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Edgar Evans Statute appeal

4 Dec

The appeal for funds to go towards a bronze statute of the Welsh hero Edgar Evans moves slowly. The statute is to be erected near to Swansea Museum,

Edgar Evans died over one hundred years ago in Antarctica, He had  suffered terribly from malnutrition; food and fluid intakes that were totally inadequate for his needs, from frostbite and from a cut hand that festered and was almost certainly the source of entry of virulent bacteria into his bloodstream. He had lost weight,muscle and fat. He must have suffered dreadfully.

The fact that, most unfairly, he was blamed in some quarters for being the pivotal cause of the deaths of his companions, would have been terrible to him. The slurs must have contributed to there being no national memorial for Edgar.

We now have a greater understanding of the physical causes that led Edgar to falter  and his reputation has been restored and enhanced in resent years. We know he was a tough, resilient, impressive man who gave his all for Scott and Antarctic exploration. In summary he was a Welsh hero.

On the centenary of the deaths of Scott’s party, an appeal was launched for a memorial to Edgar to be erected. This is to be a bronze statute that will stand 9 feet on its plinth The sculptor is Roger Andrews, the appeal is headed by Councillor Tony Colburn who heads the 8 man committee that boasts the Lord Lieutenant as its Vice President. £10,000 has been raised of the £90,000 needed. Money has already been spent on a 3 foot bronze maquette. There are big plans for fund raising activities in Swansea at Christmas, in shopping areas and in rugby and soccer stadiums. It is hoped that the funds will swell significantly.

If you want to contribute, the Treasurer of the appeal is  Councillor Miles Thomas. He can be reached on Miles.thomas@Swansea.Gov.uk

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Ice in Antarctica

12 Nov

Douglas Mawson embraced ‘the wonderful complexity and baffling contradictions of nature’

He would have been fascinated by this one; some of the Antarctic ice is apparently extending, even as evidence of global warming increases and large sections of the world’s icy surfaces disappear. This anomaly occurs because the polar vortex, winds swirling around the South Pole is strengthening  and forcing ice sheets together to form ridges which are  thickening slowly, researchers from the University of Washington have found.

This IS a baffling contradiction!

 

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SIR DOUGLAS MAWSON

23 Oct

DOUGLAS MAWSON

I have been re-reading accounts of Douglas Mawson. His pioneering expeditions opened up the section of Antarctica (hardly seen, let alone explored), with a series of scientific explorations. His primary interests were geography and geology but he was the first to facilitate radio communications between Antarctica and the mainland of Australia (Morse Code via Macquarie Island), and he took an airplane to Antarctica on his later expeditions.

His personal expedition in 1912 was the Far Eastern Journey (along the coast from his base on Adelie Land towards Cape Adare, where some men from Scott’s party had been based), was overshadowed by the awful deaths of his two companions. ‘Cherub’ Ninnis disappeared silently and shockingly into a crevasse. Mertz died horribly, suffering from stomach pains, muscle weakness and exhaustion, plus his skin peeling away by the handful. It is thought that he and Mawson may have suffered from

Hypervitaminosis A, caused by eating dog livers on their desperate return.

When the emaciated exhausted Mawson fell into a crevasse, he thought that ‘this is how it a shall be’ but his thoughts quickly turned to 2 lines of a poem by Robert Service:

Buck up. Do your damnedest and fight

It is plugging away that will win you the day

He surely lived up to this exaltation.

He got back to his Base in 1913. He was cared for fro a year by companions who had remained behind when their relief ship left Antarctica and who had been searching for his party.

Many think Mawson’s journey to be the greatest example of survival in Antarctica

He showed leadership, courage and resolution to survive against all odds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Microbes in Antarctic Waters Below Australia

2 Oct

When Douglas Mawson led his expedition from Australia to Antarctica in 1912, he travelled through oceans that were virtually unknown. Few ships had navigated those seas below latitude 55 S.  Mawson thought he was in ‘an ice age in all earnestness.’  He was fascinated by the possibilities of Antarctica. His expedition studied all aspects of the seas as well as the continent.

