China icebreaker fails to reach stuck Antarctic ship
BBC News online -- 27 December 2013
Chris Fogwill and the team are retracing the steps of Douglas Mawson a century ago
A
scientific mission ship, trapped in dense pack ice off East Antarctica,
is still awaiting rescue after a Chinese icebreaker failed to reach it.
It had been trying to cut a path through the ice in order to help the research vessel reach open water.
The Russian Academic Shokalskiy, which has been trapped since Christmas Day, has 74 on board and is being used by the Australasian Antarctic Expedition.
They are following the route explorer Douglas Mawson travelled a century ago.
One of the leaders of the expedition, Chris Turney, earlier tweeted an image of the Snow Dragon icebreaker - also known as the Xue Long - on the horizon as it approached the research ship.
But the Chinese vessel encountered heavy ice and could not continue, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said on Twitter.
It said another boat, Australia's Aurora Australis, was still travelling to the area.
"Our rescue boat, the Xue Long, has had to turn back because the ice was too thick for it to get through. We're now awaiting Aurora Australis," said Alok Jha, a journalist on board the Shokalskiy.
The Shokalskiy was trapped by thick sheets of ice driven by high windsThe research ship Shokalskiy was trapped by thick sheets of ice that were driven by strong winds about 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart - the capital of the Australian state of Tasmania.
There had also been fears that blizzards could hamper the rescue effort.
The Shokalskiy is well stocked with food and is in no danger, according to the team.
Although trapped for the moment, the scientists are continuing their experiments. They have been measuring temperature and salinity through cracks in the surrounding ice.
Science volunteer Sean Borkovic told the BBC: "I'll always remember this, that's for sure. It's brilliant. We've got some lovely light and the weather's pretty mild considering. The ship looks solid. I think we'll be good."
A visit from Secret Santa and a sumptuous Christmas dinner contributed to the mood of optimism.
The goal of the modern day Australasian Antarctic Expedition is to repeat many of the original measurements and studies of the Mawson expedition to see how facets of the environment have changed over the past century.
Related Stories
Labels: Antarctica, Exploration, Nature, Science
posted by Pieface @ 5:58 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home