The evacuation of the last two Navy expeditions to the Arctic was proof of the dramatic effects of climate change at the top of the world, the service’s top oceanographer said Tuesday.
Rear Adm. Timothy Gallaudet said it is unprecedented that ice broke up under the feet of sailors and researchers who made camp there in 2014 and 2016, cutting the expeditions short.
The Navy reported the evacuations due to poor conditions, but Gallaudet, who heads the Navy Meteorology and Oceanography Command, linked the incidents directly to environmental shifts that have led to a 40-percent loss of Arctic ice cover since collection of satellite records began around 1980.
“This is two consecutive ice exercises we’ve done where the ice broke apart in the middle of the camp and we had to [evacuate],” said Gallaudet, who spoke at the Navy League’s annual Sea, Air and Space exposition in Maryland. “It’s a pretty dramatic example of how the environment is changing up there.”
The Navy’s Ice Exercise 2016 was supposed to be a five-week expedition with about 200 participants and two submarines to collect scientific data and train in Prudhoe Bay off Alaska. But the huts on a floating sheet of ice, called Ice Camp Sargo, were evacuated early due to cracks.
A similar incident happened during exercise in March 2014 when the Navy blamed ice cracks on shifting polar winds.
“I talked to the submarine skippers … and they have never seen the environment like it is today,” Gallaudet said. “It’s very dynamic. The ice is moving quickly and rapidly.”
While public debate over climate change continues, there is little doubt in the Navy, which has spent years planning for the thawing of the Arctic amid rising seasonal temperatures. The Navy has created an Arctic roadmap to guide its strategy, and Defense Secretary Jim Mattis mentioned the importance of the region during his confirmation hearing earlier this year.
The United States and other countries — including Russia — have a keen interest in the opening waterways, which will likely provide access to valuable natural resources such as fossil fuels and fisheries as well as create new opportunities for shipping and tourism.
