Arctic shipping routes open Satellite measurements show we are
heading for another year of below-average ice cover in the
Arctic. As sea ice melts during the summer months, two major
shipping routes have opened in the Arctic Ocean. In 2008
satellites saw that the Northwest Passage and the Northern Sea
Route were open simultaneously for the first time since
satellite measurements began in the 1970s – and now it has
happened again. While the Northern Sea Route above Russia (also
known as the Northeast Passage) has been open to shipping
traffic since mid-August, recent satellite data show that the
most direct course in the Northwest Passage now appears to be
navigable as well. Located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago,
the Northwest Passage can be a short cut for shipping between
Europe and Asia – but with the opening of the sea route comes
the potential for both sovereignty claims and marine species
migration across the Arctic Ocean. In 2007, Arctic sea ice hit a
record low since satellite measurements began n