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The History The earliest Arctic navigators were the indigenous people, who used shallow-draft boats to hunt whale and walrus. They also used traditional knowledge passed down through many generations to navigate during the summer months. In 1778, Captain James Cook searched for the icefree Northwest Passage through the Arctic for the British government. He carried with him rough charts drawn from Vitus Bering's early 1700s Arctic exploration, on behalf of the Russian Empire. These charts, while accurately charting the Russian ships' route, failed to provide the navigational information Captain Cook had hoped they would.1 Although solid ice prevented discovery of a northerly route during his trip, Captain Cook and his crew greatly improved Arctic bathymetry documentation. In the mid-1800s, more non-native sailors navigated to the Arctic, transiting from the North American eastern seaboard to hunt whales. Through the years, the whaling industry waned and fewer ships transited the icy Arctic waters. Endnote: 1. everyinchonthechartrepresents47,893inchesor 0.7nauticalmiles.Incontrast,thelargestscalechart availableforFortLauderdale,Fla.,is1:10,000orone inchequals0.14nauticalmiles.Thenarrowestpoint between the United States and Russia, the Bering Strait,hasascaleofnotlessthan1:400,000foranarea 55mileswide. Fewshort-rangeaidstonavigationmarkArcticwaterways.Yearlongfoatingandcoastalaidsarenomatch forthelong,harshArcticwinters.Whilethereare somegovernment-maintainedshoreaidstonavigationinArcticcommunities,suchasPointHopeand Kotzebue,mostoftheseareseasonal.Floatingaidsto navigationnorthoftheBeringSeaarealsoseasonal andmaintainedbyprivateentities. Additionally,theArcticregionhasfewweatherstationsandnoweatherbuoysabovetheArcticCircle. TwoNOAAweatherstations,oneatRedDogMine andtheotherinNome,providetheonlyimmediate maritimeweatherinformationsuchaswindspeed, direction,andbarometricpressure.Therefore,realtimeweatherinformationremainsanissue. Efforts to Improve Navigation ThenumberofvesselssailingabovetheArcticCircle isincreasing.Asaresult,initiativesareunderwayto www.uscg.mil/proceedings Barnett, J. Captain Cook in Alaska and the North Pacific. Anchorage, Alaska: Todd Communications, 2008. improve navigation in the Arctic and to overcome its lackofresources.Forexample,theNationalOceanographicandAtmosphericAdministration'sOffce ofCoastSurveyhasidentifedabout325,000square miles of navigationally significant areas.1 In early 2012,theagencycompletedanewchartoftheKotzebueBaySound,providingimportantdetailednavigation information to those transporting goods to and fromtheRedDogMine.InFebruary2013,NOAA's OffceofCoastSurvey,inconjunctionwithitsCenterforOperationalOceanographicProductsandServicesandtheNationalGeodeticSurvey,published theupdatedArcticNauticalChartingPlantolayout astrategytoimproveBeringSeaandArcticnautical charts.2 Toincreasereal-timeweatherinformation,manymariners participate in the World Meteorological Organizationvoluntaryobservingshipscheme.Underthis program,volunteerstransmitreal-timeinformation tometeorologistsbyradioorsatellite,whichisthen incorporatedintoweatherreportsandpredictions. Vessel Traffic Astranspolaranddestinationaltraffccontinuesto increaseandevolve,allmarinersmustapproachthe navigationalchallengeswithcaution.Ifweareallprudentnavigators,awidespectrumofusers, ncluding i Summer 2013 Proceedings 37