Oil exploration poses an existential threat to polar bears in the Arctic region. But a new technology is giving conservationists hope for a peaceful coexistence.
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In the first week of November each year, polar bears start to gather near Churchill, Canada. There, they wait for the sea ice to form around Hudson Bay and start seal hunting and preparing dens for their incoming young.
Officially named ‘Polar Bear Week’ by non-profit organisation Polar Bears International, it marks a point in the year when the bears are most visible. The week is regularly accompanied by a flurry of campaigning activity by the charity, raising awareness of the existential threats posed by industrial activity and climate change.
Parts of the Arctic are home to areas of ferocious oil exploration. The bears are legally protected and companies are banned from operating near the known locations of bear dens. But casualties still regularly happen – most commonly when humans unexpectedly encounter the animals, who aggressively defend their young and thereby risk being legally killed.
Because the animals are very difficult to locate in their dens under the snow, oil surveying operations often venture unknowingly into polar bear territory, putting both human and bear lives at risk.
However, a new technology recently piloted by the charity in collaboration with the Simon Fraser University (SFU) and Brigham Young University (BYU) is now giving conservationists hope.
‘Denning is the most vulnerable time in a polar bear’s life,’ said a statement by Polar Bears International. ‘On average, less than half of all cubs reach adulthood, with even lower survival rates in the most vulnerable populations.’ Cubs are born blind and with only a thin layer of fur. They are dependent on their mothers, overwintering in dens burrowed under the snow until they have developed enough of a pelt to protect them from the harsh climatic conditions as they emerge in spring. It is crucial that bears are not disturbed during this time.
A breakthrough in tracking technology could provide a much-needed tool to protect the bears. In the joint project, Polar Bears International and the universities conducted a study of advanced radar technology to locate the dens.
Currently, conservationists and surveyors rely on Forward Looking Infrared systems (FLIR). These use body heat to identify bears’ locations. But their success rate is relatively low – around 45 per cent – as thick layers of snow can obscure the presence of a bear.
The study in Churchill used ARTEMIS Inc imaging system known as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) to identify dens. The success rate of identification increased by more than 20 per cent in the preliminary results.
SAR uses radar signals that enable researchers to create an image below the surface of the snow.
‘I can see through the ice into the depths of the snow,’ Dr David Long, professor of engineering at BYU, excitedly told Geographical. ‘No other system allows me to do that.’
He explained how the technology worked. ‘Synthetic aperture radar is a kind of radar camera, where we provide a pulse of radar, and we get the echo back,’ He said. ‘You can think of it as a flash cam that creates a light which is reflected back to the camera and captured on film.’
The radar device is mounted on a helicopter and flown across the area, sending out individual pulses that are eventually built up into one clear image.
Unlike FLOR, SAR has also proved impervious to the Arctic temperatures and weather conditions. It could be a game changer for allowing a peaceful coexistence of human and polar bear activity.
For Dr Long, one of the most exciting aspects of the technology is its relatively low cost, meaning it should be accessible to most oil companies and conservation projects to detect polar bears. SAR was originally developed for military purposes, he noted.
‘I’ll leave it up to your imagination what they use it for,’ he said. ‘I’m really excited to see a nice application of radar – to something really important like the conservation of an animal.’
The technology has been called a ‘promising method for polar bear den detection, which is critical for protecting polar bears alongside human activity’ by Geoff York, senior director of research and policy at Polar Bears International. There are plans to extend the pilot scheme to more areas of the Arctic.
Unfortunately, industrial activity is not the only human-caused issue endangering the bears. Despite being known as the polar bear capital of the world, populations in Churchill have declined by 27 per cent in the last five years. This is largely due to a loss of sea ice, which the bears rely on for hunting, as a result of global warming.
Krista Wright, executive director of Polar Bears International, said: ‘Polar bears and northern communities are on the front lines of climate change and face the challenges of a rapidly warming landscape. By uniting and taking actions to protect polar bear families, we can help protect the entire Arctic ecosystem, which in turn impacts people around the world.’
