http://www.darwinawards.com/

How does that happen at -35deg, or is it simply the movement of the ice temporarily exposing water that will shortly freeze?

Yes the ice opens up forming leads which at this time of year freeze over. However that ice is inches thick rather than feet thick so it might as well be open water if you’re trying to cross it.

Is attending to the Catlin Survey “off mission”?

Those who would engage in any significant struggle meaningfully & successfully, will fight the fight that is in front of them … as opposed to some other fight that they might prefer to fight, i.e., one that is more seemly, dignified, or worthy (by some preconceived but irrelevant and ulitmately diverting sensibility).

If it’s ranked Red Coats with muskets, then that’s what it is (regardless how quaint it sounds today). If it’s terrorists merged invisibly with passerby on the sidewalk – deal with it (not something else). If it’s the Soviets, it’s the Soviets; if it’s Hugo Chavev and Pakistan, there ya go.

The Catlin Survey is a Public Relations maneuver, with overtones of a Trojan Horse. This isn’t a group of 3 testing themselves against Nature. It’s a Hollywood movie set, recording footage for a narrative aiming to win friends & influence enemies by the 10s of millions. With a message that many here oppose categorically.

Their message is that industrial civilization should be dismantled, here & now, that capitalism should be ham-strung and left to founder in the ditch. Those (nearly all the citizenry) who happen to depend on these system – through no ‘fault’ of their own … well, ain’t that just too bad.

All the members of the Catlin Survey donned their armor and hoisted their weapons, marched out onto their ersatz movie set with full deliberation and aforethought. If the action gets a little rough … I would not be the slightest bit surprised.

The Catlin Survey should continue to receive critical scrutiny.

How does that happen at -35deg, or is it simply the movement of the ice temporarily exposing water that will shortly freeze?

George Gillan (18:41:06) :
“However, from satellite pictures we receive in the Ops Room, we can see that once the team cross the 85th degree of latitude, the condition of the ice deteriorates rapidly. Large fissures of open water running east to west for several hundred miles currently scar the ice imagery.”

Is this true?

Check out this, particularly at 500m scale, top left.
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/realtime/single.php?2009101/crefl2_143.A2009101143500-2009101143959.4km.jpg

I think you are in the wrong place. Overlay the red grid box on the globe with
http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/route_globe.aspx

Looks to me like Catlin would be somewhere to the right and down from the top left. With all the clouds it’s hard to tell if these fractures are open water or mostly ice filled, but open water without cloud cover would show up as black. There doesn’t appear to be any remarkable increase in fractures in the area for this time of year, though.

The bottom middle of this map looks like the area where they started from
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/realtime/single.php?2009101/crefl2_143.A2009101144000-2009101144459.500m.jpg

Is this true?

Check out this, particularly at 500m scale, top left.
http://rapidfire.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/realtime/single.php?2009101/crefl2_143.A2009101143500-2009101143959.4km.jpg

They seem to be avoiding the topic like the plague.

GREAT LINK Bill!

Thank you!!

Just kidding Anthony, but this might be cheaper then CO2 taxes.