Preface

Saint-Petersburg Peter the Great Polytechnic University contributes to the fulfillment of Arctic programs by its scientific and organisational resources and coordinates research and exchange of its results within a wide circle of scientific and educational institutions in Russia and abroad. It holds the annual International Conference on the Arctic (“Arctic: History and Modernity”). For 2020 two scientific events on the Arctic had been planned, and notwithstanding the difficult situation caused by the pandemic, it was decided to implement it. The International Round Table “Modern Problems of the Arctic” took place on the 25 th of June 2020. Its main goal was to map out key challenges for further investigations and projects to be discussed at the Conference of 2021. Most of the reports gave place to summarising and analysis of local and foreign experience in high technology research and its application in the Arctic. The key message of the discussion was the planning and design of modern information technologies for the managing of sustainable development of the Arctic. Social, economical, and geographical conditions for this process were considered an essential research objective. Smart-city concept based upon complex socio-cyber-physical systems turned to be the central problem of the discussion as well as the international experience in the spheres of 5G technology, the internet of things, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The results of the research on the life cycle of the technologies under the polar conditions and its analysis were also presented at the meeting. Several articles are focused on changing environmental conditions under the influence of technogenic factor, and on the safety of materials and technological innovations. There are also articles presenting research on the use of advanced bio indicating technologies for maintaining the ecosystem’s balance of Cola basin, Barents region, Arctic coastlines; use of scientific modeling for technological and transport development in the polar conditions, comparative studies of foreign and home experience in the Arctic tourism.