An international team of researchers has published the most detailed submarine map of the Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic is the northernmost ocean of the planet, and also the smallest and shallowest one. It plays a decisive role in the regulation of the planet's climate, and it is the most sensitive polar region to the effects of global warming. According to some predictions, the progressive loss of the marine ice layers could open navigation to some areas that were previously inaccessible, such as the Northwest Passage, the legendary marine route pursued by many 19th century expeditions, joining the boreal Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
The 4.0 IBCAO map is this year's contribution to the Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030, whose objective is to map all seas and oceans in the world by 2030.
The new mapping has a much better resolution than the previous versions, and it includes marine regions which were unknown to date.
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