WEEK 23: RHODE ISLAND
The Arctic and the Ocean State — From Archaeology to National Policy, Rhode Island Punches Above Its Weight in the Arctic
By Dr. Walter Berbrick, Associate Professor and Director, Arctic Studies Group, Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island
Many stories have been written about Rhode Island and most know the legend of its maritime pastimes, but few know the connection of America’s “Ocean State” to the Arctic. Rhode Island is the smallest state of the union. In fact, Rhode Island could fit inside Alaska, our largest and our true Arctic state, 517 times. Luckily, our contributions to and connections with the Arctic far outsize our geographical size. Famed Arctic explorers have resided here, renown professors have carried out seminal studies on Arctic archaeology, and today, through the Naval War College, we are informing American strategy and policy in the Arctic region.
We even have a town here in Rhode Island called Arctic Centre. It was the birthplace of America’s textile industry and home to generations of French Canadian families since the Industrial Revolution in the late 17th century.
One fun Arctic-related family tradition celebrated by Rhode Islanders each holiday season is a trip to the North Pole. While it may not be the geographical North Pole, Rhode Island’s Newport and Narragansett Bay Railroad offers Rhode Islanders a chance to experience a magical version based on the classic children’s book The Polar Express. Each holiday season, the Polar Express™ Train Ride starts at Greene Lane Station in Middletown. During the hour-long journey, passengers enjoy hot chocolate and cookies while watching characters from Chris Van Allsburg’s timeless children’s classic come alive and reenact their favorite scenes. Partway through the journey, passengers arrive at the “North Pole,” gazing out the window onto a fictional North Pole complete with Santa’s workshop and elves. Santa then boards the train and joins passengers for the trip back to Rhode Island.
Rhode Island is also connected to the Arctic through its biodiversity, especially whales and birds. A 50-foot humpback whale was spotted splashing about in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay last December — an extremely rare sight considering these colossal creatures normally remain faithful to swimming somewhere between the Gulf of Maine and the high arctic regions in Norway during the summer months. Three Beluga Whales were also captured swimming off Jamestown, Rhode Island six months earlier. Belugas are native to the Arctic, so spotting them outside of their natural habitat is uncommon. While it’s not exactly clear how they ended up in Rhode Island, colder waters and a large early influx of squid might have something to do with their journey to these home-away-from home waters.
The bright, piercing, lemon yellow eyes of the majestic Snowy Owl wandering south of the Canadian border in search for food also gives Rhode Islanders an uncommon glimpse into the wonders of the Arctic. We also provide a winter retreat for several species of songbirds, Tree Sparrows, and flocks of Snow Buntings, while the dense foliage of conifer trees harbor Red and White-winged Crossbills and Common Redpolls. Despite its name, the mostly slate-gray Purple Sandpiper often appearing along Rhode Island’s rocky shores, jetties, and breachways travels the furthest, from hundreds of miles past the Arctic Circle.
From melting glaciers of the last ice age to rising sea levels of today, Rhode Island’s 400 miles of coast remains the lifeblood of the state and no stranger to the consequences of climate change. For example, several lighthouses visited by thousands of tourists each year have been relocated farther inland in the past due to erosion and have been fortified for protection from storms. Experts forecast that the combined impacts of warming temperatures, sea level rise, and coastal hazards will coincide with more severe flooding, falling property values in coastal areas and losses in tourism revenue for the state, the 4th largest private sector employer in the state.
Rhode Island is also connected to the Arctic through exploration. Dutch explorer Adriaen Block, who reached the shores of Rhode Island while charting the Northwest Passage through the Arctic, named Rhode Island. Nearly three centuries later, American naval officer and polar explorer Rear Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Jr., who earned his place in history as the first to reach both the North Pole and the South Pole by air, called Rhode Island home. Two months after being medically retired from active duty service in the U.S. Navy, Byrd commanded the Rhode Island Naval Militia in Providence, Rhode Island. By act of the Rhode Island General Assembly, he was promoted to captain in the Rhode Island Naval Militia in recognition of his flight to the North Pole in 1926.
Finally, Rhode Island has important research and education connections to the Arctic. J. Louis Giddings (1909–1964), a professor of anthropology at Brown University from 1959 until his untimely passing in 1964, was an a pioneer in the field of Arctic archaeology and an authority on ancient inhabitants of the Bering Strait region in Alaska — he was also the first to use dendrochronology (dating based on tree rings) in the Arctic.
During Gidding’s work in northwest Alaska in the 1950s, he discovered sophisticated ancient stone tools dating back 5,000 years. These tools were created by the Denbigh, ancestors of today’s Iñupiat in Alaska and Inuit in Canada and Greenland. According to the National Park Service, the Denbigh, “pioneered new lands and innovated new technologies that set the stage for the next four millennia of high latitude living across the American Arctic.” The location of Gidding’s discovery, near modern-day Nome, is now the Iyatayet National Historic Landmark, administered by the National Park Service.
The University of Rhode Island and the Naval War College also contribute significantly to our state’s Arctic connections. From the Arctic to the Antarctic to Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island’s coastal waters, the Graduate School of Oceanography (GSO) at the University of Rhode Island (URI) has become recognized nationally and internationally as a leader in oceanography and graduate education. Today, GSO faculty and researchers are engaged in nine different research projects throughout the Arctic ranging from food web dynamics and microbial and planktonic diversity, to the study of the ocean’s chemistry and currents, to the study of copepods and the Arctic Ocean’s marine winter environment.
The Naval War College also recognizes the maritime implications and geopolitical importance of the changing Arctic region. In 2011, the Global Shipping Game brought together world experts from private industry, academia, and government to explore the strategic security implications for the United States posed by projected changes in shipping patterns as a result of the opening of the Arctic in 2035. A year later, planners and operators from America’s sea services converged in Newport to examine U.S. Navy capability gaps in the Arctic during the Fleet Arctic Operations Game.
Both events noted that while changes in global climate conditions and shipping patterns would occur gradually, rather than overnight, these changes will place new demands on America’s Navy to maintain presence and capabilities to operate in the austere Arctic environment.
In light of these changes, the Naval War College, often referred to as the Navy’s home of thought, launched the Arctic Studies Group (ASG) in 2013. The ASG has played a critical role in educating leaders, strengthening maritime cooperation, and informing American strategy and policy in the Arctic region, including playing a major role in shaping America’s newest maritime strategy and the Navy’s Arctic strategy.
About the Author:
Dr. Walter Berbrick is an Associate Professor in the War Gaming Department and Director of the Arctic Studies Group (ASG) at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, RI. Under his leadership, the ASG conducts research in areas of interest to the CNO, Fleet and Combatant Commanders and other stakeholders responsible for naval and maritime strategy, policy and operations in the Arctic Ocean region.
