You'd need a heart of stone not to laugh...

The BBC have been giving much prominence to the Catlin Arctic Survey and its endeavours. On 3 April the BBC informed us that

"A team of polar explorers has travelled to the Arctic in a bid to discover how quickly the sea-ice is melting and how long it might take for the ocean to become ice-free in summers."

So it was with some amusement that I read on today's BBC update that: " After enduring ferocious weather, it has emerged that British explorers studying the Arctic are struggling with a series of technical problems.

A portable radar device, known as Sprite, designed to make millions of measurements of the ice thickness, has been dogged by breakdowns and uncertainties.

Another instrument, SeaCat, meant to measure the temperature and salinity of the water beneath the ice-cap, has malfunctioned as well.

...

But when the expedition, the Catlin Arctic Survey, set off in late February, it encountered an unexpected wind chill as low as minus 70 degrees Celsius, and the technology failed. "

There is something rather amusing about this group of unbiased scientists individuals (I'll come back to what these people are in a moment) trying to prove global warming and encountering surprising cold in the Arctic!


Now to the members of the "Ice Team", from their own website's pen portraits we gather the following information:

"Pen Hadow

Director and Head of Surveying, Catlin Arctic Survey

Pen rose to international fame when he became the first to complete one of the last polar challenges – trekking solo without re-supply from Canada to the North Pole. This feat was thought by some to be harder than climbing Everest solo without oxygen, and some polar experts had begun to think the challenge impossible.

Pen is also the first Briton to trek without re-supply to both North and South Geographic Poles. He has been a professional polar guide for 18 years. Pen will be responsible for all surveying and observational procedures for gathering the water column, sea ice and weather data.

Pen (46) is increasingly featured in the media as a national spokesman on environmental and climate change issues, based on his knowledge of, and concern for, changes in the North Pole environment. He has featured in public speaking line-ups for environmental events alongside HRH The Prince of Wales, Al Gore, Lord Coe and Sir Jonathon Porritt. "

So the team leader is a committed environmentalist whose in-depth knowledge of the Arctic didn't prepare him for the cold of an Arctic winter; I am so impressed.

"Ann Daniels

Field Operations, Catlin Arctic Survey

Ann Daniels, on achievement alone, is one of the world’s leading women polar explorers. Ann first went to the Arctic Ocean in 1997, when she took part in the lead team of a five-group, relay-formatted expedition to the North Pole.

It was during this expedition that Ann (44) fell in love with the polar regions and the challenges of expedition life. In 2000 she co-led a five-strong, 700 mile sledge-hauling trek to the South Pole which became the first British women’s team to complete this journey. Then in 2002 Ann became one of two women, in an originally three-strong team, to reach the North Pole after a gruelling 500 mile, 80-day epic trek in atrocious conditions.

And, in 2005, Ann set off to attempt to become the first woman to trek solo to the North Pole, but despite keeping to her mileage schedule, her hitherto perfect expedition was forcibly airlifted off the ice when on Day 21, through no fault of her own, her permit was withdrawn by Russian officialdom. Pen considers her the most capable polar operator on the Arctic Ocean, hence her primary role as navigator. "

So Ann is a polar explorer and navigator with no scientific background mentioned.

"Martin Hartley

Photographer and film-maker, Catlin Arctic Survey

One of the world’s leading expedition photographers, Martin Hartley (40) has made the polar environment his own. With nineteen photographic assignments to the Arctic and the Antarctic to date, he is uniquely placed to document the fragile state of the Arctic Ocean.

Martin's sustained commitment to capture the beauty of unadulterated landscapes and remote communities has taken him to some of the most isolated and challenging locations in the world. His in-depth technical knowledge, creative vision and ability to produce results in the most difficult of conditions makes him a highly sought after expedition and adventure photographer.

Features and interviews by and about Hartley have appeared across the spectrum of international press and photographic, travel and adventure magazines, as well as all the UK's national daily newspapers. He has the rare distinction of commissions for National Geographic publications under his belt, and with three critically acclaimed exhibitions in recent years, his work is now reaching an international audience. "

So Martin is a fine photographer with expertise in remote and challenging environments. Very laudable and anyone who can take photographs of any kind in the conditions he is experiencing has my total respect.

However, that's it. Three team members with no mention of scientific background; just a photographer, a navigator and a team leader whose mind was clearly made up about global warming and the resultant destruction of the Arctic before they left Resolute Bay.


I see at Watts Up With That that the Catlin Arctic Survey's scientific approach is being attacked from another angle. Apparently:

"Something quite odd is going on at the Catlin Arctic Survey website at: http://www.catlinarcticsurvey.com/

It appears that they are presenting recycled data from the biotelemetry sensors on the team. "

Do read the rest of that investigation.