Leo’s new project? -Endurance

[bedouin]

It is a designated monument under the international Antarctic Treaty that was hitherto a hypothetical entity. It now has substance and presence and is remarkably well preserved. Unlike another famous wreck, the Titanic, that is being eaten away by iron eating organisms and won't last much longer.

Odd to think that Endurance was actually built after the Titanic - looks as if it came from a previous era.

 

[Blueboatman]

Aptly named then

 

[The Q]

More important to the story is the James Caird, the boat they sailed to safety in..
she's here,
The James Caird today – James Caird Society

 

[wombat88]

Yes, yes yes but does the Seagull still run?

 

[westhinder]

More important to the story is the James Caird, the boat they sailed to safety in..
she's here,
The James Caird today – James Caird Society

Exactly. One of the most astonishing feats of seamanship and courage and apparently hard to grasp for people who have no connection to the sea. I told the story to a couple of colleagues yesterday and was met by blank faces.

 

[Charlie Boy]

I suspect that at 3km down even Bezos or Musk might have trouble persuading divers to put straps and lifting bags under it.

 

[Minerva]

Isn't this current affairs and should hitherto be closed?

the Mods are clearly slacking today!







{I Agree - it's remarkably well preserved for it's age. do you think that's to do with the sea temperature?]

 

[LONG_KEELER]

I suspect that at 3km down even Bezos or Musk might have trouble persuading divers to put straps and lifting bags under it.

Probably won't stop genuine Endurance dinnerplates appearing on ebay.

 

[Poignard]

Probably won't stop genuine Endurance dinnerplates appearing on ebay.

Endurance dinner plates would be appropriate for anyone who ever had to plough through one my late mother-in-law's dinners.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

At least it's a good dead ship. The Mary Rose was a couple of wet planks and look at the effort put into that!

Endurance is thoroughly well-documented, from an era when we know about the techniques used. Mary Rose was from an era where few technical details were recorded, and her salvage provided a staggering amount of new information about Tudor shipbuilding and also many societal factors. Mary Rose doesn't just provide information about the ship, but also about many other issues such as (for example) the capabilities of long-bows, the health (or otherwise) of a fairly typical cross-section of the male population, even example of musical instruments that haven't been preserved otherwise.

While discovering and filming Endurance is an amazing technical feat, the main area it adds to our knowledge is by documenting the wreck's colonization by filter-feeding organisms. As others have said, her state on sinking was well-documented by photographs taken at the time (very good photos - I have a copy of one given me as a leaving present!)

Mary Rose added enormously to our knowledge of Tudor society and technology.

I should say that one of my former bosses, John Shears, is involved in the project!

 

[Greemble]

I Agree - it's remarkably well preserved for it's age. do you think that's to do with the sea temperature?

I can believe it's likely the water temp will have a lot to do with it.

One idea I heard, that seemed very plausible, is that there are no trees in, around or even very near Antarctica.
As such, there are no creatures that feed on wood in those waters.

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I can believe it's likely the water temp will have a lot to do with it.

One idea I heard, that seemed very plausible, is that there are no trees in, around or even very near Antarctica.
As such, there are no creatures that feed on wood in those waters.

The main reason is that there are very few nutrients of any kind available under sea ice - and she's under pretty much permanent sea ice. There's no photic zone where photosynthesis can happen, so basically, there's a very restricted food chain. What there is are filter-feeders, existing on whatever the currents bring along, and that far from productive seas, organic matter has to be very light to be carried along on the currents. They tend to be very slow-growing and very long-lived. Those anemones you can see in the videos have probably been growing very, very slowly for over 100 years. But that's about the only reason for investigating her - she does provide a useful datum with a known start date, so an estimate of the species, amount and rates of growth of the organisms will be useful.

No wood-eating organisms survive in polar waters, but plenty of other organisms do. Not really anything to do with there being no wood; there's plenty in the Arctic, carried down from Siberia on the great rivers (it was our main source of firewood in Svalbard!), but the Arctic is just as free from things that make a living from wood. Think of the Vasa!

 

[jimi]

The main reason is that there are very few nutrients of any kind available under sea ice - and she's under pretty much permanent sea ice. There's no photic zone where photosynthesis can happen, so basically, there's a very restricted food chain. What there is are filter-feeders, existing on whatever the currents bring along, and that far from productive seas, organic matter has to be very light to be carried along on the currents. They tend to be very slow-growing and very long-lived. Those anemones you can see in the videos have probably been growing very, very slowly for over 100 years. But that's about the only reason for investigating her - she does provide a useful datum with a known start date, so an estimate of the species, amount and rates of growth of the organisms will be useful.

No wood-eating organisms survive in polar waters, but plenty of other organisms do. Not really anything to do with there being no wood; there's plenty in the Arctic, carried down from Siberia on the great rivers (it was our main source of firewood in Svalbard!), but the Arctic is just as free from things that make a living from wood. Think of the Vasa!

The Vasa was in Stockholm , well south of the Arctic. From Wikipedia.. The reason that Vasa was so well-preserved was not just that the shipworm that normally devours wooden ships was absent but also that the water of Stockholms ström was heavily polluted until the late 20th century. The highly toxic and hostile environment meant that even the toughest microorganisms that break down wood had difficulty surviving. This, along with the fact that Vasa had been newly built and was undamaged when it sank, contributed to her conservation.

 

[Resolution]

The Vasa was in Stockholm , well south of the Arctic. From Wikipedia.. The reason that Vasa was so well-preserved was not just that the shipworm that normally devours wooden ships was absent but also that the water of Stockholms ström was heavily polluted until the late 20th century. The highly toxic and hostile environment meant that even the toughest microorganisms that break down wood had difficulty surviving. This, along with the fact that Vasa had been newly built and was undamaged when it sank, contributed to her conservation.

If you haven't already seen it, put the Vasa on your bucket list. It is simply staggering. Get to the museum before opening time so that you can be first in before the tourist crowds.

 

[bedouin]

I can believe it's likely the water temp will have a lot to do with it.

One idea I heard, that seemed very plausible, is that there are no trees in, around or even very near Antarctica.
As such, there are no creatures that feed on wood in those waters.

In fact water at that depth is pretty much the same temperature the world over - about 4-5 C - I think it is probably the lack of nutrients and marine life to colonise / feed on it that has kept it preserved.