Coast Guard: Efforts to Identify Arctic Requirements Are Ongoing, but More Communication about Agency Planning Efforts Would Be Beneficial

• Other Authors: GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE WASHINGTON DC
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Logistics; Military Facilities and Supplies; Geography; *ARCTIC OCEAN; *COAST GUARD OPERATIONS; INFORMATION CENTERS; COMMUNICATION AND RADIO SYSTEMS; COMPANY LEVEL ORGANIZATIONS; GEOLOGICAL SURVEYS; COMMERCIAL FISHING; MERCHANT VESSELS; OILS; SHIPPING; DRILLING; ARCTIC REGIONS; COAST GUARD; NATURAL GAS; CIRCLES; BARRELS; INDUSTRIES; SHELLS(STRUCTURAL FORMS); ARCTIC POLICY; ARCTIC OPERATIONAL; STAKEHOLDERS; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; National Snow and Ice Data Center; Sea ice; Alaska
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA530965; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA530965

Scientific explanations and projections of the changes taking place in the Arctic vary, but there is a general consensus that Arctic sea ice is diminishing. As recently as August 2010 scientists at the U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center reported that the average Arctic sea ice extent for July was the second lowest in the satellite record. Much of the Arctic Ocean remains ice-covered for a majority of the year, but some scientists have projected that the Arctic will be ice-diminished in the summer by as soon as 2040. These environmental changes in the Arctic are making maritime transit more feasible and are increasing the likelihood of human activity including tourism, oil and gas extraction, commercial shipping, and fishing in the region. For example, a 2008 United States Geologic Survey study estimated that areas north of the Arctic Circle contained 90 billion barrels of oil; 1,700 trillion cubic feet of natural gas; and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquid. Until May 2010, the Shell Oil Company was scheduled to begin exploratory drilling off the Northwest coast of Alaska in July of 2010. According to industry officials, such drilling operations could result in additional vessel activity in northern Alaska and the Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment also stated that future commercial shipping activities are likely to grow with the extraction of resources such as oil, gas, and ore. While resource extraction activities are expected to increase, commercial fishing will likely not occur above the Arctic Circle in the near term due to a U.S. decision in November 2009 to close 150,000 square nautical miles of U.S. Arctic waters to commercial fishing until sufficient information is available to support the sustainable management of a commercial fishery.