This is a news story from Germany outlining another Arctic ice measurement expedition. This one was conducted by flying the scientists across the north polar ice cap using the WWII era workhorse Douglas DC-3 airplane equipped with skis, and towing an airborne sounder twenty meters above the ice surface. It makes the Catlin Arctic Ice Survey look rather pointless, but then we knew that. BTW “Eisdicken” translates to “ice thickness”. – Anthony
From Radio Bremen. Translated from German by Google web page translator: Original | Translated
Surprising Results
At the North Pole ice sheet is thicker than expected
![Das Forschungsflugzeug "Polar 5" in Bremerhaven [Quelle: AWI]](https://i0.wp.com/www.radiobremen.de/wissen/nachrichten/polarfuenf100_v-slideshow.jpg?quality=83 "The research aircraft Polar 5 \"in Bremerhaven [Source: AWI]")
The “Polar 5” in Bremerhaven
The research aircraft Polar 5 “ended today in Canada’s recent Arctic expedition. During the flight, researchers have measured the current Eisstärke measured at the North Pole, and in areas that have never before been overflown. Result: The sea-ice in the surveyed areas is apparently thicker than the researchers had suspected.
Normally, ice is newly formed after two years, over two meters thick. “Here were Eisdicken up to four meters,” said a spokesman of Bremerhaven’s Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. For scientists, this result is still in contradiction to the warming of the seawater.
Besides the Eisdicken was also the composition of the air are investigated. With the help of a laser, the researchers reviewed how polluted the atmosphere by emissions from industrialized countries. On the expedition, some 20 scientists from the U.S., Canada, Italy and Germany.
Here is the route map:
See the press release announcing the expedition from Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research here. Note the lack of “live” biometrics.
But they do have a nifty aerial ice thickness probe, shown above.
An ice thickness probe, the so-called EM-Bird, which is usually dragged below a helicopter, is now operated for the first time by a fixed-wing aircraft. The EM-Bird is towed under the hull of the aircraft by means of a winch for take-off and landing. For the surveys, the probe is towed on an 80 m long rope twenty metres above the ice surface. More extensive areas can now be investigated due to the longer range of the aircraft in comparison to a helicopter.
UPDATE: more on the EM-Bird probe (h/t to Ron de Haan)
EM-Bird
Electromagnetic (EM) induction sounding for ice thickness measurements is a technique that can achieve long profiles of some kilometer length. The accuracy and robustness of the EM method has been evaluated by comparing coincident drill-hole and EM measurements. Read more (Poster, pdf, size: 156 kB)
Sure beats hauling a sledge and a broken home-built ice radar around doesn’t it?
h/t to “yddar” and Lubos Motl
Nicht verstehen ! Couldn’t imagine it!, it is as thick as MY skull bone.
(HIM)
I the use of an translation program suspects that the german sentence structure preserves.
If researchers have pre-conceived (suspected) results in mind, they are bound to be surprised by real-life results. Another typical example of coming up with the answers before doing the research. Does anyone know how they know that the seawater is warming?
That is a BT-67 Basler conversion on a DC3.
There are a couple of better pics here on Baslers site…
http://www.baslerturbo.com/bt_67_worldwide.html
Just scroll to the German plane. It has a couple of close ups
of the towed array.
Pretty cool birds to an aircraft nut like me…
Chris
REPLY: Ironically, the one they show from Kenn Borek Air may be the one going to rescue the hapless Catlin crew !! Borek is the one who pulled Penn Hadow out of the Arctic in 2003 on his last failed expedition, and is their flight service now.
– Anthony
Wow! Who could have seen that coming?
more inconvenient facts
I’m sure now the new theory will be “ice becomes stagnant with man-induced global warming which explains the unusual thickness”!
Sure beats dragging a sled around on foot. Anybody from Caitlan paying attention? “Hello, Caitlan, they can do that with machines now!”
Oh yeah, the ice is about twice as thick as expected.
I’m curious about this:
Are there any results? The quote leaves me wondering – was this 4-meter ice widespread? Localized along a few pressure ridges?
Sorry if I seem skeptical, but some good hard data, along with the reassuring quotes, would be welcome. The press release acknowledges the work of other research teams showing thinning ice. It seems if there were contradictory evidence they would march it out for the world to see, no?
