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Arcitc Frontiers : The Charting Challenge by Dr. A. E. Collin

This paper was presented at the Arctic Conference which took place in Monaco in May.

The conference was in the Great Conference Hall of the Oceanographic Museum.  There were about 250 people in the audience – Prince Albert II, the Prince of Monaco and the Prime Minister of Monaco, the President of the International Hydrographic Organization, Admiral Maratos and several of his staff.

There were a number of scientists from the US, Germany, England, Scotland and France, and a number of international environmental organizations and writers and journalists. The media from all over Europe was there.

The conference went for two days and Prince Albert attended all of the sessions and took part in the discussions.

There is a bit of history that goes with this event.

About the turn of the century, Prince Albert I, the grandfather of the present Prince, organized and led a number of the oceanographic expeditions to various parts of the North Atlantic.  He was very interested in the oceans of the world and was particularly interested in the sciences of oceanography and the north. As early as 1873, the had a 200 ton yacht – the Hirondelle – which he used as a research vessel.

Part of this interest was in the large collection of fish and animals he collected on his various voyages and in 1899, he started construction of the magnificent Oceanographic Museum in Monaco. This museum was opened in 1910.

In 1906 and 1907, Prince Albert made voyages to Spitzbergen in his vessel – the Princess Alice II.  These voyages were serious scientific ventures and the Prince took with him a number of recognized experts in the various fields of study.

During the last number of years, the present Prince – Albert II – has become interested in the North and particularly the world environmental situation, and the impact on the Arctic.  Climate change is a large part of this interest.

Last year, the Prince decided that to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of his grandfather’s work in Spitsbergen, he would lead an expedition to the Pole and would also convene the first Monaco Arctic Conference to recognize the scientific work done by his grandfather and also, I think, to continue the tradition of serious environmental interest in Monaco.

The expedition to the Pole took place in March and April this year and the Conference was in May.

As you know, there is a long association between the Prince of Monaco and the International Hydrographic Organization.  In 1921, Prince Albert invited the newly formed International Hydrographic Organization to establish its headquarters in Monaco and donated the building for these offices.

The Conference was focused on the environment of the Arctic Ocean and the changes that can be foreseen in that part of the world.  The Prince is very interested in the work that his grandfather did in the waters around Spitsbergen.  It was natural that he IHO would be invited to present a paper at the Conference.  The first paper as a history of Prince Albert I, presented by a historian from the museum.

The IHO invited Canada to present the IHO contribution and this was the lead-off paper in the first session.

This paper was compiled by David Pugh.  There were a number of contributors. Dr. Savi Narayana and I helped.  David brought together all of the graphics from a number of sources.