The Northwest Passage

By the opening of the Arctic Ocean between 1815 and 1817, Barrow proposed two expedition cruises. Therefore he sent a plan to the President of the Royal Society and the Council, officially returned with approval, and the order was issued by the Advisory Committee. By examining this interaction between the Royal Society and the British Navy and other scientific institutions, one can see a clear division of labor between domestic gent scientists and their naval ship staff.

The Northwest Passage is a famous sea route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, passing through the Arctic Islands with less population. European explorers began looking for the Northwest Passage first in the 15th century, but the dangerous situation and the covering of the sea ice made this road inoperable and defeated many expeditions. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen became the first person to successfully navigate Northwest Passage in 1906. In recent years, the Arctic ice sheet has become thin due to climate change, and access to the sea is open. In the summer of 2007, this route was completely released from the ice for the first time in history.

When defrosting the sea or melting the ice, the Northwest Passage and the Northeast Passage (and Hokkaido Route) open at the same time and it is possible to sail around the Arctic ice sheet. Waiting for shipping companies, this "historic event" will reduce their route by thousands of miles. Professor Mark Serreze, Sean ice expert at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), said NASA's satellite images suggested that the Arctic Circle might have entered the "spiral of death" caused by climate change It was. This is a historical event. As the years go by, we will see this more and more. "

Scientists believe that some new species have moved to the Arctic Ocean as the sea ice on the Northwest Passage has decreased. The gray whale Eschrichtius robustus has not been caught since being arrested in the Atlantic in the 18th century, but there were such whales in the Mediterranean in May 2010. Scientists are presuming that whales will follow their food sources and travel through the Northwest route

The possibility of using the Arctic Ocean as a route between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean is opened when the ice in the Arctic Ocean melts. Finding the Northwest Passage is an early explorer's dream, otherwise they have to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. It may be a nightmare for our society in the early 21st century. The shipping company is already looking for a potential shortcut. According to the Canadian Globe and Mail article, a trip from Europe through Asia through the Panama Canal usually covers about 12,600 nautical miles, but the trip through Northwest Passage is shortened to 7,900 nautical miles. It is dangerous that environmental damage caused by some kind of accident, such as oil spills to the Arctic Ocean, may last several decades if it is no longer in this cold environment. 51