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Maritime operations in the Arctic: the role of European space technology
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The European Union Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) is highlighting the new challenges facing the polar regions – and the Arctic Circle in particular – and the space-based solutions to them.
Polar zones face many challenges
Hitherto remote and unspoilt, the polar regions are now facing new challenges.
At a time when climate change is affecting the entire globe, it is having an even greater impact on the balance of the polar circles, where temperatures are rising twice as fast as elsewhere. In the Arctic in particular, this rise in temperature is opening up new shipping lanes, increasing maritime traffic and the desire to conquer previously unspoiled areas.
Observed weather anomalies are creating new challenges for maritime operators, as well as posing real threats to local communities and the ecosystem. At the end of 2021, for example, the extent of Arctic sea ice increased unexpectedly: open water turned to ice, causing several ships to run aground on the remote North Sea route.
Through an integrated European space programme, Europe is developing the means to better understand the challenges facing the Arctic Circle, with a view to designing new mitigation policies and developing the tools needed to combat climate change.
GALILEO and rescue missions
In the event of a grounding or collision, Search and Rescue (SAR) teams have to battle against rough seas and freezing temperatures to evacuate the vessel in time, and avoid the risk of oil spills. Having an accurate location is crucial, and time is of the essence. This is where Galileo comes in.
Galileo is the European satellite navigation system that supports search and rescue operations. It is able to provide improved positioning and timing information, and to quickly relay distress signals from beacons to the relevant SAR teams. And thanks to its unique return link function (RLS), it allows people in distress to receive an automatic acknowledgement that their signal has been received by emergency first responders.
Because it provides greater coverage at higher latitudes, and therefore more robust performance, the Galileo system brings particularly important added value to Arctic search and rescue operations.
The Galileo satellites are supported by three ground stations strategically deployed in Europe. So no matter how big or small the ship, the precise positioning provided by Galileo allows safe navigation in these remote waters.
COPERNICUS, the European Union’s Earth observation programme
In addition to Galileo, the Copernicus Marine Service provides ship captains and SAR teams with essential data on wave height and direction, or the presence of sea ice.
Copernicus satellites can provide optical and synthetic radar images which, combined with Galileo’s precise positioning, allow the authorities to quickly reach the site of the oil spill, understand the extent of the risk and implement the necessary actions.
Launched in 1998, Copernicus is a European Union programme that collects and delivers high-quality, continuously updated data on the state of the Earth. It is coordinated and managed by the European Commission in partnership with the European Space Agency, EU Member States and EU agencies such as the European Environment Agency and the European Maritime Safety Agency. The data collected is used operationally to manage maritime safety, monitor disasters (fires, earthquakes, etc.), anticipate harvests and improve the management of our environment. It also contributes to monitoring and dealing with the effects of climate change.
An ambitious European space programme to move towards a sustainable ocean
The European Union’s space programme therefore plays an important role in mitigating the impact of climate change on the northern environment. On the one hand, the precise navigation offered by Galileo can optimise shipping routes to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and fuel consumption. On the other hand, the Copernicus marine and climate change services monitor a number of key ocean indicators, which are essential to enable policy decisions at global level.
Ultimately, the ambition of the European Union’s space programme is to have all the necessary resources to be able to understand the challenges related to the ocean, and to be able to find solutions and drive change towards a sustainable ocean.
A life-size floating university
The RESILIENCE campaign is the site of an important innovation as for the first time, the Marion Dufresne is taking on board a floating university for the 35 days at sea. 21 Master's students from the Université de Bretagne Occidentale, the Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale, the Université Côte d'Azur, and the Nelson Mandela University (South Africa) will be supervised to experience life-size scientific work and experimental manipulations.
35 days of RESILIENCE in the heart of the Mozambique Channel
The RESILIENCE oceanographic campaign, led by Jean-François Ternon, a researcher from the IRD (Institut de Recherche pour le Développement) and his partners, left Reunion Island on 19 April 2022 and reached the south-western Indian Ocean for 35 days at sea. On board the Marion Dufresne, the legendary ship of the French Oceanographic Fleet, seventy international scientists embarked to better understand the interactions between physics and biology on a small scale in the particular ocean structures of the Mozambique Channel.
That’s a wrap on PIRATA 2022
A collective human adventure, an exceptional amount of data collected and the beginnings of a science of the sea concerned with its environmental impact: this is how we can sum up the success of this 2022 edition of the 32nd PIRATA oceanographic campaign.
Blue Observer : a legendary sailing ship, a unique platform dedicated to science
A unique sailing boat, an international low-carbon campaign, that is a world first: it was under these favourable winds that the French sailing boat Blue Observer returned to the port of Brest in March after 96 days at sea in the North and South Atlantic.
PIRATA: Valuable measurements around St Helena Island
More than 28 days since the departure, and the tiredness can be read on all faces. The scientists of the PIRATA-FR32 campaign have not had a single minute to keep a logbook or to send us some "live" news...it doesn't matter: the focus is on watches and measurements!
PIRATA campaign: updates from the deck!
For several days now, the 14 scientists have been sailing for the 32nd edition of the oceanographic programme PIRATA ("Prediction and Research Moored Array in the Tropical Atlantic"). From the ship "Thalassa" of the French Oceanographic Fleet on which they have embarked, they gave us some news about their journey.
Studying ocean-atmosphere interactions: the 32nd edition of an ambitious oceanographic campaign
For the 25th consecutive year of the programme, the PIRATA oceanographic campaign left the port of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands on 28 February 2022.
Spring SAGA: in the heart of the South Atlantic Ocean!
In the spring of 2021 and despite a still complicated health context, scientists spent 42 days criss-crossing the South Atlantic Ocean with the aim of quantifying the most important marine current in the ocean circulation and climate system of our planet.
Phytoplankton Study: Taking water samples to study tiny, precious particles
One of the scientific objectives of the SWINGS campaign was to understand the evolution and development of phytoplankton in the Southern Ocean.
Heading for the Southern Ocean: SWINGS on video!
48 sailors on board and 2 months at sea to collect, sample and filter water, with this main objective: to understand how the ocean helps regulate the climate by absorbing atmospheric CO2.
[Podcast] SWINGS deciphered by “La Terre au Carré” on France Inter
In his programme "La Terre au Carré" on France Inter, Mathieu Vidard looks back at the SWINGS expedition.
Interview with two women scientists at the helm of the SWINGS campaign
Leaving Reunion Island in January 2021, they have been together at the helm of the SWINGS mission for 8 weeks in the heart of the Southern Ocean.
SWINGS: an oceanographic expedition to unlock the mysteries of the Southern Ocean
For 8 weeks, 48 scientists and crew members crossed part of the Indian Ocean, passing through the Marion, Crozet, Heard and Kerguelen islands, before returning to Reunion Island 57 days later.
After 54 days spent at sea, the PIRATA team is finally back in port in Brest!
This year, 12 scientists and 25 crew members embarked on the 31st mission of the PIRATA oceanographic programme from the port of Brest (France) instead of the usual port since 2015 of Mindelo (Cape Verde), due to the pandemic.
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