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by Sorcha Faal
(as reported to her Russian Subscribers)
from
WhatDoesItMean Website
The world this morning continues to reel
from the continuing effects on our planet’s ionospheres from the
continued bombardment of energy surges in the Southern
Hemispheric Regions.
Acting upon the urgent pleadings from the United States,
President Putin has ordered the historically Great Russian
Icebreaking ship Krasin to
join with the Americans Coast Guards in the rescue mission of the
American Antarctica research station McMurdo. The head
of this Russian Antarctica expedition Valery Lukin has said,
"Five icebergs have run aground near
the station and ice cannot flow out from the bay. The ice is 3.5
meters thick in the bay, and the station supply is difficult."
While we in Russia have been following
with much urgency this rescue mission for the 5,000 inhabitants
of McMurdo Station, the Western media are continuing to keep
their people from knowing about these events. More surprising to
us has been that the Americans own scientific organization
NASA has stated,
“The National Science Foundation
(NSF) officials said that the B-15A iceberg
and the frozen Sound will not interfere with supply ship access
to McMurdo Station, the U. S. logistics hub for
much of the nation's research activity in Antarctica.”
 The
continued breakings up of the great ice sheets of Antarctica
are virtually unknown to the Western people. But how much
longer they can continue to be deceived, when even the Western media
can’t refuse the reporting of the massive icebergs flowing
throughout the Southern Hemispheric waters, is a question many of us
are asking of ourselves.
“Icebergs have been sighted in
New Zealand waters for the first time in 57 years,
prompting a warning to shipping in the region.”, says one of
these media reports by the Canadian news organization, CBC.
The direness of these present events are
best said in a media article from Ireland that says,
"Currently there is “more fast
(blocked) ice in McMurdo Sound
(click image right to enlarge - taken
December 13 2004) than we’ve ever recorded in living
history for this time of year,” he said, adding that the iceberg
has been stopping normal winds and water currents from breaking
up sea ice in McMurdo Sound."
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Russian icebreaker to rescue U.S. base
Moscow, Russia, Jan. 6 (UPI) -- A Russian icebreaker sent to rescue
a U.S. Antarctic base is halfway there, Interfax news agency
reported Thursday.
The icebreaker Krasin left Vladivostock on Russia's Pacific coast on
Dec. 21 and is scheduled to rendezvous with an American icebreaker
on the outer edge of the Antarctic ice pack on Jan. 20, Interfax
said. The two ships will then seek to rescue the McMurdo research
base.
The base at McMurdo Sound is the main scientific base of the
Antarctica program of the U.S. National Science Foundation. The
Krasin will clear the way for cargo ships carrying fuel, food and
medicines. Otherwise the McMurdo station personnel would have to be
evacuated, Interfax said
The rescue operation was requested by the U.S. government.
Traditionally, two icebreakers of the U.S. Coast Guard, Polar Sea
and Polar Star, cater to the needs of the McMurdo station. However,
their capacity is several times smaller than that of the Krasin and
one of them is currently being repaired, the news agency said.
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ST. PETERSBURG. Dec 30 (Interfax-Northwest)
- The Krasin icebreaker of Russia and an icebreaker of the U.S.
Coast Guard will start a joint operation to help the U.S. McMurdo
station in Antarctica on January 20, head of the Russian Antarctica
expedition Valery Lukin told Interfax on Thursday.
"Five icebergs have run aground near the station and ice cannot flow
out from the bay. The ice is 3.5 meters thick in the bay, and the
station supply is difficult," Lukin said.
McMurdo is the largest station in Antarctica, which can host about
5,000 people at the same time.
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What happens when the largest free
floating thing on the planet crashes? We might find out in a couple
of days. NASA satellites have witnessed a 100-mile-long iceberg near
McMurdo Research station move like a battering ram toward Drygalski
Ice Tongue. "It's a clash of the titans, a radical and uncommon
event," says Robert Bindshadler, a researcher at NASA's Goddard
Space Flight Center, and if the two giant slabs of ice collide, we
could see one of the best demolition derbies on the planet.
When the iceberg and the ice tongue collide, the impact will likely
"dent their bumpers," says Bindshadler. The edges could crumple and
ice could pile or drift into the Ross Sea. But if the B-15A iceberg
picks up enough speed before the two collide, the results could be
more spectacular. The Drygalski Ice Tongue could break off.
The ice tongue is thick ice that grows out over the Ross Sea from a
land-based glacier on Antarctica's Scott Coast. "Ice tongues do
break off on occasion," says Bindshadler. "It would only take one
thin area on the ice tongue to make it break off." There's no
guarantee that the Drygalski Ice Tongue will break off, but "this is
the toughest blow it has ever had to deal with."
"That Ice tongue has no reason for staying intact" says Waleed
Abdalati, researcher with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, but
Bindshadler points out, it may not break up either. The results
depend on the movement of the B-15A iceberg.
The B-15A iceberg is a 3,000-square-kilometer (1,200-square-mile)
behemoth that has a history of causing problems. It is the largest
fragment of a much larger iceberg that broke away from the Ross Ice
Shelf in March 2000. Scientists believe that the enormous piece of
ice broke away as part of a long-term natural cycle (every 50-to-100
years, or so) in which the shelf, which is roughly the size of
Texas, sheds pieces much as human fingernails grow and break off.
The berg initially drifted toward McMurdo Sound and grounded near
Cape Crozier on Ross Island. It has since broken into pieces, the
largest of which is B-15A.
This year, B-15A has trapped sea ice in McMurdo Sound. The currents
that normally break the ice into pieces and sweep it out into the
Ross Sea have not been able to clean out the Sound, so winter's
thick ice remains intact.
The build-up of ice presents significant problems for Antarctic
residents. Penguins must now swim great distances to reach open
waters and food. Adult penguins may not be able to make the trip and
return with food for their young. As a result, many chicks could
starve, says Antarctica New Zealand, the government organization
that oversees New Zealand's Antarctic research, in the Associated
Press.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) officials said that the B-15A
iceberg and the frozen Sound will not interfere with supply ship
access to McMurdo Station, the U. S. logistics hub for much of the
nation's research activity in Antarctica. The U.S. Coast Guard
icebreaker Polar Star left Seattle, Washington, on Nov. 4 and should
reach the edge of the sea ice around Dec. 27. It will begin
immediately to cut a channel in the sea ice for the supply ships.
Ironically, a collision between the iceberg and the ice tongue could
make things easier for both penguins and ships. If the ice tongue
collapses, the way may be opened for sea ice to escape the Sound.
There is no guarantee that satellite will see a great demolition
because the berg's fate is unclear. The berg's future depends on
unpredictable winds, tides and other forces, but possibilities
include colliding with the floating Drygalski Ice Tongue, or
continuing north, eventually melting. If the collision happens, the
impact could come as soon as Dec. 24.
If the collision occurs as predicted, this could be an event that we
witness again and again. The tides that drive the iceberg's motion
tend to push it in circles. "If B-15A bangs the ice tongue once, it
could bang it again," says Bindshadler. With multiple daily views of
the Ross Sea, NASA satellites will be there to watch the show.
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