UPDATE: So much for that…
Sea ice conditions are now likely to delay today’s planned rescue of passengers from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy. http://t.co/snGYZnqmNM
— AMSA News (@AMSA_News) January 2, 2014
And now it is apparently on again
AMSA is awaiting confirmation that the Antarctica rescue operation has begun.
— AMSA News (@AMSA_News) January 2, 2014
See video below.
Aurora Australis has advised AMSA that the 52 passengers from the Akademik Shokalskiy are now on board.
— AMSA News (@AMSA_News) January 2, 2014
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_13rQBXKa0A
7.30am AEDT: 2nd January 2014
Rescue operations likely to commence shortly in Antarctica
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) was advised this morning by the MV Akademik Shokalskiy that weather conditions have improved in the area and rescue operations are likely to commence shortly by helicopter.
Wind in the area is now down to 10 knots and visibility has improved. Weather conditions are expected to remain favourable over the next 36 hours.
The helicopter on board the Chinese flagged vessel Xue Long will be used to rescue the passengers from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy.
This rescue will be a complex operation involving a number of steps and subject to factors such as weather.
RCC Australia has been advised that all 52 passengers will leave the MV Akademik Shokalskiy. All 22 crew members are expected to remain with the vessel.
The passengers will be rescued by helicopter in groups of 12 and will be initially transported to the Xue Long. The rescue is expected to be undertaken in a total of seven flights. The first five flights will rescue passengers and the remaining two flights will transfer luggage and equipment.
Each return flight is expected to take about 45 minutes. The journey will cover a distance of about 12 nautical miles between the MV Akademik Shokalskiy and the Xue Long. The helicopter component of the rescue operation is expected to take at least five hours dependent on weather conditions.
The Aurora Australis will then use its barge to transfer all 52 passengers on board their vessel. The barge can take up to 22 people at a time. The journey between the Xue Long and the Aurora Australis is a distance of about two nautical miles.
RCC Australia continues to coordinate the incident and is in regular contact with all vessels involved and continues to monitor the situation. The vessels involved are also in close contact with each other via VHF radio.
The search and rescue operation commenced on Christmas morning AEDT after the Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in the United Kingdom received a distress message via satellite from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy. The distress message and subsequent coordination of the incident was passed to RCC Australia, who is the responsible search and rescue authority for this area.
Media Note: Media are advised to keep an eye on AMSA’s Twitter feed @AMSA_News for the latest information relating to this rescue. Details for facilitating audio grabs and vision will be issued in due course.
Click to access 02012014AkademikShokalskiyUpdate9_Media_Release.pdf
The latest pic of the Aurora shows it still in thick ice, doesn’t it need to be in open water to start the rescue as well as the Xue ?
Now comes the dicey part. Hope it all goes well.
THEN… a few someones need a good chewing out by the many that were put out saving their @$$es, all while being handed the tab for the rescue. It has not been cheap.
I wish the crew well.
They can model until 2100 AD but they can’t model December 2013?
Let us hope all goes well. Ships and equipment can be replaced, human life not so easily. Maybe the “scientists” on the stranded ship learned something, we can only hope.
Me too.
Expensive, dangerous and should never have been necessary.
But it is necessary. So let’s just be quiet and wait and pray that things do go well.
The jokes won’t be funny if this goes South.
Two flights for luggage is two flights too many
They would get more sympathy, if they would admit that they were wrong. Then, I could empathize. As it is, it seems that they haven’t learned anything, just wasted a pile of money.
Antarctica rescue still on hold – Bad weather stops evacuation
http://iceagenow.info/2014/01/antarctica-rescue-hold-bad-weather-stops-evacuation/
That answers a question I had earlier; luggage and equipment will be the last to be transported.
I wish them good luck.
.
I hope it does not end like this:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/china/2011-12/09/c_131297030.htm
Policycritic says:
January 1, 2014 at 2:19 pm
“They can model until 2100 AD but they can’t model December 2013?”
Well if I were them I would invent something about different predictability between high frequency and low frequency events, claim that there is no energy exchange between hi and lo frequency and hope noone notices that weather is a nonlinear system in which such energy exchange is the norm, not the exception.
The up to date position of the Xue Long can be obtained from this website. http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/home#
Jack Hydrazine says:
January 1, 2014 at 2:32 pm
> Antarctica rescue still on hold – Bad weather stops evacuation
That sounds like old news. Fog for three days? Perhaps it lifted recently. That URL says:
“Watt Bay, near the Mertz Glacier, has been shrouded in low-hanging fog for the past three days, which has prevented helicopters from flying because without a horizion pilots find it difficult to distinguish between ice floes and clouds.
“Crew from the (icebreaker) Aurora Australis and a Chinese icebreaker are on standby to begin rescue operations as soon as the fog lifts.
The helicopter can’t fly over open water because it doesn’t have floats. Heavy fog still making ice horizon invisible.
The “tourists”, including faux scientists, owe the Russian crew a huge debt of thanks. Not to mention the crews of the various icebreakers that attempted to pull their sorry butts from the icefield.
It’ll be interesting to watch how much credit the rescue-ees give to the crew, and how much attention and support they extend during the coming weeks until the Russian vessel is free from the sea ice.
How gracious will the Green Party politician be?
How remorseful will Chris Turley be? Will he acknowledge responsibility for a poorly planned expedition that risked so many lives and so much property?
Will this activist crowd immediately offer to compensate the numerous hard-working folk/agencies that came to their rescue?
I’ll just hold my breath for the moment.
The irony story is now reaching the MSM. This mornings print edition of the Australian has an 3 pieces including an editorial and excellent coverage in a feature by Graham Lloyd:
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/features/an-icy-blast-of-scepticism/story-e6frg6z6-1226793315257#
Ah, for a webcam to watch the mad scrambling to be first on the first flight out of there. Or will Turney simply “pull rank”?
I hope those last two flights weren’t planned specifically to “rescue” luggage. OTOH, if they’re just taking advantage of trips already planned to bring supplies to the crew remaining on the ship, then fine… so long as the passengers still get the fuel bill for the luggage-bearing portion of the flights.
The oblivious will twist themselves into pretzels just to maintain the illusion of their belief system … that it was just a localized fluke of wind and wave that drove the melting ice to surround and trap their vessel. And while lives are risked to rescue them from their folly, they keep on sending out cutesy videos to be played out on local newscasts around the world.
Anthony,
JoNova has posted that the Chinese icebreaker is now stuck and that they won’t use the helicopter. Not sure if this is because they need some control of ship to launch it (wind speed for lift?) or just because it makes no sense to move people from one stuck ship to another.
Not sure if your post or JoNova’s is more recent.
The occupants of the Ship of Fools don’t seem to comprehend that people are risking their lives to save them.
Typical of progs — it’s all about them, and their hubris blinds them to the fact that they are almost universally viewed as buffoons.
omnologos says: @ January 1, 2014 at 2:25 pm
Two flights for luggage is two flights too many
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Boy do I agree with you there!
Unless the conditions are EXTREMELY favorable the stuff should be left behind.
I wonder if the “two flights to transfer luggage and equipment.” Are just pablum to shut up the whinging of the prima donnas on the ship. The stuff can always be left behind at the last minute because it is not “safe” and the white lie saves the crew the headache of separating Muffy from the case of whatever she just has to have because of the weight limits of the helicopter.
Let me re-phrase the irony for ya shall I.
Why didn’t they insist on a solar powered helicopter? What about a wind turbine powered helicopter? Corn fed helicopter? Why didn’t they board a SAILING BOAT like in the olden days? I can go on and on ridiculing these concerned people who feel we must act now. What if we did act now and said NO RESCUE due to co2 output. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. / end rant.
The Snow Dragon is stopped at 0 knots, at least 2 kilometers from the ice edge where she was originally trying to hammer through to the A.S., days ago.
