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Published online 19 September 2007 | Nature 449, 267 (2007) | doi:10.1038/449267b
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Arctic melt opens Northwest passage
Record low for sea-ice retreat.
The most direct shipping route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, connecting Asia and Europe, is fully navigable for the first time since records began, data show. Warming has led to a record retreat of Arctic sea ice, which covers about 16 million square kilometres during March each year and melts to a minimum sometime in September or October.
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