As Arctic sea ice melts, warming has led to increased shipping through the Northwest Passage, a route from Europe to Asia that follows the northern edge of Canada. But a new study finds a growing risk of more dangerous forms of sea ice, reducing the number of days ships can safely sail through Arctic waters.
Old, thick chunks of sea ice that often gather near the Arctic are drifting southward toward Canada and ships. The younger, thinner ice that once held the older ice in place is becoming scarcer as the region warms. For the cargo ships, fishing boats, and cruise ships that cross the Northwest Passage, drifting chunks of old, thick sea ice pose a significant threat.
As melting increases, the time ships can safely navigate the Northwest Passage is shrinking. The new study found that the navigable period in the Eastern Beaufort Sea, on the eastern edge of the passage, has shrunk from 27 weeks in 2007 to 13 weeks in 2021. findings were published in the magazine Communication Earth and Environment.
“The predicted loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is expected to lead to new shipping routes, particularly around the Northwest Passage,” said lead author Alison Cook, a researcher at the Scottish Association for Marine Science, said: “However, it is very dangerous to assume that this will be the case everywhere, and circumstances are constantly changing.”
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