He would have devoured the discoveries relating to marine microorganisms – those essential components of the sea that absorb carbon dioxide and produce oxygen – in the Southern Ocean. Samples across a 3,000 km stretch between Antarctica and Western Australia and difficult to obtain, showed the important discovery that the microbial communities are connected significantly by ocean currents. DNA examination showed that microbes geographically close to each other can be dissimilar, whilst those far apart are similar if connected by currents.

Mawson would have rejoiced in the baffling complexity and fascination of nature.

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TRANS ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION

19 Sep

It is depressing that Sir Ranulph Fienne’s expedition across Antarctica has not succeeded. The point about the expedition was that it was manhauling in the Antarctic winter. This has not been done since Edward Wilson’s ‘Worst Journey in ther World’ of 1911 The group approached the continent from the Weddell Sea area and aimed to cross via the Pole in the winter months.

Sir Ranulph himself did not get onto the continent because of badly  frost bitten fingers. The remaining group of five managed 200 of the 2000 (plus) miles and are now marooned in a ‘sea container’ in the punishing conditions of the Antarctic winter –darkness, winds and temperatures down to – 70C. They continue their psychological and physiological experiments, I imagine the results will be particularly interesting because of the disappointment they must be feeling.

There was an auction of Antarctic artifacts  at the Royal Society to raise money to help bring the explorers back. Among the items were Sir Ranulph’s skis. There were non Antarctic items including Frankie Dettori’s riding breeches (these seem to come up fairly often, I won a pair at an auction)!

This means that Edward Wilson’s shorter, but equally horrible five week journey to collect Emperor Penguin eggs in 1911, is the last successful manhauling midwinter expedition. The continent was crossed for the first time by Vivian Fuchs in the 1950s. He travelled with difficulty (and with tractors) to meet Edmund Hilary, who had come to the Pole from the Ross Sea. The two then returned to the Ross Sea.

With all the scientific advances of the last 100 years this demonstrates the terrifying power of nature

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Global warming slowing currently

5 Sep

It seems that in the Pacific, oscillation in temperature (warmer or colder which can last for decades), guides global ocean atmospheric systems. Researchers at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, California, conclude that we are now in a cooling phase. This is apparently why global warming has slowed in recent years. The effects are not permanent and the scientists conclude that recent warm summers more truly reflect the  effect of global warming. But you can be certain that sceptics will be using this as an argument to support their claims that global warming is not a problem

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Shipworms

27 Aug

Shipworms which destroy wood. do not survive in Antarctic waters. This is because a Front, at the junction of the polar and warmer waters (as well as currents that circulate round the continent), acts as a barrier that blocks the invasion of these destructive mollusks.

When a Norwegian study led by Thomas Dahlgreen, (1), left wood on the Antarctic shelf for over a year, the wooden planks remained intact.

Trees have not grown on the continent for millions of years and it seems that off shore Antarctica is an inhospitable habitat for wood borers.

The fascinating question is whether wrecks in the Weddell Sea could be recovered. The prospect seems remote, given the depth of the Weddell Sea and the pack ice, but nevertheless the suggestion remains a tantalising prospect. When Shackleton’s ‘Endurance’ was crushed by the pack and sunk in November 1915 (She’s going, boys), she was thought to be lost irrevocably. Could she still be lying, crushed but defiant under the Antarctic waters?

(1) Thomas Dahlgreen. Proceedings of the Royal Society. August, 2013

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SHACKLETON

6 Aug

The centenary of Shackleton’s most famous expedition is coming up fast. I imagine there will be many celebrations.

Shackleton is looked on as a charismatic leader, known throughout the world. His management skills are hugely admired. But, I wonder, would he, at the end of his career, have looked upon himself as a success or a failure?

