The Sea Grant College (SGC) Program in the U.S. has a fifty-year history of promoting education, research, and the application and extension of research findings in marine fields. As university-based science and research is a source of unbiased technical support and advice for decision makers and stakeholders in coastal communities, the SGC approach of promoting connectivity between universities and local communities is expected to solve a variety of marine and coastal issues.

Ever-increasing human activity is a global environmental problem of immediate concern. This calls for new technologies and services that will allow us to live completely fulfilled lives. With the hope that Japan will continue to be a beautiful country full of laughter when our children and grandchildren become adults, I believe there is a need to change our society and way of life to a new "model," in which we learn from nature how best to live as well as create things out of the abundance of our fulfilled lives.

Every year around September, the question arises whether or not the sea ice extent in the Arctic Ocean will record its lowest ever level. Furthermore, sea ice extent in the Antarctic Ocean recorded its lowest ever level in March 2017. Remote sensing technologies by satellites support sea ice monitoring activities in the polar regions most sensitive to global warming and climate change, and of these, microwave scanning radiometers developed in Japan play an especially important role. With the rapid decrease in Arctic sea ice extent, increased use of the Northern Sea route for shipping and resource development makes sea ice remote sensing more important than ever.