When this is over it’s time to lay in on these irresponsible people. Then we need to look at the financial costs, co2 output, paying eco-tourists on board whose lives may have been put at unnecessary risk. Here is a starter pack from Pierre, one of his best posts.
http://notrickszone.com/2013/12/31/expedition-on-the-cheap-did-organizers-recklessly-negligently-put-lives-and-property-at-risk/
“British journalist Alok Jha, who is aboard the Academik Shokalskiy, said the passengers were waiting for the weather to clear so they could be rescued.”
Have the passengers approved the weather, and given the go ahead to be rescued?
hope it all goes well.
children plus fee-paying passengers first, i hope.
then the AAE women.
then the AAE men
then, finally, the MSM, who have controlled the narrative on board.
best of luck to the crew.
“The first five flights will rescue passengers and the remaining two flights will transfer luggage and equipment.”
If the helicopter crew is smart, they’ll declare the weather too dangerous to go back for ANY of the luggage or equipment. The idiots can pick it up when the iced-in ship makes it back to port.
After all, it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere and the area is supposed to be ice-free (or so the warmists and their “models” say), so their luggage should be arriving shortly.
A few things about ice breaker classifications:
The American Bureau of Shipping has a series of classifications from A (highest) to D (lowest) and from 5 (highest) to 0 (lowest). A5 is the highest class while D0 is the lowest.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_class
There are also classifications for ice strengthened vessels. They do not break ice but can operate in areas with ice depending on their class. UL is for light (summer) ice conditions, for example.
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/icebreakers-class.htm
Akademik Shokalskiy: UL
Xue Long: B1
Aurora Australis: A1
Thanks Steve from Rockwood,
UL for light (summer) ice conditions does not sound reassuring to me.
@GeologyJim: I’ll just hold my breath for the moment, be careful.that could be life threatening to you.
How will the MSM decide to report this story? Who calls the shots?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIevazPIPzU
I’ve been watching these threads the last several days. I hope everyone gets out of this unhurt. These appear to be hard core idiots so I doubt there will be any lessons learned.
Xue Long no longer visible from Aurora’s webcams.
http://www.antarctica.gov.au/webcams/aurora
Could be off to starboard or over horizon.
Why so distant if rescue is imminent?
just wonder when and using which instruments the partying ‘experts’ could perform this:
The Shokalskiy was trapped on Christmas Eve by thick sheets of ice driven by strong winds, about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart – the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.
Despite being trapped, the scientists have continued their experiments, measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.Antarctic air rescue for ice-bound ship due to start, bbc.co.uk 1 January 2014 Last updated at 22:25 GMT
and still have needed help to have weatherforecasts…..
Some never learn that if you can’t present a correct forecast for the next day or two, you aren’t likely to be able to present it for the next generation to come 🙂
The only science these “scientists” have been doing is falsifying the adage “the stupid, it burns”. If it did, they would have melted the entire Antarctic ice cap by now.
norah4you says:
January 1, 2014 at 4:21 pm
I think that is what is referred to as “whistling past the cemetery”.
Hearsay is heresy, but the following is fun:
I heard a report that the reason they got stuck was that certain scientists were slow to obey the captain. It was a bright and sunny day, and they were off the the ship wandering over the ice and counting penguins. The captain told them to come back immediately because sea-ice conditions were swiftly changing, but they dawdled, to complete their counting and to gather a bit more “data.”
The value of this data is dubious. They apparently live in a world of spin, and are made dizzy to a degree where they think the local decrease in penguins can be attributed to Global Warming. Actually it is due to one of those gigantic Antarctic Icebergs disturbing the local ecosystem.
The size of these icebergs is difficult to imagine. Even the one-tenth above water can loom like a small sky scraper, and their area can be the size of several “Manhattans.”
Apparently one of these giant bergs has been in the area over a decade, even ramming the tongue of a giant glacier and breaking off a second huge berg which has since departed, but the first still lingers. It is so huge it changes the microcosm of the local weather, causing sea-ice in the immediate vicinity to be thicker, (sort of the opposite of an “urban heat-island.” Call it an “antarctic cold-island.”) Locally it becomes so cold that penguins apparently move elsewhere or die. So there is a decrease in the local penguin populations as long as these huge icebergs hang around, and an increase when the Manhattan-sized bergs finally drift out to sea.
All in all, such fluctuation in penguin population seem fairly normal and natural to me. However rumor has it that some scientist (or pseudo-scientist) thought the data was so important, in terms of proving that Global Warming was occurring, that he disobeyed the captain, and put the lives and limbs of many in jeopardy.
If this gossip is true, I think we should honor this particular scientist’s values. The data should come first. His baggage contains the data about penguins. That baggage should come out first, with the other humans deemed worthy of saving, while he himself should remain behind with the other baggage, and be removed last.
If he goes down with the ship, he will have the glorious sense he has died supplying data for the “Cause.” We will know otherwise, but I don’t want to hurt the poor fellow’s feelings by pointing out the real reason for fluctuation in penguin population has nothing to do with the “Cause.”
As of 2 (3?) hours ago, Aurora was still trying to break through to the Chinese ice-breaker – heading south-southeast. Now at the 8:00 am timestamp they have turned back and are heading north and/or west/north-west with a lot of very thick ice in front of them and no ice-edge in sight.
http://images.aad.gov.au/webcams/aurora/14/A140012200A.jpg
http://images.aad.gov.au/webcams/aurora/14/A140012300A.jpg
http://images.aad.gov.au/webcams/aurora/14/A140020000A.jpg
Something wrong with this report.
Professor Chris Turney on the expedition as an attempt to deliver empirical science in a debate that has been distract by opinion and (unfounded) belief : http://youtu.be/MFcYQfcU7vY . (h/t Andrew Bolt)
This is the best evidence I have found of the great irony of this story: Turney has achieved his goal in this expedition, but not in a way that was sympathetic to his belief about what the evidence is saying. Even before the disaster, to draw attention to the well-neglected evidence of Antarctic cooling — while all the attention has been drawn to the evidence of warming at the other pole — this seems strategically foolish in the first place. This is all the more reason why this video suggest genuine delusion, a victim of the madness of crowds. Moreover, it is precisely this delusion that has facilitate a successful career (‘professor’ status at his age is rare in Oz) as a state-sponsor academic. This (ironic) story has great potential to penetrate to the perversion of state-sponsored science in the global warming scare. It only remains to be seen to what extent this potential can be realized and the scales fall from our collective eyes…to reveal Turney, like Flannery, the fool…to reflect our own folly in celebrating their quixotic adventures as heroic defences of science.
Polar Star appears to be turning south and by passing Sidney.
I have no sympathy for the activists who arranged this journey.They asked 8,000 dollars for people to join them.They have abused people’s trust and put people’s lives in danger.Let this be a lesson to the public.Do not put your trust in political activists masquerading as scientists.A lot of questions will need to be answered by these guys.
I hope none of the fake scientists trip over their yarn of lies and lose their faces while boarding the rescue helicopter.
None of them would be in any danger (if ever they were) had they not embarked on this farce exercise in the first place.
Bill Illis, it appears those three webcam snapshots are all at the same location (within meters and slight direction), it has moved little. Look at the triangular chuck of ice and the shape of the edges.
None of the rescue costs will affect me, as an American. However, I believe ALL of the fuel and labor costs associated with their rescue (including the three rescue ships involved) should be divided equally between the 52 passengers. That would set an example for this kind of Tom-foolery.
‘Rescuing’ baggage kind’a puts the lie to rescue and urgency.
Bill Illis
Those webcam pics show the Aurora Australis is static – so they’re dawdling about keeping station sort of – waiting for the Snow Eagle to do it’s thing, the weather though – looks a lot better in the last one – flyable. As to the boat transfer – they’ll have to get out beyond the packed ice – you would want to try going far by small boat in that – even if you could…
[“would not want to try going far” ? Mod]
I believe someone should have known the weather/ice conditions before leaving port.
