Internationally Coordinated, Cooperative Arctic Marine Science during the Fourth International Polar Year: Lessons for Future Arctic Ocean Science Agreements

Abstract

The Arctic Ocean region has undergone major changes over the past decade, many of them linked to a transformation of the sea ice cover from predominantly perennial to predominantly seasonal ice. In parallel, and partly as a result of milder ice conditions, resource development and ship-based tourism have driven up Arctic maritime traffic and fostered geopolitical discourse at the national and international level concerning future uses of the Arctic Ocean and associated international agreements and regulatory regimes.