Although his achievements are many, he never in fact, commanded more than 27 men and, it can be said,  he failed in the Antarctic goals he set himself: He was sent home by Scott from ‘Discovery’, a tremendous blow to a proud and ambitious man. On the ‘Nimrod’ expedition he achieved a glorious success in getting to within a hundred miles of the Pole, but he did not get to the Pole and, when eventually he had funds to return this had been achieved, not only by Amundsen, but also by Scott, no glory in being third. On the ‘Endurance’ expedition he did not achieve any of the ambitions that he had set himself – it has been said that some failures are more glorious than success and certainly, his command of this expedition is legendary (the sail to South Georgia and the boat journey to Elephant Island are regarded as almost miraculous), but he did not actually get onto the mainland.

I think ‘Endurance’ (part of the family motto), applies not only to the ship but to Shackleton himself. His endurance was both physical and outstandingly, mental. His overwhelming gift was to instill confidence and hope.

But I think at the end of his life, on balance, he would not have considered himself a great success.

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New(ish) Antarctic news

31 Jul

Two newish pieces of news on climate change

NEW HUGE ICEBERG

Pine Island Glacier, which is on the west coast of Antarctica, is the most rapidly shrinking glacier in the planet.It is also the longest and fastest flowing glacier in Antarctica and has now produced a huge iceberg; eight times the size of Manhattan Island!! The original crack was seen in October 2011.

Apparently big tabular bergs come off from the end of the ice shelf every 6-10 years so this development is not necessarily related to climate change. But scientists have seen thinning and increased flow in Pine Island Glacier recently, this, they think may be due to warmer water getting under and melting the ice shelf. So there may be a connection.

GLASS SPONGES

I had never heard of glass sponges.  They are invertebrates, their elegant lattices are made of silica.

Their home was in deep water beneath the permanent ice shelves. Until previously they were thought to take years (centuries) to spread.

Unexpectedly, under newly thawed ice sheets, they have produced an invertebrate invasion on the sea floor! It is now known that the ghostly sponges are capable of unexpectedly rapid progression, sprouting in a few years in the Larsen Ice Shelf region (the northwest part of the Weddell Sea). Comparative studies between 2007 and recently found a large increase in the numbers of glass sponges ie they are capable of rapid reproduction, growth spurt and colonisation of large areas of seafloor in short times.

Since they have evolved over 550 million years this is a remarkable example of old and new developments.

Is this Global Warming produced by human activity?

 

 

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von Herkomer

17 Jun

Fame IS depressingly fickle.  von Herkomer was one of the most important mambers of the artistic community in the last years of the 1800s. His painting “The Last Watch” painted when he was 26, was ‘on the line’ at the Royal Academy exhibition and attracted almost universal praise (Ruskin was not enthusiastic)! It sold for £1.200 and continued to be a favourite  painting for many years, (he made a companion picture “The Guards’ Cheer”,  survivors of the Crimean War at the time of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee, standing below a statute of their young selves). He was was a Royal Academician, knighted by Edward VII and received all sorts of honours including the ‘von’ which related to his German background.

But after his death in 1914, just before the First World War, he fell from popularity and fame. It is interesting to speculate why. I think firstly it was because of his German connections; after the horrors of W.W.I a man with his obvious attachment to Germany would be be persona-non-grata. It was probably also because he relished his success a little too obviously.  Also, and more importantly, because after W.W.I artistic sensibilities were deeply transformed by the very experience of war. Post Impressionism, under the leadership of Roger Fry and Modernism became the dominant artistic currents, quite distinct from the  naturalism that he had represented.

Quite late in his career he painted “The Council of the Royal Academy”, a brave move to expose himself to the scrutiny and criticism of fellow artists, but it was well received. I understand it has never been hung in the Tate, where it now lives, it is rolled up and in poor condition. Von Herkomer would have been mortified!

 

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