The NASA image below shows the two passages in yellow, passages that were sought by explorers from the 1500’s on, pushed by merchants in Europe who wanted a short route from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and the riches of the orient. The black spot in the center of the ice pack is the North Pole. (Note: There is no land near the North Pole, only an ice cap floating on the Arctic Ocean.)



The southern portions of the Northwest Passage through the Arctic (the western route from Europe to Asia through the islands of northern Canada) opened in early August. Then in early September, ice scientists confirmed that the waters around the Russian coastline, the Northern Sea Route, were navigable, but still treacherous, with shifting floes of thick, multi-year ice, that could coalesce rapidly.

The image shows that the widest avenue through the Northwest Passage over Canada, the Parry Channel, still harbored some ice, but the more circuitous, southern waterways were clear. On the other side of the Arctic Ocean, the passage around Russia’s Taymyr Peninsula, normally locked in by ice, was similarly open.

According to a press release from the U.S. National Ice Center, “This is the first recorded occurrence of the Northwest Passage and Northern Sea Route both being open at the same time.”

Editor's Note: The information in this story was provided by NASA.