The Russian icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn has been stuck for days in unexpectedly thick Arctic sea ice. She was on her way to support the MOSAiC expedition –a crew of “climate change experts” aboard the Polarstern who intentionally marooned themselves near the North Pole at a cost of $158 million to document an Arctic Winter (see full article here)— but now requires assistance herself, and a THIRD icebreaker, the Admiral Makarov, departed from Murmansk on March 3.

Dozens of scientists and environmentalist from 20 nations boarded the German icebreaker RV Polarstern back in July, 2019 on a year-long voyage to ‘study the impact of climate change on the Arctic and how it affects the rest of the world‘ — the MOSAiC expedition.

“So far we have always been locked out of that region, and we lack even the basic observations of the climate processes in the central Arctic from winter,” expedition leader Markus Rex told the AP.

“We are going to change that for the first time”.





MOSAiC participants walking towards Polartstern (Photo: Michael Gutsche)



The Polarstern, as she drifts across the Arctic Ocean, trapped in the sea ice, requires intermittent assistance, and on Feb 3, 2020 the Kapitan Dranitsyn set sail from the Norwegian seaport of Tromso to exchange crew and researchers.

The Dranitsyn reached the Polarstern on Feb 28 — its route traversing the Barents Sea and Arctic Ocean in some of the most inclement weather conditions on Earth; temperatures regularly held below -30C (-22F), with windchills clocked as low as -58C (-72F).

As reported by maritime-executive.com, perennial ice, ice, snow, and strong compression made it difficult for the ship to move. From time to time, she had to wait for improvements in wind and ice conditions, rebuild the optimal safe route and bypass heavy ice sections. On such days, Captain Dranitsyn traveled less than 20 miles (32 km).

With such extremely low temperatures, the channels of open water left behind by the Kapitan Dranitsyn quickly refroze and were so thick the researchers could actually walk on them within a day.

Preliminary observations from Polarstern indicate that ice thickness in the region has doubled to an average of 160 cm (63 inches) since December, which corresponds to a growth rate of roughly 10 cm (4 inches) per week.

One surprise the researchers came across was that temperature readings taken on the ship and from weather balloons differed substantially. The air temperature just above the ice was far lower than at a height of 20 meters. In the lowermost 10 meters there can be temperature differences of more than four degrees Celsius, which has a major influence on the increase in ice thickness.

Also, ROV dives showed marine life under the ice was thriving: “We’ve never had the opportunity to study the zooplankton and polar cod up here so extensively at this time of year. In February we even repeatedly saw a seal under the ice, which is apparently finding sufficient food, despite being practically at the North Pole. And on the surface, we sighted a polar bear and several Arctic foxes,” said Christian Haas, Professor Christian Haas from the Alfred Wegener Institute, Chief Scientist for the second leg of the Polarstern journey.





Polarstern and Kapitan Dranitsyn stuck in Arctic sea ice (Credit: Rosomport)



On its return leg to Tromso, the Kapitan Dranitsyn quickly became stuck in impenetrably thick sea ice, and a THIRD icebreaker, the Admiral Makarov, was dispatched from Murmansk on March 3 to assist — no expense spared in the pursuit of pseudoscience.

Over the next few weeks the sea ice is expected to become even denser, and the next crew exchange, scheduled for April, will most likely be done by plane — hypocrisy abounds in the pursuit of environmentalism.





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Grand Solar Minimum + Pole Shift

Featured Image: Unloading of Kapitan Dranitsyn during exchange of MOSAiC [Photo: Michael Gutsche]



