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Andreas T

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #150 on: April 09, 2016, 11:46:44 PM »
A nice sentinel 1A image of cornwallis island might be interesting to compare later in the season
http://www.polarview.aq/images/106_S1jpgsmall/201604/S1A_EW_GRDM_1SDH_20160409T133203_4EE4_N_1.jpg

Laurent

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #151 on: April 10, 2016, 12:02:13 AM »
We are in advance compare to last year, it seems worse because last year the situation moved quite late (after June) but now it seems to evolve more quickly, this little thickness ice is going to connect with some on the other side...
http://go.nasa.gov/25RE9N4

On Nares strait it seems things are getting worse also (this day the 9th)... I think clouds are adding some pixels to the sea ice brightness 89V... ?

Jim Hunt

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #152 on: April 10, 2016, 01:17:28 AM »
An interesting (to me at least!) conversation is developing on my GWC NWP article. See in particular:

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/2016/04/the-northwest-passage-in-2016/#comment-214181

Quote
These are human bones. That’s a hip, that’s part of a spine, a leg and a shoulder.

There is a moment of awed silence. Louie says: “I believe this is one of the graves from the Franklin expedition.
"The most revolutionary thing one can do always is to proclaim loudly what is happening" - Rosa Luxemburg

Mark Tough

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #153 on: April 10, 2016, 09:54:51 AM »
Good to see your thread is up and running again! I'm sure we'll have one route open but not certain how soon. It doesn't appear as if we've had the blow torch of 2011 (from memory) in this area but pretty warm of course and records elsewhere.

I'm not quite sure of the dynamic in the next few years for the NWP - I think we may get a lot of thick glacial ice blocking up the passage as some mass calving events kick in (already happening) and land fast ice also breaks up and gets flushed out. It could delay the linear trend but once those glaciers retreat on to land - that production line will stop.

I've enjoyed reading the Great White Con, a great job but like Neven I have no idea how you both find the time to be on top of your varied subject matter - keep on though, humanity is/will be grateful. 

Jim Hunt

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #154 on: April 20, 2016, 09:16:50 PM »
Thanks for your kind words Mark.

In the latest news from the NWP, Crystal Cruises have hired the British Antarctic Survey's Ernest Shackleton to provide dedicated ice breaker cover on their planned cruise this coming summer:

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/2016/04/the-northwest-passage-in-2016/#comment-214287

Quote
The RRS Ernest Shackleton, operated by BAS, is an ICE 05 classed icebreaker (exceeding the more common 1A Super class) that will provide operational support to Crystal Serenity, including ice breaking assistance should the need arise and carry additional safety and adventure equipment.
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charles_oil

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #155 on: April 21, 2016, 01:53:50 AM »
China Wants Ships to Use Faster Arctic Route Opened by Global Warming

BEIJING, April 20 (Reuters) – China will encourage ships flying its flag to take the Northwest Passage via the Arctic Ocean, a route opened up by global warming, to cut travel times between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a state-run newspaper said on Wednesday.

China is increasingly active in the polar region, becoming one of the biggest mining investors in Greenland and agreeing to a free trade deal with Iceland.

Shorter shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean would save Chinese companies time and money. For example, the journey from Shanghai to Hamburg via the Arctic route is 2,800 nautical miles shorter than going by the Suez Canal.

Full article:

http://gcaptain.com/china-wants-ships-to-use-faster-arctic-route-opened-by-global-warming/

Jim Hunt

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #156 on: April 21, 2016, 10:06:58 AM »
China will encourage ships flying its flag to take the Northwest Passage via the Arctic Ocean, a route opened up by global warming, to cut travel times between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a state-run newspaper said on Wednesday.

An intriguing development. The Northern Sea Route seems far more practical, in the short term at least. Perhaps Xi Jinping prefers dealing with Justin Trudeau instead of Vladimir Putin? Here's the original article:

http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-04/20/content_24679014.htm

Quote
In 2014, the administration offered guidance on Arctic navigation of the Northeast route, which crosses the Arctic following the coasts of Russia and Norway.

Despite the economic value of sailing through the Arctic, Wu said it poses many risks, including the potential for shipwrecks caused by ice and possible damage to the fragile Arctic ecosystem. He said the lack of support infrastructure and an unstable climate also lower the efficiency of Arctic transportation.

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jdallen

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #157 on: April 21, 2016, 10:11:30 AM »
China will encourage ships flying its flag to take the Northwest Passage via the Arctic Ocean, a route opened up by global warming, to cut travel times between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a state-run newspaper said on Wednesday.

