Fossil Fuel To The Rescue!

By Paul Homewood

 

 

The Australian icebreaker, Aurora Australis, is due on the scene today, to attempt to cut a path through to the trapped Akademik Shokalskiy.

It is not clear just what it will be able to achieve, since it can , apparently, only cut ice up to 1.3m thick. The ice around the trapped ship has already been measured at over 3m thick. Remember as well that the Aurora was herself trapped in ice for two weeks last month.

It is however still relatively early in the season, so the ice may well start to break up in January, which is traditionally the warmest month.

The real question is how long the Australians and Chinese are prepared to keep their ships on standby, if they cannot cut a path in the next few days. Both icebreakers are badly needed for resupplying their countries’ respective Antarctic stations.

The Chinese icebreaker, already forced to give up, has a helicopter on board, which may have to be used as a last resort. Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokeswoman Lisa Martin also raised the possibility of the passengers and crew leaving the Akademik and trekking across the ice floe to the Aurora before being ferried to safety, if the latter could get close enough.

 

There have been a few dupes trying to explain the extensive sea ice as “icebergs floating off of Antarctica because of the warmth there”. The nearest GISS station to this part of the world is Dumont D’Urvi. The French Antarctic base is just over 100 miles along the coast, and is where the icebreaker, L’Astrolabe, sailed from to assist in the rescue.

GISS temperature records there show no long term trend.

 

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/gistemp/show_station.cgi?id=700896420008&dt=1&ds=14

 

Oh well, another theory goes up in smoke!

In the meantime, our intrepid explorers will be immensely grateful for the diesel powered icebreakers sent to rescue them. Just think what might happen to them if they were all wind powered!