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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You can check this out. A number of you excuse Pen Hadow because you assume he has a degree in some climate related science. I am sure I read an article by him before the expedition started. He is a Harrow School old boy and takes pride that he was so stupid he could barely pass any GCSEs. (For Americans – a high school (very high school) drop out.) Now, I hope I am not maligning him but I think this is the case. He should not be leading an expedition of this sort.
bill (11:32:35) :
“I have displayed no thought processes”
Touche! Umm, do you see now how easy it can be to make the meaning of a quote appear totally different than what was said?
“High-resolution cross-profiles of the snow and ice will be gathered every 10cm along the 1,200-km survey route. The raw data will then be processed by SPRITE’s own computer, before being transferred across to the central on-board sledge computer for compression, and then up-linked, via the Iridium satellites back to the survey’s UK Headquarters.”
How the heck are they powering all this equipment?
Perry Debell wrote (02:24:27) :
“…
Get them off the ice now or they’ll so lose more than their reputations.
…”
No need to worry about that. Already done.
For anyone wondering about the depth of inquiry and rigid protocol in place to insure truly scientific results from the “brave trio’s” intrepid adventure just refer back to the Catlin Arctic Survey site and read the intro blurbs which rotate under the first dramatic photo. Here are a couple of them.
—
“For the sake of our children and grandchildren, I pray that we will heed the findings of the Catlin Artic Survey, and I can only commend this remarkably important project to you.”
HRH The Prince of Wales
—
“Your planned measurements will provide an unprecedented data set of snow and ice that will allow us to better characterize the current state of the Arctic sea ice cover and project its declining trend.”
Dr. Ron Kwok – Senior research scientist, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, NASA
—
Well, there we have it. Certainly no bias evident there huh?
It seems the last tweet of the expedition was at 10.40 am on 28th March.
Has anybody come across anything more recent? This is a long gap.
Tonyb
wilson Flood
Pen Hadow is by no means stupid and is also a highly experienced polar explorer. He also gives motivational speeches and is just the sort of person to lead an expedition.
http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/cls/documents/PenHadowJuly04.pdf
However, the conditions are very severe and with the onerous scientific duties-for a project which I think is pointless-he may have bitten off more than he can chew.
The last I heard they were pondering whether to swim across some open water in an immersion suit. Hopefully they thought better of it.
Lets hope they all make it back safely but I am beginning to have serious concerns for their well being.
Tonyb
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/5061498/Lacy-underwear-secret-tool-of-polar-expedition.html
Too much Catlin Team. Let’s go back to talking about Freeman Dyson.
Prince Charles has hit on the solution to really improve the world: Salsa.
Its great exercise and so much more fun than getting frostbite and freezing in the Arctic while trying to prove how warm things are. Just do a Charles and go where it is really sizzling!
Why were they playing with the black lacy panties while still on the airplane? Was that their preference in windsocks or does the team normally trot out their used underwear before every expedition? It’s very, very odd.
Ah, here is the explanation: http//www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/Knickers
As I have never been on an Arctic exploration, I will assume that this is usual.
“I made 48 snow measurements after we’d stopped
walking today – the best yet.”
I suspect they’ve found the thinnest ice cover so far.
GET OUT OF THERE! PLEASE!!!
DaveE.
April E. Coggins (15:48:06) :
See http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/5061498/Lacy-underwear-secret-tool-of-polar-expedition.html for context.
My guess is that was a gag gift given to Ann Daniels as they left for the start of the trek. Exactly why she brought them along is unclear, but they only weigh a few grams. Perhaps she figured she could tie up a bundle of something while still wearing heavy gloves – the leg holes make big handholds.
My guess about the GPS receivers not being used is more from concern about battery efficiency at low temperatures than units being non-functional. They probably power one up to get a fix at the start and end of each day.
This is not a comment, but rather a question. I have come across news that there’s another expedition heading towards the North Pole, as of now. It’s been undertaken by the International Peary-Henson Centennial North Pole Team.
http://www.pr-inside.com/international-peary-henson-centennial-north-r1148220.htm
http://www.humanedgetech.com/expedition/pe/
http://www.polarexplorers.com/expeditions/PearyHensonExpedition.htm
Why is it that there’s been hardly any press coverage about the latter, whereas the Catlin non-sense draws so much attention? Both started out almost simultaneously, but despite the historical importance the Peary-Henson endeavour appears to bear, it seems there’s nobody up there apart from the Catlin people.