They knew the location had been loaded with drifting thick old ice for 3 years.
Someone is responsible.
Most likely the Master unless he has proof Dr Turkey is at fault. He’s the Captain.
cn
Polar Star is still six days or so away even at max speed(@ 18 kn). Only going 9.4 kn right now.
I’d say the Captain and Crew of the Akadimik Shokalskiy will be dang glad to be rid of the “well-healed parting” upper-class garbage spoiling the deck.
I suspect that the “need” for a one or two luggage flight is that under terms of the Law of the Sea, abandoned property and goods are considered … abandoned … and can be acquired by anyone near by without charge. Another indication of the “well-healed” upper class trouble onboard.
Oh yea. Not the “Love Boat” by any means but could he the “Drunk Boat” for sure.
For Chris Turney I’d say a career ender!
Just read THIS, “Professor Turney and his UNSW colleague Professor Chris Fogwill are leading a team of 60 scientists, including meteorologists, marine ecologists, oceanographers, ice-core and tree-ring specialists.”
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-25/mawson-data-more-important-than-ever-to-new-expedition/5115748
“Tree-ring specialists” in Antartica!
“Ice-core ‘scientists'”! Where is the @@##%!** drill rig!
“meteorologists” … well we know damn well that that is a lie!
I’d say Turney is the “Bang Ding Ow, Bang Ding Ow, Ho Rei Fuk!” “scientist” of the year 2013!
The sea giveth … and the sea … taketh … no one knows which and when will occur!
Sad to say but we do not need nor want “people like this screwing up” all around the globe.
There! I case my Lot!
Since our media and politicians are essentially just left wing fascists, all of this stuff will just go down the memory hole. A month from now it will not even have happened.
Maybe some lawyers will keep the case alive until they are paid off. After that, nada.
Your hearsay sounds reasonable. It speaks of a lack of training. Going out on the ice is dangerous and the hazards are well understood. http://www.heritage.nf.ca/law/sealing_disaster.html Somebody should have trained the penguin counter. If the penguin counter wasn’t trained, the fault falls on the shoulders of the expedition’s leader. If the penguin counter had been trained, the fault lies with him or her.
Who knew it was so dangerous counting penguins?
this Alok Jha piece was posted by Guardian at 00.30 AEST, so doesn’t necessarily over-ride the AMSA press release. as only CAGW sceptic websites have created any interest in the ironies of this story, it’s mostly sceptics commenting. anthony/KUSI story among the topics being argued about.
2 Jan: Guardian: Josh Halliday & Alok Jha: Antarctica ship rescue plan foiled by weather
Passengers prepare to spend another night on icebound Shokalskiy as attempt to airlift them by helicopter is postponed
Several attempts to evacuate the Shokalskiy using icebreakers have been thwarted by the dense sea ice, which is up to 5 metres thick in some places.
Passengers were told a second attempt to rescue them by helicopter would take place on Thursday if there was a break in the heavy rain, strong winds and cloud, which foiled the earlier effort to reach the ship by air…
If the plan to rescue them by air fails, a large American icebreaker is about 10 days away and should be able to break through the dense ice floes that thwarted the Chinese and Australian ships…
COMMENT BY Hooopla: In reality, the Chinese ship has moved quite a distance today, though it seems to have stopped moving at around 5pm.
I’m amazed how little worthwhile reporting there is from this: the ship appears to be stocked with journalists who have satellite phones.
But no worthwhile information about the situation, no articles about the people on board and what they are up to, no real evidence that they have a clue about the situation they are in.
Surely the Guardian could have chosen more effective journalists, couldn’t they?
NEXT COMMENT by expcten: Sat phones don’t always work. I’ve been with someone when their satellite phone could not get a connection.
Technology is wonderful stuff – when it works.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/01/antarctica-ship-rescue-plan-foiled-shokalskiy
u can always expect an “expecten” to jump in with a defense. what is shocking is how the media on board have pretty much muzzled the paying passengers
the Swedish company who booked the passengers:
The cost for participating starts from US$ 15,150. Further details may be found here.
http://expeditionsonline.com/more-information/news/join-spirit-mawson-expedition/
As if the number of penguins on a particular floe on a particular day has any meaning whatsoever.
Paddle N. Fish says:
January 1, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Polar Star is still six days or so away even at max speed(@ 18 kn). Only going 9.4 kn right now.
More time to drink.
The rescue has been delayed. The helicopter is too heavy to land on the australian ship
Gamecock,
Correct me if I am reading something into your name that I shouldn’t be but great game today.
Charleston, SC
They only had enough alcohol left to make a new years’ toast. Now they are stuck on a ship with 22 russian sailers who have no booze. Talk about a sobering experience
Any Captain worth his salt ALWAYS has a personal stash of booze.
Periwinkle says: January 1, 2014 at 5:54 pm
The rescue has been delayed. The helicopter is too heavy to land on the australian ship
Glad they figured that out…as a former helo control officer on a US Frigate, landing on a deck that cannot support your weight could have been a fatal mistake.
The Co2 alarmists lives were saved by a combination of airplane fuel and diesel? Ha! That’s the exact opposite of the narrative coming from their mouths… but it seems to be true. Maybe they’ll publish a headline now: “How Fossil Fuels saved my life”. (nah, not likely me thinks)
Although it’s great they are safe and being flown out, it is unfortunate that the Co2 alarmists didn’t also end up burning a few tons of coal too, just to put an exclamation point on their ironic idiocy.
The big Hero in this story is the energy that saved their lives. And here’s a hint: it wasn’t solar power, wasn’t hydro, nor Geo-thermal… It wasn’t ethanol or bio-diesel, etc, etc…
Good old fashioned, cheap, fossil based gasoline and diesel! Yeehaw! (Again, too bad coal wasn’t in there somewhere, it would be too funny)
The call to “abandon ship” gets the scientists/tourists/media out, but still leaves the crew/ship stuck in the ice.
First things first, I guess.
I’m not sure the Polar Star will be needed for the rescue, but they may have been diverted to free the research vessel. The U.S. Navy and the Chinese Navy have recently been at odds over territorial disputes between several nations and China. In a recent incident, a Chinese tank landing ship cut across the bow of a U.S. Destroyer, resulting in a near collision.
In light of Obama’s support for AGW dogma, it’s not hard to imagine him granting a request for assistance from the Austrailians. The world is watching this fiasco and a sunken vessel will only add insult to injury. The Chinese will undoubtedly, be delighted to obtain a marker from the Austrailians for their efforts
A reduction in speed could be caused by several factors; the most intriguing of which is an underway replenishment of fuel to offset fuel burned while transiting at dash speed. Gas turbines are notorious gas hogs.
Rescue operations delayed by ice conditions
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority’s (AMSA) Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC Australia) has been advised this morning that sea ice conditions in the area are likely to delay today’s planned rescue of passengers from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy.
It is now likely the rescue will not go ahead today.
AMSA understands that current sea ice conditions prevent the barge from Aurora Australis from reaching the Chinese vessel Xue Long (Snow Dragon) and a rescue may not be possible today.
The Xue Long’s helicopter is unable to land on the Aurora Australis due to load rating restrictions. It is not safe to land the helicopter next to Aurora Australis at this time.
The preferred and safest option at this stage is to ultimately transfer the passengers onto Aurora Australis.
All passengers on board the MV Akademik Shokalskiy are currently safe and well. The preferred option is to wait for conditions that will allow the rescue to be completed in a single operation to reduce unnecessary risk.
Alternative measures to complete the rescue operation are now being investigated by AMSA and the ships involved.
This rescue is a complex operation involving a number of steps. Operations in Antarctica are all weather and ice dependent and conditions can change rapidly. The priority is to ensure the safety of all involved.
RCC Australia continues to be in regular contact with all vessels involved and continues to monitor the situation. The vessels involved are also in close contact with each other via VHF radio.
