9.30am AEDT Saturday 04 January 2014
Aurora Australis released from tasking in Antarctica
Xue Long’s attempt to manoeuvre through the ice early this morning was unsuccessful. Xue Long has confirmed to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) it is beset by ice.
The Master of Xue Long has confirmed to AMSA that the ship is safe, it is not in distress and does not require assistance at this time. There is no immediate danger to personnel on board the Xue Long. The Xue Long has advised AMSA it has food supplies for several weeks. The Aurora Australis was placed on standby by AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre Australia (RCC Australia) last night to remain in open water in the area as a precautionary measure.
The Masters of both Akademik Shokalskiy and Xue Long agree that further assistance from Aurora Australis is no longer required and they will be able to provide mutual support to each other. The Aurora Australis has been released from search and rescue tasking by RCC Australia early this morning and continues to make its passage to the Casey base to complete a resupply. It will then continue to Hobart. RCC Australia will maintain regular contact with the Xue Long and Akademik Shokalskiy.
Off Topic but looks important: There is a bit of a rumpus going on in the Guardian comments about ‘Should Australian Newspapers publish climate change denialist opinion pieces?’ Looks like they are allowing comments from said ‘deniers’ too.
http://www.theguardian.com/environment/southern-crossroads/2014/jan/04/climate-change-climate-change-scepticism?commentpage=1
Greg says:
January 4, 2014 at 8:59 am
More like Brave Sir Robin 😉
Yes too funny as well. It’s been many years since I’ve watched it but remains one of the funniest movies to me. I don’t want to give away the ending, for those who have yet to watch it, but I’d say Anthony Watts should play lead of the guys at the end.
Perhaps it could be crowdfunded? I’d be game along with everyone else in the world who still chortling – which, about now should be most anyone on the planet! :)~
Funny …
One of the videos, ‘filmed’ at the shoreline, explained how they were towing the Argos with the Zodiacs up to near the shore … From what I recall, it was the third Argo which was swamped by too aggressive towing. After bailing it dry it would not start.
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I must object to the appellation for Turney of “Turkey”. It is unfair and a slander to turkeys everywhere, particularly wild ones (of which we’ve been having quite a few in our back yard this winter).
rogerknights says:
January 3, 2014 at 8:43 pm
************************8
The Dallying Debutantes ?
Turkeys … penguins … whatever your generous spirit will permit as a support donation.
Just give him the bird when you see him.
Image to rekindle the fading memories in the months to come
http://www.vukcevic.talktalk.net/CoolAntarctica.htm
Turney speaks! (But evasively)
‘This wasn’t a tourist trip. It was all about science – and it was worth it’
http://www.theguardian.com/science/antarctica-live/2014/jan/04/antarctic-expedition-was-worth-it-chris-turney
Guardian enviro-hack James Randerson is busy BTL telling everyone who questions His Eminence’s wisdom how wrong they are.
This is the first time I’ve seen such dedicated Guardian “protection” below the line.
I notice mentions of a ‘Darwin’ award. I don’t know much about that, but this whole escapade surely deserves some of award for the comedic value. It has quite brightened up my Christmas and New Year. The Booze Cruise equals anything the old ‘Carry On’ films had to offer. Admittedly, the lack of milk shake provision was a shocking oversight, but I am sure ‘lessons will be learned’ and next time, there will be plenty to go round. In lots of flavours.
_Jim says: January 4, 2014 at 9:35 am
In Janet’s blog, it sounded like the lack of the third Argo then slowed the return of passengers to the ship, suggesting they were actually relying on them to transport people. It is one thing to plop an Argo over the side, and let some buckeroo drive it ashore (rather than place the Argo in a flat-bottom vessel and lighter the thing ashore, which is the smart way), but it is much more foolish to use them as a passenger-launch. They just aren’t stable enough, and overload quickly; human bodies make the weight high, and mobile, both of which exacerbate overloading.
To transfer people to & from shore, only a stable passenger vessel such a Zodiac should be used.
Any Russian worth his daily 12 ounces will have any given submerged small-engine coughing back to life before his second cup o’ spiked coffee cools. Perhaps the lack of ounces & spiking has affected performance here. 😉
In LA and NYC, ya deal with clogged 8-lane freeways. In Alaska & Russia, it’s small engines going underwater. [I read of a dropped Panama Darién outboard that was retrieved from the river bottom, and returned to service by the locals using nothing but a machete and a pocket knife, while the white guys ate their sandwiches.]