An intriguing development. The Northern Sea Route seems far more practical, in the short term at least. Perhaps Xi Jinping prefers dealing with Justin Trudeau instead of Vladimir Putin? Here's the original article:

http://europe.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2016-04/20/content_24679014.htm

Quote
In 2014, the administration offered guidance on Arctic navigation of the Northeast route, which crosses the Arctic following the coasts of Russia and Norway.

Despite the economic value of sailing through the Arctic, Wu said it poses many risks, including the potential for shipwrecks caused by ice and possible damage to the fragile Arctic ecosystem. He said the lack of support infrastructure and an unstable climate also lower the efficiency of Arctic transportation.
Churchill may become a very busy port.


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charles_oil

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #158 on: April 21, 2016, 12:12:19 PM »
Thanks -


 I also found this - animation of all the shipping around the world in 2012 - you can change date, zoom in and watch individual areas / ships at the time & date you want.  Doesn't look like the Northwest route was used...

http://www.shipmap.org/

Jim Hunt

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #159 on: April 21, 2016, 05:18:33 PM »
MV Nordic Orion carried  a cargo of 73,500 tons of coal via the North West Passage to Finland in 2013.

The Northwest Passage is Open for Business

Then the  Nunavik went in the opposite direction in 2014, carrying a cargo of nickel ore:

http://www.fednav.com/en/voyage-nunavik

Not exactly a steady stream of such traffic just yet!
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Sebastian Jones

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #160 on: April 21, 2016, 08:14:01 PM »
Professor Laurence Smith, in his book "The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Future" published by Penguin in 2010, eISBN: 978-1-101-44352-1 addresses how shipping patterns might evolve as arctic ice melts.
He posits that rather than seeing an explosion in trans arctic shipping, we shall instead see vastly increased intra arctic shipping. His reasoning is that until such a time as there is zero ice floating around in the arctic, low certainty and insurance rates will still be to high to justify extensive trans arctic voyaging. However, the cost and importance of shipping to a from arctic ports and communities is high enough to justify the high cost and reduced reliability of these routes..

charles_oil

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #161 on: April 25, 2016, 09:25:26 PM »
And another possible series of vessels to add to the traffic:

http://gcaptain.com/kleven-to-build-up-to-four-expedition-vessels-for-hurtigruten/

jdallen

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #162 on: April 25, 2016, 09:35:03 PM »
Professor Laurence Smith, in his book "The World in 2050: Four Forces Shaping Civilization's Future" published by Penguin in 2010, eISBN: 978-1-101-44352-1 addresses how shipping patterns might evolve as arctic ice melts.
He posits that rather than seeing an explosion in trans arctic shipping, we shall instead see vastly increased intra arctic shipping. His reasoning is that until such a time as there is zero ice floating around in the arctic, low certainty and insurance rates will still be to high to justify extensive trans arctic voyaging. However, the cost and importance of shipping to a from arctic ports and communities is high enough to justify the high cost and reduced reliability of these routes..
Churchill, Manitoba may turn into a premier world port, primarily for grain export from the prairie provinces.  Russia may develop a number of the same.  We may see an explosion of rail lines run across various parts of the Arctic in both hemispheres, and places like Longyearbyen will become important locations providing support for trans-Arctic traffic.

I fully expect humanity to start moving north.  I think that will have profound implications for Russia and China's long term relationship.  I suspect Russian strategic planners are already thinking ahead to that.
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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #163 on: April 26, 2016, 01:28:29 AM »
I think rail lines are going to be a real problem with thawing permafrost.

jdallen

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #164 on: April 26, 2016, 02:29:48 AM »
I think rail lines are going to be a real problem with thawing permafrost.
I agree - maintenance will be a bugger - but still a pretty straight-forward engineering problem.
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Archimid

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #165 on: April 26, 2016, 03:02:35 AM »
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140730-arctic-wave-height-sea-ice-climate-change-science/

This article makes me wonder if an iceless arctic ocean will be even navigable. Also I'm afraid that once the ice is gone the ocean starts "circulating" around he north pole creating a sort of vortex on the surface. Is that even possible?
I am an energy reservoir seemingly intent on lowering entropy for self preservation.

oren

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #166 on: May 01, 2016, 06:34:47 PM »
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140730-arctic-wave-height-sea-ice-climate-change-science/

This article makes me wonder if an iceless arctic ocean will be even navigable. Also I'm afraid that once the ice is gone the ocean starts "circulating" around he north pole creating a sort of vortex on the surface. Is that even possible?

