World transport and freight companies have been dreaming of this for a long time. Now it will become a reality within ten years (without a doubt) according to Arctic explorer and ice expert Pen Hadow. Hadow is just finishing a three month expedition to gather statistics on ice-depth and age. The results are worse than had been expected.

“The future is here,” says Hadow, and the situation can no longer be reversed. The Arctic ice-caps are comprised almost exclusively of first-year ice “considered too thin to survive the next summer’s ice melt.” The subsequent climate change could be drastic, as we’ve all been hearing, and even Hadow’s team believe that the loss of the Arctic ice-caps could have dire effects on one-fourth of the planet’s population.

Via Catlin Arctic Survey