“Mittens, shoes, weapons, walking sticks – lost in the high mountains of Norway thousands of years ago - are now emerging from melting ice,” says ScienceNordic in a January 2015 article. The chafe of the strap on the shoulder the whine of the dogs as they go.In summer 2014 in just one Norwegian county a team of archaeologists found 400 Stone Age artifacts uncovered by glacial melt. We shall dream of those months of sledging through soft and yielding snow One of Shackleton’s most famous poems is 'l'Envoi'', which he wrote about his first Antarctic expedition, the Discovery Expedition of 1901 – 1904: He turned out to be a gifted poet, as Jim Mayer (working as an expedition leader for Oceanwide Expeditions) described in his book, Shackleton: A Life in Poetry. He remained in debt for the rest of his life.Īs mentioned above, Shackleton had a similar experience in 1915. But since Sweden sent out a rescue company as well, Nordenskiöld returned home to learn that he had to repay the Swedish government for this costly operation. Nordenskiöld and his crew were rescued by the Argentine navy vessel Uruguay, still on display in Buenos Aires. They then went on foot over the ice to Paulet Island, a volcanic island now inhabited by a huge colony of Adélie penguins, where they wintered in a wooden hut they built themselves. ![]() When their ship got crushed in the ice, they had to spend a winter at Snow Hill Island. In 1901 the Swedish explorer Otto Nordenskiöld and his team experienced one of Weddell Sea’s famous flash freezes. He originally named the sea after King George IV, but after Weddell’s death it was renamed in his honour. The Weddell Sea got its name in 1900, though it was discovered years earlier – in 1823 – by the British sailor James Weddell. The cold – but colorful – history of Weddell Sea Distilled water has an almost equal clarity. The visibility is as deep as 79.86 meters (262 feet) below the surface. In 1986 a group of Dutch scientists from the German Alfred Wegener Institute analysed the water clarity and declared it the clearest of any sea in the world. The Weddell Sea at its widest is approximately 2,000 kilometers across (1,243 miles) and has a total surface area of around 2.8 million square km (1.08 million square miles). As such, the Convergence is known for its high amount of Antarctic krill, attracting many other animals that feed on these shrimp-like animals. This causes mixing and upwelling, creating a lot of marine productivity. Partly coinciding with the boundaries of the Southern Ocean is a phenomenon called the Antarctic Convergence, a zone where cold north-flowing Antarctic waters meet relatively warmer Subantarctic waters. The Weddell Sea is part of the Southern Ocean, which is comprised of the southern portions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans as well as their tributary seas surrounding Antarctica. Boundaries, borders, and Arctic Convergence This is partly due to the large ice-free areas on the peninsula, providing breeding grounds for large numbers of seabirds and seals. An ecosystem entire unto itselfĪccording to the World Wildlife Fund, the Antarctic Peninsula and Weddell Sea make up the most diverse and productive Antarctic marine ecosystem. They live further south than any other mammal. I learned from one of the guides that these seals can dive up to 700 meters deep (almost 3,000 feet) and are able to hold their breath for almost 1.5 hours. I also had close encounters with humpback whales, chinstrap penguins, and Weddell seals. How about those green-haired mermen then? I didn’t encounter them during my Weddell Sea voyage, but I did see some species every bit as interesting: the Emperor penguins of Snowhill Island, for example. But don’t worry: A Shackleton near-death experience isn’t in the itinerary: Oceanwide ships are ice strengthened and won’t be locked in a sudden flash freeze. So if you’re hungry for adventure, a visit to the Weddell Sea is a must. He also recalled myths about green-haired mermen living in the area. ![]() ![]() “The Weddell Sea is, according to the testimony of all who have sailed through its berg-filled waters, the most treacherous and dismal region on earth,” Henry wrote. In fact it was due to one of these flash freezes that Ernest Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, got stuck in January of 1915, forcing his crew to spend more than a year there before they could get out. ![]() In 1950 he wrote in his book, The White Continent, about sudden “flash freezes” that occur in the area. Henry, you have to be brave to visit the Weddell Sea. Weddell Sea: the original Antarctic adventureĪccording to the historian Thomas R.
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