Press Release
Last Update: October 27, 2011

Northwest Passage Closing

Figure 1: National Ice Center analysis from October 22, 2011 showing ice closing the Northwest Passage

October 27, 2011, Washington, DC — The National Ice Center NIC) confirmed the closure of the Northwest Passage through the Canadian Archipelago using MODIS, RADARSAT and ENVISAT satellite imagery from 21-22 October, 2011. In the image shown above, red indicates ice concentration of 80% or more, yellow indicates ice concentrations of 10 to 80%. Blue areas are open or bergy water. This time of year the ice is forming rapidly across the Arctic.

The National Ice Center is a tri-agency operational center represented by the United States Navy (Department of Defense), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Department of Commerce), and the United States Coast Guard (Department of Homeland Security). The National Ice Center mission is to provide the highest quality strategic and tactical ice services tailored to meet the operational requirements of U.S. national interests and to provide specialized meteorological and oceanographic services to United States government agencies.

For more information, please contact:

National Ice Center
Naval Ice Center
Liaison Branch
Voice: (301) 817-3911
E-mail: LIAISON_WEB@natice.noaa.gov