User-Informed and Science-Driven
Research for Action

Bermuda to Bear Island (B2BI) is a strategic framework to address complex,
interactive climate, environmental, societal, and technological changes affecting
the North Atlantic-Arctic Ocean Region and beyond.

Changing Climate

The North Atlantic – Arctic Ocean Region is increasingly affected by global and local changes in the Earth’s climate system that have led to increases in weather/ temperature extremes (e.g., hurricanes, heat waves, changing rainfall patterns, sea ice retreat). These changes are affecting human health1, and agricultural production, impact the civil infrastructure (coastal uses, port operations) and tourism. The melting of circumpolar land-based ice is currently contributing over 40% of the global mean sea level rise which together with storm surges, threatens many coastal communities but also provides opportunities due to the opening Arctic Ocean seaway.

1World Health Organization

Economic Impacts

This region, interconnected by the North Atlantic-Arctic Oceans2, hosts one of the world’s important fisheries, contains one the most active trade routes in the world, with a combined GDP for these nations being over 20% of the global GDP. The nations surrounding this region are engaged in important multinational geopolitical agreements (e.g., NATO and OECD, Atlantic Council, Arctic Council)3, and in world-wide socio-economic activities (e.g., between Europe, the US and the far east, particularly China4) that directly link the B2BI nation’s coastal regions to worldwide affairs.

2Benway HM, E Hofmann, M St. John 2014
3Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
4The Atlantic Council

Science Needs

The B2BI North Atlantic-Arctic Ocean Science Strategic Framework is designed to respond to the unprecedented and fundamentally different world where the scientific evidence suggests that oceanic and coastal changes are accelerating at rates exceeding those in other regions on the planet. To reduce risk in current day and future marine operations, science needs to strengthen coordinated observational capacity, improve process understanding and advance numerical modelling and forecasting capabilities. It is essential to better address the emerging patterns of climate, environmental, technological and socio-economic changes.