Arctic Ice Melt Opens Northwest Passage

By JAMEY KEATEN , Associated Press Writer, Space & Earth science / Environment

An iceberg melts off Ammassalik Island in Eastern Greenland in this July 19, 2007 file photo. Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane. The European Space Agency said nearly 200 satellite photos taken together in Sept. 2007 showed an ice-free passage along northern Canada, Alaska and Greenland, and ice retreating to its lowest level since such images were first taken in 1978. (AP Photo/John McConnico)

(AP) -- Arctic ice has shrunk to the lowest level on record, new satellite images show, raising the possibility that the Northwest Passage that eluded famous explorers will become an open shipping lane.

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