Polar priorities: Senior defense officials discuss Arctic, Antarctic science and research
To address the need for collaborative research in the Polar Regions, Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Mat Winter met in Finland last week with counterparts from five nations in a first-ever gathering of senior defense officials to coordinate science and technology research in high latitudes.
Dubbed the International Cooperative Engagement Program for Polar Research (ICE-PPR), defense officials and scientists from partner nations with Arctic and Antarctic interests—including the U.S., Canada, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden—met in Helsinki to advance collaboration on polar research that could prove pivotal to not only scientific understandings but also U.S. and international naval operations.
While the U.S. Navy has long experience with polar operations, changing climates present new challenges—particularly for surface ships, as new water passages open up.
"Cooperative polar research is essential to ensuring safe maritime operations in these rapidly changing regions," said Winter. "ICE-PPR will allow the U.S. Navy and our partners to outline and coordinate our respective needs and priorities moving forward.
Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-02-polar-priorities-senior-defense-discuss.html#jCp