Guest post by Steve Goddard
Reading through the recent blog posts of the Catlin expedition, it has become apparent that they have made errors in judgment. Team member Martin Hartley is suffering from frostbite, and hasn’t been able to sleep for nearly a week.
The current temperature is -42C (-44F.) The sensible course of action would be to evacuate Martin to someplace warm where he can receive proper medical attention. Cold and lack of sleep make healing impossible and threaten his health. I have camped in tents in -30C weather, and it is all about survival – nothing else has any meaning when you are that cold.
The wet sleeping bags are apparently the result of a poor decision.
Indeed, the scientific merit of the expedition is questionable.
I made 48 snow measurements after we’d stopped walking today – the best yet.
What is the point of taking a lot of measurements at one location on the same day? Arctic ice continuously shifts and melts or freezes, and the ice they are standing on will have moved hundreds or thousands of miles by next year. The temperature is -42C. No doubt the ice is getting thicker at that temperature.
Meanwhile, the expedition sponsor (HRH The Prince of Wales) has been jetting around South America enjoying the life of entitlement currently reserved for global warming patrons. The formula is simple – as long as a celebrity keeps talking about global warming, their carbon footprint and lifestyle excesses are above reproach. Perhaps if AIG had of named their bonuses “carbon offsets,” they could be partying in South America too.
As of today, global sea ice area is again above normal.
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@Steven Goddard
The ice pack on the (cover) picture is fine conditions North of 80th, the ice pack can be up to the hight af a two floor house for hundreds af miles.
http://sermitsiaq.gl/indland/article78954.ece?lang=EN
The two guys knows what they are doing…Jesper M Ganc-Petersen and his mother (55 years) + 6 other senior citizens crossed the icecap Kangerlussuaq > Ammassalik last year (600 km in just 30 days.
http://www.mounteverest.net/news.php?id=18138
In previous postings I said that they will be there until All Fools Day.
Martin had blister which was slowing them down.
It turned out to be frost bite. They and their backup team could not tell the difference. Do not think I will be using Catlin.
All Martin wanted for his birthday were twin Otters.
He got them but he did not fly out.
He has frost bite on his foot and does not fly out!!
Brave you might say, I cannot possibly comment.
48 measurement, from the one stop?
Says it all. A future trend of -0.000865677366(4) approximately.
http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/Progress_on_the_ice
Is this the same guy who was chewing gum and explaining about the ice sheets crack up in his PARKA and no gloves; in the middle of the night.
This is beyond me.
But I know it will be a BBC scientific success.
This morning the BBC had Tom Avery on; in a through away line, he said that the ice at the North Pole would disappear by 2013. No comment from the BBC presenters. Well they knew it was true
The WFF are sponsoring Catlin Arctic Survey.
Who else are they “panda”ing too?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/default.stm
Yes that is them.
WWF WWF not WFF.
Mind you.
“or don their immersion suits and swim across the water, all of which takes time and energy. ”
And may aggravate frostbite a wee bit, no?
Pen also says in his last blog entry: “It’s all part of the job, however, and we carry on regardless”
that is exactly right … who are we to interfere with with other peoples’ wishes, goals, or even lives ?
The second annual Arctic cockup originating in Blighty has gone very sour. I have said from the beginning that I feared for their well-being, now I’m extremely concerned.
Does anyone know what, in this line of endeavor, is being planned for next year?
Point of curiosity. So they dawn the immersion suits and swim across. How in the world do they get the sledges across?
Maybe it is the skepticism I have learned to apply from blogs like this one, but I question just how serious their situation is. They keep taking useless ice measurements, the cameraman can hike out of the way for those great distance pics, they have been making their best progress, and most important they haven’t been evacuated already.
They sure did enough sensationalizing on their website before this adventure. I am not surprised if they have kept it up since they reached the ice. You can’t become a hero if you don’t suffer, and a well-prepared vacation doesn’t sell anything but a travel guide. I hope their hunt for green glory doesn’t turn them into martyrs.
