"Wilson Center"

The U.S. Arctic Research Commission is an eight-member board that advises on Arctic policy and research priorities.

Mike Sfraga, director of the Polar Institute at the Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Wilson Center, says climate change is making the Arctic Ocean more accessible.

World leaders, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, have talked of the Arctic as a zone of peace and co-operation. But continued tranquility is just one forecast for the region.