Arctic Search and Rescue

The Arctic and North Atlantic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network (ARCSAR) project is funded by the Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union. The ARCSAR network addresses the Arctic and North-Atlantic (ANA) region in preparing to cope with security and safety threats that will result from increased commercial activity in the region. These include traffic through the Northern passages from ships and offshore oil and gas activity.

The main goal is to establish and support a new Arctic and North Atlantic Security and Emergency Preparedness Network. This would serve practitioners involved in front-line security and emergency response. It would directly involve practitioners, existing networks, stakeholders in universities, research centres, industry, and those involved in governance and policy-making. The freezing climate, long distances and lack of infrastructure makes dealing with emergencies or disasters a challenging task in this region.

ARCSAR consists of 21 partners from 13 countries and is headed by a group of researchers at the University of Portsmouth. These are Prof Dylan Jones (PI), Prof Ashraf Labib, Prof Djamila Ouelhadj, Prof Mike Tipton and Dr, Joe Costello.