Today at the DeiC 2023 conference Ieva Muraškienė of NORDUnet will give a talk on the Polar Connect initiative of the Nordic NRENs. In her presentation she will dive into some of the results from the Northern EU Gateways project co-funded by the EC.
Key areas will include the work to develop an overarching vision for inter-continent connectivity through the Arctic. This work is in line with the European data gateways declaration and supports the EU Global Gateways initiative. The vision is developed in close collaboration with Japanese partners, set in the context of the collaboration declaration of the EU-Japan Summit of 2023. Likewise, the vision highlights the crucial impact for the Nordic countries and the Arctic region of arctic connectivity.
Ieva will specifically address the Arctic seabed desktop study for the feasibility of a fibre route close to the North Pole, and the work done with the Swedish polar research secretariat to demonstrate that it is feasible to cross the Arctic sea ice with a cable laying vessel supported by icebreakers.
Opportunities for using SMART cable and subsea sensing technologies on an Arctic cables, and the many science applications this offers also form part of the exciting talk. The Northern EU Gateways project work of engaging directly with research and user communities will naturally also be explained.
