<
https://theconversation.com/the-limits-of-ice-what-a-19th-century-expedition-trapped-in-sea-ice-for-a-year-tells-us-about-antarcticas-future-224063>
"In 1897, the former whaling ship
RV Belgica left Antwerp in Belgium and set
sail due south. It was the first voyage of what would become known as the
Heroic Age of Antarctic exploration. It did not go to plan.
After a six-month voyage, they begin encountering sea ice. Several times the
ship is caught in the ice for a day or two. A crew member falls overboard and
is lost to the icy waters. But the crew presses on, making measurements as they
go. Expedition leader Adrien de Gerlache records the process:
At noon we made a deep sea sounding, with a long series of temperatures at
various depths. We lowered five hundred and sixty metres of wire, and
brought up a cup of blue clay. The temperature at the surface was at the
freezing point, and at the bottom slightly warmer.
Their discovery of deep warmer water was important. It’s since been named
Circumpolar Deep Water. In our time, this water is getting warmer and warmer,
as oceans absorb nearly all the extra heat trapped by burning fossil fuels.
Antartica’s seemingly impregnable ice is now melting from beneath."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
