On January 1, 2016, the Southern Fried Science central server began uploading blog posts apparently circa 2041. Due to a related corruption of the contemporary database, we are, at this time, unable to remove these Field Notes from the Future or prevent the uploading of additional posts. Please enjoy this glimpse into the ocean future while we attempt to rectify the situation.
The numbers are in, and 2040 was the biggest year for Northwest and Northeast passage shipping. Over 1.2 billion tons of cargo were carried across the arctic, with the final ship clearing the Northwest Passage on December 17th, 3 days before the passage closed for the mercifully short winter. So important is arctic shipping to the global economy, that beginning this year, heavy icebreakers will reopen the passage in mid-February, allowing an extra month and a half of shipping.
Shipping is important, and the new Arctimax-class vessels are the most efficient powered vessels ever built. But these larger ships come with a whole host of other problems, including un-monitored transport of potential invasive, habitat disruption–especially with an even wider passage that acts as a migration barrier to many native species, and the enhanced acidification of the deep arctic thanks to modern direct-sequestration combustion engines.
This year, climatologist predict that an extended passage season and a navigable North Pole will lead to 25% increase in vessel traffic.
On January 1, 2016, the Southern Fried Science central server began uploading blog posts apparently circa 2041. Due to a related corruption of the contemporary database, we are, at this time, unable to remove these Field Notes from the Future or prevent the uploading of additional posts. Please enjoy this glimpse into the ocean future while we attempt to rectify the situation.