 km2 called
the “Grey Zone”. An agreement in 1978
allows economic access to both parties with
the agreement renewed annually. Future?
• Norway claims a 200-mile EEZ around
Svalbard (based on the 1920 Paris Treaty).
– Russia protests!
Russia and US—Bering Sea
• A 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement
gave 50,000 km2 to the US. It was ratified
by the US in 1991 but the Duma has failed
to ratify. Russia has agreed to abide on a
provisional basis.
Canada and US—Beaufort Sea
and Northwest Passage
• The 1825 Convention between Canada and Russia set the
maritime border between Alaska and Canada at the 141st
meridian. The border is now in dispute!
• Canada sees the Northwest Passage as “internal waters”
claiming control over navigation. US claims it is an
international strait implying shared control (The Canadian
military has renamed the the passage “Canadian Internal
Waters”).
UNCLOS and Arctic Claims
Issues
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Oil and Gas
Fisheries
Trade Routes
Environment
Indigenous Rights
Sovereignty
Security
Security Responses to Increased
Focus on Sovereignty and Claims
Russia
• Renewed spending on Borei class subs
• New bases on the Kola Peninsula
• Resumption of Arctic flights including TU95 (August 2007)
Russian Security Response
(cont.)
• Russian surface fleet returns to Arctic in
Summer of 2008
• Resumption of Northern Fleet operation
• Commitment of 5-6 carrier battle groups to
the North
• President Medvedev refers to the Arctic as
“strategically important”
Norwegian Security Response
• Focus North stressed by Minister of
Defense April 2008
• Commissioned 5 ice-capable frigates
• Stationing of helicopters in Bardufoss
• Increased defense spending (+2.5%/yr)
Canadian Security Response
• Commissioned 6-8 Arctic patrol vessels
• Building of refueling facility in North
• Increased training operations and patrols in
the Arctic
• 2008 budget includes money for a $720
million icebreaker
• Mandatory monitoring of ship traffic
US Response
•
•
•
•
Historically lagging
Submarines
Missile defense (Ft. Greely)
Icebreakers????
Climate Change as Catalyst
• The changing climate is renewing international disputes
that were largely ignored as little as 20 years ago.
• It is also creating a remilitarization of the Arctic and the
potential for other, as of yet, unknown international issues
(e.g., environmental, security).
• Just when you in thought that the entire world had been
carved up and divided among the various modern nation
states, the Arctic has emerged as the front for a whole new
set of geopolitical challenges not unlike those unleashed by
Columbus’s discoveries in 1492 (on a smaller scale).