Melting and muted: the vanishing drift ice off Japan’s Shiretoko peninsula

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for free here: Each winter, Shiretoko in Japan’s far north bears witness to a dramatic spectacle. Drift ice is carried by oceanic currents from the Arctic to shores of the peninsula on the northeastern tip of the island of Hokkaido, where it melts releasing nutrients that benefit the unique local ecosystem. But climate change has steadily pushed back the arrival date of the ice and reduced the volume of the floes, damaging the fishing industry as well as threatening plants, animals, people and the even unique sounds of an area designated a Unesco World Heritage site in 2005. Related story: Japan’s spectacular sea ice floes may soon be a thing of the past Support us: Follow us on: Website: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: Linkedin: https