I liked a quote from the article:

Quote
The amount of open water varies annually in the Beaufort, with virtually no open water in April when sea ice is at its maximum

Unless of course it's 2016 and you have about 100,000 square km of open water at the end of
April  :o

Juan C. García

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #167 on: May 02, 2016, 06:30:31 AM »
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140730-arctic-wave-height-sea-ice-climate-change-science/

This article makes me wonder if an iceless arctic ocean will be even navigable. Also I'm afraid that once the ice is gone the ocean starts "circulating" around he north pole creating a sort of vortex on the surface. Is that even possible?

I liked a quote from the article:

Quote
The amount of open water varies annually in the Beaufort, with virtually no open water in April when sea ice is at its maximum

Unless of course it's 2016 and you have about 100,000 square km of open water at the end of
April  :o

Quote
The 16-foot (five-meter) waves the scientists' instrument picked up occurred during a storm with strong winds on September 18, 2012.

That means that this storm is independent of the early August Great Arctic Cyclone.  :-\
Which is the best answer to Sep-2012 ASI lost (compared to 1979-2000)?
50% [NSIDC Extent] or
73% [PIOMAS Volume]

Volume is harder to measure than extent, but 3-dimensional space is real, 2D's hide ~50% thickness gone.
-> IPCC/NSIDC trends [based on extent] underestimate the real speed of ASI lost.

Jim Hunt

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #168 on: May 02, 2016, 10:01:17 AM »
That means that this storm is independent of the early August Great Arctic Cyclone.  :-\

Not entirely independent. The August storm opened up a larger ice free "fetch" which allowed the September storm to generate a more powerful swell. For a comparison of the two see:

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/2015/03/sea-ice-and-swells-in-the-beaufort-sea-in-the-summer-of-2014/#Sep-2012

See also the ASIF "Waves in ice" thread:

http://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1222.0.html
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iceman

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #169 on: June 11, 2016, 05:02:16 PM »
Looks like most of the remaining snow south of CAA will melt in next few days, and Climate Reanalyzer forecasts intermittent rain from the 15th through 18th.  Combination of runoff and precip portends a lot of fresh water over the surface of the ice.

Was it last year that CAA had a prolonged heat wave?  I'll guess the NWP opens this year a little later, say in early September.

philiponfire

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #170 on: June 20, 2016, 08:18:00 AM »
My "money" is on the last two weeks in August.

Meirion

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #171 on: June 24, 2016, 02:45:32 PM »
Have you seen this lot http://polarocean.co.uk @polaroceanchall David Hempleman Adams & co are circumnavigating North Pole over next few months. So far they've only got as far as Anglesey but will be in Murmansk 9 July plan to hit Bellot Strait early September.

Cate

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #172 on: June 25, 2016, 07:40:11 PM »
Crystal Serenity has passed her Alaskan safety inspection, including fire and abandon ship drills.

She is due in Nome on August 21. From there, she will sail through the Bering Strait, the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and onward through Canadian waters to Greenland, then south to reach NYC on 17 September.

1700 souls on board.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/crystal-serenity-alaska-inspection-1.3651215


If she comes to grief, SAR, coast guard, and military responses may well be limited and/or delayed.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/cruise-ships-safety-northwest-passage-1.3518712

Andreas T

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #173 on: June 27, 2016, 01:01:03 AM »
south of Prince Patrick island seems to be a huge sheet of water on top of the ice. It'll be interesting to see how that affects the further progress of the melt. Last year this was more localized http://go.nasa.gov/28Zo03m

Andreas T

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #174 on: July 04, 2016, 08:23:56 PM »
copying another post by A-team to where it can be found easily:
Quote
The animation is of the Canadian Archipelago. A large piece of ice in the Barrow Strait gets mobile.
Yep, opening up. that large piece is ~113 km in length.

sorry, can't make the gif appear in the quoted comment, if somebody knows how to do this feel free to jump in

edit: Thank you magnamentis!
« Last Edit: July 05, 2016, 12:10:18 PM by Andreas T »

magnamentis

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #175 on: July 04, 2016, 09:25:14 PM »
sorry, can't make the gif appear in the quoted comment, if somebody knows how to do this feel free to jump in

was that it?


RoxTheGeologist

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #176 on: July 16, 2016, 11:42:11 PM »

So... any odds on this being open before the end of July?

Quantum

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #177 on: July 17, 2016, 12:38:15 AM »

So... any odds on this being open before the end of July?
I would say extremely unlikely given the weather is now likely to be cold.

