The Arctic may be warming up and become more accessible in the future, but it will still be one of the world’s most challenging environments to operate in. The physical environment can be extreme with freezing temperatures and severe winds, seasonal darkness, ice, heavy snowfall, sudden changes in weather conditions, and vast distances. In addition to safety and emergency responses there are challenges in order to operate in a sustainable way and protect the unique nature. Development of new technologies suited for Arctic conditions is both a challenge and an active field of research where international collaboration is essential. The workshop will discuss some of the technological solutions for the Artic and the prospect they offer for economic development.

Organized by Jens Olaf Pepke Pedersen (jopp@space.dtu.dk) on behalf of Technical University of Denmark (DTU).

Speakers include:

9.15 New Technologies for cold climates
Sveinung Løset, Sustainable Arctic Marine and Coastal Technology (SAMCoT), Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
sveinung.loset@ntnu.no

9.40 Arctic Mining – Technological Challenges and Potentials
Michael Havbro Faber, Danish Technical University, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Lyngby
mihf@byg.dtu.dk

10.05 Marine challenges when using the Northern Sea Route and  adhering to the new Polar Code from IMO (International Maritime Organization)
Anders Ørgård Hansen, OSK-ShipTech, Copenhagen
anh@osk-shiptech.com

10.30 Coffee break

10.45 Norwegian space activities for the Arctic
Pål Brekke, Norwegian Space Centre
paal.brekke@spacecentre.no

11.10 From drones to satellites: a future space infrastructure for the Arctic
Michael Linden-Vørnle, Danish Technical University, DTU Space, Lyngby
mykal@space.dtu.dk

11.35 Synergies in military and civilian use of satellites for communication, navigation and surveillance
Jens Olaf Pepke Pedersen, Danish Technical University, Polar DTU, Lyngby
jopp@space.dtu.dk

ABSTRACTS:

Challenges and Innovations related to Offshore Operations in the Arctic
Sveinung Løset, Sustainable Arctic Marine and Coastal Technology (SAMCoT), Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim
sveinung.loset@ntnu.no 

The presence of sea ice in the Arctic offshore is a challenge for marine operations. With a retreat of the ice cover some of the offshore activities move into deeper waters where floaters will be more commonly used than fixed structures. The thinning of the ice cover does also lead to more broken ice covers. The broken ice, either being broken by gravity waves in the marginal ice zone or being managed by icebreakers, has a special focus due to the fact that many offshore activities involve operation in these waters where the processes causing actions from such ice are not well-known. This can be a drillship on Dynamic Positioning (DP) that is heavily relying on icebreakers breaking the ice upstream or ice interfering with a tanker in the wake of a terminal/offloading tower e.g. as in Varandey, offshore western Russia. The paper presents challenges and innovative measures to operate safely and effectively in these waters. Examples on simulations of these operations are given. This simulation technology has a considerable potential for applications, such as simulation-based verification of structural designs and Arctic offshore operations. Over the last three years in the above mentioned area of research, considerable work has been carried out at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) hosting a research-based innovation centre: Sustainable Arctic Marine and Coastal Technology (SAMCoT).

Arctic Mining – Technological Challenges and Potentials
Michael Havbro Faber, Danish Technical University, Dept. of Civil Engineering, Lyngby
mihf@byg.dtu.dk

Over the last decade the Arctic has gained the international attention as a potentially interesting and feasible new frontier for exploitation of raw materials. The Arctic has been found to be rich on a number of important raw materials both concerning those which are available on the financial markets like iron and copper and those which are not - like rare earth. At present the activities in the Arctic mining are still at a relatively low level - due to the general world market economy and the volatility in the raw material markets. However, in the face of generally diminishing natural resources and increasing world population it appears to be unavoidable that the raw material resources of the Arctic will be exploited - the remaining question is related to when and how. The present presentation will address some of the challenges and potentials which are associated with the Arctic raw materials exploitation. The challenges are manifold - mining in the Arctic is difficult due to hostile weather conditions, sparse or non-existing infrastructure, fragile societies and highly vulnerable environments. However, taking basis in a recent study performed under the auspices of the Danish Academy of Technical Sciences  (ATV) possible approaches for overcoming the challenges will be outlined and discussed.

Norwegian Space Activities in the Arctic
Pål Brekke, Norwegian Space Centre
paal.brekke@spacecentre.no

Monitoring the health and human activities in the arctic oceans can only be done effectively by using satellites. Today a large number of satellites, both US, Canadian and European, are observing the Arctic using different instruments. Norway is a major user of satellite data and also when it comes to acquiring the data via the Svalsat satellite stations at Svalbard. We are leading the way in monitoring ships, illegal fishing and oil spills in the High North. We are also pushing for better radio communication and broad band in the Arctic - which is lacking today.

From satellites to drones: a future space infrastructure for the Arctic
Michael Linden-Vørnle, Danish Technical University, DTU Space, Lyngby
mykal@space.dtu.dk

Living and working in the Arctic is challenging due to geography, climate and low population density.  The evident lack of infrastructure is a limiting factor and an obvious area for development. The National Space Institute at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU Space) is presently conducting an analysis of the advantages of an Arctic infrastructure based on satellites and unmanned systems which can contribute to better situational awareness and robust communication in the High North. Focus is on scalable solutions with unmanned systems in all domains (air, sea, and land) breaching the gap between space-based systems and manned systems.  

Synergies in military and civilian use of satellites for communication, navigation and surveillance
Jens Olaf Pepke Pedersen, Danish Technical University, Polar DTU, Lyngby
jopp@space.dtu.dk

Satellites and unmanned systems (drones) can form the backbone of a future space infrastructure for the Arctic which will be particularly well suited for a region dominated by large distances and a small population. A combination of satellites and drones hold the potential to solve a number of tasks for both the Defense and the civil society in the Arctic in areas such as communication, surveillance/domain awareness, navigation and charting. At the same there is a significant potential for synergies in dual (military and civil) use of the same space based platforms. The market for commercial solutions to many of the investments is often small, but access to for example cheap broadband transmission can be a potential game changer for the economic development of the Arctic. Therefore investments in an Arctic space infrastructure can be viewed as a direct investment in the economic development of the Arctic region.