The search and rescue operation commenced on Christmas morning AEDT after the Falmouth Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) in the United Kingdom received a distress message via satellite from the MV Akademik Shokalskiy. The distress message and subsequent coordination of the incident was passed to RCC Australia, who is the responsible search and rescue authority for this area.
Media Note: Media are advised to keep an eye on AMSA’s Twitter feed @AMSA_News for the latest information relating to this rescue.
Yes, even a country boy knows that a good sea captain has an emergency stash. A toast to the Russkies aboard! I wish I could hand them my Christmas spirits.
News just In,
Xue Long requests assistance,helicopter rescue delayed.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/helicopter-rescue-delayed-as-second-ship-trapped-in-ice-20140102-306yj.html
2GB out of Sydney has reported that the helicopter rescue has been called off due to sea ice conditions.
John says at Jan 1, 2:34:
“I wish them good luck.”
I wish them karma weather.
Apparently Chris Turley brought his wife and daughter along for the ride. Ouch.
It is to some degree politically incorrect to display “Family Values,” and care so much for your wife and daughter that you include them in a “scientific” expedition. Unless they have degrees in the science you are studying, it makes your study look a bit frivolous, and like a junket.
“Family Values” are politically incorrect because a true internationalist feels it is racist if you care for your own, or feel “Charity begins at home,” or care more for those you know than those you’ve never met.
However Chris Turley apparently flunked internationalism 101, because he brought his wife and daughter along rather than a couple of third-world orphans. Strangely, this alone, among his many shortcomings, makes me like him just a little.
But I’d hate to be in his shoes.
Steve from Rockwood says:
January 1, 2014 at 4:32 pm
I think that is what is referred to as “whistling past the cemetery”.
————————————————————-
Ha ha yes, or to extend the old Abraham Lincoln joke ……
………. Other than the incident Professor Turney, how were the experiments ?
D.I. that’d be oops! then…
If the photo of the Chinese vessel is current from Aurora Australis, I’m guessing that they tried to move and got themselves jammed in. The Aurora Australis is just drifting (same lump of ice off the bow for 4+ hours) – be interesting to know if the Aussie vessel’s drift is into or out of a jam…. doubt they want to volunteer that maybe 🙂
Right Time: If you were that Russian captain would YOU share your private stash with these idiots?
http://www.amsa.gov.au/media/documents/02012014AkademikShokalskiyUpdate10_Media_Release.pdf (latest report from amsa)
Sea ice conditions preventing the barge reaching the Chinese vessel……also the deck on Aurora not strong enough for the Chinese helicopter to land (answers one of my questions).
I have no sympathy whatever for pseudoscientist Chris Turley or his credulous global warming groupies, er tourists. All the CAGW CO2 crap for last couple of decades has cost the world’s taxpayers trillions of dollars, subverted real scientific inquiry, turned climatology into religion, etc. The people who started all this and who screamed the loudest are as corrupt as any Wall Street bankster. They don’t care about science. They are sociopaths with an agenda entirely motivated by greed and the hunger for power. I hope their noses freeze off.
I hope the crew arrives safely and without injury in their home port, wherever that is.
From the amsa update 10.. ” The preferred and safest option at this stage is to ultimately transfer passengers onto A Australis.”
This is one time above others that a hovercraft is called for.
(CNN) — [Breaking news alert, 9:14 p.m. ET, 1/1/14]
“It is now likely the rescue will not go ahead today,” the maritime agency said in a written statement.
Looks like the rescue attempt is being delayed as if recent press. However, it’s a good thing the Turney crew are doing things (which are not science) to keep spirits up. /sarc.
Quote from CNN:
Turney has said there are regular briefings on the status of rescue attempts, and in the meantime, people are doing what they can to keep busy. That includes yoga and Spanish classes, Jha and Turney said.
The group even managed to ring in 2014 with good cheer.
“We’re the A, A, E who have traveled far, having fun doing science in Antarctica!” a dozen or so of them sang in a video posted on YouTube. “Lots of snow and lots of ice, lots of penguins, which are very, very nice!
“Really good food and company, but a bloody great shame we are still stuck here! Ice cold, cha cha cha! Ice cold, cha cha cha!”
Mary Wilbur,
On that sort of thing, back in the day, we photo’ed some tank tracts out west of Ka Shan Marine Camp and the Lang Viegh Special Forces Camp near by , so , we took the photos to the LBJ progressive Generals and they said from on high,,”Those are earth moving equipment tracks”/
Some days later the Russian amph tanks where spining on top of the bunkers of the Lang Viegh Camp trying to wipe out the whole of the guys there.
So, this Gen. Cushman former CIA type sort of a PROG new age CO2 type would not send any one from the Marine base at Ka Shan to the aid of the guys under the tanks.
That is why I have some idea why your so pissed.
@ Mario Lento — thanks for the update. Spanish?! So they can speak to the natives, no doubt. “Hola! uh, uh, como se dice ‘penguin’ en espanol?… uh, penguins!… uh…. Como estas, er, I mean, esta, Senores y Senoras… . Donde esta el bano? Do, you, uh, I mean, tiene cervesa?”
*************************************************************************
What a pitiful joke those AGW people are. Not a laughing matter for that crew, though. THEY are the ones I am really sorry for. They are just doing their job. BTW, re: “abandon ship,” I’m not an expert, but, IIRC, that means EVERY soul on board, with the captain last to leave. I hope that captain gives the “Abandon Ship” order NOW and they ALL get off. Let the ship fend for herself. Err on the side of preserving the health and life of the crew. I suppose the Communists (the ones who are “more equal than others”) don’t think like that about their serfs, though, do they? Yeah, socialism is really neat.
Dear F.O.B., Danger Close,
I am so sorry that you had to endure such treachery. That was horrible. You will never get over that, will you — you just forget about it for awhile. Try to think of all the good things that are happening now in your life (wife? dog? kids? grandchildren? etc…). I hope that you can find enough peace and joy to override what those traitors back in Wash., D. C. did. You guys had them on the run; we would have won, but, they pulled you out before you could finish the job. You did your best; you did everything you could have done.
THANK YOU, SO MUCH, FOR SERVING our country.
With deep sympathy and heartfelt gratitude,
Janice
Two flight for.. luggage? Seriously?
These people are imbeciles. Something very bad is going to come of this due to their complete lack of respect for the situation they put themselves in.
Curiouser and curiouser , so should not this have been apparent from the start ? does that mean that the Chinese vessel should meet the Australis in open water ? would this mean an increased helicopter flight ?
This is getting very complicated.
M Courtney says:
January 1, 2014 at 2:22 pm
Expensive, dangerous and should never have been necessary.
But it is necessary. So let’s just be quiet and wait and pray that things do go well.
The jokes won’t be funny if this goes South.
Actually, it’s called natural selection. You do stupid and don’t survive…well…less idiots wanderlusting the planet. …and they are already south. 🙂
It seems that this ‘Rescue’ Is not going to plan.Xue Long apparently stuck requesting assistance and Aurora Australis trying but failing to reach It. how long will It be before ‘Aurora Australis’ requests assistance?
just up from Phillips on board the Aurora Australis:
2 Jan: SMH: Nicky Phillips: Helicopter rescue delayed as second ship trapped in ice
Plans to rescue 52 passengers trapped on the stricken Russian research ship Akademik Shokalskiy have been thrown into disarray after the Chinese ice-breaker Xue Long itself became stuck in pack ice, west of the Mertz Glacier…
Both the Xue Long and the Aurora need to be in open water to conduct the barge operation…
The Aurora is now drifting to the north-west with the surrounding pack ice, which moves with the wind and, to some extent, the current.
Since 7am, it has moved more than half a nautical mile to the north-west, thwarting ice-breaking attempts in the opposite direction….
It is unlikely the Aurora will attempt to reach the Xue Long, which is on the other side of a pack fault line and so drifting in another direction.
