Detection and tracking of ships in the Canadian Arctic

The Canadian Arctic is becoming increasingly important as climate change and economic pressures stimulate increasing activity in the region. The number of transits, cruise ships, and adventurer expeditions in this area is on the rise. Ensuring environmental, economic, archeological, defence, safety and security responsibilities in this challenging area has resulted in many recent investments including the Arctic Offshore Patrol Vessels and the RADARSAT Constellation Mission. This chapter will explore the challenges in detection and tracking of ships in the Arctic from perspectives including: ship-ice discrimination in remote sensing, sparse data tracking, effects of constrained navigation, and operational decision aids.