For the latest, see this new story. and this opinion piece on why this is a fiasco
UPDATE: Turns out this “research” vessel was mostly a taxpayer funded junket for getting video stories to BBC in the UK and ABC in Australia, see update2 below.
It is summer in the southern hemisphere and yet there is still signifiicantly above normal amounts of sea ice present as the passengers and crew of one tour ship discovered. The icebreakers Xue Long and Aurora Australis, and a French research vessel Astrolabe are cruising towards the Akademik Shokalskiy at full throttle for rescue. Photos and maps follow.
PR from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, Dec 25th, 2013:
Search and rescue of passenger vessel trapped in ice underway
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) is coordinating a search and rescue for a Russian passenger ship beset by ice approximately 1500 nautical miles south of Hobart.
AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre Australia (RCC Australia) was contacted by the Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in the United Kingdom on Christmas morning.
The Falmouth MRCC received a distress message via satellite from a Russian flagged vessel, MV Akademik Shokalskiy, with 74 people about 7.20am (AEDT).
The ship is in the Australian Search and Rescue region, 100 nautical miles east of the French base Dumont D’Urville.
RCC Australia assumed coordination of the incident and issued a broadcast to icebreaking vessels in the area.
Three ships with icebreaking capability have responded, including the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) vessel Aurora Australis, and are now en route to the area.
The closest vessels are at least two days sailing time away.
Further updates will be provided when more information is available.
###
Source: http://www.amsa.gov.au/media/documents/25122013AkademikShokalskiyUpdate1_Media_Release.pdf
===============================================================
This is apparently an image tweeted by somebody on-board the Akademik Shokalskiy, showing the ice around it:
AMSA is now coordinating the response to a ship beset by ice about 1500nm south of Hobart. http://t.co/P4zO9RUMth http://t.co/S5ST1wgwbN
— AMSA News (@AMSA_News) December 25, 2013
UPDATE:
The expedition is being led by Chris Turney, “climate scientist”, who has “set up a carbon refining company called Carbonscape which has developed technology to fix carbon from the atmosphere and make a host of green bi-products, helping reduce greenhouse gas levels.” The purpose of the expedition is “to discover and communicate the environmental changes taking place in the south.”
http://www.christurney.com/ (h/t to Sagebrush Gardener)
It seems they found out what the “environmental changes taking place in the south.” are.
From the WUWT sea ice page, Antarctic Sea Ice is more than 2 standard deviations above normal:
![S_timeseries[1]](http://wattsupwiththat.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/s_timeseries1.png?quality=75)
According to this sitrep report for one of the rescue vessels, the Aurora Australis the Akademik Shokalskiy is trapped in sea ice in the Commonwealth Bay region of Antarctica.
This is what the current sea ice coverage looks like at the south pole with the approximate ship location marked:
Image source: National Snow and Ice Data Center via the WUWT sea ice page.
Wikipedia says about the ship:
MV Akademik Shokalskiy (Russian: Академик Шокальский) is an Akademik Shuleykin-class ice-strengthened ship, built in Finland in 1982 and originally used for oceanographic research.[5] In 1998 it was fully refurbished to serve as a research ship for Arctic and Antarctic work.[3] It was named after the Russian oceanographer Yuly Shokalsky.[6] The ship has two [7] passenger decks, with dining rooms, a bar, a library, and a sauna, and accommodates 54 passengers.[3] It is currently operated by Aurora Expeditions, an Australian expedition cruise line.[3][8] In 2011, the Akademik Shokalskiy sailed cruises along the coast of Russia[9] and to East Antarctica.[10] Her sister ships are Akademik Shuleykin, Arnold Veymer, Akademik Gamburtsev, Professor Molchanov, Professor Multanovskiy, Geolog Dmitriy Nalivkin, Professor Polshkov, Professor Khromov.
UPDATE2:
WUWT reader “pat” writes at 2013/12/26 at 1:59 pm
seems this expedition was more a BBC/Guardian/ABC CAGW exercise!
