USCG holds Arctic domain awareness meeting

The US Coast Guard has reported that on Nov. 28 to 29 it hosted a meeting of the Arctic Domain Awareness Center. ADAC is a Department of Homeland Security entity hosted by the University of Alaska that conducts research involving academic and industry partners in the United States and Canada. With research that includes the tracking of Arctic oil spills, the mapping of new sea lanes, the forecasting of sea ice cover and making improvements to situational awareness, ADAC’s main customer is the U.S. Coast Guard.

During the November meeting Rear Adm. Michael McAllister, commander of the Coast Guard’s 17th District, said that the Coast Guard is eager to capitalize on ADAC research by transitioning the research results into operational capability, He commented that increased vessel traffic in the Arctic is compounding the challenges associated with the possibility of a major oil spill or the need for a large-scale search and rescue operation. So far this year, Coast Guard operations in the Arctic have involved 185 days of Coast Guard cutter operations and have saved 16 lives, he said.

“Traffic drives the need for capabilities to operate in the northern latitudes,” McAllister said.

Keynote speaker Adm. Charles Michel, Coast Guard vice commandant, thanked the researchers for their efforts in improving Arctic situational awareness and in helping the Coast Guard prepare for increased human activity in the region.

“We’re dealing with very dynamic changes in the Arctic,” Michel said. “The first line of effort in our Arctic strategy is improving awareness.”

- ALAN BAILEY