By melting Arctic sea ice, warming has led to a growth of shipping through the Northwest Passage, a route from Europe to Asia that traces the northern edge of Canada. But a new study finds a growing risk from more hazardous forms of sea ice, trimming the number of days during which ships can safely journey through Arctic waters.
Old, thick chunks of sea ice that tend to cluster near the North Pole are increasingly drifting southward toward Canada and into the path of ships. The younger, thinner ice that once held older ice in place is becoming more scarce as the region warms. For the cargo vessels, fishing boats, and cruise ships crossing the northwest passage, drifting chunks of old, thick sea ice pose a significant threat.
As melting intensifies, the time during which ships can safely navigate the Northwest Passage is shrinking. The new study found that the navigable period in the Eastern Beaufort Sea, at the eastern edge of the passage, shrunk from 27 weeks in 2007 to 13 weeks in 2021. The findings were published in the journal Communications Earth and Environment.
“There is a presumption that the projected sea ice loss in the Arctic Ocean will mean new shipping routes, particularly around the Northwest Passage,” said lead author Alison Cook, a researcher at the Scottish Association for Marine Science. “However, it is very dangerous to presume this will be the case everywhere, and conditions are changing all the time.”
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