18 Dec: Guardian: The Guardian lays claim to Antarctica – in pictures Journalists Alok Jha and Laurence Topham have landed in Antarctica with the 2013 Australasian Antarctic Expedition Documentary filmmaker Laurence Topham lines up a shot from the bows. Photograph: Alok Jha/Guardian…
http://www.theguardian.com/science/antarctica-live/gallery/2013/dec/18/guardian-antarctica-pictures
Guardian: Laurence Topham, documentary filmmaker
In 2007 he worked for Current TV, where he edited over 50 short-form documentaries for terrestrial broadcast…
http://www.theguardian.com/open-weekend/laurence-topham
Guardian: Science: Antarctica live (MASSIVE COVERAGE, NO HINT ABOUT THE SHIP’S CURRENT PREDICAMENT!)
http://www.theguardian.com/science/antarctica-live
26 Dec: BBC: Andrew Luck-Baker: Science continues for trapped Australasian Antarctic expedition Science reporter Andrew Luck-Baker is on board the Russian research vessel Shokalskiy, covering the Australasian Antarctic Expedition 2013 for the BBC World Service programme Discovery…
Tantalisingly, a low band of grey sky to the Northeast suggests clear water lies not so many kilometres away. The grey colour is light reflected from open water. The early Antarctic explorers named this colour phenomenon “water sky” and used it to navigate their route through the treacherous pack ice…
In addition to the Russian crew of 22, the expedition team consists of 18 professional scientists from Australia and New Zealand, and 22 volunteer science assistants. They are members of the public, ranging in age from their 20s to their 70s. They paid to join the scientific adventure…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25519059
25 Nov: ABC Lateline: $1.5 million Australian expedition to Antarctica Professor Chris Turney from the University of NSW is mounting the largest Australian science expeditions to the Antarctic with an 85-person team to try to answer questions about how climate change in the frozen continent might be already shifting weather patterns in Australia.
ABC’s MARGOT O’NEILL: The research stakes are high. Antarctica is one of the great engines driving the world’s oceans, winds and weather, especially in Australia. But there’s ominous signs of climate change.
CHRIS TURNEY: The Southern Hemisphere westerly winds encircle Antarctica, and over the last 20 or 30 years or so, they’ve been pushing further south. Now – so actually in a way it’s almost like Antarctica’s withdrawing itself from the rest of the world…
EMMA ALBERICI: And tomorrow night, in the second part of this special report, could the British Antarctic explorer Robert Scott have lived? We look at how Professor Turney discovered that choosing the right team can be a matter of life and death.
NevenA (December 26, 2013 at 10:01 am) “The Antarctic sea ice anomaly seems to be getting even larger, which is intriguing to say the least. From a scientific POV this is really exciting. Does anyone here have any ideas on what might be causing it?”
The same thing that caused your predictions for Arctic ice to be so very wrong this year: cold weather.
please god help them out as they do not know what they are doing the poor souls
FSVO “research vessel” = “watch the polar bears drown cruise ship”
I suspect they’re really in quite a lot of trouble. If the current ice melt doesn’t free them, their boat is scr*wed – their only hope is an airlift rescue before the winter closes in.
I wish to invite this group and Al Gore to Northern California so we can have some nice winter weather following them.
This is on CNN here:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/26/world/antarctica-ship-stuck/index.html?hpt=hp_t2
Many of the followup comments are very interesting! You would think most were WUWT readers.
Anyone have an estimate for the daily Diesel fuel burn rate for this totally useless expedition? My guess would be in the neighborhood of 5K. What a colossal joke! There is no doubt that these clowns intended to film a passage to the continent and offer it as proof of our immanent demise at the hands of carbon fuel. It would be interesting to compare the carbon footprint of these clowns to that of the average Australian.
“Negative Ghostrider the pattern is full!”
Reports that Al Gore is down there are likely not true. It has been rumored that he went to Russia to negotiate with Comrade Putin regarding the winter games in Sochi.
@Eric Worrall: ” their only hope is an airlift rescue before the winter closes in.”
They’re in no real danger — it’s the start of summer down here in the southern hemisphere.
Regarding what is causing it. I have asked many times why the climate community separates the analysis of sea ice measurements of the hemispheres.
Ever changing ocean currents, positive and negative phases of the oceans, increased or decreased storms (winds causing early or late and greater or smaller amounts of formation), unpredictable timing of ENSO and La Nina events, and more.
The combined quantities in the two hemispheres have remained somewhat constant.
It would seem a different approach would have some advantages.
I object to my taxes being used to ‘rescue’ these twats. They can stay there until hell freezes over.
@darrylb How things are done and why has NOTHING to do with it and what you suggest would have NO advantages.
Methods are selected that sell books that buy bazillion-dollar mansions, boats and airplanes. And control over our lives.
@Streetcred. To me that is an important matter to me too, but is second to the worst (at least in the North) habit of stashing barrels of fuel and lube oil on the ice to support SAR. Which barrels then eventually (still full, or just dirty) sink into the sea when the ice next breaks up.
It’s gotten to the point that almost any article that mentions global warming (or even global changing is getting met with derision). The CNN watchers are doing a good job!
“we’re looking forward to getting home and having a decent cup of coffee soon,” said Chris Turney….”
In the comments: “how awful to be stranded in ice while at sea….. without a good cup of coffee….”
