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Title:

Climate Change and Marine Transportation Activity

Accession Number:

01122509

Language:

English

Source Data:

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2009 Paper #09-3662

Abstract:

Global climate change has the potential to alter the environment as well as the ways humans interact with it. Specifically, scientists can quickly imagine the effects of global warming in the ocean environment from polar ice melt, but a secondary impact will be how humans adapt to this changed world. Ice clearance will lead to navigable Arctic waterways and potentially stable seasonal polar shipping routes. Increased shipping routes will alter or increase global shipping activity. Existing port activity will increase to meet new economic demands, but much of that activity will be concentrated outside Arctic waters. The changes will also affect the ecosystems of these ports. Consequently, changes to shipping patterns have far-reaching effects beyond the ports themselves. The objectives of this study were to identify a likely growth scenario of future U.S. maritime trade when an Arctic route becomes feasible and to pose a range of activity changes based on polar routes. The study provided a 2045 projection of the future shipping volumes associated with the potential change in global shipping routes. A critical link exists between the impacts of climate change and future shipping volumes. The findings conclude that volume will increase significantly before an Arctic route becomes commercially feasible. As a result, North American ports will face two significant challenges: to expand and handle the increasing traffic as well as to plan for the unknown changes that will affect shipping practices in a post climate change scenario.

TRIS Files:

MRIS

Report Numbers:

09-3662

Media Type:

DVD

Pagination:

16p

Authors:

Ridout, John Stuart

jridout@clemson.edu
Clemson University

Dunning, Anne E

Phone: 1-864-656-0151
anned@clemson.edu
Clemson University

Monograph Accession #:

01120148

Publication Date:

2009

Conference:

Transportation Research Board 88th Annual Meeting

Location: Washington DC
Date: 2009/1/11 to 2009/1/15
Sponsors: Transportation Research Board

Corporate Authors:

Transportation Research Board

500 Fifth Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001 USA

Availability:

Find a library where document is available

Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/6

Features:

Figures (9) ; References

Index Terms:

Arctic Ocean; Climate change; Environmental impacts; International trade; Ocean shipping; Port capacity; Shipping lanes; Water transportation

Subject Areas:

Marine Transportation

Last Modified:

Feb 23 2009 7:41AM