Last April, we posted about a planned expedition to the Antarctic’s Weddell Sea on the icebreaking polar-supply and research-vessel SA Agulhas II. The Weddell Sea Expedition 2019 is now underway, and scientists have spent the past two weeks investigating the Larsen C Ice Shelf and the continent’s biggest iceberg, known as A68. The iceberg is estimated to be four times the size of Greater London.
The expedition is now within a few hundred kilometers from where, in November 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton‘s ship, the Endurance, was crushed by pack ice and sank, in waters 3,000 meters deep. Whether the SA Agulhas II will be able to reach the location of the sunken ship is an open question.
As reported by the Guardian, conditions, relatively speaking, appear to be favorable.
So far, satellite images of the Weddell Sea show that ice coverage is low for the time of year, tipping the odds in favor of the Agulhas reaching its goal. The massive iceberg, known as A68, which broke off the Larsen C ice shelf is helping out too. There is a clockwise gyre in the Weddell Sea that brings sea ice west and north, but the iceberg has swung out to block the flow, leaving the northern waters clearer for expedition’s approach.
If the icebreaker reaches the spot, they will launch a Kongsberg Hugin autonomous underwater vehicle to map a 20km by 20km grid square on the ocean floor. If the wreck is located, they will then launch ROVs to make a closer examination.
The expedition has a reasonably good idea where the ship sank because Shackleton’s skipper, Frank Worsley was a highly skilled navigator and used a sextant and chronometer to calculate the coordinates as the ship was sinking – 68°39’30.0″ South and 52°26’30.0″ West.
If they succeed in finding the wreck site, hopes are that the what is left of the damaged ship will be in good condition. Organisms which normally eat wood are not found in the waters of the treeless Antarctic. The extreme darkness and cold water should also have helped preserve the shipwreck.
Thanks to David Rye, Virginia Jones, and Phil Leon for contributing to this post.
Seems like a fools errand
I agree with Willy, who’s money is paying for this folly?
Thanks for the report.
My sons were fascinated with Shackleton and would read portions of his adventures out loud to me. I personally have no desire to read about his heroic adventures in the miserable cold, but from my sons I have gained an admiration for Shackleton and his crew.
The Flotilla Foundation claims to be funding exploration of the Weddell Sea.