Analysis of sea ice conditions and navigability in the Arctic Northeast Passage during the summer from 2002-2021

ABSTRACT

The decreasing of Arctic sea ice is projected to continue with global warming, which makes the summer navigation conditions of the Arctic improve. Based on the multi-source remote-sensing data with inter-sensor calibration processing and the ship-based observational data from R/V Xuelong and M/V Yongsheng, the sea ice conditions of the Arctic Northeast Passage (NEP) during the 2002–2021 summer seasons were analyzed, and the navigability of the NEP between July and October from 2002 to 2021 was discussed. Inter-sensor calibration could effectively reduce the deviation from different passive microwave data. Sea ice extent and thickness in the NEP decreased annually, which resulted in the navigability of the NEP showing a potential tendency toward improvement in navigability. The navigation period was mainly concentrated in early August to early October. The middle part of the NEP was primarily affected by sea ice. This influence decreased over time, while the navigation period increased, especially in the Vilkitsky Strait, which is a key shipping area. This analysis of sea ice conditions and navigability in the past 20 years could provide a reference for future scientific investigations and aid in merchant ship navigation in the Arctic summer.

KEYWORDS:

• Arctic Northeast Passage (NEP)
• inter-calibration
• sea ice thickness
• sea ice extent
• navigability

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the NSIDC and the Bremen University for providing SSMIS, AMSR-E, and AMSR2 data. The authors acknowledge R/V Xuelong and M/V Yongsheng for providing SIC observation data for validation. Comments from anonymous referees and the subject editor are also gratefully appreciated.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The AMSR-E and SSMIS dataset that support the findings of this study is openly available in https://nsidc.org/data/AE_SI12 and https://nsidc.org/data/NSIDC-0001 by the NSIDC, and the AMSR2 dataset that support the findings of this study is openly available in https://seaice.uni-bremen.de/data/amsr2 by the Bremen University. The ship-based SIC dataset that support the findings of this study is available from the corresponding author, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China [grant number 2017YFA0603104]; the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 42076235]; the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [grant number 2042022kf0018] and the Special Fund for High Resolution Images Surveying and Mapping Application [grant number 42-Y30B04-9001-19/21]

Notes on contributors

Xiaoping Pang

Xiaoping Pang is a Professor with Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University. She received the PhD from Wuhan University. Her research interests are polar remote sensing and mapping.

Chenlei Zhang

Chenlei Zhang is currently working toward the PhD in Wuhan University. His research field includes snow parameter remote sensing.

Qing Ji

Qing Ji is an associate professor with Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, Wuhan University. He received the PhD from Wuhan University. His research interests are polar sea ice and snow cover remote sensing.

Yizhuo Chen

Yizhuo Chen is currently working toward the PhD in Wuhan University. He is interested in satellite altimetry application.

Zeng Zhen

Zeng Zhen is currently working toward the master degree in Wuhan University. Her research field includes polar surveying and mapping.

Yamin Zhu

Yamin Zhu received her master degree from Wuhan University. Her research interests are polar snow cover remote sensing.

Zhongnan Yan

Zhongnan Yan is currently working toward the PhD degree in Wuhan University. He is interested in passive microwave remote sensing.