The ship’s captain Murray Doyle and voyage leader Leanne Millhouse, from the Australian Antarctic Division, are now weighing up alternative rescue plans.
The weather is clear with good visibility and a wind speed of about 22 knots…
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/helicopter-rescue-delayed-as-second-ship-trapped-in-ice-20140102-306yj.html
@ Highflight 56433 (I’m praying for you both as you mourn and, also, re: the next chapter you mentioned a month ago or so; any likely prospects (smile) — re: the new Mrs. Highflight? — well, everyone, he TOLD us he was going to, so, I thought it would be okay to ask) Take care … up there. Keep us posted! Janice
Mary Wilbur says:
January 1, 2014 at 6:45 pm
Good call. Clear thinking.
note Phillips’ piece is, once again, in the Travel Section!
What’s amazing is the press release sites SEA ICE, but all the news and Twitter reports site WEATHER as the problem. Again there is too much ice, but they are reporting this as a weather problem, a lie of ommission.
Apparently, the issue is:
– Chinese helicopter to be used
– Too heavy to land on the Australian icebreaker
– Aussie icebreaker has barge to land the helicopter on then transfer the pax to the ship
– Ice preventing getting the barge to the Aussie ship
Again it’s an ICE problem. Too much ICE. They just can’t accept that and won’t report it.
Fox news has it as a headliner–the chopper airlift has been delayed.
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/01/01/52-passengers-trapped-in-icebound-ship-in-antarctica-to-be-rescued-by/
Yes, Pat! The SMH certainly has much better photos with their travel articles than The Seattle Times. 😉
Also, earlier today I noticed the Huffington Puffington Post had an AAE article in their Politics section, not the Green section. There couldn’t be an effort to “bury” this inconvienent truth, could there?
“… it’s an ICE problem. Too much ICE.” (Psalmon)
Yup. That bore repeating with emphasis!
Another delay? I’m sure “Turney’s Tour of Shame” will be worth the wait..
First the air lift to the Snow Dragon, where all the Chinese get to say how thrilled they were to waste their summer research time saving pseudo scientists and presstitutes.
Then by barge to the Aurora Australis to hear what the Australians think of them and see all the scientific equipment still in the hold that would be at Casey base if not for their idiocy.
Then shipped back to the Australian base to meet all the happy scientists whose work has been compromised by by the Aurora Australis having to sail off after them with research equipment still on board.
For some reason I don’t think the BBC or the Guardian will be reporting much at all from Turney’s Tour of Shame.
Or they figure there’s a real risk of the ship being abandoned or going down.
They should have known the ‘Ice’ is bad in mega doses.
In the icy grip of fear that global warming is claptrap
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/in-the-icy-grip-of-fear-that-global-warming-is-claptrap/story-fni0cwl5-1226793282194
When everyone is laughing at you, Professor Turney, it’s not because you’re a comedian. The end has finally arrived for AGW/CC/carbon pollution/IPCC and every other passenger fare on the gravy train.
What’s to become of the child graduates in climate change propaganda, aka the MSM? A new career in advertising? (I shouldn’t have said that, but couldn’t resist. Advertising, myself having been there in previous times, is a morally superior career choice compared to what these shills have been involved in. Otherwise politics will be the next route to the taxpayer’s pocket.)
The Sydney Morning Herald has a photo taken from the bows of the Australis showing the Chinese ship stuck fast in pack ice and nothing but pack ice between the two ships. Scrub the use of the barge…… The whole exercise is beginning to move from the farcical to the grotesque as plans start to fail as they come into contact with reality. It looks like what started out as an inconvenience could rapidly become a life-threatening situation. Turvey took his children along for the ride, I wonder how he feels about that decision right now? That nuke-powered US ice-breaker better not be delayed en route.
As for the penguin-counter (via hearsay), what was wrong with high-powered binoculars? Birdwatchers use them all the time, and penguins are birds. btw, disobeying the direct order of a ship’s master is an offence resulting in close confinement, which the skipper should have enforced, as it has placed his vessel and crew under direct threat. Ship captains are kings at sea.
Ahhhh “Nuclear powered ice breaker” It just gets better and better!
I don’t believe the Polarstar is a nuke, I think it is 2 diesel/electric and 1 turbine (75,000 hp for the turbine I believe) and he is not a very good father to put his children in harm’s way – supposed to do the opposite. That makes me think he really thought this trip was going to not be dangerous.
Professor Chris Turney on the expedition as an attempt to deliver empirical science in a debate that has been distract by opinion and (unfounded) belief : http://youtu.be/MFcYQfcU7vY . (h/t Andrew Bolt)
Did you notice the slip of the tongue? “Go with the snot…”
The Polarstar isn’t a nuke – is there another US icebreaker steaming that way? Didn’t think we had nukes
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/icebreakers-list.htm
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/icebreakers.htm
up-to-date from new zealand:
looks like helicopter evacuation has been ruled out indefinitely! plus what does “this time because of sea ice” mean? what was it the other times?
2 Jan: NZ City: Sea ice delays Antarctica rescue bid
The rescue of scientists and tourists who have spent 10 days stranded on a ship trapped by ice off Antarctica has again been delayed, this time because of sea ice…
It is unlikely the helicopter rescue of 52 passengers aboard the Akademik Shokalskiy will go ahead on Thursday and instead plans are being made for a safer transfer directly from ship to ship, Australian maritime officials say…
AMSA says the preferred option is to wait for conditions that will allow the rescue to be completed in a single operation, transferring the passengers directly to the Aurora Australis, to reduce unnecessary risk…
AMSA is also investigating alternative rescue ideas…
Six New Zealanders are aboard the ship…
http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=179754&fm=newsmain%2Cnrhl
——————————————————————————–
AMSA News just tweeted:
“AMSA is awaiting confirmation that the Antarctica rescue operation has begun.”
Ref. nuke-powered ice-breaker. My bad. Misread an article. Apologies all round. In mitigation it was 0530 local before coffee.
Simple solution — air-drop some trail mix & water for the activists and leave the real food for the real men – the ship’s crew.
Dear Mr. High Flight,
From your video response to me (?) (I didn’t see any other response…), you were very upset by my question. Please forgive me. Whew! I hope I learned my lesson. That was a bit unnerving, but, if you were offended, it made sense (sort of, shudder). Perhaps, your response was not that, but only {silence}. If so, I hear you. Sorry to have been a pain. Hope all is well.
Take care.
Apologetically,
Janice
ABC news confirmed that tweet and that a helicopter had arrived. Twits keep us informed 🙂
Apparently, the evacuation is underway.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/gallery/2014/jan/02/antarctic-rescue-gets-under-way-in-pictures
Chinese helicopter arrived at vessel.
http://twitter.com/ProfChrisTurney/status/418619915428327424
And Chris Turney tweets:
The Chinese helicopter has arrived @ the Shokalskiy. It’s 100% we’re off! A huge thanks to all. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_13rQBXKa0A …
Interesting update within last hour at http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-incidents/helicopter-rescue-delayed-as-second-ship-trapped-in-ice-20140102-306yj.html. With good video and audio of current status. Chinese ship now stuck. Posted in the SMH Travel section, of course.
The Polar Star is not nuclear but it can break through ice up to 21 feet thick. That is good if the ice continues to increase. Here is more info on the Polar Star icebreaker ship:
“Polar Star’s three shafts are turned by either a diesel-electric or gas turbine power plant. … Polar Star is able to break through ice up to 21 feet (6 m) thick and steam continuously through 6 feet (1.8 m) of ice at 3 knots (6 km/h).”
I don’t get it. The helicopter dropped off 6 people and left. I thought it was supposed to pick up 12 people?
That chopper should be on floats, it does not like that soft mush.
Wind direction Southerly at 3kts (Dumont D’Urville), so the conditions are better.
Janice! It’s a joke on what is going to happen to idiots who venture into danger without any consideration to the consequences of being stupid.
Otherwise…how do spell relief?
