Environmental Impacts of High Arctic Ocean Observation Systems – Changing Arctic, Changing Assessments?

Innovations in technologies and their applications to polar environments have enabled the deployment of long-term observation systems, gathering large amounts of data for a year or more and providing crucial measurements of climate change in the High Arctic Ocean. Environmental Impact Assessments are essential to their design and their deployment. But the Arctic changes fast, oceanographically, glaciologically (with less summer ice and less multi-year ice), biologically (with marine species moving poleward or becoming more vulnerable or endangered) and strategically (as the areas of operation might straddle international and national waters). This presentation will illustrate the challenges to perform environmental impact assessments of two field campaigns: CAATEX (Coordinated Acoustic Thermometry Experiment, 2019-2020) and HiAOOS (High-Arctic Ocean Observing Systems 2024-2027). During both campaigns multi-purpose mooring networks with very-low-frequency acoustic sources for ocean thermometry were deployed. Each deployment and recovery of the mooring network were carried out by use of ice breakers. The different potential impacts of each activity are systematically assessed in line with the latest guidelines and recommendations, in particular those of the European Polar Board. The assessments were carried out using what is known of the local environment and marine life (observations, databases and literature reviews). Special attention was made to marine mammals and other animals on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Mitigation approaches are discussed along with recommendations for future observation efforts in the Arctic regions using different observing platforms including icebreakers and autonomous systems.