Northeast, northwest passages both open
Andy Revkin's Dot Earth blog alerted me to a significant milestone in Arctic melting: There is a continuous circle of water around the Arctic now: the Northwest Passage (north of North America) and the "Northeast Passage" (a.k.a. the Northern Sea Route, north of Eurasia) are both open at the same time, for the first time in recorded human history. The last time the Northern Sea Route was open was 2005, but the Northwest Passage wasn't open then. The Northwest Passage opened up last summer (2007), but the Northern Sea Route wasn't open then. This year is the first time in human history that you could sail a boat completely around the North Pole through open water... but you'd have to have a pretty fast boat (because it's going to start freezing up again within a couple of weeks).
The last month's worth of retreating sea ice data is shown in this animation loop.
Article in the Independent (U.K.)
Press release by the National Ice Center (Sept. 5):
"As of September 4, 2008, the Northern Sea Route (Northeast Passage) appears 'open'. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), open water is defined as areas with less than 1/10th ice concentration (WMO Sea-Ice Nomenclature, 1970). National Ice Center (NIC) analysis of Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery suggests a 10-15km wide area of open water that winds along the Taymyr Peninsula and through the Laptev Sea. Even with small openings, currents from the north could clog openings again quickly, in the same fashion that has opened the sea ice lead in a matter of days. A sea ice lead is any fracture or passage-way through sea ice which is navigable by surface vessels. There are also substantial amounts of dangerous multi-year ice present in the area. Shallow or uncharted bathymetries may present additional hazards in those areas where ice concentration is reduced. Current charting of bathymetry from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) suggests depths between 10-20 meters along the Taymyr Peninsula and 20-30 meters through the lead in the Laptev. This is the first recorded occurrence of the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route both being open at the same time. The NIC will continue to monitor this area and will report on any changes in the status of polar navigation routes."
UPDATE: You may also be interested in the fate of some specific ice shelves: "Rapid Retreat: Ice Shelf Loss on Canada's Ellesmere Coast," a well-illustrated update from NASA's Earth Observatory.
The last month's worth of retreating sea ice data is shown in this animation loop.
Article in the Independent (U.K.)
Press release by the National Ice Center (Sept. 5):
"As of September 4, 2008, the Northern Sea Route (Northeast Passage) appears 'open'. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), open water is defined as areas with less than 1/10th ice concentration (WMO Sea-Ice Nomenclature, 1970). National Ice Center (NIC) analysis of Synthetic Aperture Radar imagery suggests a 10-15km wide area of open water that winds along the Taymyr Peninsula and through the Laptev Sea. Even with small openings, currents from the north could clog openings again quickly, in the same fashion that has opened the sea ice lead in a matter of days. A sea ice lead is any fracture or passage-way through sea ice which is navigable by surface vessels. There are also substantial amounts of dangerous multi-year ice present in the area. Shallow or uncharted bathymetries may present additional hazards in those areas where ice concentration is reduced. Current charting of bathymetry from the International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) suggests depths between 10-20 meters along the Taymyr Peninsula and 20-30 meters through the lead in the Laptev. This is the first recorded occurrence of the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route both being open at the same time. The NIC will continue to monitor this area and will report on any changes in the status of polar navigation routes."
UPDATE: You may also be interested in the fate of some specific ice shelves: "Rapid Retreat: Ice Shelf Loss on Canada's Ellesmere Coast," a well-illustrated update from NASA's Earth Observatory.
Labels: alaska, canada, climate change, global warming, russia
