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)
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Glenn said, “(Mr. Watts and the rest of us are) a strong critic of climate science”
Who is a strong critic of climate science? I can assure you no one here is a critic of science.
you must have the wrong site. Find the correct site and please try again.
Damn! if I’d only known that I could get a T-shirt and my name on a web site for only $200, I would have been in there like a flash!
To dear Glenn,
Jay Zwally (12 Dec 2007) said: “At this rate, the Arctic Ocean could be nearly ice-free at the end of summer by 2012
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/seaice.recent.arctic.png
Maybe not…..
JB:
re your silly post addressed to me at January 2, 2014 at 2:53 am
This links to my post at January 1, 2014 at 9:16 am
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2013/12/30/the-antarctic-research-fiasco-would-you-could-you-in-a-boat/#comment-1520321
As anyone can see by using the link, I did not provide “fumes/rants”.
I expressed contempt for your assertions. And I stand by my concluding paragraphs to you which say of you and the passengers on the ship of fools
And you are wrong when you say my post was
Obviously, you were never going to be capable of understanding my post, but impartial onlookers can assess it.
Richard
The BBC are spinning this as just a Weird Weird Weather problem.
Typical.
News reports this morning said those fools were singing and telling jokes during their rescue.
Do these idiots realize that their religious belief in bogus global warming jeopardized their lives, and that fossil fuels saved their lives?
richardscourtney says:
January 2, 2014 at 3:34 am
lol
Glenn quoted @ur momisugly Jan 1, 1:32 pm:
“We came to Antarctica to study how one of the biggest icebergs in the world has altered the system by TRAPPING ICE”.
They said that after getting stuck. Show me where they said it before. In the promotional description of the expedition, no iceberg is mentioned. It starts with:
http://www.spiritofmawson.com/the-science-case/
“The Australasian Antarctic Expedition of 1911-1914 resulted in the first complete study of the vast region which lies south of Australia and New Zealand.”
That refers to Antarctica, not a special case. It discusses climate change and global warming but nothing about ice being trapped by an iceberg. That idea came later.
“One of the aims was to track how quickly the Antarctic’s sea ice was disappearing.” – BBC
They went to do some good but were overpowered by natural forces — maybe a fitting parable regarding the futility of global social change plans, trying to train everyone into agreeing who should have how many babies, what they should eat and consume, how much electricity rations they get, and so on, as if free will was no longer a human right or fact. Seven billion people are like all those shifting icepacks, moving with a mind of their own in great masses, and all environmental politics which think this can be controlled are just silly.
From BBC report: previously linked, now updated:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25573096
“Rescuers in Antarctica have safely transferred all 52 passengers stranded on the ice-bound research vessel Akademik Shokalskiy.”
It will be interesting to see if any polar expedition in the future will be so blatant about their CAGW research.
#spiritofPTBarnum
JB says:
January 2, 2014 at 3:52 am
_________________________
I almost feel the need to apologize to you, JB. I’d been following your conversation from the beginning and knew what you were talking about and where you stood. I watched as someone came into the middle of your conversation and misinterpreted what was going on and subsequently (and mistakenly) began taking you to task.
I’d thought about saying something at the time, but my grasshopper mind jumped somewhere else. Oh, well. You don’t really need a hand, anyway.
Alan Robertson says:
January 2, 2014 at 4:29 am
From BBC report: previously linked, now updated:
—–
No mention of the luggage. I would have loved to hear the chopper pilot’s private comments on that one.
Glenn (January 1, 2014 at 10:05 pm) “Or it could be I was trying to be gracious enough to acknowledge those who responded or addressed a post to me (especially in your case since you asked several times for me to answer your question and seemed upset when I hadn’t gotten to you yet). Don’t worry, I see the mistake in that now. I gave you much more courtesy than you’ve returned, and in the process I wasted time I could have spent on more in-depth responses to more worthy posters like Just The Facts.”
I think you need to take your own advice and respond to only one poster in depth. Also do not refer to the other posters as “less worthy”, then count up the brownie points you are owed for being courteous and graceful.
If you go into one topic in depth that should help prevent you from personalizing the discussion. Just state whatever facts you possess and leave it at that. You will only make progress in any discussion on this topic by going into depth. Glossing over 100 different topics means we only hear the conventional wisdom from either side in the discussion, not the details that matter. There are many examples of that above, but having read everything your wrote, I can point to your discussion on the Arctic as being particularly devoid of useful detail. You contributed exactly nothing to our collective understanding of the Arctic.