It wouldn’t be a surprise to find that when the Xui Long put their heads together with the Akademik Shokalskiy to consider their joint predicament (as the Australis slowly crunched out of sight), the later had 3 working Argos to contribute to the cause. 😉
I think there is a big unwritten story here. It occurred to me that a committed CAGW scientist would never have been caught up in this predicament if he didn’t actually believe in all the warming hype. For such a person, there would be no motivation to investigate it. Turner was remarkably unaware that Antarctica ice extent was a record for this year and, indeed had been breaking records annually for a number of years. After all we are regaled with the terrible sea level rise to expect from the unremitting melting of the world’s glaciers and ice caps.
This incident and other embarrassing incidents like rowing to the north pole, the 22 yachts blocked in their passage through the NW passage, and probably dozens of stories like this show that most of these people simply believe fervently in CAGW. These incidents come as a huge surprise to them. They are honest nice folks, but a mixture of naivety and ignorance (totally unacceptable in a real scientist) and their practice of post normal “science” blinds them to reality. Turney was broadsided cruelly by reality. He is going to need extended therapy to bring him back to his comfortable state of naivety and ignorance. The alternative may be too horrible for him to contemplate.
Yes there are the nefarious, dishonest, agenda driven malefactors that are icons to the rest but they number fewer (thank goodness) than I had believed. I’m embarrassed that the venerable adage: “Don’t ascribe to evil what can be attributed to well-intentioned stupidity.” didn’t occur to me on this subject before now. A seed of doubt may have been sewn in Turney, but to follow where it leads outside of the comfort in numbers and to an about turn measured against the total investment in his CAGW career, I believe will be too much for such as he (ignorance and naivety are not much use as resources). He’s already talking about the wonderful research results he has obtained. I believe a post exploring this phenomenon would be very insightful and lead to conclusions about a total overhaul of our education system – particularly university education.
_Jim says:
January 4, 2014 at 9:05 am
“Do not ascribe too much to one post’s content. Your education involving US history in obscure areas like the historical US banking and commerce I think may not be as complete as you may be assuming …”
I see where this is going. Next you’ll tell me FDR had a deep economic understanding…
An interesting editorial published a few days ago in “The Foundry” notes that while the Russian ship Akademik Shokalskiy is “ice hardened”, it is not an “ice breaker”.
On a side note, I used to teach driver’s ed too!
“…. the venerable adage: “Don’t ascribe to evil what can be attributed to well-intentioned stupidity.” didn’t occur to me on this subject before now. ”
Yes, well-intentioned stupidity, is probably the most succinct description of the current green movement’s beliefs. However, when I see all the “should deniers views be allowed to be published” , “crimes against humanity” type stuff, we have to realise “well-intentioned” part is in trouble.
They know they are losing and they are starting to get nasty.
Can you two get a private room!
Turney in the guardian
“After sleepless nights thinking about keeping everyone safe, it is a relief to know everyone is on board the Aurora and well.”
So the Russian crew don’t count as ‘everyone’. Probably forgotten they even exist.
Om ljod ber ek alle søner åt Heimdall store og små….
Ladies & Genlemen and / or vice versa:
Is there a severe lot of mis- use of cocain in the business-class over there?
May there also be rabble in the servant class / ramp i tjenerklassen?
Grasshopper, you have much to learn on your journey, and this is not getting off to a good start. I submit it is Dirk who requires remediation of his education. Let me play a Gail and post a relevent link; maybe you are mislead by the flounderings of FDR like most Americans who only received a public grade-school review of history (even in higher-level college courses):
“FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT’S ‘New Deal’ saved America from the failure of free-market capitalism.”
These and other myths are dispelled by the facts in this essay by economists (since you bring FDR up, lets educate all around …)
FDR’s ‘brain trust’ was brain rust. Buckley used to debate the late economist (I forget his name) who was in the FDR administration in charge of war material I htink it was; it was an education. I recommend Buckley to you to.
Dirk, are you still subscribing to G. Edward Griffin contrived piece? Did you check any of the references at the website I linked above for cross-checking the assertion that Griffon is all washed up?
Much OT, but Dirk started it …
.
Doc Martyn says — Brain dead Republican Todd Palin —
Doc Martyn is making a joke.
