XXXI.—Shackleton Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917: The Natural History of Pack-Ice as observed in the Weddell Sea

Abstract

The opportunities for observation were afforded by the voyage and subsequent drift of the S.Y. Endurance. During December 1914 and January 1915 for a period of six weeks she successfully bored her way through pack-ice of every description—drift-ice, open-pack, and very frequently even close-pack. Continually fighting, she penetrated from 59° to 72° S. lat., and finally reached the land water off Coats Land on the latter parallel. As the crow flies, therefore, she was navigated through ice for nearly 800 geographical miles on this voyage; her actual course among the ice-fields and floes was computed to exceed 2000 miles, an achievement without parallel in the Antarctic. The principle adopted was to keep to the east, where presumably there is less pack than in the west; if the Endurance experience is a normal one, however, the meridian of 20° W. long., which was followed, is certainly not far enough east.

Seasonal to interannual variability in Antarctic sea-ice surface melt

“…Instead, a combination of ocean heat flux and summer short-wave radiation absorbed by the ocean surface (in small lead fractions) rapidly disposes of most of the sea-ice cover. This confirms previous observational and numerical findings which suggested that the retreat of the Antarctic summer ice margin is not simply regulated by the atmosphere, but rather by a balance between ocean heat flux, atmosphere, and sea-ice dynamics [8].…”

“…The first in situ field observations of Antarctic austral summer sea-ice surface melt were made in the Bellingshausen Sea by Arctowski on Belgica in 1899 [7] and later by Wordie [8] during the ill-fated drift of Endurance in the Weddell Sea from 1914 to 1916. It has been 100 years since these pioneering ship drift experiments, yet little more is known about the spatial extent, duration, frequency of Antarctic seasonal surface melting of sea ice during the austral summer, or its interannual variability.…”

“…It has been 100 years since these pioneering ship drift experiments, yet little more is known about the spatial extent, duration, frequency of Antarctic seasonal surface melting of sea ice during the austral summer, or its interannual variability. Early explorers [8] and modern-era surveys of the Weddell Sea alike [10], have explicitly reported the absence of widespread, vigorous surface melt, as characterized by the formation of extensive melt ponds in midsummer in the Arctic [11]. Although 0196-2892/00$10.00 © 2000 IEEE bordered by a relatively warm ocean surface, energy balance calculations by [2] suggest that net surface heat fluxes over the Weddell Sea pack ice are insufficient to induce widespread, protracted surface melting.…”

Early Discoverers XII: Some Notes on Sea Ice Observed By Captain James Cook, R.N., During his Circumnavigation of Antarctica, 1772–75

“…More than half a century was to pass before Ross penetrated to the ice shelf that now bears his name and found one of the sources of the tabular iceberg, and it was not until much later that the processes underlying the formation of the Antarctic pack ice were fully understood. 6…”

Antarctic history: A reply to professor W. H. Hobbs

“…Their experience provides scanty data on which to generalise. 8 Of the five that have reached a high latitude, one, Endurance, was caught and crushed ; one, Deutschland, was caught and. drifted, eventually reaching safety ; and one, Scotia, was caught and escaped in a few days by the skill of her navigator.…”