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<div>CRREL folks may already be aware of this....others not. An
interesting FYI attended to climate change. Charlie V.</div>
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<div><font face="Georgia" size="+1" color="#000000"><b>U.S. Readies
for Polar Warfare (Updated)</b></font><br>
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<div><font face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#888888">By Sharon
Weinberger</font> <a href="mailto:sharonweinberger@hotmail.com"><img
src="cid:a0624080fc2980ed933aa@[172.16.14.36].1.0"
alt="image001 40.gif" width="14" height="11"></a><font face="Georgia"
size="-2" color="#888888">June 13, 2007 | 9:10:35 AMCategories:</font>
<a href="http://blog.wired.com/defense/darpa_watch/index.html"><font
face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#888888">DarpaWatch</font></a><font
face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#888888"> </font></div>
<div><font face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">Desert warfare may
be today's concern, but the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency is already looking to an entirely new area of military
conflict: polar warfare. That's correct, DARPA wants technologies that
could be used to ensure U.S. dominance in the polar
regions.</font></div>
<div><a
href="http://www.fbo.gov/spg/ODA/DARPA/CMO/BAA07-40/SynopsisP.html"><font
face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">According to a new Broad
Agency Announcement</font></a><font face="Georgia" size="-2"
color="#000000"> called Technologies for Persistent Operations in High
LAtitude Regions (POLAR), "DARPA is interested in new
high-risk/high-payoff technologies and operating concepts that would
give U.S. military forces revolutionary capabilities that address
operational challenges specific to polar environments." That
includes weapons, navigations equipment, and way to make sure ships
and planes can work in the harsh polar environment.</font></div>
<div><a
href="http://blog.wired.com/photos/uncategorized/2007/06/13/ice.jpg"><img
src="cid:a0624080fc2980ed933aa@[172.16.14.36].1.1"
alt="image002 14.jpg" width="325" height="244"></a><font
face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">Why polar warfare? Well, some
decades ago, people thought space and space warfare would be the final
frontier. They may still be right, but it turns out that thanks to
global warming and melting ice, the polar regions may figure into
future conflict as well. This absolutely fascinating report,</font> <a
href="http://www.natice.noaa.gov/icefree/FinalArcticReport.pdf"><font
face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">"Naval Operations in an
Ice Free Arctic,"</font></a><font face="Georgia" size="-2"
color="#000000"> gives an idea of what the military is
thinking.</font></div>
<div><font face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">It turns out the
U.S. is worried that as global warming melts polar ice, suddenly
there's a whole new area of potential enemies, "comprised of
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), terrorists and environmental
activists." Maybe they're worried about Al Gore,
too.</font></div>
<div><font face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">Future scenarios
include situations like this: "Environmental terrorists seize a
research station in the Svalbard Archipelago being used by a U.S.
based multi-national corporation for mineral and oil exploration in
the Arctic. The terrorists have been using explosives to destroy
equipment at the station, and are threatening personnel if the
corporation does not cease all activities in the Arctic
Ocean."</font></div>
<div><font face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">Concerns about
other countries figure in as well, naturally.</font></div>
<div><font face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">This isn't the
first time the people have worried about possible polar warfare. We
wrote some time back in the DANGER ROOM about persistent rumors
(although now debunked) that the</font> <a
href="http://blog.wired.com/defense/2007/04/scientists_debu.html"><font
face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">Nazis had a secret base in
Antarctica</font></a><font face="Georgia" size="-2" color="#000000">.
I also remember polar warfare showing up in at least one
techno-thriller (and I suspect more). In either case, it's clearly an
area to keep an eye on.</font></div>
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<div>Charles J. Vörösmarty<br>
Director, Water Systems Analysis Group<br>
Morse Hall<br>
Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space<br>
University of New Hampshire<br>
Durham, NH 03824<br>
<br>
Tel: 603-862-0850<br>
FAX: 603-862-0587<br>
Web site: http://www.wsag.unh.edu/</div>
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