The development makes it theoretically possible to circumnavigate the North Pole in a ship.

Mark Serreze, a sea ice specialist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo., said the images suggest that the Arctic ice cap may have entered a “death spiral” due to global warming.

The fabled Northwest Passage through Arctic Canada and the Northern Sea Route off the coast of Russia have opened up before, but never at the same time.

Since the trend of increased summertime melt is expected to continue, some shipping companies are making plans to take advantage of the potential new routes.

Germany’s Beluga Group says it will send the first ship through the newly open waters north of Russia next summer, cutting 4,000 miles off the voyage from Germany to Japan.

Image: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio