3rd Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing Arctic
on Naval and Maritime Operations
June 9-11, 2009
U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD
This page provides background information and planning details for the
third U.S. National/Naval Ice Center (NIC) symposium that will continue to
address the changing state of Arctic sea ice conditions and the present and
future impacts on naval, maritime, and associated activities and operations
in the region. The "3rd Symposium on the Impacts of an Ice-Diminishing
Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations", co-hosted by the U.S. Arctic
Research Commission (USARC), will take place at the U.S. Naval Academy,
Annapolis, Maryland on 9-11 June 2009.
Background
The 100-year historical record from ships and settlements going back to
1900 shows a decline in Arctic ice extent starting about 1950 and falling
below pre-1950 minima after about 1975 [Naval Operations in an Ice Free
Arctic, 2001]. According to satellite records available since late 1978, an
overall downward trend in the extent of Arctic sea ice is present. This
trend seems to have been accelerating during the last decade. In addition
to the Arctic
Climate Impact Assessment document (ACIA) published by the
Arctic Council in 2004, numerous other reports and articles published since
have documented significant recent sea ice extent reductions, both during
summer and winter seasons. The percentage of multi-year ice in the winter
has been shown to also continue to decrease significantly.
This symposium addresses present and future impacts of these rapid
changes. In particular, it provides a forum for key agencies to discuss
their planned response to the updated Arctic Policy of the U.S. government.
This event is a follow-up to the symposia on "Naval
Operations in an Ice-free Arctic" (PDF, 818KB) sponsored by the Office of
Naval Research (ONR), NIC, the Oceanographer of the Navy, and the USARC on
April 2001 and on the "Impact of
an Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime Operations" co-sponsored by
NIC and USARC in July 2007. While the 2001 symposium focused mainly on
naval operations and national strategic issues, the 2007 symposium expanded
the discussion to impacts on other maritime operations such as commercial
transportation, oil and gas exploration and exploitation, fisheries, and
oceanographic research. The 2009 symposium continues this discussion under
the light of several events that include:
- Record Arctic sea ice extent observed in 2007 with record loss of
multiyear ice in 2008;
- The signing of a new National
Security Presidential Decision (NSPD) on Arctic policy in December 2008;
- The end of the International Polar Year (IPY) on March 2009;
- The 2009 meeting of the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Treaty 50th anniversary
meeting in Washington, D.C.;
- The upcoming debate on the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in the 111th Congress
The symposium provides a unique high-level forum to explore the plans of
key agencies to respond to the new mandate of the Arctic Policy NSPD. It
will also serve to further publicize the results of the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment
(AMSA) to be provided to the Arctic Council by April
2009. As in previous symposia, the 2009 symposium will provide a forum for
the review of the rapid changes in Arctic sea ice conditions observed over
the last years, an update on sea ice forecast model predictions, and a
review the impact of present and expected environmental conditions on
present and future naval and maritime operations in the region.
