5 Antarctic facts for climate change sceptics
Five indisputable truths for sceptics who say that MV Akademik Shokalskiy's 'failed' mission disproves scientific theories on ice
To most people the prolonged stranding of the MV Akademik Shokalskiy in thick pack ice off the coast of Antarctica is an unfortunate incident that provided passengers with rather static scenery for their Christmas and New Year celebrations.
But to some climate change contrarians, repeated attempts to free the vessel from the ice are proof that the theory of climate change is flawed or, at best, exaggerated. After all, a warming planet has no ice at all, right?
In Sydney's Daily Telegraph, Roger Franklin dispensed with analysis of ice extent, the cyrosphere and the like to get to the heart of the matter - expedition leader Chris Turney is a "warmist" whose understanding of Antarctica amounts to little more than it gets "really, really cold".
The Australian newspaper darkly intoned that the stranding was a "hard lesson for those who persistently exaggerate the impact of global warming".
Helpfully, the newspaper said that researchers aboard the Akademik Shokalskiy have suffered an "embarrassing failure" in their mission, which apparently was not to follow in the footsteps of explorer Douglas Mawson and build on his scientific observations but to prove beyond doubt that climate change is real.
ABC science broadcaster Adam Spencer took to Twitter to lament that "you'd fail a year 8 science test if you presented the misunderstandings" contained in The Australian's editorial. To help clear up the confusion, here are some basic Antarctic facts.