This will be a top “sticky” post for awhile since interest is high – new stories will appear below this one – Anthony
UPDATE: Josh channels the boat people
UPDATE2: Another irony is discovered, this one doubly deep. See update 2 below.
UPDATE4: AMSA: Helicopter rescue of Akademik Shokalskiy likely to commence shortly
(It’s off again, then now its on again, with report the helicopter has landed)
UPDATE5: All the passengers (tourists and scientists) are off the ship
UPDATE6: Tough questions need to be asked
UPDATE7: Trouble on the rescue ship – reaching open water not so easy
As we reported previously on WUWT here and here, the saga of the “climate scientists/tourists trapped in ice” continues to fascinate many. Now a second ship has given up on rescue, after the Chinese ship “Snow Dragon” gave up two days ago. The Aurora Australis has abandoned rescue of the trapped Russian “research”vessel in Antarctica and a helicopter evacuation in now being ordered. This episode has taken on a heightened comedic fiasco-like quality.
Now, with such a fantastic failure in full world view, questions are going to start being asked. For example, with advanced tools at their disposal (that Mawson never had) such as near real-time satellite imaging of Antarctic sea ice, GPS navigation, on-board Internet, radar, and satellite communications, one wonders how these folks managed to get themselves stuck at all. Was it simple incompetence of ignoring the signs and data at their disposal combined with “full steam ahead” fever? Even the captain of the Aurora Australis had the good sense to turn back knowing he’d reached the limits of the ship on his rescue attempt. Or, was it some sort of publicity stunt to draw attention? If it was the latter, it has backfired mightily.
One might argue that with photos like the one below, this whole “Spirit of Mawson” research expedition, is little more than a media stunt.
Source: [ http://twitter.com/GdnAntarctica/status/412977161323036672 ]
Even after the ship was trapped, these reporters still had a party like atmosphere going on:
Source: [ http://twitter.com/GdnAntarctica/status/416881634273525761/photo/1 ]
Yesterday, Andrew Revkin tweeted something that I agreed with, especially since so many of the people trapped in the ice on the ship seem to have a nonchalant, almost partly-like atmosphere going on.
Scientist on trapped Antarctic ship: "Fantastic-I love it when the ice wins & we don't." http://t.co/UsxA2tiV2i What about rescue risk/cost?
— Andrew Revkin 🌎 ✍🏼 🪕 ☮️ (@Revkin) December 29, 2013
Yes, the cost and risk is significant. These folks trapped on-board don’t seem to be cognizant of that issue, following the #spiritofmawson Twitter feed, it’s like watching reports (with pictures and video) from a high school class party.
And here’s the kicker. Even the public saw through the charade at the beginning. Trying to get crowd funding from the public for this trip failed miserably as this Indigogo campaign shows:
Source: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-return-to-mawson-s-antarctic-hut-the-home-of-the-blizzard
Maybe it had to do with the ridiculous image of Professor Chris Turney in full cold weather gear standing in the midst of a tropical forest.
Right after the ship got stuck and there was a realization that the world was watching, one scientist on-board, Dr. Chris Fogwill, of the University of New South Wales, decided that it would be an opportune time to hit the public for money again:
Source: http://www.spiritofmawson.com/
And again, the public has seen through this, and today, the campaign remains stuck at $1000 with just a few donors. People are realizing that there’s no real science being done on this trip, and that it seems to be little more than a chartered party boat for Antarctic enthusiasts and media.
Now, with the ship to be evacuated via helicopter, will the Akademik Shokalskiy join the list of recent ships that have been sunk in Antarctic waters?
Ships that have sunk in Antarctic waters in recent years (h/t to David Archibald)
The Brazilian yacht “Endless Sea” sank in Maxwell Bay, Ardley Cove on Saturday 7th April, 2012. It was used for “scientific and educational expeditions”.
The sunken remains of the 76-ft Mar Sem Fin, aka “Endless Sea”, which sunk on April 7, 2012, lies at a depth of about 9 meters (30 ft) in Ardley Cove, Antarctica.
In November 2007, the Linblad Explorer hit sea ice and sank.
In April 2013, the Chinese factory fishing ship Kai Xin caught fire and sank near Bransfield Strait at the Antarctic Peninsula.
And there are others, these are just a few recent ones.
With so much concern for the pristine environment of Antarctica, one wonders how much environmental damage these sinkings are doing.
And when the trip is nothing more than a party for your friends and media, disguised as a “scientific expedition”, one wonders if there shouldn’t be some moratorium on such trips.
Richard Tol summed it all up nicely with one sentence:
There has been a strong and statistically significant upward trend in climate-change-related public-relations disasters #spiritofmawson
— Richard Tol (@RichardTol) December 30, 2013
UPDATE:
The #spiritofmawson hashtag is now getting competition from the hashtag #ClitanicDisaster in honor of the trapped climate scientists that the MSM won’t mention as being climate scientists.
========================================================
UPDATE 2:
reader Aphan writes on 2013/12/31 at 7:16 pm
I don’t know if anyone was posted this yet, but the IRONY just gobsmacked me.
The British “explorers” on board the MV Explorer who were “commemorating the Spirit of Shackleton” found themselves repeating HIS adventure when their ship struck a piece of submerged ice and then SANK in the Antarctic in November of 2007! None of the passengers or crew were lost. But HOW AMAZING is it that both the “Spirit of Mawson” trip AND the “Spirit of Shackleton” cruise trips ended in disaster from sea ice?????
http://www.jamescairdsociety.com/shackleton-news-104519.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/news/explorer-sinks-antarctica.html
I mean…come on. What are the odds?
============================================================
Related articles
- Saving the Antarctic scientists, er media, er, activists, er tourists trapped by sea ice (wattsupwiththat.com)
- Antarctic rescue mission fails to reach trapped ship (theguardian.com)
What a joke…
And yet they have the gall to say they’re trapped in the ice because of global warming.
I love the smell of schadenfreude in the morning
One of the most striking features of these activist jollies for me is just how woefully unprepared for the worst they all seem to be. And I mean this to the point of frightening ignorance. The Guardian/BBC journalist Alok Jha for example, describes in graphic detail what happened to his hand when he exposed it to the elements outside “to type an email”. His surprise at how quickly he started to lose the use of his hand is absolutely evident. Has he never heard of frostbite?
But then what should we expect from a bunch of people who are presenting the image of partying it up, tweeting pictures of them setting up a “media hub” whilst at least four crews are desperately working out how to save them?
I wonder how much volume their sewage holding tanks can hold, and whether they’re going to have to start dumping straight into the ocean.
@John Frguson says:December 30, 2013 at 10:09 am: “And yet they have the gall to say they’re trapped in the ice because of global warming.”
Apparently Prof. Turney believes global warming has melted all the ice, boiled the seas, and that’s the ocean bed he’s sitting on.
Expect photoshops turning the white ice brown.
It was on 11th Dec that the Beeb’s resident pessimist, Jonathan Amos, reported:-
“Esa’s Cryosat mission detects continued West Antarctic ice loss”
“The dedicated polar mission finds the region now to be dumping over 150 cubic km of ice into the sea every year. It equates to a 15% increase in West Antarctica’s contribution to global sea level rise.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25328508
How high must the global sea level have been in 1912, when Mawson walked on the ice-free shoreline of Commonwealth Bay?
Once they are home safe and sound, I will mock them ceaselessly. I will also be watching to see who gets stuck with the rescue bill. Better not be the taxpayer.
Not a huge fan of Revkin, but I am glad he is concerned about the cost incurred and who is on the hook for it.
Somewhere far, far to the south where it is summer, a group of global warming scientists are trapped in the Antarctic ice. If you missed the irony of that situation, it is because much of the mainstream media has glossed over that rather inconvenient bit of hilarity. As an example here is an Associated Press story that avoids mentioning the real mission of the scientists aboard the icebound Russian ship:
The Snow Dragon icebreaker came within 7 miles (11 kilometers) of the Russian ship MV Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been stuck since Christmas Eve, but had to retreat after the ice became too thick, said expedition spokesman Alvin Stone.
The Akademik Shokalskiy, which has been on a research expedition to Antarctica, got stuck Tuesday after a blizzard’s whipping winds pushed the sea ice around the ship, freezing it in place. The ship wasn’t in danger of sinking, and there are weeks’ worth of supplies for the 74 scientists, tourists and crew on board, but the vessel cannot move.
So what was the exact mission of these scientists? AP is rather vague about this reporting only:
The scientific team on board the research ship — which left New Zealand on Nov. 28 — had been recreating Australian explorer Douglas Mawson’s century-old voyage to Antarctica when it became trapped. They plan to continue their expedition after they are freed, expedition leader Chris Turney said.
Um, there is a bit more to the expedition than merely following in the footsteps of a century-old voyage. But what that mission really is, AP won’t say. If AP is vague about the mission’s purpose, Reuters provides even less information.
Since the MSM isn’t forthcoming as to the real purpose of those scientists traveling to Antarctica, we turn to Whats Up With That for more insight:
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/pj-gladnick/2013/12/28/msm-glosses-over-irony-global-warming-scientists-trapped-antarctic-ice#ixzz2oz4kVEjf
Will this fiasco induce the BBC and the Guardian think twice, before continuing to push the CAGW theology so enthusiastically? I think not: but how many more PR disasters can the religion take?
Difficult to read the Grauniad article with a totally straight face, but it includes some interesting analysis of why the ice is so bad.
And credit where credit is due, the expedition has collected some relevant data towards its aim of evaluating how conditions in the area have changed since 1911, even if they can’t bring themselves to admit that their observations don’t fit the AGW model they expected to prove.
But there is one “no change” box they probably can tick: I don’t suppose Mawson’s expedition had bananas or peanuts either…
How long till they run out of diesel, and have to start burning their personal electronic devices for fuel?
At least they’d be quieter…
“Oh boy, this is GREAT!”
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=flounder+boy+this+is+great&sm=3
It is all so exciting being on a ship caught in the ice of Antarctica(!!), even if it is by the ice that isn’t supposed to be there! I’ll always remember it! My bit for Global Warming! Reality is very bracing, what?
