Which navigational risk increased when 18th-century marine chronometers experienced thermal drift during transoceanic voyages?

💡 Explanation

When chronometers experienced thermal drift, the escapement mechanism's period changed due to thermal expansion of components, causing inaccurate timekeeping and cumulative error in longitude calculations. Therefore, inaccuracies in longitudinal position estimation increased, rather than errors in sight reduction, compass deviation, or altitude estimates which depend on other instruments and principles.

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