Thanks,
M.
” Oliver Ramsay (09:43:46) :
Furthermore, in the unlikely event that some accident of nature, like extreme cold or some such, should overtake the expedition, I have no doubt that pay-out would be prompt and generous.”
No chance!
Insurance doesn’t cover ‘act of God’
& no, unlike some others, my sarcasm detector IS working!
If their situation is as bad as they claim…
GET THEM THE F**K OUT OF THERE!
DaveE.
This update seems to be today:
http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/live_from_the_ice.aspx
Arctic science? You want science? How about
http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/library/specialreports/AOS_SR96_23.pdf
The 1994 Arctic Ocean Section: The First Major Scientific Crossing of the Arctic Ocean (2.6 M)
* Walter Tucker and David Cate, Editors
* Special Report 96-23
(No Abstract Available)
— Historic Firsts —
• First U.S. and Canadian surface ships to reach the North Pole
• First surface ship crossing of the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole
• First circumnavigation of North America and Greenland by surface ships
•Northernmost rendezvous of three surface ships from the largest Arctic nations—Russia,
the U.S. and Canada—at 89°41¢N, 011°24¢E on August 23, 1994
— Significant Scientific Findings —
•Uncharted seamount discovered near 85°50¢N, 166°00¢E
• Atlantic layer of the Arctic Ocean found to be 0.5–1°C warmer than prior to 1993
• Large eddy of cold fresh shelf water found centered at 1000 m on the periphery of the
Makarov Basin
• Sediment observed on the ice from the Chukchi Sea to the North Pole
• Biological productivity estimated to be ten times greater than previous estimates
• Active microbial community found, indicating that bacteria and protists are significant consumers
of plant production
•Mesozooplankton biomass found to increase with latitude
• Benthic macrofauna found to be abundant, with populations higher in the Amerasia Basin
than in the Eurasian Basin
• Furthest north polar bear on record captured and tagged (84°15¢N)
•Demonstrated the presence of polar bears and ringed seals across the Arctic Basin
• Sources of ice-rafted detritus in seafloor cores traced, suggesting that ocean–ice circulation
in the western Canada Basin was toward Fram Strait during glacial intervals, contrary to the
present Beaufort Gyre
• Cloud optical properties linked to marine biogenic sulfur emissions
•Near-surface fresh water found to be derived from river runoff except in the Nansen Basin
where it comes from melting ice
• Arctic Ocean determined to be a source to the atmosphere and Atlantic Ocean of some
organic contaminants, rather than a sink
• Predominant sources of radionuclide contaminants in the ocean found to be from atmospheric
weapons testing and European reprocessing plants
Oops _ I forgot to save the better formatted version.
