The exploration for metals needed for the green transition and the versatile use of artificial intelligence presents numerous opportunities for businesses and the Arctic population. However, what specific advantages and disadvantages can we anticipate from this emerging industry?
By Kim Bredesen, Communications Officer, UiT The Arctic University of Norway
Tracey Meagher, Policy Associate, University of Southern Maine
Industry and business can play a crucial role in developing new and sustainable solutions for an Arctic that is changing on many levels. What this looks like in practice has been highlighted by students from four universities in Europe and the USA who participated in the International Graduate Student Research Cohort (IGSRC) in 2024.
The IGSRC (currently in its fifth year) brings together students and faculty from a variety of fields to work together while pursuing research related to the Arctic and North Atlantic. The students focus on innovative best practices and present their research during the annual Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavík, Iceland. A fundamental pillar for the IGSRC is the UN's Sustainable Development Goal No. 14. This involves preserving the world's oceans by facilitating approaches related to the concept of the blue economy. A basic prerequisite is that business activities should be based on the triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit.
Tools for Rapid Changes
One of the IGSRC participants, Joan Alza Santos, a scientific assistant and PhD candidate at the National Subsea Centre of Robert Gordon University, provides insight into how AI can create new advancements in a blue economy. Santos emphasizes that AI can be used to identify dangers and risks associated with extreme weather conditions and climate in the Arctic. This is a significant benefit for building roads, buildings, energy production, or communication networks. Other AI applications include resource planning for mass tourism and calculating safe, affordable, and environmentally friendly shipping routes in the Arctic.
"The most important application of AI in the Arctic so far has been environmental monitoring. AI can be used to analyze weather and ice data in real time, model landscapes, or simulate potential natural hazards. This allows us to detect and track changes in sea ice levels in the Arctic or on Icelandic glaciers," Santos said.
For him, AI is a very promising field of research that can have positive ripple effects for governance in the Arctic. "I expect that AI-driven tools in the future will be beneficial for protecting the environment and ensuring that decision-makers and researchers have a level of knowledge that prepares them to respond to the rapid changes occurring in the Arctic," Santos concluded.
Additionally, he noted that cold climate is advantageous for energy-efficient data centers. "This could be an opportunity to create new jobs for local communities and promote knowledge-driven economies," he said.
A Last Measure with Unknown Impact
Yara Nieuwenhuis, who is pursuing a Master's degree in both freshwater ecology and political science at UiT The Arctic University of Norway, has examined a contentious issue: What are the potential consequences of seabed mining between Norway, Greenland, and Svalbard? This is an area along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge that has large deposits of highly sought-after metals.
"I believe that seabed mining is difficult to reconcile with ideals of sustainable solutions, given the technology and knowledge we have today,” Nieuwenhuis said. “For seabed mining to become sustainable, the extraction must cause as little harm as possible to ecosystems. At the same time, it must be guaranteed that the metals and minerals are used for purposes beneficial to the green transition.”
Nieuwenhuis warns of the permanent loss of biodiversity if slow-growing species in the Arctic are subjected to industrial interventions. Several of the species may also be of great value for medical research. "Sustainability also means preserving the nature we have. Initiating seabed mining now should be among the last measures or solutions we choose to support a sustainable society," Nieuwenhuis concluded.
Attitudes, Knowledge, and Awareness
Cohort participants Brooke Camire and Victoria Forkus from the University of Southern Maine and Sydney Fox from Reykjavík University have also made significant efforts to highlight how the Arctic blue economy can be further developed.
These participants have researched the extent to which secondary school curricula in Europe highlights the opportunities the blue economy encompasses, how and why microplastic particles spread in the Arctic, and how more food security can be facilitated in the Arctic. Individually, they have presented these solutions: that a new generation can be made aware of the blue economy with new curricula; that biodegradable textiles and plastic recycling are adopted on a larger scale; and that there should be a greater focus on local food production.
Added with the research on AI and deep-sea mining, all cohort participants have collaborated to create analyses on development trends that will shape the Arctic in the coming decades.
Partner institutions for this project include UiT The Arctic University of Norway, University of Southern Maine, Robert Gordon University, Reykjavík University, and the New England Ocean Cluster (NEOC) in Portland, Maine.
Read more about the International Graduate Student Research Cohort here.
Photo: Tracey Meagher
