Monday, December 30, 2013

Inconvenient Truth

I don't know how many of you have been following this saga, but there is a team of scientists trapped in the ice off Antarctica.  As National Geographic explains:
The ship, the M.V. Akademik Shokalskiy, is waiting for emergency help—though help might take some time to come, given a blizzard that pummeled the area. The ship locked up in the ice on Christmas.
Getting stuck in Antarctic ice is a problem, and they've had two rescue cutters trying to get to them, but without much luck.
 An Australian icebreaker on Monday suspended efforts to reach the icebound research ship because of adverse weather. The Aurora Australis got within 10 nautical miles of the ship, but then turned back.
Never fear, it looks like someone is going to land a helicopter on the ice, as soon as weather permits, and evacuate the passengers and crew.

As I sat shivering in my deer stand this morning, I was reading about this disaster, then it suddenly occurred to me that in the Antarctic, it's summer.  And, these are climate scientists.  Stuck in the ice during the Antarctic summer.  The irony is simply delicious.  Are they experiencing weather, or climate?

2 comments:

Old NFO said...

Errrr... BOTH???

Gerry N. said...

I would posit that they would say they are experiencing Weather. If it was warm and the ice thin it would be climate.

Sarc./off