When a group of true believers gathers together their beliefs are generally reinforced by the consensus group think and become more extreme. As the days pass on this Antarctic ship of fools the cognitive dissonance between their delusions and reality must be increasing rapidly. It will be interesting to see if the herd instinct is able to preserve their faith or will some of them more or less flip out and literally go bonkers. See eg http://www.theguardian.com/science/antarctica-live/video/2013/dec/30/antarctica-live-video-diary-trapped-ice-missing-milkshake-video
“I wonder how much volume their sewage holding tanks can hold, and whether they’re going to have to start dumping straight into the ocean”.
They would get frostbitten a***s to add to there woes!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Sam-I-am
Hope local penguins keep their green eggs and ham.
I dunno, I suppose Google or the NSA might know, we might have to do something about rescuing them…when they start trying to look up the nutritional content of ‘Alok Jha’.
Question:
What do you call a ship load of trapped Global Cooling Deniers who are in danger of freezing to death?
Answer:
A good start!
While the ship’s brochure points out that “Views are excellent from the large, open decks and the Navigation Bridge’” maybe they couldn’t see the ice coming from the vantage point of the “Lounge and bar, open late afternoon and evening with a wide selection of wines and spirits” (an essential feature of all scientific research vessels).
This is just the start of the Southern Hemisphere doom…
http://climatesanity.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/time-to-recognize-approaching-southern-hemisphere-disaster/
Let’s hope they all get out safely, otherwise we won’t be able to continue splitting our sides over their idiotic antics.
Coming on BBC, or perhaps the NatGeo Channel – ‘Looking for the Antarctic Riviera’.
On the BBC radio news this afternoon, apparently they are sending helicopters to pick up the crew and passengers, the inference being that the ice is starting to crush the hull.
One question I would like an answer to is how did the icebreaker that went to rescue them only get to seven miles from them? Presumably they would have plotted the shortest ice-free route, there must be at least 49 square miles of ice several yards thick!! This would imply that the temperature must have dropped substantially to create this amount of ice. This temperature drop has not been mentioned in any of the reports I have read/heard.
It’s interesting to note that its the peak of summer down there and the ice is increasing not receeding. Maybe they should start studying Gobal Cooling!
@Geoff Chambers – true, but doubly true if things turn worse and some helo crew dies trying to get them out.
Advice to expedition leader Chris Turkey: whatever you do, don’t go for an outdoor pee
[snip – this Youtube video is pointless -mod]
When interviewed a few days ago Turney said they had two weeks of food before they had to go to rations.
If I was a penguin I’d move away. After a few weeks grilled penguin will start looking nice even to a greenie.
Thanks for that Dr Norman Page and …
Guardian video producer Laurence Topham posts a short diary account of how he and his colleague Alok Jha are passing the time on board the Akademik Shokalskiy, which is trapped in heavy sea ice off the coast of Antarctica awaiting rescue by the Autralian icebreaker Aurora Australis
Reminiscent of Sgt. Pinback’s video logs on Dark Star!
I do not like the men on this spaceship. They are uncouth and fail to appreciate my better qualities. I have something of value to contribute to this mission if they would only recognize it. Today over lunch I tried to improve morale and build a sense of camaraderie among the men by holding a humorous, round-robin discussion of the early days of the mission. My overtures were brutally rejected. These men do not want a happy ship. They are deeply sick and try to compensate by making me feel miserable. Last week was my birthday. Nobody even said “happy birthday” to me. Someday this tape will be played and then they’ll feel sorry.
“It’s fantastic – I love it when the ice wins and we don’t,” said expedition marine ecologist Tracy Rogers. “It reminds you that as humans, we don’t control everything and that the natural world – it’s the winner here. We’ve got several penguins watching us, thinking ‘what the hell are you doing stuck in our ice?’. The sky is a beautiful grey – it looks like it wants to have a bit of a snow. It’s the perfect Christmas, really.”
I love it when nature wins too. But, unfortunately, she still has a way to go to beat these jokers arrogance.
http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25519059
Assuming temperature symmetry between the hemispheres, I’m wondering what implications this might have on Arctic ice growth this coming summer.
Are we seeing ice expansion in the Antarctic in December?? Wouldn’t that be unprecedented?
Geoff -if anything happens to them I’ll start a one-man shaming campaign against UEA who are after all morally responsible for much of the alarmism
Too bad the ‘Mighty Mac, is no longer in service. Built in 1944, the Coast Guard Cutter Mackinaw broke ice across the Great Lakes until its retirement in 2006, and a formidable but friendly beast it was. At 290 feet long it had a substantial girth of 74 feet with which to clear lanes through the ice on Lake Superior, Michigan, and others, so the massive ore ships could get through. It used no less than six 10 cylinder Fairbanks Morse Diesel engines. These 2 cycle Diesel engines used 2 opposed pistons in each cylinder, each operating a crankshaft throw at both the top and bottom of each engine; the two crankshafts geared together. Each pair of engines was in its own watertight compartment, and each pair produced 3,500 hp: total power; 10,500. The engines turned generators and the three propellers (two stern, one bow) were driven by electric motors. Among the icebreakers on the Lakes the most capable ones had bow propellers and the Mighty Mac had one. The bow propeller could be used, in reverse to make a pressure wave to break up forward ice, or, to assist the ship in its forward motion. With a top, open water speed of a respectable 18.7 knots it’s even possible the Mighty Mac could get through the St. Lawrence Seaway and down to Antarctica in time to rescue these foolish, hubris infected, irresponsible people. A testimony to its capabilities was its continuous 62 years of wintertime service on the Great Lakes, one of which was considered threatening enough to inspire Gordon Lightfood’s lyrics; “Superior it’s said, never gives up her dead.”
I wonder if that picture of the folks holding the flag with “theguardian” printed over a map of Antarctica explains this…
http://climatesanity.wordpress.com/2013/12/29/the-guardian-removes-my-simple-comment/
Michael Ronayne says:
December 30, 2013 at 10:47 am
Question:
What do you call a ship load of trapped Global Cooling Deniers who are in danger of freezing to death?
Answer:
A good start!
_______________________________
Q: What do you need if you find a shipload of Climate Numpties, stuck in the ice?
A: More ice.
The Antarctic does not suffer fools easily. The conditions there can change so quickly and are never less than deadly. These happy idiots are a liability and have achieved a very high nuisance value. Some other poor coot will have to put his life at risk to get them out of their ill-conceived, ill-planned and ill-informed predicament. At least they have plenty of ice for the drinks, while the bar has supplies.
Reblogged this on Public Secrets and commented:
The climate change movement is falling apart and ending in farce, as this “scientific expedition” shows. BTW, click through for photos of ships sunk in the Antarctic in recent years. Maybe we should worry about the ecological damage incompetent visitors are doing.
Good post…I was going to write up something in those lines but this says it all. This is Spring Break by some who never grew up. They think they’re so cool and hip, when actually they’ve made a mockery of the scientific industry. They took a 50 million dollar vessel and are now on the verge of trashing it like out-of-control brats at a Project X party.
“The @GdnAntarctica winter men’s clothing catalogue has just arrived …”
But it’s summer down there!
This must have been the best entertainment that Penguins and Seals have seen in a long time.
Too foggy today for the one helicopter from the Xue Lang – which cannot land on the deck of the Aurora Australis. They may have to wait another day or two. The cost of the rescue is expected to be in the “multi-millions” by SMH. Looks like a skeleton crew of 17 will be left on board after the tourists/pilgrims are taken off.
“When the rescue does take place, Shokolskiy passengers would likely be taken by the Xue Long’s helicopter to the Chinese icebreaker. The Aurora’s barge would then move passengers from the Xue Long to the Australian icebreaker”. — SMH.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/akademik-shokolskiy-rescue-delayed-by-bad-weather-20131231-303i3.html#ixzz2ozG3fT2H
Had a quick glance at SkS to see how they were dealing with it. Wonderful – a cartoon of a ship sailing towards an iceberg, followed by all is well, no problem, the iceberg has melted! How not apposite! Congratulations, SkS on your impeccable timing! Yes I know it was meant to be the Arctic Ocean – you know, the one that became completely ice-free this year, but even so …
Mark Steyn is sitting in for brother Rush today, and he was concerned they might be stuck in the ice for years, especially if our efforts at preventing global warming begin to take effect. What would they do for food? Who would be the first on the menu? The tourists, the Gruniad reporters, or the climate scientists?
The R.S. Donner Passkiya.
The Chinese icebreaker is stuck. What are the Chinese doing with an icebreaker? Maybe the Russians will send an icebreaker to free the Australian icebreaker that is on the way to free the Chinese icebreaker that was on the way to free the Russian vessel.
Penguins to warmists:
“Wait a minute. You mean you didn’t bring ‘The Desolation of Smaug’? Then what the hell use are you?”
In his Indiegogo video, Turney says (at about 5:35) that Commonwealth Bay has been badly clogged with sea ice limiting access for the last 3 years. Funny, that is about where they are stuck, off Commonwealth Bay.
They know but they do not understand, their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. They bow down to a block of wood.
From the previous article comments:
Steve McIntyre says:
December 30, 2013 at 9:47 am
Together with Joelle Gergis, Turney was also co-leader of the AUS contribution to the PAGES2K climate reconstruction. Turney was one of the coauthors of Gergis et al, discussed last year at Climate Audit.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/12/29/saving-the-antarctic-scientists-er-media-er-activists-er-tourists-trapped-by-sea-ice/#comment-1517734
You have to read the Spirit of Mawson blog to understand what a bunch of clowns these guys really are.
I liked the reference to collecting a large number of seal blubber samples – how do you do that without killing the seals? These guys are supposed to be greenies, they can’t kill seals.
Anthony
How about WUWT offering a donation towards their rescue?
tonyb
Why is it such a surprise the people who routinely ignore real world observation are stuck in a real world observation. I’m sure their models said the ice wasn’t there
Global Warming Scientists Still Trapped In Record-Level Antarctic Ice http://bit.ly/1bxvuQl
The penguins in the first photo appear to be photoshopped in. I am not sure there would be a bunch of penguins right at the location at which the ship is stuck, unless they were just having a good laugh. (I will look at later pictures for a sad polar bear, just in case the biologists aboard are as competent as the “climate scientists.”)
Rather arrogant for these folks to compare themselves to Douglas Mawson, IMO. Mawson was apparently a rugged guy, but he lost two crew members and nearly died himself. I guess if no one dies in this fiasco, it proves “global warming”. “Global Warming is real and dangerous.” Okay, scratch “dangerous”. “Global Warming is real and a lifesaver!” How’s thar?
