Shipping warning as centuries-old sea ice released from the Arctic

A new research  paper has been published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment that shows how centuries-old multi-year sea ice is being released into Arctic shipping channels. This research is led by Dr Alison Cook from the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) as part of the IQP-ASR project.

SAMS News release (11/07/24)

A presumption that rapidly melting Arctic sea ice will open up new shipping routes has sparked a warning from scientists investigating the fast-changing ice conditions.

Although seasonal sea ice – the ice that thaws in summer and reforms in winter – has been shrinking at a rate of knots because of climate change, this has released thick and centuries-old multi-year ice from further north into shipping channels.

Scientists investigating 15 years of sea ice charts from the Canadian Arctic are now warning shipping companies and sailors that this thicker ice could be more hazardous and more unpredictable, creating so-called ‘choke points’ in existing shipping routes.

The shipping industry is worth trillions of dollars in annual trade and accounts for the transport of nearly 90% of all goods globally, so the state of the route through the Northwest Passage is of high interest.

Dr Alison Cook of the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) in Oban is lead author on a new paper published today [Thursday] which outlines the extent of the multi-year ice effect and demonstrates how along some parts of the route the season of safe transit has become shorter, rather than longer.

The study, published in the journal Communications Earth & Environment, also highlights potential impacts for coastal communities along the routes of the Northwest Passage, as many Canadian Arctic communities rely on maritime traffic for the supply of goods.

Full news release available from the Scottish Association for Marine Science.