Arctic Ocean Gets a Nervous System

March 2, 2007 — Remote and often locked in ice, the Arctic Circle is one of the most variable, sensitive ecosystems on the planet. Now, several Norwegian institutions are joining forces to set up a network of sensors to monitor the underwater environment there and its renewable resources.

The network — piggybacked on oil pipelines, seafloor platforms, cables and research vessels — could yield some of the best data yet on even the smallest changes in the ecosystem.

The information will inform scientists about marine resources from fuel to food.

The impetus for the project, said Olav Rune Godoe, head of the research group at the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, Norway, came out of debates on the Barents Sea, a part of the Arctic Ocean north of Norway and Russia.

Although far north, the sea offers an abundance of fish that depend on the spring bloom of phytoplankton.

At the bottom of the food chain, these microorganisms feed zooplankton and krill, which become dinner for other fish such as capelin, which are themselves devoured by cod, an important resource for both Norway and Russia.

Any upset to the spring bloom ripples down the food chain.

Rich in life, the sea is also rich in oil.

Far beneath the ocean floor lie untapped oil reserves, perhaps some of the largest in the world. But for environmental reasons, the Norwegian government has placed strong restrictions on oil exploration in the area.

Norway's fishing industry is not keen on such exploration either, because of the potential damage that oil spills can have on the fishing stocks.

But fisheries would be interested, said Godoe, in more efficient monitoring of stocks for optimal harvests. Instead of exaggerating the conflict, his team is presenting a solution that both the fisheries and the oil industry could benefit from.

"We try to present a win-win situation. If we are able to join efforts here, we might all come out as winners," said Godoe.

The researchers propose that the oil industry build out new pipes and platforms in the Barents Sea and equip the infrastructure with a multitude of sensors.

Sonar sensors, for example, could track and measure the size of fish shoals. Chemicals sensors could monitor the presence of oil, detecting leaks or spills. Other sensors would record the speed and direction of ocean currents, temperature and salinity.

The data could help build computer models of the ecosystem. Scientists could use those models to do everything from anticipating fish stocks, to predicting the underwater conditions for operating sonar, to calculating the route of an oil leak to organize cleaning efforts.

The data could also be used to help guide where drilling should be allowed, in particular areas or at particular times of the year.

"It is interesting to see the defense people, the oil people and the academic people working together," said Alan Chave, a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Mass.

The biggest challenge, said Chave, is the reliability of such an underwater network, particularly in the corrosive, freezing waters of the Arctic ocean.

"You have to build it as fail-safe as possible," he said, and if something breaks down, "You have to have a strategy for picking things up and fixing them."

Godoe has estimated that a prototype system would cost about 3 million Euros (about $4 million) and that a full-blown network, perhaps tens of millions of Euros. It may sound like a lot, but a just one support vessel for the oil industry costs a company more than 50,000 Euros ($66,065) per day.

"With the amount of money involved in the oil industry nowadays, the cost of such a system would be peanuts," said Godoe.