This whole laughable affair creates the perfect visual image for the whole AGW movement. A bread crumb trail of icebreakers that can be followed right to the AGW research ship that was looking for evidence of global warming ice loss…
One picture is worth a thousand words.
Has anyone used the joke that they must have been predicting the weather and ice conditions using models rather than real world data? Or that Michael Mann was their forecaster?
On board is a “climate scientist” named – wait for this – Grant Hose!
Really!
From Izvestiya (my translation)
Hope still remains for saving (salvaging) of the Russian ship. American icebreaker “Polar Star” is sailing from Seattle to the Ross Sea, it will be able to reach the “Akademik Shokalski” in about 8-9 days.
( ? ! )
Richard Tol @RichardTol
There has been a strong and statistically significant upward trend in climate-change-related public-relations disasters #spiritofmawson+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Experienced, licensed sailors/captains should not partake in these stunts….I hope all turns out ok but I won’t be surprised if there are injuries and loss of life in the rescue.
There is a wonderful book by Ian McEwan that captures this type of “humorous misadventure” of scientists/activists trying to save the world. It’s called “Solar” and it’s loaded with laugh-out-loud scenes reminiscent of this true life story.
Hopefully they’ll be able to get the passengers of Akademik Shokalskiy to safety.
It’s going to be easy predicting the crisis cruise of 2014. Sea-level rise in the Maldives. What could go wrong on a tropical island?
‘Scientist on trapped Antarctic ship: “Fantastic-I love it when the ice wins & we don’t.” ‘
This says it all. This solitary quote nicely summarizes everything that’s wrong with Al Gore and his global warming crowd. Does it get any more clear that these cretins hate mankind and all of mankind’s heroic accomplishments? They are not worthy of the technology that will rescue them, the heroic men who invented it, or the brave men who will use it to save their lives. They are pathetic fools.
climatereason says: December 30, 2013 at 11:24 am
Anthony, How about WUWT offering a donation towards their rescue?
tonyb
+++++++++++++++++++
Why? Australian search/rescue will take care of it….ground zero until the recent election for climate delusion…..
The farce continues . . . but will Bloody Mess or the Womann named Sue get it? Methinks not.
Wonderful timing, I’m about 75% through reading The Last Place on Earth which compares the race to the South Pole by Amundsen, a savvy polar-experienced Norwegian, with the bungling Scott. A must read book and sooo entertaining to have this happening at the same time.
One message that this little crew has sent loudly and clearly is that they are remarkably confused about the value of things, including their own lives and the lives of those attempting to rescue them.
@tonyb – oh please! Let AL-GORE pay for their rescue of their farce of a stunt, I’m getting stuck with their bills already through increases of our incredibly expensive hydro bills. And the wankers/suppliers of our hydro here in Ontario, Can.. are still strongly shilling for more useless turbines and solar power as well as a plan to increase our costs an additional 45% in the next few years!! Do you not understand that our hydro = mtg/rent costs per month already?? It’s going to be -26C here at nights this week… and you want us to give them more of our money?? Pfft!
If more modern communication systems break down, they can always resort to writing an SOS message in the snow in letters of gold.
Does it get any more clear that these cretins hate mankind and all of mankind’s heroic accomplishments?
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Perhaps in a next life I will be reincarnated not as a killer virus but a harsh sea and ice in the southern ocean that traps and kills global warming propagandists…….
vukcevic suggests: “… don’t go for an outdoor pee.”
Indeed, at those temperatures more shortcomings than just in the field of climatology would be revealed…
This one is still my all time favourite crusading activist gong show…..
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8034027.stm
And the band “continued to play as the crew loaded the lifeboats.” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musicians_of_the_RMS_Titanic
Seems there was a “party” attitude of the ‘upper class’ onboard the Titanic as well.
The background:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/15-million-australian-expedition-to-antarctica/5116158
MinB Scott was hardly a bungler.
This Guardian article hints the ship might not get out, for years: “… caught in the formation of a new area of fast ice, which could stay in place for several years.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/30/antarctic-rescue-mission-fails
In the same position, I would wait until the losing was over before saying that.
This could end poorly. The ship is being squeezed by the ice, and looks to be beginning to list to port (extra starboard side pressure would push it up and caise the post list.) Ice reinforced vessel usually means the bow area against ice flows while under way, not the flanks against a situation like this. Much will now depend on wind and sub ice sea current conditions. Neither condition sounds very good, if two breakers have had to turn back due to ice thickness, wind, and visibility problems as has been reported.
See the Shark – Jump -Wheee!
“Antarctic ship passengers to be evacuated by Chinese helicopter”
The MV Xue Long has only one Ka-32 type helicopter. Rescuing the people will not be easy as it will depend on: weather; skill of the pilot; aircraft performance & condition; and landing zone condition (assuming they can land). The rescue might take some time!
I imagine these “researchers” are waiting passively for rescue while bellied up to the buffet or bar when not tweeting or face booking. Personally I always enjoyed a more active life like rugby and sailing off shore as well as the natural sciences unlike those boys and girls from the guardian http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-PpU8MUbHE
This whole fiasco reminds me a little of 1996 Everest fiasco described in “Into Thin Air”.
CNN is actually moderating (censoring) comments in the articles they have posted:
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/30/world/antarctic-ship-stuck/
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/29/world/antarctica-ship-stuck/
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/28/world/antarctica-ship-stuck/
If you point out the underlining AGW aspects, its will get taken down.
I just don’t get their problem. Didn’t Prince Harry get to the south pole this year and it was like a cake walk, right? Hmmmm… no maybe the Prince had some problems too…. but, but, but it IS summer down there… I just don’t understand…this is a warming planet, right?
@Jerry – what is says is that this individual has grown up within and assumed the supremacy of the modern industrial state that, even as he attempts to prove the need for its demolition, he cannot picture the situation wherein the ice ‘winning’ means his death.
I tried to find the webcam image from the Aurora Australis in the ice, but all I found was a day-old image showing open sea. Have I missed something, or is this just another inconvenient photo that we will never see? http://www.antarctica.gov.au/webcams/aurora
The tone of these articles makes it seem like you’re rooting for these people to drown. They’re in real danger, I hope they get rescued. After they’re safe, I’ll join in making fun of them.
rubberduck says: December 30, 2013 at 12:10 pm
I tried to find the webcam image from the Aurora Australis in the ice……
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Aurora was a potential and now failed rescuer inbound to ice trapped vessel…
Mark says: December 30, 2013 at 12:13 pm
The tone of these articles makes it seem like you’re rooting for these people to drown. They’re in real danger, I hope they get rescued. After they’re safe, I’ll join in making fun of them.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
What a joke. Example? Show me.
Tom J says:
December 30, 2013 at 11:03 am
The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinac sits pier side in sight of the Mackinac Bridge in Mackinaw City, Michigan.
131 South Huron Avenue
Mackinaw City, MI 49701
themackinaw.org
Ode to the lost souls of good ship “Shokalski”
Asleep under heavy dream
profuse with horrific visions
hardly of a choice accessible.
With a fleeting contemplation
of this nightmare they’re freed,
but alas deceived of any hope
in an even darker realm they sunk .
Mark says:
December 30, 2013 at 12:13 pm
The tone of these articles makes it seem like you’re rooting for these people to drown. They’re in real danger, I hope they get rescued. After they’re safe, I’ll join in making fun of them.
____________________________
Maybe a bit, but there has been much said in these threads regarding the safety of the passengers and crew. This has gone on for days and the people aboard the unfortunate Akademik Shokalskiy keep making absurd statements.
A little mirth and merriment is to be expected in response.
Mark – “They’re in real danger”
They are in real danger and they themselves are oblivious to it. They clearly didn’t understand the risks when they set off, nor do they now. Even worse they do not understand the dangerous situation they have put the rescuers in!
While never wishing personal harm on any of them I wonder if this experience will render their accusing pointing fingers less useful.
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/12/30/stuck-in-our-own-experiment-leader-trapped-team-insists-polar-ice-is-melting/
Expedition leader blames climate change for trapping his ship in the remains of iceberg B-15, which apparently is now no more than 10 feet thick. At what point does an iceberg become sea ice?
http://visibleearth.nasa.gov/view.php?id=68999
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg_B-15
A little mirth and merriment is to be expected in response.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Exactly. These morons deserve our most vigorous ridicule AND best efforts at rescue.
Rob Dawg says: December 30, 2013 at 12:31 pm
While never wishing personal harm
_________________________________-
Sorry you’ve been bullied/shamed into thinking criticism of stupidity equals wishing others harm.
Cute? Innocent? They only eat fish? Only when fish is all they have…
When the radio aerials have iced over and no one can hear the screams, then….
…then the penguins will come for them!
They will find a way in. They always do…
As I made mention over on JoNova’s:
I wonder if there is a Mrs Chippy on board this ship? I hope she doesn’t suffer the fate of her predecessor. But then, Turney would need a James Caird to get him off the ice.
Dobes says:
December 30, 2013 at 11:28 am
Why is it such a surprise the people who routinely ignore real world observation are stuck in a real world observation. I’m sure their models said the ice wasn’t there
________________
The models are accurate. Are you implying the ice really exists?
I am concerned about the apparent disconnect between beliefs and reality described above: –
“The Guardian/BBC journalist Alok Jha for example, describes in graphic detail what happened to his hand when he exposed it to the elements outside “to type an email”. His surprise at how quickly he started to lose the use of his hand is absolutely evident. ”
Katabasis – many thanks.
We have – to too great an extent – become urbanites, not really exposed to the weather, even. Changes in climate – the real, outside the port-holes climate, rather than that in the cyber space of the computer models – take time.
Some are cyclic – like daily and annual changes in weather; you now, ice melting in summer.
Like others note, there is a real risk that rescuers’ lives may be put at risk. I imagine flying helicopters in Antarctic snowstorms doesn’t please your life insurer.
Ah, but still – per the BBC: –
“Despite being trapped, the scientists have continued their experiments, measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.”
No word on the BBC/guardian types. Perhaps they’re seeing if taking your hand out of your Plar glove cools it quicker in a thirty-knot wind.
I just hope that all ends well – not least for the rescuers.
Auto
Clay Marley says:
December 30, 2013 at 11:19 am
In his Indiegogo video, Turney says (at about 5:35) that Commonwealth Bay has been badly clogged with sea ice limiting access for the last 3 years. Funny, that is about where they are stuck, off Commonwealth Bay.