Arctic science? You want science? How about
http://www.crrel.usace.army.mil/library/specialreports/AOS_SR96_23.pdf
The 1994 Arctic Ocean Section: The First Major Scientific Crossing of the Arctic Ocean (2.6 M)
* Walter Tucker and David Cate, Editors
* Special Report 96-23
(No Abstract Available)
— Historic Firsts —
• First U.S. and Canadian surface ships to reach the North Pole
• First surface ship crossing of the Arctic Ocean via the North Pole
• First circumnavigation of North America and Greenland by surface ships
• Northernmost rendezvous of three surface ships from the largest Arctic nations—Russia, the U.S. and Canada—at 89°41¢N, 011°24¢E on August 23, 1994
— Significant Scientific Findings —
•Uncharted seamount discovered near 85°50’N, 166°00’E
• Atlantic layer of the Arctic Ocean found to be 0.5–1°C warmer than prior to 1993
• Large eddy of cold fresh shelf water found centered at 1000 m on the periphery of the Makarov Basin
• Sediment observed on the ice from the Chukchi Sea to the North Pole
• Biological productivity estimated to be ten times greater than previous estimates
• Active microbial community found, indicating that bacteria and protists are significant consumers of plant production
• Mesozooplankton biomass found to increase with latitude
• Benthic macrofauna found to be abundant, with populations higher in the Amerasia Basin than in the Eurasian Basin
• Furthest north polar bear on record captured and tagged (84°15’N)
• Demonstrated the presence of polar bears and ringed seals across the Arctic Basin
• Sources of ice-rafted detritus in seafloor cores traced, suggesting that ocean–ice circulation in the western Canada Basin was toward Fram Strait during glacial intervals, contrary to the present Beaufort Gyre
• Cloud optical properties linked to marine biogenic sulfur emissions
• Near-surface fresh water found to be derived from river runoff except in the Nansen Basin where it comes from melting ice
• Arctic Ocean determined to be a source to the atmosphere and Atlantic Ocean of some organic contaminants, rather than a sink
• Predominant sources of radionuclide contaminants in the ocean found to be from atmospheric weapons testing and European reprocessing plants
I don’t consider myself to be a polar expect although I have been above the Circle about a dozen times. My cold weather experience was in April 1998 when I and 4 others spent six days at Victory Pt (King William Island) to commerorate the 150th anniversary of the Franklin men coming ashore. Landed a Twin Otter on a frozen lake. We had good cold weather gear, insulated underwear, Sorel boots, fleece pants with covering shells. The temp was about zero F daytime and -20F at night. Spent two nights in tents and froze our asses off event though we had -40F sleeping bags. Then we got smart and built igloos. Extremely comfortable, even a bit warm at night. From the pictures there is no reason not to build snow houses. Also we had caribou and muskox skins to place the sleeping bags on. Other than some problem with drying my Sorel liners (and they will freeze dry but you need multiple pairs) all else was fine.
They are not alone. The Navy is up there now doing an ICEX 2009 operation (See: http://www.sublant.navy.mil/)
It should be a piece of cake for the Navy to track them down and pop a submarine up through the ice just in time.
Interesting pictures and discussion of the day to day ICEX 2009 events at http://www.sublant.navy.mil/HTML/icex.html. One quite sobering.
Adding to the absurdity of this expedition, the UK telegraph is reporting the following:
“When compasses and GPS fail the Catlin Arctic Survey expedition, they go with a low tech “gadget” to help them navigate the freezing wastes and find their bearing: A lacy pair of panties.”…
Limk: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/5061498/Lacy-underwear-secret-tool-of-polar-expedition.html
Even the techy crowd at Gizomod is getting a chuckle out of it:
“The panties serve as a wind sock of sorts, as the team attaches them to a ski pole and uses wind as a guide to the North Pole”.
Link: http://i.gizmodo.com/5189268/panties-help-guide-700+mile-arctic-expedition-when-gps-compasses-fail.
I wonder if the typical check list of things to bring on an Arctic expedition includes a lacy pair of panties?… WUWT?…
Don Penim
“The panties serve as a wind sock of sorts, as the team attaches them to a ski pole and uses wind as a guide to the North Pole”.
Must be very reliable wind if you can navigate by it.
Tallbloke wrote
“How the heck are they powering all this equipment?”
I looked the other day and their website has info. Here. For power, scroll down to the piece by Perran. I’m only semidemi informed on therse matters and cannot comment on the soundness of the strategy.
http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/technology
I was at the time looking for their computers when I found this. -40 is beyond the operating range of most, but I found a newish Dell laptop that would work. This one. And presumably there are more such specialised devices.
http://www.dell.com/xfr
http://www.augmentix.com/products/xtg630_fully-rugged_notebook
Unrelated, how interesting that such as this fabulous device costs three grand or so, the same kind of dough the earliest ‘portables’ cost in the early eighties, such as the Osborne with its mighty 5″ monochrome screen!
From the tropics, where as has been noted before in these pages, the melting ice is confined to the epipelagic layer of gin & tonic and the like, and is under more or less continuous observation in tens of thousands of locations at any given moment. Discounting those locations situated near airports and on hot asphalt (Anthony), and confining the sampling to shady courtyards and such, I think we expats can provide more accurate estimates of local melt rates and the (frequently rapid) replenishment cycle than the insurance company will be able to do after the present more northerly exercise.
Alec