Todd Palin is portrayed by the left as another “brain dead Republican” but he knows what he is about having won a truly grueling cold weather race four times. By implication the truly brain dead people are the warmist stuck in the ice — particularly their leader Turney who claims to be an expert on Antarctic conditions and obviously knows nothing.
Doc Martyn — I got the joke — others apparently did not.
Eugene WR Gallun
During the debacle with a bunch of half wits getting stuck in non-existent ice, another half wit gets a CBE. Julia Slingo has been honoured for her services to weather forecasting (bbq summers, mild winters etc etc not withstanding).
It makes you want to weep!
If a slightly off-topic comment can be forgiven, this whole incident spotlights the need for the U.S. to build more polar-class icebreakers. Whether for research, supply, or national security interests, or merely to conduct search and rescue operations, it would seem there is a need for more of these ships.
Stranded Vessel in Antarctica Illustrates Need for New U.S. Icebreaker Policy
http://blog.heritage.org/2013/12/31/stranded-vessel-antarctica-illustrates-need-new-u-s-icebreaker-policy/
The author, Brian Slattery, a foreign policy research assistant, has been calling for a strengthened U.S. coast guard presence in the arctic in order to “catch up with the other Arctic nations and field a presence that can legitimately protect U.S. sovereignty in the region.”
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2013/04/strengthen-the-us-coast-guard-in-the-arctic
The USCGC Polar Star and its twin the Polar Sea are ostensibly “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),” (Wikipedia). It’s about 400 feet long and 80 feet wide, and it is able to accommodate two helicopters. These two ships are among the largest of U.S. coast guard ships, and along with a smaller ship, “The Healy”, apparently comprise the entire fleet of polar-capable U.S. icebreakers. The two former ships were built in the ’70’s, and are nearing the end of their natural service lives.
The distinction in vessel construction, and role of sovereign naval powers in the polar regions is certainly one of the more fascinating aspects of this story. Even though chances of armed conflict in the polar regions seems unlikely, it would be interesting to know more about the role these interesting ships play in maintaining national security and a balance of powers in these areas.
Interesting, too, the U.S. senators urging new shipbuilding.
Song to the tune of ‘My Boyfriend’s Back’
The thick ice is back and you’re gonna be in trouble
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
When you see the ice comin’ better cut out on the double
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
You been spreadin’ lies and your computers were untrue
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
So look out now reality’s comin’ after you
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
And we all know that you’ve been tryin’
And we know your models are all a lyin’
You’ve been gettin’ ‘way with this for such a long time
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
But now we’re pushing back and things will be fine
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
Gonna be sorry ’cause your computer models were wrong
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
‘Cause the ice is kinda big and it’s awful strong
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
And we all know your model’s are cheatin’
And you’re funding’s gonna take a beatin’
What makes you think we’d believe all your lies
You’re a big man now, wanna cut you down to size
Wait and see
The ice is back, it’s gonna ruin your reputation
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
If I were you I’d take a permanent vacation
(Hey la, hey la, the ice is back)
P.S. Can I change my handle and address after this so no one recognizes me anymore?
TomB says:
January 3, 2014 at 9:38 pm
…Really? You don’t get it? In their world – up is down, left is right, cold is warm….. The only place their folly will be called into question is places like this, outside their echo chamber. Please tell me you’re not that naive.
*
I wasn’t talking about their world, TomB, I was talking about the real scientists disrupted in their work and having to postpone serious scientific endeavours. Catch up with the news, real scientists are furious about this and saying so.
“‘Because of the rescue operations, French scientists had had to scrap a two-week oceanographic campaign this month using the Astrolabe,’ Frenot said. ‘The Chinese have had to cancel all their scientific programme, and my counterpart in Australia is spitting tacks with anger, because their entire summer has been wiped out.’.”
http://joannenova.com.au/2014/01/french-polar-chief-slams-spiritofmawson-fiasco/#more-32596
re: DirkH says January 4, 2014 at 11:12 am
I was wrong; J. Kenneth Galbraith was in the Office of Price Control (a good job for a liberal /only partial sarc) under FDR during WW2. His debates with William F. Buckley are legendary (where Buckley often enjoyed mopping up the floor with the socialist Galbraith).
Resolved: That the Price of Oil and Natural Gas Should Be Regulated by the Federal Government w/Buckley and Galbraith
.
Headline in the guardian
“Weather casuing [sic] sea ice increase, not climate”
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/03/antarctica-ice-trapped-academik-shokalskiy-climate-change