European Polar research : status and challenges of European Polar fleet for enhancing strategic collaboration

Abstract

Polar Regions are the most vulnerable world areas to any climate change, and therefore can be considered drivers of global climate change, so small and systematic changes in the Polar Regions affect critically the global environment. This is particularly worrying for Europe and the Arctic due to ocean circulation interaction between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Oceans whose outcome is already producing significant climate anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere. Many European countries support polar research, not only in the Arctic but also in Antarctica, and in fact many European polar research programs have a two-pole perspective. However Europe lacks sufficient marine technological platforms to meet the challenges posed today in marine polar research.