Alan Robertson:
You conclude your post addressed to JB at January 2, 2014 at 4:49 am saying
I agree. JB has a shovel and persists in using it.
Richard
Bernal says: @ur momisugly January 2, 2014 at 12:38 am
even if you could convince him of the error of his ways (MOUNT KILIMANJARO for God’s sake- pul-eeeze), there are another 99,999 ***-****s right behind him so what’s the point. “Bernal”
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
You are missing the entire point of why the rest of us respond.
Our comments are not aimed at the Warmists who, armed with training from Al Gore’s “Climate Reality Leaders” sessions, sally forth to do battle with the evil den!ers, but at the peanut gallery. – The silent watchers who come here to learn. The fence sitters.
The Warmists have figured out they have little presence on the internet compared to WUWT. The news, like the BBC and Gruniad is obviously bias and more over completely silent on the opposing view. If they want to win the undecided they have to come here where the curious and undecided come.
So it is here we battle to get the truth out.
Jones –
“I’ve actually been getting comments deleted literally by the dozen in recent days. Never abusive or inciting to anything. Just not following the narrative.”
– You have my sympathy, along with many here I’m sure. I’m now on my second account at CiF after being imprisoned in “pre-moderation” purgatory. Similarly, my comments have no name-calling, abuse, or anything remotely objectionable yet somehow they get zapped on a regular basis. I think the worst aspect of one of my most recently removed comments was that it was mildly sarcastic. It’s a horrible, horrible experience to find yourself censored – with no recourse – just because of presenting an opposing point of view.
– I tried tracking the extent of Guardian censorship a couple of years ago. I set up bots to monitor new CiF articles and maintain a mySQL database of comments as they came in. The threads would be checked again every 10 minutes or so and deleted comments were flagged to see if I could statistically demonstrate that particular POVs were consistently censored. Unfortunately I ended up in a running battle with the Guardian webmaster so had to can the project prematurely. I’m now launching my bots from a cloud platform though so I might give it a go again soon.
The BBC has been very closed about the purpose of the expedition and have couched reports about it the usual spinned phrases such as: “An adventure” and “Something for the tourists to tell their grandchildren about” (implying some equivalence to going to war).
The comment that made me facepalm a few times was: “Freak weather conditions hindered this trip.”
These people live in a bubble. Sadly for us the bubble has a very tough skin and I doubt this event will make the bubble burst.
Katabasis, please do try to expose the shenanigans at the Guardian Environment desk.
It doesn’t seem to be representative of the Guardian website as a whole.
So SkS influence (which is when it became very bad – Dana’s arrival) may be worth exposing to the Guardian editorial board.
For the benefit of democratic discourse in the UK.
PS I am also in pre-moderation purgatory.
How about the UN administer a fee for anyone wants to prance around on the ice?
To the tune of a couple million (Euros or Dollars (US or AU). To compensate for the possibility of having to rescue them.
That would dampen their spirits a bit.
This from the BBC
One of the aims was to track how quickly the Antarctic’s sea ice was disappearing.
Antarctic sea ice as we all know is at an almost half-century high and 2SD above the 1980-2000 average, having increased especially fast in the last decade.
M Courtney says:
January 2, 2014 at 5:37 am
Katabasis, please do try to expose the shenanigans at the Guardian Environment desk.
It doesn’t seem to be representative of the Guardian website as a whole.
So SkS influence (which is when it became very bad – Dana’s arrival) may be worth exposing to the Guardian editorial board.
For the benefit of democratic discourse in the UK.
PS I am also in pre-moderation purgatory.
———————–
Or give them enough rope .. ?
jakee308 says:
January 2, 2014 at 5:40 am
How about the UN administer a fee for anyone wants to prance around on the ice?
To the tune of a couple million (Euros or Dollars (US or AU). To compensate for the possibility of having to rescue them.
That would dampen their spirits a bit.
_________________________
How about we don’t give any more money to the UN?
Who pays for rescuing these people?
As far as environmental damage from sunken ships, the USS Arizona, sunk on December 7, 1941 in Pearl Harbor, is still leaking oil and other fluids.*
*Ordinarily, a battleship sunk an a harbor would be removed, but the Arizona was left intact as a memorial. The point is, left alone, these wrecks affect the environment for a long time.