Matt G says:
December 26, 2013 at 11:47 am
“Sea ice around Antarctica is increasing despite the warming global climate,” said the study’s lead author Richard Bintanja, from the KNMI.
“This is caused by melting of the ice sheets from below,” he told the Reuters news agency.”
So why is this not occurring in the Arctic then?
==========================================
Probably because the Arctic doesn’t have a chain of active volcanoes under the ice cap to melt it,
the way the Antarctic peninsular has. Anthony has detailed it here:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/11/17/volcano-discovered-smoldering-under-a-kilometer-of-ice-in-west-antarctica/
They trust in GRACE, now they can say it. hehe
seriously though, these guys will have the angle of antarctic is losing ice mass –
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/Grace/news/grace20121129.html
which is just a load of BS as usual. depends entirely on sea temp/circulation models. it seems it does not matter how stupid it seems (difference between north pole and south), they will just come up with some model to explain it all away. nothing changes except occasionally some of them get stuck in the stuff they predict wont be there, then it is time to laugh and enjoy the spectacle. first the ice breaker earlier this year, then this.. hahaha!
big problem. BBC is a CAGW player. surely such advocacy as this Warsaw report indicates (article was uploaded 20 Dec when i posted it n joanne nova’s website) is not proper for a taxpayer-funded broadcaster!
20 Dec: Guardian: Tan Copsey: Communicating climate change
(Tan Copsey is research manager for the BBC Media Action project Climate Asia.)
Reaching new, broad audiences requires diverse, innovative communication strategies
On a frosty November morning in Warsaw, a workshop entitled Be the Movement brought together a wide variety of global climate change professionals to discuss practical strategies for building a stronger and more far-reaching global movement to combat climate change.
In our morning discussion group, we used BBC Media Action’s Climate Change Communication Toolkit, which includes Climate Communication Cards to stimulate discussion of how to reach diverse audiences, ranging from farmers in Kenya to voters in the United States…
Content is also crucial. As Eliza Anyangwe of the Guardian Development Professionals Network said later, “A lot of effort is spent on trying to tell people that climate change is happening, but not very much on trying to give the people […] a sense of what they can do.” …
The workshop, which was co-hosted by Connect4Climate and the University of Warsaw drew a number of Polish academics and climate change experts, as well as scores of Polish students from both the university and surrounding high schools…
This idea was picked up by Rachel Kyte, vice president for sustainable development at the World Bank Group, in her motivational address. She encouraged the youth present to take action and join the global climate change movement. “If you want to make change, you’re going to have to take the brave fork in the road. That’s your challenge,” she said. (see the video of her talk here)…
This content is produced and controlled by Connect4Climate.
http://www.theguardian.com/connect4climate-partner-zone/communicating-climate-change
5 Dec: World Bank: Connect4Climate Competition Winners Announced
Connect4Climate is a global partnership initiative supported by the World Bank and the Italian Ministry of Environment. Connect4Climate Knowledge Partners include…(LIST TOO LONG TO POST, BUT GEORGE MASON & GEORGETOWN UNIS, PLUS MANY UN BODIES, ARE INCLUDED)
http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:23061504~pagePK:34370~piPK:34424~theSitePK:4607,00.html
Guardian links to these BBC pages:
BBC Climate Asia: Communication Toolkit
A guide to communicating climate change
‘Communicating Climate Change: What You Can Do’ presents a framework for designing an effective communications strategy, including practical guidance, tips and activities. The guide is based on a bottom-up and collaborative approach, enabling you to work with audiences and partners to develop your strategy together…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaaction/climateasiadataportal/article/developstrategy#paneltab-0
BBC ClimateAsia: Communication Cards
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rmhttp/mediaaction/pdf/climateasia/commsguide/ClimateAsia_CommCards_Web.pdf
21 Dec: UK Telegraph: Steven Swinford: TV licence should be abolished, major inquiry into future of BBC to hear
BBC has lost touch with ‘value for money’ and the licence fee should be abolished, former head of Channel 5 David Elstein to tell MPs
The TV licence fee should be abolished because the BBC has “lost touch” with the value of money, a top broadcaster will tell an inquiry into the future of the corporation.
David Elstein, a former chief executive of Channel 5, thinks subscriptions should replace the fee so people can choose which services to take.
He will make the comments when he appears before the Commons’ culture, media and sport committee, which begins a “fundamental examination” of the future of the BBC next month.
Lord Hall, the BBC director-general, and Lord Patten, the chairman of the BBC Trust, will also be questioned by MPs.
