ARTICLE 1
British explorers prepare to drill into lost Antarctic world buried for a million years almost two miles beneath the ice By Rob Cooper Last updated at 8:53 AM on 16th January 2012
British explorers are preparing to drill through almost two miles of ice into an Antarctic lake as they seek clues about life one million years ago.
The team used a ‘tractor train’ to tow nearly 70 tonnes of equipment to the Lake Ellsworth drilling site which is one of the most hostile environments on earth as they prepare for the operation.
They will return in November to collect water and sediment from the buried lake using space industry standard ‘clean technology’.
British team: The UK flag flies at lake Ellsworth where the drilling will take place later this year. 70 tonnes of equipment has since been moved into place ready for the operation
They hope the samples will provide clues about the Earth’s past climate.
It could also help scientists assess the present-day stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and implications for future rises in the sea level.
The advance party, comprising four British engineers, braved temperatures of -35C as they transported the drilling equipment.
They used powerful tractors to tow heavy containers of equipment on sledges and skis across deep snow and through steep mountain passes.
Explorers: The team of four who are braving freezing conditions to work at the Lake Ellsworth site
Final frontier: The British team will live in tents at the site as they collect samples from 1.8miles below the ice
The 155-mile journey through the Ellsworth Mountain Range took them three days to complete.
Scientists have been planning the investigation for more than 15 years.
The Lake Ellsworth Programme Principal Investigator, Professor Martin Siegert from the University of Edinburgh, said: ‘The completion of this stage of the mission is a welcome one – we are now one step closer to finding out if new and unique forms of microbial life could have evolved in this environment.
‘The samples we hope to capture from Lake Ellsworth will be hugely valuable to the scientific community.
‘This year we will complete and test both the water sampling probe and the sediment corer.
Frozen wastes: Lake Ellsworth, where the drilling is being carried out, is in the West of Antarctica. There are more than 400 subglacial lakes across Antarctica
‘Extracted sediment samples could give us an important insight in to the ancient history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, including past collapse, which would have implications for future sea level rise.’
During phase two of the project researchers will use a high-pressure drill to create a borehole through 1.8miles of ice.
They will then lower a titanium probe to measure and sample the water, followed by a corer to extract sediment from the lake.
It will take around three days to drill through the ice and the scientists will have about 24 hours to gather samples before the hole starts to freeze over.
Plan: This graph shows how the team intend to drill to the bottom of the lake
Plan: This graph shows how the team will create a 1.8mile borehole to the bottom of the lake over three days before lowering a corer to extract sediment
The equipment has been left one mile from the actual drilling site so that the location remains unaffected by the equipment’s presence.
Lake Ellsworth is around 8.6 miles long, 1.2-1.8 miles wide and 150m deep, around the size of Loch Katrine in the Trossachs, or Lake Windermere in the Lake District.
Chris Hill, Advance Party Member and Lake Ellsworth Programme Manager said: ‘This is a major milestone for the programme and we are delighted that our complex logistical operations were a success this season.
‘Working within the short Antarctic summer season adds pressure to our time on the continent, which is why we had to plan two stages of the programme.’
The Lake Ellsworth programme is a consortium, funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), between British Antarctic Survey and the National Oceanography Centre – and the UK university sector.
Completely waste of time and money.
– dave, london, 16/1/2012 20:42
Rating 1
So what if they are, just so long as we are the ones who lat first claim to it and the profits come our way seeing as we are the ones carrying out this operation then i have no qualms whatsoever.
– Christopher, Kent, 16/1/2012 19:39
Rating 1
Underneath antarctica there is a vast amount of cheese. – The Great Ferret, Land of Trousers, 16/1/2012 14:43 ============== You’re crackers TGF!! p.s. Jacob’s OK?
– Nigel, Newport, 16/1/2012 19:11
Rating 3
Re- ahab. It’s obvious that ice will not melt at -35c but at that temperature it will flow downhill towards the sea and the seas around Antarctica are getting warmer. The most significant cause for the recent collapse of several iceshelves is warmer water melting the underneath of them and causing them to weaken and disintigrate. When you consider that most of the ice in Antarctica is resting on land that is below sea level the temperature of the sea will be critical and a -35c temperature will not save the ice from flowing into warmer seas.
