Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions
Sea ice hinders the navigability of the Arctic, especially in winter and spring. However, three Arc7 ice-class Liquefied Natural Gas carrying vessels safely transited the Northern Sea Route (NSR) without icebreaker assistance in January 2021. More and more Arc7 ice-class vessels are putting into the...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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KeAi Communications Co., Ltd.
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Advances in Climate Change Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674927822000946 |
| _version_ | 1797995867214446592 |
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| author | Shi-Yi CHEN Stefan Kern Xin-Qing LI Feng-Ming HUI Yu-Fang YE Xiao Cheng |
| author_facet | Shi-Yi CHEN Stefan Kern Xin-Qing LI Feng-Ming HUI Yu-Fang YE Xiao Cheng |
| author_sort | Shi-Yi CHEN |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sea ice hinders the navigability of the Arctic, especially in winter and spring. However, three Arc7 ice-class Liquefied Natural Gas carrying vessels safely transited the Northern Sea Route (NSR) without icebreaker assistance in January 2021. More and more Arc7 ice-class vessels are putting into the transit services in the NSR. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze sea-ice conditions and their impact on navigation during wintertime, and the future navigability of Arc7 ice-class vessels along the NSR during winter and spring. Based on sea ice datasets from satellite observations and a model using data assimilation, we explored the sea-ice conditions and their impact during the first three successful commercial voyages through the NSR in winter. In addition, we analyzed the sea ice variation and estimated navigability for Arc7 ice-class vessels in the NSR from January to June of the years 2021–2050 using future projections of the sea-ice cover by the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models under two emission scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5). The results reveal lower sea ice thickness and similar sea ice concentration during these three transits relative to the past 42 years (from 1979 to 2020). We found the thickness has a larger impact on the vessels’ speeds than sea ice concentration. Very likely sea ice thickness played a larger role than the sea ice concentration for the successful transit of the NSR in winter 2021. Future projections suggest sea ice thickness will decrease further in most regions of the NSR from January to June under all scenarios enabling increased navigability of the NSR for Arc7 ice-class vessels. Such vessels could transit through the NSR from January to June under all scenarios by 2050, while some areas near the coast of East Siberian Sea remain inaccessible for Arc7 ice-class vessels in spring (April and May). These findings can support the strategic planning of shipping along the NSR in winter and spring. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:07:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5c6cb10ae93e429b88d38e11717441f3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1674-9278 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T10:07:13Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Advances in Climate Change Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-5c6cb10ae93e429b88d38e11717441f32022-12-22T04:30:11ZengKeAi Communications Co., Ltd.Advances in Climate Change Research1674-92782022-10-01135676687Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditionsShi-Yi CHEN0Stefan Kern1Xin-Qing LI2Feng-Ming HUI3Yu-Fang YE4Xiao Cheng5School of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, And Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, ChinaIntegrated Climate Data Center (ICDC), Center for Earth System Research and Sustainability (CEN), University of Hamburg, Hamburg D-20144, GermanySchool of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, And Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, ChinaSchool of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, And Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, China; Corresponding author.School of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, And Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, ChinaSchool of Geospatial Engineering and Science, Sun Yat-sen University, And Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519082, ChinaSea ice hinders the navigability of the Arctic, especially in winter and spring. However, three Arc7 ice-class Liquefied Natural Gas carrying vessels safely transited the Northern Sea Route (NSR) without icebreaker assistance in January 2021. More and more Arc7 ice-class vessels are putting into the transit services in the NSR. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze sea-ice conditions and their impact on navigation during wintertime, and the future navigability of Arc7 ice-class vessels along the NSR during winter and spring. Based on sea ice datasets from satellite observations and a model using data assimilation, we explored the sea-ice conditions and their impact during the first three successful commercial voyages through the NSR in winter. In addition, we analyzed the sea ice variation and estimated navigability for Arc7 ice-class vessels in the NSR from January to June of the years 2021–2050 using future projections of the sea-ice cover by the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6) models under two emission scenarios (SSP2-4.5 and SSP5-8.5). The results reveal lower sea ice thickness and similar sea ice concentration during these three transits relative to the past 42 years (from 1979 to 2020). We found the thickness has a larger impact on the vessels’ speeds than sea ice concentration. Very likely sea ice thickness played a larger role than the sea ice concentration for the successful transit of the NSR in winter 2021. Future projections suggest sea ice thickness will decrease further in most regions of the NSR from January to June under all scenarios enabling increased navigability of the NSR for Arc7 ice-class vessels. Such vessels could transit through the NSR from January to June under all scenarios by 2050, while some areas near the coast of East Siberian Sea remain inaccessible for Arc7 ice-class vessels in spring (April and May). These findings can support the strategic planning of shipping along the NSR in winter and spring.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674927822000946Northern sea routeArc7 ice-class vesselSea ice thicknessSea ice concentrationNavigabilityArctic |
| spellingShingle | Shi-Yi CHEN Stefan Kern Xin-Qing LI Feng-Ming HUI Yu-Fang YE Xiao Cheng Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions Advances in Climate Change Research Northern sea route Arc7 ice-class vessel Sea ice thickness Sea ice concentration Navigability Arctic |
| title | Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions |
| title_full | Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions |
| title_fullStr | Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions |
| title_short | Navigability of the Northern Sea Route for Arc7 ice-class vessels during winter and spring sea-ice conditions |
| title_sort | navigability of the northern sea route for arc7 ice class vessels during winter and spring sea ice conditions |
| topic | Northern sea route Arc7 ice-class vessel Sea ice thickness Sea ice concentration Navigability Arctic |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674927822000946 |
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