FYI, it’s snowing hard in Wisconsin with 6-10 inches predicted. Should be our last blow since the Robbins are here and they always seem to make it in time for the last kicker.
Light on,
Daniel
Based on their current condition, someone needs to get those people OUT!
I didn’t notice until I hit “submit comment” but in the first picture, am I seeing a man drag a sled downhill? When is the last time anyone has had to drag a sled down hill? Enough said.
If these are supposed to be experienced polar adventurers, then what in blazes are they doing heading out without vapor barrier liners for their sleeping bags? Are they so enamored of the AGW (and WWF) belief system that they dispensed with all sense?
Oh wait — they’re facing an expanse of open water, so that’s where they decide to take their measurements. Talk about confirmation bias.
“Oh wait — they’re facing an expanse of open water, so that’s where they decide to take their measurements. Talk about confirmation bias.”
Shhhhhhhh! You aren’t supposed to notice stuff like that!
they seem to have lost the capacity to make rational decisions
That’s what I got, too. They are about to die.
I just hope the poor kid doesn’t get himself killed.
See what you get – and I’m just picking one example – when you allow free thought?
Additionally, I would also remind the sponsors that if they are dumb enough to support such a preposterous adventure, then they like exercise said same in the products that they produce and sell as well. Likely questionable products and not something I am willing to spend hard earned money on. This may get a little attention from them.
Anyone not blinded by global warming hysteria can see them spiraling down.
Funny thing about free will, you can’t stop people from doing what they’re dead set on doing. If I could take a plane up there, pick them up, literally, put them in the plane, and fly them to where it’s warm, with some hot food and warm beds, I’d do it. But I can’t.
So I just have to sit here and watch this thing unfold.
Maybe they’re in that ‘death spiral’ Mark Serreze talks about, for real.
Pen Hadow, the one with the experience, should have all ready sized up what is happening to Martin Hartley and made the decision to get him on the supply plane out.
“”” S.E.Hendriksen (09:07:37) :
Have a look at this site from Danish Meteorological Institute. Daily mean temperature and climate north of the 80th northern parallel, as a function of the day of year. “””
Howdy Sven,
It’s good to see your shingle show up here from time to time.
I’ll be sending you an e-mail when I get back to work next week. Are you up there picking the Viking Grape crop, or are you back on the mainland where it’s nice and warm.
I need to ask you some questions about the typical fractional loss and regrowth of the arctic ocean ice each season; in other words; what is the seasonal max ice (area and or mass) and what is the seasonal min in the summer.
I’m trying to figure out how much CO2 gets frozen out of the arctic ocean into the air when the fall refreeze starts up; so if you know what typical Arctic ocean water CO2 concentration is, that would be handy to know.
I figure if you don’t know the Arctic ice, nobody does.
Talk to you next week.
George
Bad news for the explorers. The Calgary Herald reports:
They better hurry up and get to the pole, before all that ice melts.
http://www.calgaryherald.com/Technology/Global+warming+greatest+threat+polar+bears/1406116/story.html
yyzdnl (14:56:21) :
Yep – spot on. I’m with you on this. This is a long expedition. The last thing they need is to be ignored. What better way to hold the public interest than with a series of “will they – won’t they make it” cliffhangers. It’s a key scenario in TV soap operas and, judging by the reaction to the post, the tactic is working.
But these people have a problem; how can they they survive the headline:
“Courageous attempt to test global warming ended by severe cold”?
I had put my money on Earth Day for the rescue mission…not sure they’ll make it that far, but I’m sticking with it for now.
JimB
Regarding the flooding of the Red River. Google Lake Agassiz. You will be surprised. The people who live there (I once did) need to learn their paleo history. I live in Calgary now, and I found it humorous that people south of here were surprised when their town flooded. The name of the town is High River, ….D’oh!!