Watch this on video | Buy us a coffee: Chris / Henry / Mario

THE TWO ARCTICS - THE ARCTIC CIRCLE ASSEMBLY 2022 The 9th Arctic Circle Assembly showcased a very divided Arctic Community, with Russian participants glaringly absent.

It seems the circumpolar Arctic does not exist at the moment and the new chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Council (ICC), Sara Olsvig, reiterates that there can’t be a solution to this in the Arctic without the inclusion of indigenous people as they live across the modern-day borders. She also said very clearly that with Arctic democracy under great pressure, the post Arctic Council and its future is reason for big concerns.

Further, the future of the Arctic Council in the light of Russia’s unprovoked War on Ukraine has been discussed on numerous occasions. There has been speculation that the West will fundamentally reshape Arctic governance by forming a new international body, known as “Nordic Plus.” While Nordic Plus would have shared values and government norms, it would forfeit the institutional legitimacy and progress that the Arctic Council has fostered. Furthermore, little utility exists in such an organisation without Moscow.

The Arctic Circle Assembly went highly political when the chair of NATO’s Military Committee, Robert Bauer , delivered a very blunt and aggressive speech about the state of regional security, which included the statement that Beijing was undermining the “rules-based international order,” underlining the very different narratives between the United States and China over China’s Arctic interests. His remarks were promptly criticized by China’s Ambassador to Iceland He Rulong, who was in the audience and who accused the NATO official of taking an “arrogant” stance.

This exchange during the Arctic Circle Assembly demonstrated both how cooled the China-US relations are, as well as the high level of difficulty facing Beijing as it navigates a political Arctic much different from five years ago, when China’s own Arctic White Paper was released.

But it’s not all gloom and doom. The Arctic Circle Assembly remains a forum to exchange on numerous topics and it also highlights particular efforts for the circumpolar Arctic with two prizes, the 2022 Arctic Circle Prize for the Alfred Wegener Institute and its groundbreaking MOSAiC Drift Ice Expedition, and the Frederik Paulsen Arctic Academic Action Award given to Professor Hanne Hvidtfeldt Christiansen and Associate Professor Marius Jonassen of the University Centre of Svalbard for their PermaMeteoCommunity project.

This is an episode of the Curiously Polar podcast

with Chris Marquardt https://chrismarquardt.com/ Henry Páll Wulff: https://henrypall.com/ Mario Acquarone https://www.buymeacoffee.com/polarmario

Listen to all podcast episodes at https://curiouslypolar.com

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Watch this on video | Buy us a coffee: Chris / Henry / Mario

HENRY IS BACK FROM THE ICE BREAKER After finishing its first season in the Arctic, Henry just returned from the French-flagged ice breaker Le Commandant Charcot and talks about his experiences and adventures in East Greenland, at the North Pole and in the Northwest Passage.

This is an episode of the Curiously Polar podcast

with Chris Marquardt https://chrismarquardt.com/ Henry Páll Wulff: https://henrypall.com/ Mario Acquarone https://www.buymeacoffee.com/polarmario

Listen to all podcast episodes at https://curiouslypolar.com

All video episodes at https://tfttf.com/curiouslypolarvideo

Find us here: Web: https://curiouslypolar.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/curiouslypolar Instagram: https://instagram.com/curiouslypolar

Watch this on video | Buy us a coffee: Chris / Henry / Mario

// Satellite broadband for the Arctic Traditional, geostationary satellites are not at all optimal for use in polar areas/high latitude. A few operators are now building satellite networks in Non-Geostationary Orbit (NGSO) that promise better covaerage for polar areas and lighter equipment. Incidentally, this will also profit internet coverage for intercontinental flights routed through the same areas. LEO Constellations and Astronomy: A discussion with astronomer Meredith Rawls // Antarctic agriculture Growing vegetables and other useful plants at stations in Antarctica is not a new trend. The Discovery expedition in 1904 was already pioneering onboard food production. A modern approach, mainly through hydroponics, is not only useful for the survival of polar personnel but also to show methods of vegetable production for space travel. // Penguing surveillance robot Not only emperor penguins live in one of the roughest and thoughest environment on earth, but they are also easily disturbed by human presence. If not kept in check this disturbance can have adverse effects on the species. The ECHO rover is a small robot that researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) use for monitoring a colony of about 20,000 emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri). This hybrid rover is partly autonomous and partly remote-controlled.

This is an episode of the Curiously Polar podcast

with Chris Marquardt https://chrismarquardt.com/ Henry Páll Wulff: https://henrypall.com/ Mario Acquarone https://www.buymeacoffee.com/polarmario

Listen to all podcast episodes at https://curiouslypolar.com

All video episodes at https://tfttf.com/curiouslypolarvideo

Find us here: Web: https://curiouslypolar.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/curiouslypolar Instagram: https://instagram.com/curiouslypolar