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)
It seems that there are a couple quotes from the most famous Antarctic explorer is appropriate here :
“Adventure is just bad planning.” ….. Roald Amundsen
“I may say that this is the greatest factor — the way in which the expedition is equipped — the way in which every difficulty is foreseen, and precautions taken for meeting or avoiding it. Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck.”
— from The South Pole, by Roald Amundsen
Reference : http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Roald_Amundsen
This is a nominee for the 2013 “Oh the Pain” trophy..
Anthony, you have sent calendars how about a trophy?
I Will kick in!
Alan Robertson –
yes, i realised it was a fact-free CAGW zone…
a little reminder of what the CAGW crowd are willing to inflict on others:
30 Dec: UK Daily Mail: John Hall: Wind farms ‘slash up to a THIRD off value of nearby homes … while developers pocket millions’
Geoffrey Cox MP says constituents are told homes worth ‘significantly less’
The Conservative MP says he has seen a minimum 10% reduction in value
Planning Minister Nick Boles plans compensation for those affected
In October, campaigners living near Ilkley in Yorkshire, won a campaign to have four giant turbines dismantled – the first ever wind farm to be scrapped in the UK.
Residents and walkers were delighted by the return of unspoilt views across the rolling hills and deep blue waters of Chelker Reservoir.
And to their relief, the 150ft high turbines will not be replaced after the council refused permission for two even bigger machines…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531219/Wind-farms-slash-THIRD-value-nearby-homes-developers-pocket-millions.html
mike says:
December 30, 2013 at 7:02 pm
A curious angle on the press coverage of this whole “expedition”. Namely, the captain and crew of the Akademik Shokalskiy are utterly missing from all reports…
>>>>>
Not all reports shipmaster Igor Kiselyov told Itar-Tass on Monday….
The Daily Mail article has some interesting reader comments.
“Global warming” is becoming a joke in the scientific world.
Has anyone done the math to figure out the carbon footprint of these geniuses and their vanity trip? Not to mention the real world price tag? To whom do we send the bill?
Has anyone been monitoring the Russian blogs? Do they do a better job of covering what is going on with the crew?
GlynnMhor says:
December 30, 2013 at 10:30 am
“How long till they run out of diesel, and have to start burning their personal electronic devices for fuel?”
Being the beginning of summer down there and those aboard being green conscious, I would suspect they have their solar panels up and their windmills churning in order to provide all the green power they need to last until minimum ice sometime in March.
Here’s a Mawson Demotivational Poster!
I really think they should have to pay to be rescued, otherwise they should be left there frozen for eternity really, (and in my movie they will be marooned there for eternity):] But of course someone will eventually have to waste valuable resources on these useless brie and bagel eaters and defilers of the Antarctic!:] Then they will live to spread their vile GW propaganda hither and yon but people may well see the lies this time, I hope!:]
Answering myself – probably too much to expect that the Russians are interested in the fate of the Russian ship given the troubles their having with their own representatives of the Religion of Peace (TM).
Last Journal Entry:
Do not taunt Mother Nature.
@ur momisugly benofhouston says:
December 30, 2013 at 6:28 pm
They should Just be glad that they won’t have to stay for two years feasting on penguin and seal.
—————————-
What does penguin taste like ?
Auto said: “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.””
Of course, temperature and salinity of water passing through melting ice will somehow be relevant for some purpose.
As amusing as this little saga has been it serves to highlight a far more serious problem. If we skeptics tried we could not script a green fail as monumental as Prof Turney has kindly (blindly) done for us. The most worrying part of this sad tale is that the media has been exposed for what it is; a purveyor of lies. This is a big story that possesses irony seldom found and MSM journalists are hard at work burying the truth. We are entering an era where the media will dictate what we ‘know’, I am forming the opinion that it is the climate scientists that are the useful idiots and those that control the media are the ones who control the future, we should do our best to discover and reveal.
http://io9.com/what-happened-the-night-niagara-falls-stopped-flowing-1017625850
The time the wind and iced conspired to stop Niagara Falls for 2 days in March of 1848.
Found this in the comment section of The Independent.
“John Belushi 5 hours ago
Will it have any effect on (AGW) Al Gore Warming?”
I must be slower than I thought.
I never even saw that one coming.
AGW …. all this time the perfect acronym.
cn
Bill Illis says: “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.”
The captain of the Aurora Australis, Murray Doyle, is shown in an interview somewhere. He’s far from stupid. I’m not so sure about the captain of the Quakademik Shlockalskiy. Do you suppose stupidity is contagious? He might have easily caught a severe case from his “passengers” or “tourists” or “sciency guys.” Whichever. Has anyone seen his name?
Teddi says: What does penguin taste like ?
Chicken, of course.
Where’s JOSH?
At any moment Professor Lewandowsky (formerly of the University of WA and now of Bristol University) will issue a peer/pal reviewed paper entitled “Cognitive dissonance of Deniers mocking heroic CAGW pseudo-scientists trapped in global warming ice”
I cannot wait.
One interesting point of dissonance is that before they set off Professor Turkey blogged that Commonwealth Bay has been blocked for the past three years by a giant (75-mile long) iceberg that has lodged there. If he already knew that, how did this Band of Boonies intend to land? A Moses act of parting the ice and waters perhaps. Yet another mystery to be solved. I mean, Google maps would have told them it was a bad idea before they set off with my taxes in their pockets.
Let’s hope the UNSW picks up the costs as this will mean they have to close some unnecessary departments (probably medicine, engineering and physics) as this disaster shows just how important the Department of Climate Mythology really is.
Have I got this right? A pair of Australian professors whose names sound like Christmas Turkey and Fogwilly use research funds to organise a tourist trip PR stunt in Antarctica by chartering a ship with a name that sounds like MV Academic Shocks-are-likely. A bipolar expedition?
Admiral Turney of the HMS Clitanic heroically raises his telescope to his blind eye, and announces :
“I see no ice”
Teddi says: @ur momisugly December 30, 2013 at 7:59 pm
What does penguin taste like ?
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Oily and fishy and if you are lucky with out the dash of mud.
URGENT PRESS NOTICE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
I Obama have dispached Sec. of State John F. Kerry to conduct talks with the pack ice. He will have Al Gore on his team. I will play a round of golf and work with the Pres. of General Electric on how he will make sure NBC news covers up this mess for me.
Back to your jobs and send in your taxes.
Pres. Obama