LONDON, NOV. 15 (Xinhua) -- The dramatic retreat of Arctic ice is opening new shipping routes, offering opportunities for global commerce, but meanwhile triggering critical safety warnings from scientists.
Scientists across several countries are accelerating research and technology to help protect vessels, crews, and communities from hazardous ice, icebergs, and shifting Arctic conditions.
NEW GLACIAL REALITIES RESHAPE ARCTIC
As the United Nations observes the 2025 International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, the UK National Commission for UNESCO recently unveiled a major report, "Glaciers and Ice Sheets in a Warming World: Impacts and Outcomes."
Decades of satellite observation, field surveys, and climate modeling reveal a crisis in motion: since 2000, glaciers have shed approximately 6,542 billion tonnes of ice - over 5 percent of their total mass - driving around one-third of the ongoing global sea-level rise.
Scientific findings highlight that these transformations pose acute threats to vulnerable populations worldwide. Research published in Nature Communications finds that 15 million people globally are exposed to the risks of potential glacial lake outburst floods. The 2025 United Nations World Water Development Report warns that climate change and "unsustainable human activities" are driving "unprecedented changes" in mountain regions and glaciers, threatening reliable freshwater access for over two billion people.
"The impacts of these imposing leftovers of glacier retreat are simultaneously both local and global," said James Lea, a professor and co-author of the report, in a recent interview with Xinhua.
SURGING TRAFFIC AND UNPRECEDENTED DANGERS
Accelerating sea-ice loss, which has occurred at a 36 percent faster rate since 2012, has led to a surge in Arctic shipping. However, previously navigable passages may quickly become dangerous due to rapid glacial shifts.
According to the Arctic Council, the number of ships entering the Arctic region increased by 37 percent from 2013 to 2023.
"As the Arctic becomes an increasingly busy and globally connected place, rapidly changing iceberg risk in these waters cannot be ignored. In some areas where you might have safely sailed a cruise liner in one month might be impassable the next," said Lea.
He emphasized the need for all vessels to "understand and mitigate the risks posed by iceberg strikes."
Glaciers that once remained stable for centuries now produce unpredictable hazards, potentially turning safe routes into perilous ones within a season. Search-and-rescue incidents have more than doubled over the past decade in Arctic regions, where response times are critical for victims' survival, but vast distances make it hard for rescue teams to arrive at the site immediately.
Arctic search and rescue coordination through the U.S. Coast Guard, Canadian Forces, and Nordic nations emphasizes that "in the Arctic, time and distance are the greatest enemies."
"Wherever you are in the Arctic, sailing there demands respect for the environment," added Lea, noting that search and rescue capabilities often remain hundreds of kilometers away. If something goes wrong, help is unlikely to be just around the corner.
Beyond immediate collision risks, scientists warn of additional hazards, including localized tsunamis and coastal erosion caused by iceberg capsize, which would impact Arctic settlements in Greenland, Alaska, and Canada. The influx of meltwater entering the open ocean may also alter North Atlantic weather and climate patterns, disrupting the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation that regulates global climate.
TECHNOLOGICAL FRONTIERS FOR SAFER ARCTIC VOYAGES
Modern ships now rely on increasingly advanced tools, such as real-time ice charts and satellite data, but the surge in Arctic shipping has pressed the research teams to accelerate the research-to-application process by pioneering new methods for monitoring icebergs and modelling the changing Arctic conditions.
At the University of Liverpool, scientists are building detailed iceberg maps through a combination of satellite imaging, ground cameras, and on-ice sensors.
Liverpool, known as the registration port of the Titanic lost to an iceberg in 1912, is now a center for cutting-edge polar research.
The legacy of the Titanic drives contemporary innovation. Today's technologies for tracking icebergs are becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Additionally, solar-powered GPS beacons have revolutionized iceberg tracking capabilities in the Arctic. Deployed via helicopter onto icebergs along the coasts of Greenland and Ellesmere and Baffin Islands, these beacons have enabled tracking of individual icebergs for up to a decade.
Meanwhile, advances in artificial intelligence are substantially improving iceberg detection and automated tracking.
"While you can't control what an individual glacier will do, we're hoping to contribute to the long-term safety of communities, infrastructure, tourists, and sailors, so that anyone living in, working in, or visiting these areas won't get any nasty surprises," said Lea. Enditem.