They know but they do not understand, their eyes are plastered over so they cannot see, and their minds closed so they cannot understand. They bow down to a block of wood.
———————
Or they knew exactly what they were doing and this is all a big PR stunt – why else would BBC and Guardian journalists be on a scientific research vessel.
When the radio aerials have iced over and no one can hear the screams, then….
+++++++++++++++++++++
In space no one can hear you scream. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alien_(film)
They steered their ship by computer models, not real data.
Plar = Polar.
guardian – Grauniad (although with spell-checkers they’re better now than in the 70s and 80s)
Auto – righting [my] wrongs!
Mark,
No worries. We have it first hand that it’s all “Good Fun”.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25547703
So we’re not laughing at them, we’re laughing with them.
It is obvious they used computer models to figure out what conditions where and then plotted their courses based on those modeled outcomes. They clearly couldn’t be bothered to check real time conditions or actually look out a window or perhaps pull up satellite data. That might have contradicted the computer models and we all know that climate scientists can only rely on computer models and not real verifiable conditions.
“Fantastic-I love it when the ice wins & we don’t.” Revkin will be looking forward to the next ice age then.
So, the Grauniard people are all Snowden, I mean icedin? Wot a shame.
By the way of WUWT straw poll, why are there no Polar bears at the South Pole?
The fact there are no bipolar bears makes me depressed.
Wonder if the insurance policy on the ship covers such nonsense; hull loss due to grand-standing on behalf of fare-paying customers. Come to think of it, this is kind of in the same category as the Italian captain who piloted the Costa Concordia cruise ship into an area he had no business being …
I wonder how long they will laugh when they realise how difficult the rescue will be.
I am sure the rescuers are not having a ball!
“GlynnMhor says:December 30, 2013 at 10:16 am
I wonder how much volume their sewage holding tanks can hold…”
This is a major concern since the organisers and Guardianistas are so full of that stuff already.
Oscar Bajner says:
December 30, 2013 at 12:57 pm
“By the way of WUWT straw poll, why are there no Polar bears at the South Pole?
The fact there are no bipolar bears makes me depressed.
___________________________
a) Polar bears don’t like the taste of Penguins
b) Sea Leopards do like the taste of Polar Bears
Fox News now quotes Turney as saying that “we’re stuck in our own excre. . .” Oops, pardon me! He said, “we’re stuck in our own experiment.” When and where was this experiment defined? Is the protocol posted somewhere? Who told the star-crossed voyagers that they were going to be the subjects in an experiment? Was there informed consent? I see a serious ethical boundary violation here.
Eaten by a voracious species of penguins who died out when they finished off all the south polar bears?
/intended funny
What’s not so funny – these media darlings put countless ships and sailors at risk for their personal narcissism alone. That is not funny. Tens of thousands of dollars squandered, thousands of man hours, wear and tear on ships and men – that isn’t funny.
Alan Robertson says:
December 30, 2013 at 11:09 am
Michael Ronayne says:
December 30, 2013 at 10:47 am
Question:
What do you call a ship load of trapped Global Cooling Deniers who are in danger of freezing to death?
Answer:
A good start!
_______________________________
Q: What do you need if you find a shipload of Climate Numpties, stuck in the ice?
A: More ice.
And some bourbon.
🙂
Auto says:
December 30, 2013 at 12:45 pm
I am concerned about the apparent disconnect between beliefs and reality described above: –
_________________
A wise man in the Arctic once said (an I assume this can be applied as well to the Antarctic), “You loose engine heat…now you have a problem”.
People are realizing that there’s no real science being done on this trip… ?
I dunno. Seems like they are finding out (or confirming) just how stupid nominally intelligent humans can be.
Seriously, by all accounts, isn’t the Antarctic gaining ice?
Why go there to show a loss of ice?
Just wondering.
Like others note, there is a real risk that rescuers’ lives may be put at risk. I imagine flying helicopters in Antarctic snowstorms doesn’t please your life insurer.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Typical rescues in the southern ocean involve small private sailing vessels or same in round the world yacht races. Misfortunate due to seas/weather aside, these sailing craft are usually skippered by experienced amateur/professionals skippers.
Here we have a bunch of global warming enthusiasts on new years holiday in the Antarctic. Next year mommy and daddy should be firm/resolute and put there foot down for English Harbor.
Being so close to the south pole, I hope they don’t get Polaroids from sitting about on all that ice!
Mike McMillan says: @ December 30, 2013 at 11:17 am
…
The Chinese icebreaker is stuck. What are the Chinese doing with an icebreaker? Maybe the Russians will send an icebreaker to free the Australian icebreaker that is on the way to free the Chinese icebreaker that was on the way to free the Russian vessel.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
No it is the US ship Polar Star sent to free the Australian icebreaker sent to free the Snow Dragon sent to free SS CAGW.
Now all we need is Elmer to sing it to the tune of ‘The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly’ but we can settle for If We Had Some Global Warming until he gets it recorded and up on M4GW
Where can I sign the petition to DEMAND that the Polar Ice frees the Antarctic 72.
Thank you WUWT contributors for giving me so much laughter. It is amazing how much comedic talent there is out there in blogland. The one with the comments by the Chinese crew had me in tears.
But when this little escapade into the melting ice of the great South land, rapidly turning into a real life drama, is all over and the public start asking some questions like “why is there so much ice down there?” what is the CAGW party line going to be? My latest betting market is:
Global warming is causing record sea ice because:
6-4 Melting fresh water from the Antarctic continent is freezing quicker than salt water.
5-2 Increased snowfalls with melting fresh water run off which has the same effect.
3-1 A change in global wind patterns is pushing the ice around.
7-2 A change in global cold water currents have all concentrated in Antarctica?
9-2 The Ozone Hole is getting bigger.
9-2 The Ozone Hole is getting smaller.
9-2 Increased ocean acidity.
9-2 Decreased ocean acidity.
5-1 Any combination of three of the above.
8-1 Any combination of two of the above.
10-1 You name it.
Yet another reason to be a believer, free cruises
Nobody wants these people to perish.
However, it would be just to have them endure some financial pain by being made personally liable for covering a part of the huge cost of their rescue.
The balance should come from the deep pockets of the groups that organized this fiasco.
It would be unjust to have the cost born by people who need to buy insurance for legitimate activities.
In 100 years, they’ll have another cruise to Commonwealth Bay to celebrate to “The Disastrous Turney Expedition of 2013-14”.
Compare the current 3 metre (10 foot thick ice) to a high quality video clip of the Mawson expedition landing in Commonwealth Bay on January 7, 1912.
http://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/antarctic-pioneers/clip2/
This brings up a question: Will they be charged for the cost of this rescue?
Fuel, extra manpower costs, food, including a daily ‘overhead rate’ to cover the costs a rescue ship at sea incurs (maintenance escrow fund, insurance on the hull, utilities like sat comms etc)
First we have climate scientists on a scient…er PR cruise stuck in ice.
Now we have an arsonist setting himself on fire!
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/trending-now/arsonist-lights-self-on-fire-trying-to-burn-down-store-192237490.html
The gods of irony have started partying early this year.
David Ball says:
December 30, 2013 at 10:24 am
——————————————-
Too late. The Australian Taxpayer is already footing the bill for both the original expedition and all three rescue attempts.
Prince Harry (one of the family despised by the Left) walked all the way to the Pole. These guys couldnt even raise the idea of walking 6 miles to the other icebreaker. So they just spent the good weather taking photos and waiting for the helicopter to take them where?? Another icebreaker?
Nobody can find the “missing” heat from the climate but this group has found the “disappearing” Antarctic ice.
This fiasco reminds me of a South Park episode (32nd – “Rainforest Schmainforest”), where a choir goes on an environmentalist tour in the Costa Rican rainforest. The objectives of the tour are, of course, to encourage awareness of nature’s frailty and to discourage its destruction by evil human interests. But the tour turns into a fiasco when the group leader gets eaten by a coral snake, the group gets lost, runs into guerilla rebels and then gets captured by hostile natives only to be rescued by construction workers who had been tearing down trees.
Mark says:
December 30, 2013 at 12:13 pm
The tone of these articles makes it seem like you’re rooting for these people to drown. They’re in real danger, I hope they get rescued. After they’re safe, I’ll join in making fun of them.
————
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25547703
Seems like now is the perfect opportunity for a teachable moment.
No main stream media has reported how Antarctic sea ice levels are at historicly high levels.
The average PBS NYT reader doesnt have a clue whats happening with sea ice.
Perhaps some respected skeptics could do press releases.
Instead of twittering the whole day, they should spare the time and read “The Home of the Blizzard”
Quite an interesting book…understanding it might help them…
OMG ‘The Old Lady Who Swallowed the Fly’ – GOOD IDEA … I haven’t laughed so hard for days! That was funny Gail!
.
.
Muppet version
Leaving a crew of 18 will mean the supplies hold out longer, as will the space in the holding tank.
http://notrickszone.com/2013/12/30/russian-itar-tass-global-warming-boatpeople-to-be-air-lifted-from-sea-ice-surrounded-akademik-shokalskiy/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
#ClitanicDisaster
I parsed that incorrectly on first reading and was seriously worried. Too many of the wrong kind of movies and pictures I guess.
Morale is good…enforced gaiety, like happy clapping etc. It’s mostly spin. These passengers need to get off this ship, & it’s entirely weather dependent. It’s not a positive situation, & they cannot at this stage afford to have anything else go wrong.
How big is the bar on that ‘party barge’? Only the quartermaster (or seaman equiv) knows how well stocked it was …
.
Way back in this thread I suggested WUWT should make a donation towards their rescue. I was joking of course, but just consider the impact of the BBC/Guardian being bailed out (pun intended) by their nemesis WUWT.
tonyb
mkelly
December 30, 2013 at 12:21 pm
Tom J says:
December 30, 2013 at 11:03 am
‘The Coast Guard Cutter Mackinac sits pier side in sight of the Mackinac Bridge in Mackinaw City, Michigan.
131 South Huron Avenue
Mackinaw City, MI 49701
themackinaw.org’
Yes, and it’s now open as a museum; a perhaps fitting retirement for a well regarded workhorse and savior on the lakes. I’d love to visit it someday.
Thanks
Well I hope they’ll be buying carbon credits to make up for the CO2 ‘pollution’ from the rescuing ice breakers and the helicopter that will be picking them up. Let’s see if they put their money where their mouths are and expose them for the hypocrites they are.
