The Arctic This Week Take Five: 2020 in Review
Joint Operations in The Barents Sea
On May 4, the U.S. Navy’s sixth fleet confirmed that four U.S. Navy ships (three destroyers and one support ship) and one British Royal Navy ship had entered the Barents Sea north of Russia in a joint mission to conduct maritime security operations above the Arctic Circle. The Russian Ministry of Defense was notified of the mission on May 1, and the country’s Northern Fleet is now tracking the group of ships. (Daily Mail, U.S. Navy)
Take 1: The operations up north mark the first time since the mid-1980s that U.S. Navy surface ships have operated in the Barents Sea. It sends a clear and powerful message to Russia and other countries that the U.S. is indeed “committed to promoting regional security and stability, while building trust and reinforcing a foundation of Arctic readiness.” While the U.S. has in the past been criticized for lagging behind in terms of its presence, military capabilities, and engagement in the region, the recent and current Arctic activity helps put the U.S. in a different light. The military activity demonstrates that the country is serious and understands the importance of the region.
Russia’s Forgotten Oil Spill
On June 3, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced a national state of emergency after 20,000 tons of diesel leaked into the 60 km long Ambarnaya River in the Russian Arctic on May 29. The diesel originated from a storage fuel tank on an industrial site operated by Norilsk Nickel, the world’s largest producer of palladium and Russia’s leading nickel mining and smelting company. The diesel is now flowing towards Lake Pyasino, a lake which flows into the Pyasina River and into the Kara Sea in the Arctic Ocean. The reason of the leak is still yet to be confirmed, but experts suggest that melting permafrost may have caused damage to the fuel storage tank. A special team from Murmansk was early brought in to tackle the catastrophe, and Putin has now called in more resources for the cleanup effort and ordered criminal investigations. In terms of volume, the accident is believed to be the second largest in modern Russian history. (BBC, The Guardian, The Sun)
Take 2: The diesel spillage most certainly is an ecological catastrophe that will threaten plants, fish and bird populations for many years to come. How big the negative impacts will be remain to be seen, but all largely depends on when the spillage is contained and the post cleanup efforts. It is not only the devastating effects from this spillage that is of concern, but there is also worry about the future if the permafrost collapse theory proves to be correct. If true, the warming climate can pose huge problems for oil and gas facilities built on permafrost ground, and that can lead to devastating consequences on other Arctic ecosystems too.
Largest Arctic Expedition Finishes Year of Study
On October 12, the German research vessel Polarstern returned from its €130 million ($150 million) historic Arctic expedition after setting off from Tromsø, Norway on September 20, 2019. The expedition, named Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) is the largest Arctic expedition to date, and involved around 500 researchers and support staff from more than 70 institutions in 20 different countries. The ship drifted with the sea ice through the Arctic Ocean following the footsteps of Norwegian polar researcher Fridtjof Nansen in 1893-1896. The goal was to obtain a better understanding of how the ocean and atmosphere respond to global warming. (BBC, mosaic-expedition.org, Phys.org)
Take 3: The expedition was successful because even though the Coronavirus pandemic made things more complicated logistically in terms of staff exchange and resupply missions, the researchers were still able to collect important data on five subareas: the atmosphere; sea ice; ocean; ecosystems and biogeochemistry. Results of these studies will now be examined and analyzed to advance our knowledge about the Earth’s climate system and its changes. The hope is that the research can assist in creating a computer model that can better project accurate models of future climate change. Going forward, the information once properly analyzed, can be used to better inform political decisions that can help mitigate climate change.
Norway Releases New White Paper on the High North
Today, Friday November 24, the government of Norway is set to present its new white paper on the High North, outlining the foreign and security policy situation in the region, and the country’s priorities going forward. Both Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide will be attending the white paper launch in Alta, Norway, and this marks nine years since such a paper was last released. Prior to the 2011 white paper, a white paper was released in 2005. This was the first time Norway released a white paper on the High North. (Altaposten, Regjeringen.no)
Take 4: It is surprising that it has taken Norway so long to come with a new and updated Arctic white paper on the High North as it is the country’s number one foreign policy priority area, and a lot has changed over the years. The area that once was so remote and such a distant reality to many has become accessible with the melting of the Arctic sea ice. In the last years we have seen an increase in tourism and commercial shipping, more competition for Arctic resources, an increased level of military activity in the region, a growing interest from non-Arctic states in everything Arctic related, changing weather patterns, more extreme weather events, changes to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and the impact it has on people. Based on all this one would have thought that the government of Norway would have come out with an updated Arctic white paper a little sooner, and perhaps gotten on a roll of publishing these more often, but the reality is that it hasn’t happened. Today will therefore be a big day for Norway, and while we still have to wait a couple hours for the official launch, we know that the government has been thorough in its work of involving and seeking feedback from people, businesses and research communities in the north.
US Congress Authorizes New Icebreakers and Arctic Security Studies Center
On December 15, High North News reported that the U.S. Congress has authorized, and the U.S. Senate has passed provisions for the development of three polar security cutters and a new Department of Defense (DoD) Center for Arctic Security Studies, as part of the U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for 2021. The provision for the security studies center included key elements of a bill introduced to Congress earlier by Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, which were included in the House’s version of the NDAA by Congressman Don Young (R-Alaska). The U.S. DoD is now authorized to establish the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies in the next 120 days, and the Coast Guard will receive an additional 11.9 billion dollars in 2021 towards the development of the polar security cutters, in addition to other vessels and infrastructure. (Anchorage Daily News, High North News, High North News, U.S. House of Representatives)
Take 5: It is a huge, historic step for the U.S. federal government to invest in the development of vital infrastructure and security policy expertise in the Arctic at this scale. The U.S. military in general, and the Coast Guard in particular, has been vocal about the need for action in the Arctic for a long time. Since 2018 multiple major branches of the U.S. military, including the Coast Guard, Navy and the Air Force have published either updated or novel Arctic strategy documents. Congress, on the other hand, has been slow to provide funding for infrastructure or the development of civilian expertise in the region. The inclusion of these provisions in the NDAA addresses long-term requests from the security community and represents an uptick in tangible, substantial investment in Arctic security from the U.S. civilian government. It is important to note that these investments still lag behind those that have been made in Arctic infrastructure and security expertise development by US’ largest competitors on the global stage, Russia and China, but at least these provisions will pave the way for better understanding and operationality by the U.S. in the region moving forward. (U.S. Air Force, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy)