As sea ice continues to recede at a record pace in the Arctic, officials at the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR) announced April 14 new efforts to determine the pace of change in what some are calling Earth’s final frontier.
Scientists sponsored by ONR have traveled to the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic Ocean, placing new sensors in the ice and in the frigid waters below, to better understand the processes contributing to a dramatic decline in sea ice thickness and extent—and provide new tools to help the U.S. Navy predict conditions and operate in once-inaccessible waters.