Media ‘hub’ or media ‘tub’? (Eyes are seeing one thing, the brain another …) It’s not quite clear from what I’ve read so WHAT their purpose down there was!
.
Stuck in the ice, too much ice… http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531159/Antarctic-crew-build-ice-helipad-help-rescuers.html
In this meme, I thought I would pass along a little tid bit I picked up while watching a doco on SBS Australia about the sun. Sunday 30 December 2013 8:30-9:30 pm Qld time.
They did the usual things on how they think the sun works etc, then in the last 5 minutes of the show, they talked about how the solar minimum caused the little ice age in England. Then said more or less, that scientists know so little about the sun, they just don’t know how much effect it has on our weather.
Why is this important? Well, usually they start to throw doco’s out a couple of years before they bring it into the “public” forums.
So my simple predictions is, they will still say CO2 is the problem, but it is now exacerbated by the solar maxim / minimum. The CO2 will cause increased heat when the solar maximum is happening, and we will have excess ice buildup when the solar minimum happens.
Hey Anthony, as you seem to be a good writer (far better than I could put out by miles), perhaps you should look at doing parody article to show this is what they will come up with, in say about 18 months, then we can all go back, have a reread and laugh at their stupidity and gullibility.
The Infidel
@Mark
‘The tone of these articles makes it seem like you’re rooting for these people to drown. They’re in real danger, I hope they get rescued. After they’re safe, I’ll join in making fun of them.’
I think people are laughing in the same way they laugh at the Black Knight in Monty Python. ‘Come back its only a scratch’
It’s a sort of ‘does this guy have any connection with reality’ type of laugh
I hope they get out. but that does not stop me shaking my head in disbelief. and laughing in disbelief
Is this finally just-ice for the warmest hoaxers?
Rob Gappa says: December 30, 2013 at 10:51 am
It’s interesting to note that its the peak of summer down there and the ice is increasing not receeding. Maybe they should start studying Gobal Cooling!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
That’s a scary thought. Before you know it there’ll be a new consensus with all 97% accounted for, and full scale junk science around it, and sorry to inform you – no room for you or any real scientist. The next IPCC will be full of nitrogen capturing plants and nitrogen tax incentives. Basically same bullshit – different pile.
You did say Global Warming, didn’t you?
If they were smart they would claim victory.
Don’t underestimate them. They have written many press releases, and they know that “There is no danger” really means “run for dear life”.
With ice 4 meters thick, even if the ship sinks, they may camp on ice for quite a while. But they would miss a well supplied bar.
rubberduck says:
December 30, 2013 at 12:10 pm
Refresh button will fix that.
Yes, running low on the passengers’ fave distilled spirits and having to re-watch the same DVDs spells disaster for any cruise director ..
.
All this trip to the Antarctic demonstrates is the mentality of those involved in the promotion of the Climate Change (Global Warming). They are in a dangerous position yet do not realise it. How many gallons of fuel has been used in this trip? Answer: heaps but that doesn’t matter!.
Video footage of the Aurora Australis ice-breaker trying to make break through the ice. Didn’t take long to figure out the ice was too thick.
From the Sydney Morning Herald.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/aurora-australis-abandons-attempt-to-save-akademik-shokalskiy-in-antarctica-20131230-302na.html
What is the freezing point of Vodka? Drinking it at that temperature is another thing, of course …
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_freezing_point_of_vodka?#slide=1
.
To be serious for a change, I would like to say I hope nobody is injured or killed in this avoidable fiasco.
I think they have vastly underestimated the real danger they are in. If the ship is crushed by ice are they equipped to survive on the ice and for how long?
Helicopter rescue in this location is extremely risky for the casualties and even more so for the rescue crew who will have to make a number of trips – probably in conditions beyond the specification of the helicopter and impossible if the weather closes in.
Yes, it is ironic and funny but I can see tragedy looming soon, I hope I am wrong and they get out safely.
Yes, we can joke about the situation, but not wish harm. Can I suggest we all take care with our comments on this one (I include myself).
So, no assets any where near to save Amb. Stevens and the C.I.A. guys in Bengazie.
So, the Polar Snow job ice breaker is on the way already under orders from King Obama another true tax and spend Climate Chage , EPA bossman.
Safe bet the msm will not ask their king any questions on the problem of the ice being thick as he tells U.S. to send our tax money (lives) to him for the CO2 fear problem.
It is my considered opinion we sane ones will have to take control of our on ship “U.S.A.” aka take the helm as for sure these marxist mad cows will take U.S. all to an ice bound state with no food or supplies to live on with.
They are a clear and present danger to themselves and the rest of mankind.
Only fate can help them now, and our prayers.
ps,
The sun, the wind, the cold, the ice do not know they exist.
They have drawn a pair of two’s.
Fate has 4 Aces with a King of spades to spare.
Thus they own this, the ones who chose this path of known ice and cold.
Personal Responsibility is real.
Yes, it would be good for them to get out of this and never live it down, but I would like to see them run out of alcohol and coffee and be down to dry food reserves – something to pick them up and shake them because no one else and nothing else is slapping them upside the head.
Apart from the crew itself, these people are children living dangerously with no adult supervision, and they will play up again and again and again until they bump up against something unforgiving. They treat this as a joke with no thought for cost or inconvenience to anyone else.
Pay for it? Them? Do you really think so? They’ll go back home and laugh about how much fun it was to ride in the helicopter.
Is good mother Earth the only one to show backbone?
As I recall the freezing point of muscadine wine is a bit below zero. I always wanted some Duplin Carolina Red popsicles, then I keep forgetting about it in winter. Muscadine wine & persimmon beer absolutely won’t cause memory loss…. but I mis-remember why…
with advanced tools at their disposal (that Mawson never had) such as near real-time satellite imaging of Antarctic sea ice, GPS navigation, on-board Internet, radar, and satellite communications, one wonders how these folks managed to get themselves stuck at all.
__________________________________________
They are stuck for the same reason that london Heathrow had to close due to snow – they believed their own propaganda.
With Heathrow, no manager could justify buying new snow-clearing equipment, when the BBC said the climate would warm by 6 degrees in 15 years. likewise, the scientist convinced the crew that the ice just had to be melting and rotten. So Heathrow got caught in a blizzard, and the ship got stuck. Propaganda, is a very dangerous thing, because people start living in a parallel universe.
Incidentally, Sky and BBC reported the ship being stuck, but did not mention that it was on a Climate Research mission. They rather implied that is was merely a holiday cruise. That, is the level of propaganda we are still living under.
Ralph
They went down there to increase awareness of climate change. After years of obsession on the Arctic, they have finally broken the conspiracy of silence on what is happening at the other end of the planet.
No matter how they try to spin it, they’re going to look pretty stupid if they claim they got stuck in ice so thick that ice breakers turned back, but that this is due to ‘global warming’.
Whenever I explain to anyone that Antarctic ice is growing they look at me in amazement and ask me to repeat it to make sure I said what they thought they heard.
They’ve probably brought more attention in one week to the real state of climate in the Antarctic, than WUWT has done in two years.
The AAE mission has already attained it’s objective of increasing awareness of climate change.
Good on ’em.
The agitators are expendable; thousands like them have been bred at journalism school and climate change courses at universities.
I hope, though, that the sailors get through unscathed. I am also optimistic that they know best about the dangers.
Questions:
Did they (ship/party goers) purchase carbon credits/offsets prior to this incident?
How much fuel and hydraulic oil does the ship hold? I assume that it is not wind powered.
How much sewage does this vessel hold and is it discharged at sea?
Although this is a Russian flagged vessel, who are the real owners and in what port does it typically reside?
Does this expedition have a name?
How about:
“Icecapades”
(No. Probably a copy-write thing.)
“For Whom the Swell Froze”
“To There And Not Back Again, An Alarmist Tale”
“The Longest Day”
“Ice-Nado!”
No, no. no!
I’ve been to the Grauniad website and the reason the ice sneaked up on them is that it fell off the landmass.
You see the missing heat is attracted to the Antarctic landmass and that is causing the icecap to flow into the Ocean.
Not got why that happens, yet – but it I’m told it’s true.
My worry is how did the Captain fall for that sneaky icecap’s trick? Was he paid by Big Oil?
This expedition to boldly go where no man has gone (before the 1900s) was funded by the Australian Government and they are all evil, coal-mongering empiricists, don’t you know.
Perhaps they should leaf through Shackelton’s story of the loss of the Endurance, and how he saved his crew dragging long boats across the ice and sailing across stormy antarctic seas to South Georgia? In other words,
Save yourselves!!!
I suspect one aspect of the “good morale” and “party on” YouTube postings are to try to delude themselves into not facing the hazards of their situation. And likely also reassure the folks at home that things are fine, that it’s just an inconvenience.
If they’re not going to be realistic, I’m not sure we need be so ourselves. However, it’s worth anticipating the events the boat people have not.
Suppose the wind shifts and the ice begins to break up, there was excitement a couple days ago when some cracks appeared in the ice. However, would this lead to kilometer size chunks of ice running into each other – and the boat?
I have no experience with trapped boats, but I bet this a real concern and one reason why the so want ice breaker assistance to get out of there.
With software companies, there’s a term called “eating your own dog food” which means that you use your own products. This is normally done to promote the quality of your products. Looks like when alarmists eat their own dog food, it can cost them their lives and the lives of others trying to rescue them. Yet, they seem to be oblivious to the dangers that they represent. I hope everyone makes it back, but why do they have to seem so oblivious to what is going on around them? Oh wait, I think I just answered my own question.
JohnWho says: December 30, 2013 at 1:04 pm
Seriously, by all accounts, isn’t the Antarctic gaining ice?
Why go there to show a loss of ice?
__________________________________
Again, they might not have known this. the propaganda is so great that when i spoke to a professional weatherman, he did NOT know that Antarctic ice has been increasing for years. He believed the propaganda, which said that the ice was in full retreat, and did not read the small-print, which said this retreat was only on the Antarctic Peninsular.
So the whole mission may have been organised upon a complete misunderstanding of reality.
ralph
BBC World News reported 3 rescue ships failed rescue due to poor weather conditions.
No mention they were ice breakers unable to break the ice.
