Partial Opening of the Northwest Passage

There was a time when the Northwest Passage was a sort of maritime Holy Grail, a route so desired and sought after, but so elusive. For most of the recorded history of North America, the Passage has been nearly impassable and often deadly. But with the modernization of ships and the warming of the Earth, cruising and sailing through the Canadian Archipelago from Baffin Bay to the Beaufort Sea has grown more common and easier. But it’s not necessarily easy.

The top image above shows the Northwest Passage as it appeared on August 31, 2015, to the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite.

Read more: earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=86589

NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen, using VIIRS data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership. Suomi NPP is the result of a partnership between NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Department of Defense.

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