Ans: C H I N E S E H E L I C O P T E R
There is no getting any passengers from the Chinese Ship to the Australian ship at the moment and perhaps for a couple of days or maybe more. What’s the rush? Something we don’t know about?
I just answered my own question:
A Chinese helicopter arrived close to the vessel, bringing in a crew to assess the landing situation.
The aircraft is expected to return within the hour to begin ferrying the first passengers out to another vessel.
Mario Lento says:
January 1, 2014 at 10:16 pm
I don’t get it. The helicopter dropped off 6 people and left. I thought it was supposed to pick up 12 people?
….Best to play it safe with a lighter load.
This guardian article has a bit of an explanation of what is going on:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/02/antarctic-rescue-under-way-akademik
I would say they would like to take the weather window opportunity to get folks to the Chinese ship so as to at least complete stage one of the rescue.
We would need Turney’s confidence about leaving in an hour confirmed by the 6 crew who just arrived. Notice how much the wheels sunk into the snow…while hovering!
Thanks, HighFlight, for letting me know that silence, and not that video, was your answer to my question. Much appreciated. Hope my asking was not in itself offensive. J.
I don’t think Chris Turney will be knighted for his efforts to repeat Sir Douglas Mawson’s feat!
More likely it is going to be “good night Chris Turney”!
7 people
That ship is not in immanent danger of sinking, so they should be absolutely confident of favorable conditions before attempting rescue. Here’s hoping that they proceed as safely as possible.
Being offended is a self inflicked wound. 🙂
Steve says:
January 1, 2014 at 10:38 pm
7 people
++++++++
Good eyes! I had to pause the video to catch it. Yes indeed –7 flights and 7 people dropped off to check out the situation. Lucky 7!
At this time, I feel correct in saying, Chris Turney is trying again to predict the future, by claiming they’re 100% off. No, Turney, that’s simply not true at this time.
And Chris Turney tweets:
The Chinese helicopter has arrived @ the Shokalskiy. It’s 100% we’re off! A huge thanks to all
Quote Chris Turney : ” The Chinese have arrived. 100% we are off”
Don’t count your chickens yet Professor.
( or is that don’t count your Chinese)
Reporting on site the Guardian has updated the story just now to say: ‘In a change of plan, the passengers would be taken not the Xue Long, but to an ice floe near the icebreaker Aurora Australis, which tried but failed to break through to the trapped ship earlier this week.”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/02/antarctic-rescue-under-way-akademik
Turney’s horse came in on 100% according to his tweet and little video :
The first of the helicopters to take us home. Thanks everyone! #spiritofmawson Alok Jha https://vine.co/v/hVxKH5iFB7Q
it would be great if anthony could begin a new thread called “the rescue” or something, as i’m sure a lot of people are having trouble opening the top thread.
Given the fact that the Chinese were recently playing dodgem games with U.S. Ships during their navel exercises.
I suspect the captain of the Polar Star is in no big hurry to get down there.
A – The whole problem could resolve itself in the 5-6 days it takes to get on site.
B – It would be a waste of fuel not to make best speed rather than to dash down there, while there are support vessels nearby even if they are also iced in, since there is no imminent danger to crew and passengers.
C – It would be a suitable tit for tat to the Chinese, for the Polar Star to be the ship that finally is capable of breaking all the others free after over a week stuck in the ice, when they get there.
If it works out that the Xue Long is still iced in when they get on station, it would be a particularly sweet payback for the UCG to break the Xue Long free.
yes I know such ship to ship encounters and dominance games happen all the time at sea.
The Soviets did the same thing to us with their trawlers when I was in the Navy. They would cut across our bow then turn in line with our course to present their stern to us, which would have forced an over taking collision with them if we did not change course or speed. They mostly did it to “herd” us onto a preferred course so they could take pictures of our ship but there was some gamesmanship involved as well.
Call me hard-hearted or barbarous but I don’t understand, why so many here wish these swindlers well.
These government-funded parasites want all of us, rational people, to die out. They steal our money under the false pretexts. They undermine liberty and economy, they pervert the good name of science.
Why should I cry if they freeze and drown?
alok jha tweets:
First passengers from Shoklakiy have taken off, now on their way to Aurora Australis pic.twitter.com/PS4uOndHX4
also:
Antarctic rescue from Akademik Shokalskiy gets under way – first pictures http://gu.com/p/3yh2d/tw v
https://twitter.com/alokjha
——————————————————————————–
Mr. Feht… Amen!
Watched the video…strange there is no pad laid out for the chopper to land on…or take the time to put the skis on it. Oh… I forgot…made in China.
Phillips on the Aurora Australis:
2 Jan: SMH: Nicky Phillips: Antarctica rescue of passengers on Akademik Shokalskiy begins
The passengers will be evacuated from the ship by the Xue Long’s helicopter and taken to a thick ice floe next to Australian icebreaker the Aurora Australis.
At 4pm Sydney time, four Australian Antarctic Division staff were lowered to the ice in a small boat to prepare a helicopter landing area and a safe walking passage to the Aurora for the Shokalskiy passengers…
The Xue Long also sent a helicopter crew with engineers to test the landing area before it left to collect the Shokalskiy passengers, who are expected to arrive on the Aurora in the next few hours…
Deck areas on the Aurora have been closed as the operation begins.
Plans to rescue the Shokalskiy passengers changed this morning when it became apparent the Xue Long was itself unable to move out of the pack ice…
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/antarctica-rescue-of-passengers-on-akademik-shokalskiy-begins-20140102-307mv.html
Oh… I forgot…made in China.
very funny
The first 12 have been taken off, direct to an ice floe adjacent Aurora Australia 11 minutes ago.
BBC stating that its reporter has been rescued.
He must be very important, eh?
I hear that the plan is to evacuate the pseudo-scientists, tourists and media first (although I’m not sure of the demarkation lines here) but leave the peasants (aka the crew) behind to rescue the ship “later”. It seems we have in microcosm the great warmist/alarmist master plan for the entire world: The warmists will be OK living on their fat statist salaries/pensions while the rest of us are stuck in the ice.
Yep…all about saving their own skin…leave the crew and others behind.
Ice Wedding Time (Postcard From Antarctica):
http://s13.postimg.org/4e9jvj7qv/Spirit_Of_Mawson.jpg
I remember from a week ago that tweets from the ship said that it was only two miles from open water when it got stuck. If it had been traveling at 8 mph, then it would have gotten free if it the penguin counter had arrived 15 minutes earlier. So his/her dawdling could be the real reason for this crisis. (It would be delicious if the dawdler turns out to be the most alarmist member of the team.)
Amid the widespread ridicule being expressed over this fiasco, he Guardian has launched an education drive to teach us all “the truth” about Antarctica in an article by Oliver Milman entitled “Five basic Antarctic facts for climate change sceptics”.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/02/antarctic-ship-stranding-delights-climate-change-sceptics
Oliver is using his column to try to talk down to “climate change sceptics” and “contrarians” as if he were addressing a kindergarten class. For instance, he informs us that “The Arctic (around the north pole, doesn’t have penguins, but has polar bears) is very different from the Antarctic (around the south pole, has penguins, but not polar bears).” Unfortunately for his credibility, however, in his very first “basic Antarctic fact”, he explains that “The Antarctic is an enormous frozen continent that covers about a fifth of the southern hemisphere.”
Well, I guess that’s close enough for Guardian science reporting. In the real world, though, the area of Antarctica is 5.405 million sq miles (14 million km²), covering about 5.5% of the Southern Hemisphere, which I calculate as about 98 million square miles (255 million km²) on the assumption that it accounts for half of the Earth’s total surface area.
Ollver’s article is going down very well with the Amen Corner of diehard CAGWers at CIF, who are high-fiving his effort, oblivious to the inaccuracy of this pronouncement. Apparently, basic geographic knowledge is not a strong suit down at the Guardian.