@ P Gosselin says:
December 30, 2013 at 11:11 am
Good post…I was going to write up something in those lines but this says it all. This is Spring Break by some who never grew up. They think they’re so cool and hip, when actually they’ve made a mockery of the scientific industry. They took a 50 million dollar vessel and are now on the verge of trashing it like out-of-control brats at a Project X party.
————————
Actually, I think they are trashing their own movement with this stunt gone wrong. They are doing more damage to the AGW meme then they can know at this point. I don’t wish anything bad to happen, but the more chaotic this situation becomes – the better for for its exposure/impact value in torpedoing the AGW cult movement.
Its becoming a internet joke – a global warming research group stuck in an ice field they didn’t believe existed – too funny :o)
I think the real story here is how biased the MSM is. They are utilising every available method to now avoid using the word ‘climate’ in the reports. It is just a ‘Russian ship’ trapped in the ice. Yet the BBC and Guardian have 5 reporters involved (yes wherever there is a BBC ‘climate change’ reporter a Guardian ‘climate change’ reporter is sure to be attached). Here is the media list
http://www.spiritofmawson.com/aae-media/
Who the hell is paying their salaries for this ‘jolly’ for the BBC reporters to be aboard and make every effort to not do their job and report the facts now it has gone wrong and the truth is inconvenient. Questions need to be asked in parliament the bias is so blatant and the licence fee and taxpayer is paying for these liars.
Last attempt to “raise awareness” did not end too well either.
http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2013/aug/19/charity-trekker-froze-death-greenland-storm
Philip Goodeve-Docker, 31, was trapped in a tent in 160mph (260km/h) winds and -70C temperatures after the storm struck two days into a 30-day, 400-mile (640km) unsupported trek across the Greenland ice cap in April.
silver ralph says:
December 30, 2013 at 2:57 pm
So the whole mission may have been organised upon a complete misunderstanding of reality.
__________________________________
This is probably the most stupid thing I’ve ever heard. Not your statement. But the fact that it may actually turn out to be true. Just unbelievable.
Correction, 5 media reporters including BBC and Guardian journalists.
Costa Climordia?
Clitanic?
Green Submarine?
Argo Not?
Frozeidon?
Das Woot?
Mary Frose?
Mismarck?
Santa Myass?
USS Enterice?
Park Royal?
Fluenose?
Britannice?
@gunga din How about Antarctic Algorithm?
john says:
December 30, 2013 at 2:44 pm
Questions:
One more question, Does Lloyds of London insure the boat?
http://www.hawaiifreepress.com/ArticlesMain/tabid/56/ID/11177/Lloyds-of-London-Lawsuit-Reveals-Story-Behind-Kahuku-Windfarm-Fires.aspx
Finnish artic expertise at its best! (Akademik Shokalskiy – built in Finland, Aurora Australis – designed in Finland) Nice continuation to our legacy (Lindblad Explorer – also built in Finland).
Breaking News:
Climate refugees from the ice trapped Akademik Shokalskiy to be offered asylum in Maldives.
This is a classic case of the leaders of a hazardous but successful expedition often being regarded as heroes (who triumphed over adversity), and the leaders of a failed hazardous expedition being called “foolish” or worse.
There are guidelines that help to ensure a successful expedition :-
1) Have a backup plan, in case the original plan fails. .. eg. Use 2 or more vehicles (or ships) in case the primary vehicle breaks down or gets stuck.
2) Advise authorities (and others) of your intentions so that they can be forewarned of any possible rescue attempts, and remember to tell them when you have returned safely.
3) Do not have a firm timetable. If you *have to get to a certain place by a certain day or a certain time you could easily be tempted to “cut corners” and take unwise risks that may be beyond the skills and abilities of all the party members.
4) Be prepared to turn around and return to safety in case you encounter conditions that are beyond the party’s skills and abilities, and there are no alternative routes.
5) Ensure that all vehicles and equipment items are suitable for the conditions that you can expect to encounter.
6) Ensure that all drivers and operators of equipment have the necessary skills and experience.
7) Be aware of weather forecasts, and other conditions that would affect the expedition, such as the state of roads, tracks, sea, ice, etc.
8) Any other points that are specific to your expedition, such as wearing suitable clothing and taking the necessary safety or rescue equipment.
“Trenberth’s missing heat? Nope, not down here!”
“The dedicated polar mission finds the region now to be dumping over 150 cubic km of ice into the sea every year. It equates to a 15% increase in West Antarctica’s contribution to global sea level rise.”
i.e. 35 cubic miles.
There are icebergs bigger than that.
GlynnMhor says: December 30, 2013 at 10:16 am
I wonder how much volume their sewage holding tanks can hold, and whether they’re going to have to start dumping straight into the ocean.
The way this ship is listing and raised, I wonder how their water intake line is doing. Don’t believe those marine engines work to well with out cooling water.
Also from the first report, why didn’t they know who to call for rescue?
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).
Seems appropriate:
http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/30/hypothermia-exmoor-bicycle-ride
re: Mark says: December 30, 2013 at 12:13 pm
I don’t agree about the tone of the articles and find not the least wrong with having a bit of fun at the expense of those being so silly about anthropogenic global warming. That said, I do hope they get rescued safely – but would be happy if it occurs AFTER they’ve had a few days on “rations” or better yet, without food or at least with a bit of serious hardship. Again, I wouldn’t wish any actual harm on any of them, but they could sure stand to learn a lesson from this, particularly considering the risk to others lives and the expenses involved in rescuing them from their own foolishness.
There is quite a few things wrong with Chris Turney’s assessment of the ice-pack that has the vessel stranded.
Turney states that it’s old multi-year ice that has them stuck, while the skipper of the Aurora says its a mixture of both one year, and older ice mixed.
Then Turney wants to blame a glacier that broke off a few years ago, but we can view imagery of the glacier hes talking about and that looks like its still fairly intact, not melted or broken up like he suggests.
Also, the extent of the glacier that was left after a good portion broke off, is currently still larger than the measurements made of it by Mawson a century ago.
These guys will go to any length to make up crap.
“Clitanic” sounds rather suggestive, does it not?
We’ll all be on Santa’s naughty list if we keep going in that direction.
Jo Nova has a good post up.
The media is the story here, they are trying so hard to avoid reporting these simple facts, that they are doing full blown comedy.
Tap dancing away form the facts, its a tourist vessel , not a propaganda voyage ,sponsored by amongst others, the media, Updates are slow to come, yet the vessel is stuffed with presstitutes.
It is summer in the south, yet the ice is building around their trapped employees.
The head of the “Expedition”, has a business premised on the belief that CO2 emissions are bad, yet is allowing all kinds of fuel to be burnt, to save his sorry self.
This situation writes itself for a competent investigative journalist, the irony has saturated.
The worlds ice is melting, yet it has now stopped all rescue attempts.
2013 is ending on a comedic note.
Happy New Year.
The most remarkable thing: They actually believe their own drivel.
http://www.bisbos.com/images/hubris_in_ice.jpg
Image: Research Ship “Hubris” trapped in cherry-picked ice. Transcript of first distress message: “Research ship Hubris trapped by icy representation of Nature’s indifference to climate models STOP Lack of proper planning caused by pompous certainty in own predictions STOP Microcosm of current state of climate research STOP”
From the ships log:
“Day 12: Invented new Reality TV show “I’m a serious climate scientist – get me out of here!”
“Day 27: Still no sign of polar bears. Obviously all died out due to climate change. Had planned to have a team clean the ships solar panels, but there aren’t any. Now burning penguins to keep warm.”
“Day 35: Situation critical – power limited to 23 hours a day – scientists unable to continually send out Tweets/upload videos to YouTube from our white hell. Made a snowman!”
“Day 42: Moral low. Cheered us all up by playing our favourite game “Hide the Decline”, and planning our glorious return, lecture tours, Sunday magazine articles, glossy illustrated books, multimedia press packs, documentary series, Nobel Prize acceptance speeches, and our next major scientific expedition – surfing to the North Pole.”
Hot under the collar says at December 30, 2013 at 3:01 pm
…. Hear, Hear.
Spot on.
I really think this has a lot longer legs than Climategate did. It’s reaching a huge amount of people and a lot of news sites aren’t too sympathetic to their plight and are spelling out the irony of the whole fiasco. It will only get worse if there are accidents during the transfer or if the ship sinks.
This is one turd that can’t be made shiny, no matter how much spin the shysters try and put on it.
I was talking to a near-neighbour about the predicament of this ice-bound vessel when I discovered that he, too, was a WUWT reader and has been following this story. He’s a retired Royal Navy Commander, he served in their ‘Silent Service’ ( the subs). He has been to where the ice is, many times. He knows it only too well.
He reckoned that a sustained wind of 6 knots or more for a day, bearing on the side of the trapped vessel, would ensure that the ice will ‘compromise the integrity of the ship’s hull’. In other words, crush it. He compares 20 miles of moving 10-foot thick ice to a mountain moving a foot a day. Nothing man has ever constructed can resist it. He is most certainly not sanguine about the survival prospects of the trapped vessel if the weather turns.
Those on the trapped vessel should be worried. Very worried.
Looks as though Dr. David Barber told them not to worry about satellite observations of growing sea ice; the ice was rotten and duping the satellites.
I hope he is on board to see just how rotten it is.
Mawson and his crew travelled inland over 300 miles on dog sled. He lost 2 of his 3 companions and returned almost 3 months later only to find the steamship Aurora had left the bay and he would have to spend another winter in Antarctica.
From http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/history/2012/01/the-most-terrible-polar-exploration-ever-douglas-mawsons-antarctic-journey/
They don’t make them like that anymore.
Hi Guys,
seems nobodoy knows where the missing heat went to. But I know it! It’s here in Germany. Fifteen degrees C plus! Some flowers are starting to bloom.
And I checked the facts: The winds are comming from the south. Last year we run out of firewood in January, so I built a new shed for more stock – but in vain: I dont need it this winter.
My father, an experienced gardener, knows why it’s so warm: It’s because of the earthworms. They don’t like to go go down in the ground and stay short below surface. So the winter can’t come. They infected even the moles, so i see a lot of heaps on the lawn.
Seems those animals are disturbed by global change. And because of them a lot if polar ships got stuck. Welcome to Germany, the land of the real global warming. Come here and feel warm!
Great. More than 200 tons of fuel oil looks destined to be added to the already growing list of pollution.
http://www.bisbos.com/images/everything_we_know.jpg
“Day 63: Make new banner to sum up all the scientific findings from the expedition so far”.
