September 26th, 2009
North East Passage – Evidence of Global Warming
The Northeast Passage has been notorious amongst seafarers over the centuries. For 500 years this perilous sea-lane has proven impassable due to its heavy ice floes, even taking the lives of some those who were brave enough to attempt it.
Two German cargo ships; MV Beluga Fraternity and MV Beluga Foresight are the first merchant vessels to successfully cross this gruelling stretch of water. It has taken them two months to complete, setting off from Ulsan, South Korea, via the Northeast Passage to Siberia and finally on to their destination of Rotterdam.
This previously impassable course has now become possible due to an unprecedented ice-melt. Scientists report that the Arctic Ocean ice cap has been shrinking to unexpected levels in recent summers, because of global warming, opening up many passages that were ice-choked in earlier times.
In July, new NASA satellite measurements showed that sea ice in the Arctic was not just shrinking, but thinning dramatically. The Arctic is turning into a blue ocean.