The body’s findings will inform a government review of BBC funding after 2016, when its Royal Charter expires.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/bbc/10532598/TV-licence-should-be-abolished-major-inquiry-into-future-of-BBC-to-hear.html
for the sake of accuracy & clarity, surely it should be possible to ensure MSM, especially taxpayer-funded media, alway write/say CARBON DIOXIDE when referring to CARBON DIOXIDE. no longer is it acceptable the MSM talks of “carbon” when that is not what they mean.
ditto as regards the ridiculous substitution of “climate change” for MAN-MADE GLOBAL WARMING, OR AGW.
Rob Ricket says:
December 26, 2013 at 9:30 pm
Anyone have an estimate for the daily Diesel fuel burn rate for this totally useless expedition? My guess would be in the neighborhood of 5K. What a colossal joke! There is no doubt that these clowns intended to film a passage to the continent and offer it as proof of our immanent demise at the hands of carbon fuel. It would be interesting to compare the carbon footprint of these clowns to that of the average Australian.
“Negative Ghostrider the pattern is full!”
————————————————————————————————————————————Maybe they bought Telsa carbon credits?
The only highlight for me is I don’t have to pay the BBC licence fee any more.
Yea,
I picked up on this story Christmas morning. Haven’t followed up on it since then. Didn’t hear about the ships location either. Instead, what I did read was that they were following a 100 year old expedition in the area.
When I read that they were about 1500 NM out Hobart, and did a little research on the century old expedition, the most likeliest place they could have been was in the vacinity of Cape Denizen.
It would seem I am correct, looking at your update here.
So why not ask me what I have been doing for the last 24 hours.
Ok since you asked.
I have been reading, “The Home of the Blizzard” – Being the story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-1914
by Douglas Mawson
It was this expedition that these current lunkheads were following.
You can read about that hundred year old story, here, in it’s entirety:
ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/m/mawson/douglas/home/complete.html
These guys were true explorers. Charting uncharted land in the most inhospitable of places. The ebook is spectacularly discriptive. The account that Mawson gives practically puts you there. One of the things that struck me about the book, was how detailed it was in its measurements i.e. land elevation, ice thickness, caverns, etc.
Amazing.
Anyways, the Mawsons Expedition was able to make the beachhead in Cape Denizen, without the use of modern equipment and state-of-the-art navigation, or with the use of the latest ship technologies. The expeditions was also successful in mooring 500 yards offshore of land. It wasn’t that they couldn’t anchor closer because of snow pack, but because the harbour was too shallow. You got to read the story, really. Great stuff.
Here we are 100 years later, and these momos get snow-packed in 50 to 100 miles offshore.
Beyond all this, I will have questions for @ProfChrisTurney when he returns. He was one of those lunkheads on this current expedition. Turney goes on to say on twitter, “We’re in the ice like the explorers of old! All are well and spirits are high. Happy Christmas from the AA… ” I hope he wasn’t trying to make any references to Mawson. Mawson didn’t get stuck. He made it to shore stupid.
I took a look at Cryosphere Today on ice extent, and it seems that the area in question had the greatest possibility the russian converted research ship had this time of year to make landfall. Maybe in a week or two that area could open up, but I highly doubt it.
So, getting back to my questions for Turney of course, will be if he will do any measurements while he’s down there.
Some of you might have heard that there has been talk of course that the Antarctic is thinner? Because . of . CAGW? That sort of thing.
One of the things I would like to know is if Turney wouldn’t mind measuring snow depth and glacier mass and other stuff like that. I would be most curious about the results.
I am just thinkin out loud.
Happy Holidays everyone !
“nc says:
December 26, 2013 at 11:40 pm
Anyone have an estimate for the daily Diesel fuel burn rate…”
Don’t matter. As they were not in or near large scale ports (~1800kms from the very southern tip of New Zealand) they would burn heavy diesel with high sulphur content (Real pollution).
“pat says:
December 26, 2013 at 11:35 pm”
At last count the BBC (Govn’t) receives about 2 billion pounds from license fees per year. I don’t see that revenue stream being cut off any time soon if at all.
On a similar note however, in about 1996 in New Zealand, a case went to court to challenge why GST (Goods and Services Tax) was applied to a TV license fee (The challenge was that a tax (GST) on a tax (License fee) was illegal. They won! The TV license fee was abolished. Given TV in NZ is commercial anyway, channels are funded from advertsing revenue.
Well, I’m sure the conclusions they planned for the trip are “It’s worse than we thought” as usual.
A case of.. be careful what you wish for?
I just saw the piece on the BBC. Apparently the problem with more ice in the Antarctic is the Adele penguins require hard rock so they are ” really struggling”.
Well I say, “Bravo” to the Adele penguin for this display of true grit.