The whole charade is obviously science fiction (after all, this is the 21st century…). One beloved academic definition of SF being that it consists in the “literalization of metaphor”. This is the Ship of Fools made flesh, or metal, or whatever.
Can we already nominate these pinheads, er, climate scientists, for the Darwin Awards? Or do we have to wait until the shoggoths have shambled down from the Mountains of Madness to snack on them?
Would that be the SkS Hubris by any chance?
.
On the second photo down with the Guardian banner I see mention of the activists being greeted by Adelie penguins. Global warming is causing real problems for the birds. We must act now to stop that endless fast ice around ALL of Antarctica! Sheesh! Fast ice – problem, pack ice – global warming, record Antarctic sea ice extent – global warming, any low Antarctic sea ice extent – global warming, average extent – global warming / disruptivity and so on………………………….
Warmists have done more environmental / biological damage to Antarctica than all the fossil fuel companies combined. Tagged penguins lose streamlined swimming skills to hunt for food, sunken boats leaking fuel and toxins into the pristine waters, garbage, human disease introduction, sewage, divers interfering with deep sea life, animal pathogens being introduced to wildlife via equipment, boots and clothing, rusting metal from sunken ships disturbing Mother Gaia deep biochemical processes and so on……………………………STAY AWAY.
PS Earlier this year there was a paper that found DOUBLE the number of Emperor Penguins than previously thought. It’s been a good year for sceptics.
Best I can find about the Akademik Shokalskiy is that it is owned and operated by Quark Expeditions which is part of TUI travel. Quark expeditions provides tours in both the Arctic and Antarctic regions. I haven’t found any names for an insurance underwriter.
This tour sound about as scientific as my trip this morning that demonstrated the urban heat island effect. -15 F at home, -6 F at the airport, -16 F back at home, all within 90 minutes.
Am I reading the name of the ship correctly? ‘Akademik Shokalskiy’ is it pronounced Academic Shock alski? There could be some ironic humour in that name
WUWT says, “Now, with such a fantastic failure in full world view, questions are going to start being asked. For example, with advanced tools at their disposal (that Mawson never had) such as near real-time satellite imaging of Antarctic sea ice, GPS navigation, on-board Internet, radar, and satellite communications, one wonders how these folks managed to get themselves stuck at all.”
Allow my Global Circulation Model to respond:
“This was a triumph. I’m making a note here – a huge success. It’s hard to overstate my satisfaction. AGW Science. We do what we must because we can. For the the good of all of us, except the ones who are dead. But there’s no sense crying over every mistake. Now these points of data make a beautiful line…”
tommoriarty says:
December 30, 2013 at 10:48 am
This is just the start of the Southern Hemisphere doom…
http://climatesanity.wordpress.com/2013/12/26/time-to-recognize-approaching-southern-hemisphere-disaster/
Thanks for the good laugh Tom, awesome!
Have they rung the Lutine bell at Lloyd’s yet?
He misses his banana and peanut shakes?
Cash crops I believe?
How do they get to market.?
Look, if one can be accused of being unconsciously a racist then why not unconsciously a hipocrite?
As an aside if we do away with the industrialised culture we have built up then it’ll be bad backs all round……
I will mitigate my comment by saying that he does seem like a genuinely decent guy who is trying to do the right thing and means well and I just hope this whole affair causes a paradigm shift in his head when he returns…and safely.
Ah well
I’m posting my comment here as well as the original at the Guardian because I have little faith it won’t be stalinised there.
Congrats! Your tax dollars partially funded the tourist trip to the Antarctic. Way to go “US Antarctic Program”!
https://notalotofpeopleknowthat.wordpress.com/2013/12/30/no-antarctic-warming-since-1979/
Gary P says:
December 30, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Thanks… hers is a bit on Quark Expeditions
http://www.marketvisual.com/d/285faa46-74da-4d18-a1be-0b95baaa16ec
Question: Where have all the money gone…. Those so called scholars who claims Global Warming is the reason for the ship’s prediction are they being paid by the fiction film industry or what? It’s not possible that all extra AWG taxes and collected money to “save Ice Bears” in Arctic have been used to spend on partyships? Is it?
Jha shared his fingers seemed at risk because of the elements. What of his unprotected but growing nose?
@Jones 3:45.
Priceless, was that a flicker of reality creeping into cognition?
I wonder what the captain and crew think of these partyers. I wonder why the captain didn’t veto this stunt if he realized that it might endanger his ship.
Interesting photos…Antarctic exploration 1915…
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/30/lost-antarctica-photos_n_4519375.html?utm_hp_ref=green&ir=Canada
I wonder what chopper they have onboard now?
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2011-12/09/c_131297030.htm
Or maybe, like they said: A little putty here, a little paint there & new like a baby…
re: Will Nelson says: December 30, 2013 at 12:45 pm
________________
The models are accurate. Are you implying the ice really exists?
ROFL! Thanks so much to all for the humor… polaroids, bipolar bears, etc. Would LOVE to see the “Chinese shipmates talking” bit if someone could point me to it – I think it must have been a comment on a different but related article.
And re: jones says: December 30, 2013 at 3:45 pm, re the posted Antarctic video diary…. OMG, talk about whining! These people really are clueless about priorities and the meaning of actual hardship. I mean, there he is sitting in a clearly heated cabin in pushed up shirtsleeves, and complaining about getting 6 hours of sleep on a mattress???!!! They are desperately in need of a real world lesson to open their eyes up.
http://media.theage.com.au/national/selections/el-salvador-orders-evacuations-5043403.html?next_video=true
this is the rescue attempt
It obviously has to go into the oceans because these people are full of crap.
Adrian Mann says:
December 30, 2013 at 3:33 pm
______________________
{applause}
As a boat owner I wonder what provisions they have on these vessels to keep the Generators running since on pleasure craft, the engines are normally cooled with raw sea water often via onboard heat exchangers through which pumps circulate anti freeze to exchange heat with the raw sea water. We know that much of the sea temperature data is measured via the raw water intake on large ships.
One wonders if the temperature gets real low and the vessel is stranded, if there is there a risk of loosing the power from the generators which are required to keep the ship’s heating system operating because they may require cooling water. It would seem that some alternative provision is required for ships plying the Arctic and Antarctica.
How do they cool the engines and generators.
Re the sewerage, I would guess that they have sewage treatment plants on board which ultimately discharge overboard, but how about all the rubbish and garbage?
Anyone familiar with how this is handled?
Don’t underestimate the MSM spin machine. (E.g. the Benghazi attack caused inflammatory and hateful video, Heathrow and British Rail destroyed by the wrong type of snow, the MET office has insufficient compute resources, etc., etc.).
Somewhere in the BBC someone is trying to figure out how to pin this on big oil…
Gary P says:
“Best I can find about the Akademik Shokalskiy is that it is owned and operated by Quark Expeditions which is part of TUI travel”
All the ships of this class are owned by the Russian Academy of Science and most are based in Vladivostok: Some of them are on long-term leases to various western tour operators. At one time all of them were leased out, but in recent years the Academy has gradually been putting them back to uuse as research ships as the leases expire.
Rhoda R,
This is an interesting question about the Captain’s competency. Was he begged and cajoled against his better instincts, did he (un)knowingly just go along, or did the Captain screw this up on his own? However it actually unfolded, this event is likely to be fatal to his career, even if everyone survives.
Welcome to Polar Summer guys! Just imagine winter!
can u believe high priestess of CAGW, Suzanne Goldenberg, made this video with Laurence Topham, who is on board, just last month!!!!
Polar bears fight for survival as sea ice melts – video
VIDEO: Suzanne Goldenberg and Laurence Topham ,Source: Guardian,Length: 2min 29sec,theguardian.com ,Wednesday 6 November 2013
As winter approaches, polar bears in sub-arctic Canada begin to migrate off the tundra and head out onto the ice for the winter, where they can hunt for seals. However, climate change is delaying freeze-up, keeping the bears out on the tundra for longer – away from their main food source. US environment correspondent Suzanne Goldenberg talks to polar scientists ahead of a live Q&A from Churchill, Manitoba.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/video/2013/nov/05/polar-bears-fight-for-survival-sea-ice-melts-video
Guardian: Laurence Topham: Since joining the Guardian in 2008…blah blah
Prior to this he worked as a freelance director & cameraman – making documentaries for charities in the UK, Sierra Leone and Kenya, while also editing for the BBC. 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
‘Stuck in our own experiment’: Leader of trapped team insists polar ice is melting
Pirate Bay: Globull Warming Activist Ship Still Stuck In Heavy Antarctic Ice
Trapped in over 3 metres of irony.
Some latest photos, you have to laugh at this bloody idiots. It’s just too funny. Check out the Green Party person on deck while behind there is a GREAT expanse of white.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531159/Antarctic-crew-build-ice-helipad-help-rescuers.html
XUE LONG HELICOPTER OVERFLIGHT INDICATES SLIGHT ANOMALY FROM LEVEL ON PORT/STARBOARD; DUE POSSIBLY TO ICE PUSHING THE SHIP OVER. NO INDICATION IF THIS IS AN ONGOING PROCESS OR STATIC
AKADEMIK SHOKALSKIY: http://thesargasso.blogspot.ca/2013/12/akademik-shokalskiy-portstarboard.html
Here is a report from the Aurora Australis at 0900 UT, December 30 2013.
from https://secure3.aad.gov.au/proms/public/schedules/display_sitrep.cfm?bvs_id=19314
Here is a song dedicated to those idiots trapped in Antartica:
These people are idiots.
Gulligan’s Island?
That’s a photo from earlier in the expedition.
Gilligan would know.
There’s no certainty in helicopter rescue:
“It’s now up to us three ships [the Shokalskiy, the Aurora and the Xue Long] to agree on a [rescue] strategy,” Captain Doyle said.
While the Xue Long had a helicopter onboard, it was too heavy for the Aurora’s helideck.
“We also can’t use the helicopter at the moment because there is no visibility,” he said.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/aurora-australis-abandons-attempt-to-save-akademik-shokalskiy-in-antarctica-20131230-302na.html#ixzz2owBsS8ov
Bet noone knew science could do comedy
30 Dec: Indybay: The Paradox of Antarctic Sea Ice and Global Warming Denial: Research vessel trapped in ice
by Takver – Climate IMC
But Daniel Greenfield seems to think a ship trapped in Antarctic summer sea ice is a negation of global warming and the science involved in climate change.
