Use of digital technology to follow the consequences of a warming Arctic climate

Abstract

The rapid warming climate is causing the Arctic ice to retreat and the permafrost to melt. These visible manifestations of the ongoing climate change are few of many environmental and societal changes that take place in the Arctic. The acceleration of digitalization and implementation of digital technology bring new opportunities to follow the consequences of the warmer arctic climate, but also introduces new challenges in this region as the dependency on the digital technology increases. This paper focuses on the cyber ecosystem and discusses digital technology available for monitoring the consequences of a warming Arctic and its impact on Critical Infrastructure (CI) in Norway, such as communication networks, electric power transfer systems, water and wastewater, transportation infrastructure, oil and gas infrastructure. The need for reliable satellite communications is emphasized.