– Working class hero, eussr, 16/1/2012 19:00
Rating 2
I’ve read many dumb comments on many articles but the comments on this one have to be the dumbest yet.
– Working class hero, eussr, 16/1/2012 18:15
Rating 1
At -35 degrees centigrade. The ice isn`t going to melt anytime soon even with a 5 degreee rise in temperature. It`s pretty cold, let me tell you.
– ahab, whale isle bay ……, 16/1/2012 17:35
Rating 6
Oh god, Its going to happen. Alien vs Predator. So thats what 2012 is!!!!! [[[ *** Actually it’s more like ‘Soldier’ and the Argentine Moons scene as well – PW thinks hes Kurt Russel if anything when people are still languishing in English prisons in London from badly written laws and a cobwebby/toff dominated legal establishment . . . *** ]]]
– Someone, Wales, 16/1/2012 17:18
Rating 5
Still in search for that elusive global warming are they?
– Chas, Reno, USA, 16/1/2012 16:45
Rating 2
Laugh if they pull up a shopping trolley
– Johnp, Wrexham, 16/1/2012 15:37
[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]
Time for NAM and BRICS backed with the full force of fairplay in equitable national land mass ratio distribution of Polar land to take an ‘Equitable Artic/Antarctic Land Distribution Initiative’ to prevent inequitable sequestration of Polar land. The Poles belong to all nations and distribution of Polar land along time line/zones should reflect that.
From the looks of things, England has just invaded the Argentinian owned portion of the South Pole which all Northern hemisphere nations should not access (North Hemisphere nations should only have access to the North Pole in ratio of their own land mass and not by brute force of the military – which means even North Korea and Cuba have a right to some of that Artic land being in the Northern hemisphere, though not alot). Send in the troops to expel the illegal and non-sanctioned activities on your sovereign Polar territory Argentina! Back to the Nortehn hemisphere you North hemisphere pPolar portion legal English . . . you sure won’t like finding Argentinians on your Polar backyard now would you?
Join the BRICS Argentina! See if the English dare to offend the BRICS grouping which makes up 40% of the world’s population, 25% of the world’s landmass and 25% of the world economy, also the faster growing nations as well. England is already not well loved by the OIC for incursions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Would England risk so much for a handful of islands not even in their EEZ?
ARTICLE 2
Prince William arrives in Falklands for tour of duty sparking riots in Buenos Aires by Leon Watson Last updated at 1:23 AM on 3rd February 2012
He’s been branded a ‘conqueror’, and the lead up to his visit sparked a wave protests in Argentina. But when Prince William touched down in the disputed Falkland Islands he got a warm welcome. In Argentina however, violence broke out.
The Duke of Cambridge’s arrival, ahead of a tour of duty as an RAF search and rescue pilot, comes as the Royal Navy prepares to send one of its most advanced new warships to the area.
Controversial: Prince William arrives on the Falkland islands aboard a Titan Airways Boeing 767
Masked members of Quebracho group, brandishing clubs, march to protest against Prince William’s military posting
Protesters gather in front of HSBC bank in Buenos Aires as Prince William touched down in the Falklands
Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, pictured at the controls of a Sea King helicopter has been deployed to the politically sensitive Falkland Islands
It has already led to controversy in Argentina which claims the prince will be wearing the uniform of a ‘conqueror’ when he deploys.
Today, masked demonstrators brandishing clubs hurled paint bombs at the front door of the HSBC Bank branch in the capital Buenos Aires.
It followed a march led by around 50 members of the Quebracho group which claims sovereignty of the Falkland Islands for Argentina called on the national government to cut trade relations with Britain.
At the rally in the city’s Retiro neighbourhood, in front of a monument to the Argentine soldiers killed in the 1982 conflict, the Quebracho leader Esteche Fernando said ‘we must cut our losses’ against ‘imperial policy’.
