As Arctic ice vanishes, maritime traffic boom fuels the climate crisis

It's a vicious cycle. As sea ice melts and opens new routes for maritime traffic in the Arctic, the environmental fallout caused by vessels burning fossil fuels adds to global warming, which in turn melts more sea ice.

A perfect example of this is black carbon. It's a sooty material emitted from gas and diesel engines that aren't completely combusted. Not only does black carbon pollute the air with particulate matter, but because of its ability to absorb light as heat, it contributes to climate change by warming the air.

When black carbon is deposited on ice in the Arctic, it takes away its ability to reflect heat.