His view probably had it’s origins in the climate sceptical website Watts Up with That where Anthony Watts wrote: So much sea ice in Antarctica that a research vessel gets stuck, in summer!.
But Mr Greenfield, or Anthony Watts for that matter, made little attempt to explain the complex science involved with understanding Antarctic sea ice…
According to Skeptic Science article on Why is southern sea ice increasing…
Australian Greens senator elect for Victoria Janet Rice appears in this Guardian Youtube video published 30 December 2013 from on board the Akademik Shokalski. Janet has a scientific background with her honours thesis on where lows around Antarctica were born and died. She will bring to the new Senate a perceptive understanding of climate science and the need for strong climate action.
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/12/30/18748547.php
the above writer’s blog. be warned:
Takver’s Soapbox
http://www.takver.com/soapbox/climate/
who on earth are Climate IMC? i can’t get any of their sites to open:
Climate IMC
http://climateimc.org/
——————————————————————————–
Aurora Australis turned back? There’s still the helicopters! But there’s a weather delay…
That pecking on the portholes at night….just wind and ice Dr. Turney?
The patter of webbed feet on the deck plates, are those….happy feet?
The penguins can wait through the long Antarctic night for the feast of the New Sun. They know patience. Soon they will feast again Dr. Turney. Soon….
I wonder if they plan to use no fuel for heat? After all they should be using solar and wind to provide all their energy needs for cooking, washing and heating. They are a great chance to set an example here for everyone by going green at their finest hour.
It not like they would ever use some fossil fuel on these trips? And really, if they are politically correct then they should ask that rescues ships also not use carbon based fuels as such ships consume HUGE amounts of fuel per day.
Perhaps they thus insist their rescue does done in a “green” way in which large amounts of fuel are not used and is respectable of their climate agenda. Only trying to suggest they practice what they preach.
But hey, running around on a merry boat with meals cooked for you everyday going down a path planned by computer models sure sounds like a lot of fun. And hey you not only having meals cooked for you, but you likely get paid on the taxpayer’s dime for this fun and games.
I say call off the rescue because the signs of climate change are all around us. It is clear to everyone that East Antarctica is hot as bollocks and there really is no ice. There is no need to rescue people who are in an open sea, unhindered by ice. Is there? Let them eat penguin from an open, summer barbecue and frolic in the warm waters of the Antarctic.. (/sarc)
‘Scientist on trapped Antarctic ship: “Fantastic-I love it when the ice wins & we don’t.” ‘
I love it when we get to see natural selection in action.
As far as garbage is concerned if they are not within anybody’s territorial limits they’ll probably just bag it and throw it overboard. Unless they’re really green and will pack out what they pack in…..
I have seen countless people on Twitter (and elsewhere) claim that there were declining amounts of ice at the south pole and almost no ice at the north pole. I have seen countless people claim that the earth’s measured temperature has risen every year for the past 30 years. (really risen, not just Hansen’s frauds at NSA)
How do these common people come up with these falsehoods? Why it is because the fraudsters like those on the stuck boat have fed gullible people a steady diet of CO2 doom for decades. People just like the Guardian reporters stuck on that boat in heavy ice, high winds, and deteriorating conditions in the summer time.
So what if so many were fooled? Billions upon billions tossed away, sky high energy bills, loss of manufacturing jobs, and an ever expanding “green” bureaucracy seeking to control you and make sure you shiver in the dark — especially the poor.
And some on this thread think we should worry about their safety? What about the reported 33,000 in the UK who died of the cold last year? Did the alarmists worry about them any at all? I don’t wish for anything other than Karma do whatever it will. I will merely observe and wonder how some men can seek to gain power and money by frightening the masses. Fracking witchdoctors did that for ages, and now we have … what? They look to be witchdoctors to me.
As the Australians would say:
“an inconvenient………….strewth !!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
J. Herbst says:
December 30, 2013 at 3:37 pm
“Seems those animals are disturbed by global change. And because of them a lot if polar ships got stuck. Welcome to Germany, the land of the real global warming. Come here and feel warm!”
Just wait til February, smartass.
I got stuck in ice on Lake Superior in a 1960s “Baricuda” 14 foot boat back in the 1980s, boy that is a solid boat, while fishing the wind shifted and pushed ice back to shore such that it blocked our return to the cabin. We just shoved and pushed our way with oars for two hours through the 1/4 mile of icy mess back to the cabin. I suspect this “getting trapped in ice” business is pretty common for those who deal with ice on a daily basis, like Eskimos or whatever. Ice sounds a lot worse when a motor prop is hammering on the ice, making it more of a modern man issue than primitive man issue. I suspect the warmists were just too confident in their ships abiltiy to navigate ice and get out of there.
Folks, you have all missed the most important point. This scientific expedition is a huge success!
1. It has found the missing Antarctic ice. The evidence is right there, all around them, on camera, being beamed all over the world. This is undeniable.
2. It may also find the missing heat on the ocean bottom. That triumph could come any day now, especially if the present winds freshen. Stay tuned.
So I say credit where credit is due. s/off
They have updated the Spirit of Mawson blog, explaining the reason for their entrapment. Reason, mind, not excuse- it’s all sea ice and it’s all moving around for whatever reason, contributing to near-record levels.
Includes a before and after satellite photo pairing. The first one doesn’t show the whole bay so we don’t know how clear it really was.
http://www.spiritofmawson.com/one-week-on/
Ship of Fools
pat says:
December 30, 2013 at 4:44 pm
http://www.indybay.org/newsitems/2013/12/30/18748547.php
_______________________
You linked to a warmunist blog which cites (Zhang, 2013) as an explanation for why Antarctic ice is increasing. In a nutshell, Zhang, 2013 attempts to say that due to anthropogenic warming, there is more wind around the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, which blows the ice around and makes it thicker and there is plenty of first year ice, too. He got there by using – wait for it- CLIMATE MODELS.
This is the same joker (Zhang, 2007) who claimed that Antarctic sea ice is growing because it’s getting warmer- via coupled ice model to ocean model. We discussed that epic failure of scientific reasoning in one of the other threads concerning the stuck boobs down south.
SIG INT Ex said:. . . Seems there was a “party” attitude of the ‘upper class’ onboard the Titanic as well.
Hardly. First, the RMS Titanic was a passenger liner, the largest in the world and “designed to be the last word in comfort and luxury” with a gym, pool, squash court, libraries, cafes, restaurants and opulence. Next, as a liner the Titanic was on a regular passenger-line course, from Southampton to New York. No different than a flight to Europe on a 777, nothing out of the ordinary.
More relevant to the thread and contradicting any hint of irresponsibility, when the worst happened some of the best of humanity showed. Despite class differences, many men followed the ‘Birkenhead Drill’ to their death.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Birkenhead_(1845)#Birkenhead_drill
“The ship’s band in any emergency is expected to play to calm the passengers. . .” (bandmaster, RMS Carpathia). It was no party, they all knew they would die, but did what they were hired to do: Play music.
So here’s to those men who did their jobs, who played until the waters took them away: Bandmaster Wallace Hartley, pianist Theodore Brailey, bassist John Clarke, violinists John Hume and Georges Krins, and to cellists Percy Taylor, Roger Bricoux and John Woodward.
They were Men. Any resemblence to the current playboys-of-climate-change is a bad hallucination and a smear on the memory of the Titanic’s band. /rant off
Richards in Vancouver says:
December 30, 2013 at 5:03 pm
“It [scientific expedition] may also find the missing heat on the ocean bottom. That triumph could come any day now, especially if the present winds freshen.”
______________________
Classic.
Even though the ice volume is growing there seems to be an increasing number of iceholes down there!
John,
Thank you.
Yes, I honestly believe it was, yes.
A cognitive paradigm shift is a painful process though…Good luck to him.
I can’t help but warm to this guy I must confess. I mean that.
Dunno why?
This is more than a complete success, they proven the existence of ice-nine!
CNN is about to air a segment with a few members on the stranded ship.
Tune into Anderson Cooper 360
Send the multi-million-dollar rescue bill to the Al Guardian and the BBC.
We hope it doesn’t deteriorate into a Dumber’s Party.
By the way. Helluva capable helicopter the Russian built Kamov 32: Co-axial – great lifting capacity.
DESIGN FEATURES: Conceived as completely autonomous ‘compact truck’, to stow in much the same space as Ka-25 with rotors folded, despite greater power and capability, and to operate independently of ground support equipment; special attention paid to ease of handling with single pilot; overall dimensions minimised by use of coaxial rotors, requiring no tail rotor, and twin fins on short tailboom; upper rotor turns clockwise, lower rotor anti-clockwise; rotor mast tilted forward 3°; twin turbines and APU above cabin, leaving interior uncluttered; lower fuselage sealed for flotation.
FLYING CONTROLS: Dual hydraulically powered flight control systems, without manual reversion; spring stick trim; yaw control by differential collective pitch applied through rudder pedals; mix in collective system maintains constant total rotor thrust during turns, to reduce pilot workload when landing on pitching deck, and to simplify transition to hover and landing; twin rudders intended mainly to improve control in autorotation, but also effective in coordinating turns; flight can be maintained on one engine at maximum T-O weight.
STRUCTURE: Titanium and composites used extensively, with particular emphasis on corrosion resistance; fully articulated three-blade coaxial contrarotatmg rotors have all-composites blades with carbon fibre and glass fibre main spars, ………
……
POWER PLANT: Two 1,633kW Klimov TV3-117V (Ka-32) or TV3-117VMA (Ka-32A) turboshafts, with automatic synchronisation system, side by side above cabin, forward of rotor driveshaft. …… Fuel in tanks under cabin floor and inside container each side of center-fuselage; capacity of main tanks 2.180 litres; maximum capacity with two underfloor auxiliary tanks 3,450 litres……
ACCOMMODATION: Pilot and navigator side by side on air conditioned flight deck, in adjustable seats. …… Seat behind navigator, on starboard side, for observer, loadmaster or rescue hoist operator. ….Direct access to cabin from flight deck. Heated and ventilated main cabin of Ka-32 can accommodate freight or 16 passengers……
http://www.aviastar.org/helicopters_eng/ka-32.php
What was said during the CNN interview.
No mention what the expedition was for. No mention of climate change.
Turney says its raining. Weather hasn’t been like this in year. They were at the wrong place at the wrong time.
blah blah blah