A quote from the bottom of the BBC report:
“”Despite being trapped, the scientists have continued their experiments, measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.
One of the aims is to track how quickly the Antarctic’s sea ice is disappearing.””
The irony of it all. The BBC are obviously not going to let the truth interfere with their reporting this year either.
The final line shows just how completely out of touch with reality the BBC really is:
“”The ship has plenty of stocks and has never been in danger.””
Trapped in ice in the harshest environment in the world in a cruise ship with a bit of ice reinforcement around the waterline for bumping off flows. No danger huh?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25573096
Will the Australians allow these ‘boat people’ into their country?
we will reluctantly accept our own.
Having looked at the first attempt to land the helicopter, I wouldn’t like to land on that ice: while still hoovering, the helicopter sank to the hull in the snow/ice pack. Not directly reassuring about the stability of the ice for a full landing. The next attempt the extra crew did jump out while the helicopter still was hoovering without real landing. That is not the safest way to get people back on board.
I hope the engineers will find a safer place to land the helicopter, or they better stop the whole operation…
Tim Groves –
probably going by this estimate!
National Geographic: Antarctica
The Antarctic covers approximately 20 percent of the Southern Hemisphere…
http://education.nationalgeographic.com.au/education/encyclopedia/antarctica/?ar_a=1
Not clear what happened here. Looks like it added five chinese to the number stranded at MV Sokoldsky the flew away again. 😕
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-25573096
“One of the aims is to track how quickly the Antarctic’s sea ice is disappearing.”
For Christ’s sake ! We have 30 years of detail satellite measurements showing ice extent expanding, so they are going to pop down and “track” how quickly it is “disappearing.”
Head meet anus …. have a nice stay!
The other aim of the mission is to finally prove that black is white. Something we have “known” for some time but proof has remained elusive.
Is that now to known as the ‘WattsUpWithThat Bay’?
Why don’t they bring hovercrafts to the area? Is it impossible to use them on pack ice?
For those who aren’t following the Guardian live coverage, I would like to draw your attention to this perceptive comment on their webpage:
PimpmasterFlex 02 January 2014 9:31am – Recommended 27
Not my choice of language and a missing comma but an apposite comparison.
Tim Groves –
i would imagine they are talking of southern hemisphere land mass. would that make the 20 percent correct?
The Antarctic is one and half times the size of the lower 48 and one and a half times the size of the continent of Australia. This does not count the sea ice.
The National Geographic article refers to the Antarctic region being about 20% of the Southern Hemisphere but most of this is Southern Ocean and includes islands such as South Georgia.
Findings published on twitter (the tag edited)…:
@ProfChrisTurney dec 30
It’s so warm, it’s actually raining! #thelackofspiritofmawson
–
It was +1C? If so, and if normal average temperature is +5C, I guess it’s raining despite cold air.
Les,
I’ll hazard a guess that the “something we don’t know about” has everything to do with the Long electronic snooping capabilities. She may even perform sub hunting sub tending duties.
Just a hunch.
All 52 people to be rescued are now on the Aurora Australis according to Alok Jha of the Guardian on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/alokjha
I have to say the rescued Antarctic scientists looked distinctly penguin-like walking from the helicopter landing area to the Zodiac next to Australis.
http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel-news/antarctica-rescue-of-passengers-on-akademik-shokalskiy-begins-20140102-307mv.html
Its certainly not over yet because we have two ships stuck in the ice and the Australis is currently in some very thick ice extending all the way to the horizon in all directions.
http://images.aad.gov.au/webcams/aurora/14/A140021100A.jpg
http://images.aad.gov.au/webcams/aurora/14/A140021100B.jpg
M Courtney says:
January 2, 2014 at 2:56 am
For those who aren’t following the Guardian live coverage, I would like to draw your attention to this perceptive comment on their webpage:
PimpmasterFlex 02 January 2014 9:31am – Recommended 27
This is just like the Chilean miners rescue.
But with dislikeable hipster knobends.
Not my choice of language and a missing comma but an apposite comparison.
====
The other notable difference being that the miners did not go down the mine to prove there was not copper or gold down there.
I hope the Aurora Australis crew have been viewing Laurence Topham’s videos. Hopefully they will be aware that hipster climate martyrs do not like narrow beds.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/02/antarctic-helicopter-mission-rescue-success
Not a SINGLE WORD about the 22 crew that were left behind on the stricken vessel and will presumably remain stuck awaiting an attempt to free the ship with more powerful icebreakers later. No word of what the plan is on that nor the risk of the hull splitting before they manage to free the ship.
“So long, and thanks for all the fish!” INCREDIBLE.
“So long, and thanks for all the fish!” INCREDIBLE.
#spiritofimalrightjack
I’m sure these (pseudo) scientists will all be expecting a hero’s welcome when the rescue ship arrives in port, with their tree ring and ice core samples, After all, they put themselves in great danger in order to help save the World.
In passing, the only comment on the BBC regarding the rescue was simply that “the scientists have been rescued” nothing more.
M Courtney says:
January 2, 2014 at 2:56 am
For those who aren’t following the Guardian live coverage, …
*************************
Comment has now been removed.
highflight56433 says: @ January 2, 2014 at 12:50 am
Yep…all about saving their own skin…leave the crew and others behind.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
The captain has to stay with the ship or it is ‘abandoned and can be confiscated as ‘salvage’ An earlier report said he asked his crew and they volunteered to remain with the ship.
However Prof. Christmas Turkey could have been more polite and at least thanked the crew and captain.
So they sat on the ship drank all the beer and stuff, sang and danced, when the booze ran out they pissed off leaving the crew to freeze. What lovely people.
Hmm…I wonder whether, when those clowns have left, the Russian captain will pipe up and tell us what really happened.
However Prof. Christmas Turkey could have been more polite and at least thanked the crew and captain.
They may be tempted to claim that they were intentionally imprisoned by Russian captain ‘climate change denier’
It’s not over yet despite the passenger rescue.
The Polar Star‘s last reported position:
That course and speed puts her into Sidney in 10 hours, 43 minutes. It has obviously been decided the Polar Star is not going to be required to rescue the passengers or crew of the Akademik Shokalskiy and the ship itself will hold together until the wind changes and blows the pack ice back out to sea so she can escape on her own.
Pat –
Thanks very much for the link to National Geographic. The talk of continent of Antarctica being part of the region of Antarctica. Depending on how that region is defined, it could be considered to be a fifth of the Southern Hemisphere. But Oliver clearly specified that he was talking about the continent of Antarctica.
The Southern Hemisphere is usually quoted as being 19.1% land. On my calculator, that’s about 48,7 million km². Antarctica is officially quoted as having an area of 14 million km² which would mean it accounts for roughly a bit less than 30% of the land in the Southern Hemisphere. This may seem like an overstatement because we are used to seeing Antarctica as a rather modest island continent at the bottom of the globe. But the figures say it is close to double the area of Australia (7.7 million km²) and not far short of the area of South America (17.8 million km², some of which is in the north of the equator).
The fact that the Southern Hemisphere is four-fifths ocean is the main reason why its average temperature varies much less than the Northern Hemisphere’s does between summer and winter. Now that I see that 30% of that 19% of the hemisphere’s land is so close to the pole that it doesn’t play much part in the summer warming process, it further clarifies the huge difference between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres in the amounts of land at temperate latitudes that give the Milankovitch cycles something to work with.
What really frustrates me and boils my P**S is that, no matter how long the rescue is delayed or how long it takes or even if the Russian research vessel is lost, holed by ice and sunk, that no matter what, the warmists will insist on using any pseudo-science to propagandise that the disastrous mission was interrupted by increased ice because of human induced climate change.
I remember every single Antarctic ice minimum, each March during the 2000’s the mainstream media would drag out the same picture of the massive straight crack in the Antarctic ice and use that as proof of escalating ice loss in the Antarctic due to global warming. Global warming was undoubtedly (in their minds) the cause of Antarctic ICE LOSS.