‘You have to cut trade relations with Great Britain,’ he said, accompanied by hundreds of masked men armed with sticks.
Asked if the arrival of William was a ‘provocation’ by London, he added: ‘This sort of reigniting the Falkland Islands British foreign policy is more about hiding the financial crisis and economic suffering.
‘But it is a continuation of imperial policy, and whether a crisis point or not, it is a strategic reconfiguration of energy resources.’
The Argentinean government today claimed William’s deployment was a distraction from Britain’s ‘internal problems’.
Vice-president Amado Boudou told the country’s La Red radio station that the move was a case of ‘bravado’ to mask high unemployment and the prospect of Scottish independence.
His words follow reports that Buenos Aires is putting pressure on a Chilean airline to stop weekly flights to the Falklands which pass through Argentine airspace.
David Cameron’s official spokesman said such ‘threats’ were ‘not new,’ adding: ‘Clearly, we hope that that flight will not be cut, but there are also RAF services from London to the Falklands and these will continue.’
The Ministry of Defence said William’s six-week posting to the remote outcrop, which Buenos Aires calls Las Malvinas, was part of a ‘a routine operational deployment’.
The Duke – who has flown to the archipelago as part of a crew of four RAF personnel – will attend a series of briefings and take part in a ‘familiarisation flight’ before he begins his search and rescue work.
Masked demonstrators lift their sticks during the protest against the arrival of Britain’s Prince William to the Falkland Islands
Masked demonstrators lift their sticks during the protest against the arrival of Britain’s Prince William to the Falkland Islands
A paint bomb is lobbed at HSBC in Buenos Aires, Argentina, as protesters rally against Prince William’s visit to the Falklands
Pedestrians walk by a graffiti which reads ‘English, get out of Malvinas’, that was painted during a protest on the front door of an HSBC Bank branch
Pedestrians walk by a graffiti which reads ‘English, get out of Malvinas’, that was painted during a protest on the front door of an HSBC Bank (right) and a protester lobs a paint bomb at the branch
A masked demonstrator hurls a bottle containing paint at the front door of the HSBC Bank branch
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: ‘MOD can confirm Flight Lieutenant Wales, as part of a four-man Search and Rescue crew, has arrived in the Falkland Islands on a routine operational deployment and will shortly take up SAR duties post a period of briefings and a familiarisation flight.’
The Duchess, who will not be joining her husband abroad, will have the latest addition to their family – a male cocker spaniel puppy – for company while he is away.
The Duke’s deployment in the Falklands comes amid a diplomatic war of words between the British and Argentine Governments.
Prince William and Kate Middleton, who will not be joining her husband abroad
Prince William and Kate Middleton, who will not be joining her husband abroad
Argentinian President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner
It comes amid a diplomatic war of words over renewed Argentinian claims to what it calls Las Malvinas, with David Cameron accusing them of ‘colonialism
War of words: Argentina’s president, Cristina Fernandez, has attacked David Cameron’s ‘colonialism’ statement, saying Britain didn’t have ‘reasons or arguments’
It follows an announcement that HMS Dauntless, an ultra-modern Type 45 destroyer, is due to set sail for the South Atlantic on her maiden mission in the coming months.
She is expected to replace frigate HMS Montrose in the region.
The Royal Navy has rejected suggestions the decision to send the destroyer to the area was a riposte to increased tensions over the sovereignty of the Falklands and said the ship’s deployment was long planned.
The Royal Navy’s HMS Dauntless, which is being sent to the Falkland Islands, the Ministry of Defence said
William’s posting has been similarly defended by the MoD as part of a ‘normal’ squadron rotation.
But it has been branded a ‘provocative act’ by Argentina.
In the latest salvo, the country’s Foreign Ministry said it ‘rejected the British attempt to militarise (the) conflict’ and expressed regret that an heir to the throne would arrive wearing ‘the uniform of a conqueror’.
David Cameron and Argentine president Cristina Fernandez have previously accused each other of ‘colonial’ behaviour, while Argentine official Sebastian Brugo Marco last year said the country could not ignore the ‘political’ implications of William’s deployment.
