Page 40: of Marine News Magazine (March 2026)

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Tech Feature

Digitalization and Icebreaking

U.S. Coast Guard photo by Lt. j.g. William Erekson his winter, ice on the Great Lakes is expected to moisture and infrared heat signatures to hyperspectral impact a maritime economy valued at $35 billion. imagery. This democratization of space means that the

The wealth of data provided by space-based assets tools once reserved for national intelligence agencies are offers a potential lifeline for navigating these fro- now available to undergraduate students. The challenge

T zen waters. However, data alone is not a solution. Without is no longer getting the data; it is processing it at the the means to translate raw satellite feeds into actionable speed of commerce.

intelligence, it remains an untapped resource, a digital hay- stack without a needle. The $2 Billion Freeze

In response, and in partnership with the U.S. Coast To understand the importance of this digital shift, one

Guard (USCG), Michigan recently turned to an unex- must understand the stakes on the water. USCG faces a pected source of innovation: a generation of digital natives. critical operational bottleneck every winter. With a ? nite

The state tasked its college students with building satellite- number of ice-breaking cutters available, determining driven predictive models to solve a most persistent winter exactly where and when ice will form is the difference challenge: ice. between a ? uid supply chain and a total standstill.

The economic and security risks posed by Great Lakes

Aerospace Meets Maritime ice are both immense and underappreciated. From a com-

Michigan maintains an all-domain value proposition, mercial perspective, these waters are the starting line for and the integration of the aerospace and maritime sectors the American steel supply chain. A severe ice season that is a cornerstone of Michigan’s economic diversi? cation halts shipping can cost the regional economy upwards of strategy. The Michigan Of? ce of Defense and Aerospace $2 billion, creating a domino effect that hits the automo-

Innovation (ODAI) hosted the 2025 MiSpace Hackathon tive and manufacturing sectors within days.

in the fall of 2025, drawing more than a hundred Michi- Beyond the balance sheet, there is a clear national se- gan-based undergraduate students to use space-based data curity imperative. Maintaining assured access to our own to predict Great Lakes ice packs. waters is a matter of sovereignty and maritime readiness.

Satellite and remote sensing data are becoming increas- If we cannot effectively manage ice in our own Fourth Sea ingly accessible, transforming how we tackle terrestrial Coast, we leave a vulnerability in our national infrastruc- problems. In 2025 alone, approximately 10,000 satellites ture. We must be able to support the communities that were launched globally, each designed to sense our envi- rely on these waters for everything from heating fuel deliv- ronment in unique ways, capturing everything from soil ery to ? ood prevention.

40 | MN March 2026