NOAA in the Arctic Building Partnerships to Benefit Society

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NOAA in the ArcticBuilding Partnerships to
Benefit Society
A Presentation to the Symposium Impact of an
Ice-Diminishing Arctic on Naval and Maritime
Operations

• Scott C. Rayder
• NOAA Chief of Staff
• July 10, 2007

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NOAAs Partnership with National Ice Center

• NOAA is proud to be a partner with the National
  Ice Center for its 30 years of operation.
• The National Ice Center Partnership with NOAA,
  Navy and Coast Guard is a model of how
  partnerships can benefit society.
• NOAA is pleased to host the headquarters of the
  National Ice Center at the new NOAA Satellite
  Operation Facility in Suitland, Maryland.

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NOAAs Work in the Arctic
Inexpensive Airborne Expendable Ice Buoy
Ice Core Sampling
Tiksi Weather StationRussia
Bering SeaFisheries Research Vessel
QuikSCAT Northern Hemisphere Ice Map
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NOAA Satellites and the Arctic

• Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Imagery provided
  by the Canadian Space Agency and processed by
  NOAAs Satellite and Information Service is used
  by NWS Anchorage Forecast Office to create
  products for safety of fisheries, marine
  transportation, and low-flying aircraft

Sea Ice Edge And Snow Crab Fishery Fleet
SAR image of polar mesoscale cyclone
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Climate Monitoring in the Arctic
Barrow Global Climate Change Research Facility
Senator Ted Stevens supports NOAA research in
Alaska
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NOAA Research in the Arctic
NOAA Atmospheric Observatory in Eureka, Canada
Arctic species and their food supply in Alaska
are threatened from loss of ice/snow by 2040
Mooring Site in Bering Sea
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NOAA and Transportation
Chukchi Cap
NOAA Ships FAIRWEATHER and RAINIER surveying in
Alaskan waters
Commercial Fishing Boats in Arctic waters
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NOAA and Arctic FisheriesNorth Pacific Ocean
Commercial importance Historically, about half
of the nations catch of seafood, by weight,
comes from Alaskan coastal waters. The majority
of Alaskas catch is from the southeastern Bering
Sea shelf.
Changes in seafood abundance In the 1970s,
ocean warming associated with regional climate
change caused large shifts in the relative
abundance of commercially valuable species of
fish and shellfish in Alaska.
What will happen to the Bering Sea fishery? The
eastern Bering Sea has warmed dramatically since
the beginning of the 21st century. NOAA programs
will help advise fishery managers on the changing
status of the ecosystem.
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NOAA and the ArcticDocumented changes in
zooplankton biomass and production
2000
2001
The endangered North Pacific Right whale, a
planktivore
NPCREP Program
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Climate Change Fisheries
Some species have expanded beyond current survey
areas and therefore are no longer fully monitored
Ocean temperature determines distribution of
fish, temperature patterns are changing
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NOAAs Contributions to International Polar Year

• Across the organization, NOAA is contributing to
  International Polar Year efforts
• Coordinating legacy Arctic EO data sets with
  other space agencies.
• Transitioning existing Cryosphere research
  coordination under Group on Earth Observations
  (GEO) banner.
• Participating in a ship and P-3 aircraft- based
  meteorological campaign in partnership with NASA
  and Sweden.
• Continuing work with the Russian-American long
  term Census of the Arctic

www.ipy.noaa.gov

• NOAA Investments in IPY
• FY07 Enacted 14.4 million
• FY08 Request 15.3 million
• Including 308K request for Unmanned Aircraft
  Systems

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Integrated Earth ObservationsEnhanced
Information about the Arctic for Society
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• Provide the right information, in the right
  format, at the right time, to the right people,
  to make the right decisions.