General Sir David Richards, the Chief of the Defence Staff, dismissed the claims, saying: ‘I can absolutely tell you it wasn’t and isn’t designed to be.’
William, who has worked as a Sea King pilot while based at his north Wales home on Anglesey, is following in the footsteps of his younger brother, Prince Harry, who was sent to Afghanistan as a forward air controller in 2008.
The comments below have been moderated in advance.
go get ’em….attacking the Hong Kong & Shanghai Bank…..bound to force the Chinese out of the Malvinas! :-$
– skipper, Gloucester, 03/2/2012 01:28
Rating 35
Dont worry, if a war kicks off, Prince dopey will be well outter harms way !! They talk the talk the royals but when the bullets start flying they run off to a nice warm office and let working class lads do the fighting ( for about 16 grand a year ). Yep, the same working class lads who the royals and the elite classes absolutely despise !! Tell you one thing, next world war, don’t think i’ll be putting my butt on the line for you, no chance, your on your own. Im no mug, not risking my life to preserve your wealth.
– dave, liverpool, 03/2/2012 01:25
Rating 37
two words to Argentina shut Up
– Paul Gilbert, United Kingdom, 03/2/2012 01:25
Rating 53
Ignorance of the history of the Falkland Islands is a shame. Study the History. Argentina has no rational claim to the Islands.
– D-Mac, Brisbane Australia, 03/2/2012 00:18
Rating 66
can someone pls tell me and the nation, why we need to know this infomation? Why cant the P of W carry out a duty, without this paper or any other telling the world about it. It is the ‘NEED TO KNOW’ and we dont need to know this. All this sort of things do is give ammo to protestors. Put a ban on all this rubbish. when he has finish his deployment. A simple small headline. ” Prince back in Wales’………………..no one will know where he has been , so no reaction. Stop give info to the ‘otherside’.
– tony, wales, 03/2/2012 00:15
Rating 16
LOVE IT – William the Conqueror has reached out to smite the Argentinians from a thousand miles away. He’s sealing a legendary status without a shot being fired. YOU DO NOT MESS WITH THE CONQUEROR!
– John Smith, Kimberley, 03/2/2012 00:15
Rating 28
Please tell me why in hell did the Princes movements have to be publicised, It is a military movement of personell, nothing to do with the public. When Prince Harry goes to Afganistan is it going to be headlined, where is the security for our troops.
– Brian, Callala Bay, Australia. , 03/2/2012 00:11
Rating 33
I wonder if the Argentinian or the Engish government is paying those masked men to create chaos. War is something very interesting for hidden agendas.
– Julio Cesar, sao paulo, 03/2/2012 00:09
Rating 4
@ Congratulations to HRH and to all British Personnel abroad. May they all have safe and successful tours. – Scott , Exeter , 02/02/2012 19:38 Congratulations for what your bonkers
– say no to the nwo, Manchester, 03/2/2012 00:06
Rating 15
Falklands belong to argentina. We sympathise with argentinians in this land grab by the british.
– Indian, Delhi, 03/2/2012 00:06
[[[ *** RESPONSE *** ]]]
Argentinians, if you riot in Buenos Aires, you end up thrashing your own town and inconveniencing fellow Argentines. Try taking as many ‘Quebraco’ type posses to the Falklands and OCCUPY the place instead. Ask the Englishmen there which are ready to renounce English citizenship for Argentinian ones and to take the Argentinian pledge. These English citizenship renouncers who are now Argentinian citizens (although of English ethnicity) should be left alone as they are loyal Argentinians. The rest of the English refusing to accept this generous offer, who are colonial reprobates do not even recognize the fact that the Falklands are within the EEZ of Aergentina, jolly well fly themselves back to jolly England with Prince William! Or if Argentina is up to it, maroon those morons in the Falklands and see what England does! I bet even the USA would have a good laugh due to the unpleasant historial background as per the War of Independence . . .
malaysiandemocracy 