Andreas T

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #178 on: July 17, 2016, 09:18:17 AM »
It depends what you mean by "this" and by "open"
Lancaster Sound (bottom right in the animation) seems to have open water with some chunks of ice floating around (bergy water) now, Regent Inlet (bottom)is also fairly open now, Barrow strait (right)
has little ice now but can fill quickly if ice breaks further west and drifts in from there.
The canadian ice service forcast is here http://iceweb1.cis.ec.gc.ca/Prod/page3.xhtml
see Jim's link below
« Last Edit: July 17, 2016, 11:17:07 AM by Andreas T »

Jim Hunt

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #179 on: July 17, 2016, 11:04:37 AM »
The canadian ice service forcast is here

That link doesn't work if you haven't already visited the "parent" page:

http://iceweb1.cis.ec.gc.ca/Prod/page2.xhtml?subID=2006

then click the  "Western Arctic" link.
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Quantum

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #180 on: July 17, 2016, 04:14:33 PM »
It depends what you mean by "this" and by "open"
Lancaster Sound (bottom right in the animation) seems to have open water with some chunks of ice floating around (bergy water) now, Regent Inlet (bottom)is also fairly open now, Barrow strait (right)
has little ice now but can fill quickly if ice breaks further west and drifts in from there.
The canadian ice service forcast is here http://iceweb1.cis.ec.gc.ca/Prod/page3.xhtml
see Jim's link below
I think what people mean is the NW passage being open such that one could travel from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean via the Canadian arctic without an ice breaker. At this stage this is not possible, and I would consider it highly unlikely to be possible before August.

Jim Hunt

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #181 on: July 17, 2016, 07:23:26 PM »
At this stage this is not possible, and I would consider it highly unlikely to be possible before August.

However the Southern Route is currently clearing fast:



Compare and contrast with last year:

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/resources/arctic-regional-graphs/northwest-passage/
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RoxTheGeologist

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #182 on: July 17, 2016, 08:09:13 PM »
At this stage this is not possible, and I would consider it highly unlikely to be possible before August.

However the Southern Route is currently clearing fast:



Compare and contrast with last year:

http://GreatWhiteCon.info/resources/arctic-regional-graphs/northwest-passage/

Reanalyzer also shows that the eastern CAA is going to have anomalously high temperatures for the coming week. It might surprise us and melt out as fast as the western CAA did.

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #183 on: July 20, 2016, 07:28:01 AM »
Remarkably it looks possible that by the end of July the Passage may be open

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #184 on: July 20, 2016, 07:32:43 AM »

Neven

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #185 on: July 23, 2016, 12:07:43 AM »
Here's how fast the ice melted in-situ back in 2012, between July 17th and August 3rd:



Could we see something similar this year?
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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #186 on: July 23, 2016, 12:41:06 AM »
Very possible. Warm water is encroaching upon it, among all else.
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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #187 on: July 23, 2016, 07:23:12 AM »


I think the concentration map from Uni Bremen is a bit missleading for the 22nd (at least the regional one). There is a big fat cloud hanging over the Parry Channel (see pic 1). The second pic shows the same area, just two days eralier.
100% concentration through most of the Channel seems to high & the Artic Map seems to agree.
See also Wipneus' animation in the Home brew thread.

PS: Scratch that. Just saw that Nix posted the map on 20th, but it obviously updated itself. So much ado about nothing again  ::) (well the map for the 22nd is missleading, Nix's post though wasn't)
« Last Edit: July 23, 2016, 07:30:33 AM by S.Pansa »

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #188 on: July 24, 2016, 09:28:44 AM »
In an attempt to post finally something remotely useful on this thread. Here is a comparison of the Viscount - no! not Monckton - Melville Sound from the 20th and 23rd of July. The ice is melting quickly. Even though a low is currently hovering over the area, the fast melting might continue for some days (see sullschool map). Furthermore, latest forecasts suggest a heat wave towards the end of July. So we could see a repeat of the fast melt-out in 2012.
Enough nonsense for today.

Andreas T

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #189 on: July 24, 2016, 10:55:42 AM »
some of that open water appearing is due to movement which can be seen if you look at the changing position of the whiter floes of last years ice. The islands are warming up and melting is clearly in progress. For navigation through there the older ice which is in the channel in a few bits but also poised in between the islands to the north will be a concern. But depending on which way the ice at the Beaufort moves I think there is a chance it would be possible later in the season to slip through like it was last year.

Andreas T

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #190 on: July 24, 2016, 07:21:51 PM »
I copied this across to find it more easily, thanks Quantum
Just for reference, the dates that the NW passage (southern and northern routes) and the northern route open for the last few years. I always think this is an interesting bit of information.

Reference for the NW passage routes above. Note in some cases the routes may close again, these are the approx dates they first opened.

