WASHINGTON — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is being inundated with requests for weather and ice forecasts as well as navigation information about the Arctic, but isn't able to provide all of the information that the Coast Guard, industries and native Alaskans need, NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco said Monday.
The NOAA chief, the commandant of the Coast Guard and the chief of naval operations spoke at a symposium about challenges ahead for the United States as summer Arctic sea ice declines, opening the Arctic to oil and gas extraction, fisheries, tourism and shipping.
Lubchenco, a marine ecologist, said her agency doesn't have nearly the same capacity for Arctic weather forecasting, oceanography and navigational charting that it has in other regions.
"It's a matter of insufficient observing, insufficient information to do the modeling and forecasting. So there's a huge disconnect between what is expected we will be able to deliver and what we are actually able to provide," she said. Lubchenco said NOAA needs more funding for this work, despite pressure to cut the federal budget. As the ice retreats, the need for information will increase, she said. She cited needs for weather and sea-ice forecasts for the Navy and Coast Guard, Alaska native communities, shipping companies and the fossil-fuel industry, which wants permits for exploration in Arctic Alaska next year.
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