REPLY: if you can find their published results, feel free to post it. I have not found any yet. Only this news item. The expedition just ended, so I would expect it to be a couple of weeks. – Anthony
As we recover from our third major rain event in about ten days here Houston, this post really brings a smile to my face and a nice chuckle, too.
lol.
AGW = fraud.
tty:
“I the use of an translation program suspects that the german sentence structure preserves.” Funny.
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulacity uesdnatnrd waht I was rdanieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid! Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn’t mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny improatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig, huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas thugoht slpeling was ipmorantt.
Dear Pen
Shame about the dastardly Jerries and their rotten old plane, what ?
Just where the deuce was Biggles when you needed him most ?
Reminds one of that pesky Norwegian chappie, Amundsister or something or other, and his dogs, eh ?
Can’t dawdle, I am just going outside and I may be quite some time.
Cheerio and good luck !
Laurence
Send the news to the Catlin team. Sure to send what’s left of their morale crashing through the ice. This expedition started off a month after Catlin hit the ice and is done already, after covering larger and more diverse areas than they could ever hope to hit. Pity they didn’t run a survey leg over the Catlin team just to rub it in.
If “Eisdicken” translates to “ice thickness”, what does Catlin translate to? Disaster? Catastrophe? Misery?
Unlike the Catlin crew, I actually saw the researchers’ biometric data in real-time along with a video feed from inside the DC-3. Their core temperatures were oscillating quite a bit. It appeared to me that their core temperatures increased as soon as they swallowed a mouthful of their hot pizza — and then their core temperatures decreased when they chugged some cold beer.
“On the expedition, (there were) some 20 scientists from the U.S., Canada, Italy and Germany.”
I guess the scientists from England were afraid to hurt Princs Charles’ feelings.
Anthony – this is off the topic. There were two brilliant articles (Jan Veizer and William Kininmonth) published by The Australian lately: here the links:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25376454-7583,00.html
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25400914-7583,00.html
Reading through the comments – one can only be worried about the penetration of mythological science in our public!
Regardging that Catlin group, I wonder if the ground crew will withold that little bit of info until they return.
In rock climbing:
There are few things worse than clawing your way for a couple of hours up to the top, only to find some guy sitting there eating a candy bar.
Usually followed by the comment:
“Dude, what took you so long?”
Reminds me of a discussion on here regarding the Lord of the Rings plot hole. The question as to why they just didn’t take the golden eagles to the volcano and drop the ring in.
Ahh the DC-3. Great stuff! Fond memories. As a kid I crawled around inside of one of these at the air show every year. They are definitely the workhorse o’ the tundra.
Meanwhile, at the other end of the world, the big headline is that a chunk of ice the size of New York City has broken off.
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/new-yorksized-ice-shelf-collapses-off-antarctica-1675400.html
Of course, readers of this blog know that Southern Hemisphere sea ice area is currently 1.2 million km^2 above the long term average for this time of year.
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/current.365.south.jpg
That’s 10 times the land area of the entire state of New York.
Eisstärke = ice strength
Smokey (15:09:54) :
smae geos for tmpetrearues – to the tarnried eye alyaws httoer no mttaer the nmerbus!
It would be interesting to know the resolution of the instrument, in all 3 axis.
.
For the aviation enthusiasts, this is actually a Super-Dak – A C47 freighter with PT-6 turbines instead of the standard PW-1830 piston radials.
.
Leon,
“If “Eisdicken” translates to “ice thickness”, what does Catlin translate to? Disaster? Catastrophe? Misery?”
From Wiki Encyclopedia:
“A catlin was a long, double-bladed knife used for surgery, commonly amputations. It was common in the 17th-mid 19th century; thereafter its use declined in favor of mechanically-driven (and later, electrically driven) oscillating saws.”
It sounds like a very old way of doing things…
“”If “Eisdicken” translates to “ice thickness”, what does Catlin translate to? Disaster? Catastrophe? Misery?””
No not quite Old Bean, in the best tradtion of British expeditions it takes its root from the Latin word, CATE, translation *pointless danger* and the Celtic word, LIN, translation *heroic venture* combined to indicate an *heroically dangerous but pointless venture*
Been there and done that myself old chap !
By the way what’s a Candy Bar ?
Toodle Pip !
Lawrence