2012
Southern NW route: August 9th
Middle NW route: July 31st
Northern NW route: August 27th
Northern route: August 4th

2013
Southern NW route: August 22nd
Middle NW route: Does not open
Northern NW route: Does not open
Northern route: August 29th

2014
Southern NW route: August 30th
Middle NW route: Questionably around September 14th
Northern NW route: Does not open
Northern route: August 7th

2015
Southern NW route: August 13th (taking a ridiculous maze like path around the ice though)
Middle NW route: September 8th
Northern NW route: September 8th
Northern route: July 31st

Andreas T

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #191 on: July 31, 2016, 12:07:57 AM »
I think it is time to revisit an image I posted back in April and we will see how these chunks of older ice will stand up to the ongoing melt. They are still identifiable and are just starting to move from the positions into which they were frozen back in October.

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #192 on: July 31, 2016, 04:13:31 PM »
Per the latest (July 30) uni-bremen AMSR2 Sea Ice Map there is only a small blockage between Prince of Wales Island and King Williams Island preventing us from declaring the NW passage 'free'. 


Quantum

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #193 on: July 31, 2016, 07:00:31 PM »
Per the latest (July 30) uni-bremen AMSR2 Sea Ice Map there is only a small blockage between Prince of Wales Island and King Williams Island preventing us from declaring the NW passage 'free'.
It could even already be open; there is just too much cloud to tell. Itl be open within days though certainly.

Cate

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #194 on: July 31, 2016, 09:15:07 PM »
Crystal Serenity is gearing up for her scheduled August 16 departure from Anchorage, ports to NYC via the NW Passage.

I started a thread for this cruise over in Consequences---didn't want to clog this one up, in the event that news about this voyage starts to get...interesting, God forbid. Plus, it's a bit of a momentous event that should have its own thread, for the record perhaps? Neven, do please move it wherever you think best. 

http://forum.arctic-sea-ice.net/index.php/topic,1514.0.html

A-Team

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #195 on: August 01, 2016, 06:26:12 PM »
Quote
2012
Southern NW route: August 9th
Middle NW route: July 31st
Northern NW route: August 27th
Northern route: August 4th

2013
Southern NW route: August 22nd
Middle NW route: Does not open
Northern NW route: Does not open
Northern route: August 29th

2014
Southern NW route: August 30th
Middle NW route: Questionably around September 14th
Northern NW route: Does not open
Northern route: August 7th

2015
Southern NW route: August 13th (taking a ridiculous maze like path around the ice though)
Middle NW route: September 8th
Northern NW route: September 8th
Northern route: July 31st
It may be better to use a satellite channel that can see through the clouds than to wait on Modis visible (which would only have a half km resolution anyway). The large version at UH is especially designed to have extra resolution in and among the islands.

A clear path of zero sea ice concentration opened up today ... fully 3 pixels wide. We previously established over on the AMSR2 forum that the UH palette and map have exactly 100 colors, one for each percentage, which allows precise selection and re-coloration.

ftp://ftp-projects.zmaw.de/seaice/AMSR2/3.125km/
ftp://ftp-projects.zmaw.de/seaice/AMSR2/3.125km/Arc_20160731_res3.125_LARGE.png
« Last Edit: August 01, 2016, 06:38:59 PM by A-Team »

A-Team

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #196 on: August 01, 2016, 07:02:44 PM »
The image below shows the wildly different projection used in google earth, which has the advantage however of providing accurate WGS84 distance measurements. Those change from place to place on polar stereographic projection used at AMSR2 though in the animations above we are close to the location of true scale 70º. It looks like the bottleneck that just opened in the NW Passage is now clear for a ~21 km width (using a similar number of pixels at a more convenient site to the west).
« Last Edit: August 01, 2016, 07:16:31 PM by A-Team »

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #197 on: August 01, 2016, 09:53:06 PM »
Your usual amazing work, A-Team;

Anyone have a date for the earliest the NW Passage has opened?
This space for Rent.

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #198 on: August 01, 2016, 10:33:50 PM »
Yesterday ;)

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Re: Northwest Passage thread
« Reply #199 on: August 01, 2016, 10:46:41 PM »
Anyone have a date for the earliest the NW Passage has opened?

It's not open just yet, according to the Canadian Ice Service definition at least:

http://iceweb1.cis.ec.gc.ca/Prod/page2.xhtml?CanID=11081&lang=en&title=Western+Arctic

No way through at <= 3/10 that I can see.

P.S. On checking my notes it seems that my memory is at fault,, even though the CIS link is now broken.

Quote
The CIS definition of “navigable” is “a criteria of less than 60% ice cover over all sections of the Northwest Passage”.
« Last Edit: August 02, 2016, 12:51:29 AM by Jim Hunt »
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