Their argument was increased use of fossil fuels pumped out more CO2 which warms the planet causing the ice at the edges of the South Pole to melt faster. Historic ice sheets that had lasted hundreds, if not thousands of years, were threatened by man made global warming.
Since the ice in the Antarctic has been increasing for several years on the trot, the media have stopped reusing those tired old pictures and now keep supporting and backing those warmist anti-scientists who simply MUST prove their CAGW hypothesis and not allow it to be falsified by real evidence, therefore not only does ice loss = man made global warming, but now, so does increasing ice too and they will use any BS evidence to support that myth and the mainstream media will continue to wilfully mislead their audiences to keep peddling that myth and never ever tackle the failure of the “scientists” to stick to the scientific method.
AAAGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
That said, I hope that all those involved are rescued safely, and the scientists and media organisations represented on board are made to pay the full costs of the rescue and compensate the owner of the Russian vessel, if it is lost to the ice.
MarineTraffic is no longer reporting a current position of the Polar Star. Last position posted was hours ago. Hmmmm.
Australia Network News reports all have been rescued and are aboard the AA.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-01-02/rescue-helicopter-arrives-at-stranded-antarctic-ship/5182632?section=australianetworknews
Good observation; went back and looked at that full-screen and indeed is the case …
Bad things can happen on lift-off should one of those wheels have gotten ‘stuck’ on something while the wheels were being extracted from the mush/ice composition.
Doesn’t seem like that chopper was properly equipped for Arctic/antarctic conditions with regard to ‘running gear’ * …
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* In a carriage or wagon, running gear designates the wheels and axles in distinction from the body. per wiki/powertrain
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“Antarctic ship: Helicopter rescue operation successful
AFP – January 02, 2014 11:05PM
The ship’s 22 crew will remain on board until the ice breaks up and the Shokalskiy can sail on under her own steam. She is well provisioned and those on board have not been in any danger.”
So, if they’ve not been in any danger it wasn’t really a rescue, was it? Does this mean that the taxpayer won’t be on the hook for an evacuation that was carried out essentially for the tourists’ comfort?
and
Ah, but it is worse than you think!
The Antarctic continent is 14.0 million km^2. Antarctic sea ice varies with day-of-year of course, but expands from a low point of 3.5 Mkm^2 to a recent and continuous (record-setting!) high of 19.5 Mkm^2.
(Odd, isn’t it, that the other continents are actually measured and reported to their decimal place of their last sq km, but Antarctica is not only completely left off of Hansen’s NASA-GISS Mercator projection completely, but is simply “rounded off” to the nearest million sq km by everybody? – Regardless of inaccuracy and ignorances and ignoring senses – that solid Antarctic surface is 97% ice-covered by a permanent (non-melting!) continental ice cap. Which is in turn surrounded by 3.5 Mkm^2 of permanent ice shelves. 14.0 + 3.5 Mkm^2 = 17.5 Mkm^2 of permanent ice surfaces.
And, in turn, that 17.5 Mkm^2 permanent ice-covered surface is surrounded by 3 Mkm^2 of sea ice (at minimum) and up to 19.5 Mkm^2 of sea ice at maximum each year. (The NSIRDC assures me that they do NOT include ice shelves in their sea ice total for either Arctic or Antarctic. That 3.5 Mkm^2 of permanent ice shelf around Antarctica? That by itself is 50% larger than the entire area of Hansen’s Mercator-exaggerated Greenland’s 2.1 Mkm^2.)
Thus, the “real” Antarctic reflective surface is not 14 million km2, not 17.5 million km2, but is actually 14 + 3.5 + 19.5 = 37 million sq km2 ! This is an area that will cover the entire globe from the south pole to 60 degrees south latitude, or from the north pole past the bottom of Greenland’s southern tip, all the way through Canada, pass well south of Alaska, take half of Siberia and Russia, and all of Scandinavia. AND all of the oceans between, around, and above those land masses.
But is is still worse than you think!
90% of South America’s 17.8 Mkm^2 is south of the equator = 16.0 Mkm^2.
About 1/3 of of Africa’s 30.2 Mkm^2 is south of the equator = 10.0 Mkm^2
All of Australia, New Zealand’s 8.0 Mkm^2 is south of the equator = 8.0 Mkm^2
So, by itself, at sea ice maximum, Antarctica’s reflective surface is larger than ALL of the other land area in the southern hemisphere!
Bear in mind the Polar Star was 108 some nautical miles outside Sydney a few hours and the average reported distance AIS for receiver sites is more like 50 miles due to a variety of factors.
BTW, “AIS Source 65” (which reported the Polar Star’s last position) is sponsored by a ham, VK2GEL per his website: http://www.qrz.com/db/vk2gel
Part of the issue might be shading of the VHF antenna located on the yardarm above the wheelhouse by other antennas, or maybe the VHF AIS antenna is located lower on the wheelhouse and is now shaded by the yardarm structure.
Not everything is a “con spir acy”.
Know the systems involved, and the technology incorporated, otherwise, it’s back to ‘Cargo Cult Science’ for all of us …
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Scute says:
January 2, 2014 at 4:59 am
Hmm…I wonder whether, when those clowns have left, the Russian captain will pipe up and tell us what really happened.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Good point, there has been a lot of commenters from Australia, New Zealand and the US here, but what is the Russian response to all this, it’s their crew and their ship at risk.
No doubt the “intrepid Science” will continue onboard, as the AA returns to Hobart on 8 Jan.
https://secure3.aad.gov.au/proms/public/schedules/voyage.cfm?season=1314
Stand by to be ill as these clowns are treated to a hero’s welcome in Australia. We can be sure the good doctor and his minions will close up ranks and construct a message supporting pre-ordained conclusions reached before departing Auckland.
Wouldn’t it be interesting to have a look at the deck log from the Shokalskiy?
Selected excerpts from the bios of our heroic cast:
Graeme Clark:
“Graeme conducted his PhD in Antarctica, where he spent two summers diving under sea-ice to study future impacts of climate change on marine invertebrate communities.”
Kerry-Jayne Wilson:
“Climate change and oil exploitation pose new threats to seabirds. Importantly, birds are easier to count than other animals and changes in their numbers reflect changes in the marine ecosystem.”
Emma Johnston:
“Emma investigates the ecology of human impacts in such diverse marine environments as Antarctica, the Great Barrier Reef and Sydney Harbour.”
Richard Jones:
“His research interests are wide and varied and currently include the use of lake sediments to study past variation in the Asian and Indian Monsoon, the impact of rapid climate change in Holocene Australasia.”
Leticia Lentini:
“Leticia Lentini is the Events and Branding Marketing Manager for Google Australia and New Zealand.”
Matt McGlone:
“His research speciality is palaeoecology and climate change.”
Jonathan Palmer:
“Jonathan will be leading the tree ring dating across the subantarctics.”
Sarah Richardson:
“Sarah will lead the terrestrial ecology programme, concentrating on the structure and function of New Zealand’s southernmost tree lines, and their potential response to warming climates.”
Janet Wilmhurst:
“documenting how they have responded to both natural and human disturbance and climate change over the last 10,000 years.”
Ezequiel Marzinelli:
“He is particularly interested in understanding the impacts of climatic change and other human disturbances on the ecological interactions and processes that shape these communities.”
Tracey Rogers:
“The common thread of Tracey’s rather diverse research is the attempt to understand how mammals respond to change specifically the recent warming in the Antarctic.”
Finally! After years of waiting for the “climate refugees” we have our first actual candidates with these “boat people”. Too bad they were actually fleeing cold and ice, but oh well.
Wilkus: So, by itself, at sea ice maximum, Antarctica’s reflective surface is larger than ALL of the other land area in the southern hemisphere!
Thanks Wilkus. That’s absolutely chilling.
Sorry, that last thanking was for RACookPE1978!