The Catlin Arctic Survey are trekking 700 miles to the North Pole to measure the thickness of the shrinking Arctic icecap.
However due to the proximity to magnetic north the compasses are “going haywire”. The freezing conditions also mean the latest global positioning satellite or GPS equipment will not work . . . that’s where the knickers come in very handy!!!! (more…)
The Treasury are in danger of being very short sighted as to the impact of ‘tax on jobs’. In gaining £125m the risk is a loss of £400m – can the public sector not afford calculators???
Months of protest against a ‘tax on jobs’ in key sectors which use temporary staff have been reluctantly abandoned after the government said it would introduce it next month. (more…)
If you want to get a feel for how cold it is where the CAS Team currently are, then watch the following video footage featuring Martin Hartley (just click on the image to go straight to the BBC website):
An early day motion was tabled at the House of Commons for the abolition of IR35.
Lorely Burt, Dr Vincent Cable, Sir Robert Smith, Chris Huhne, Bob Spink and Andrew George tabled the motion, calling on the Government to abolish IR35 in light of the current economic difficulties. (more…)
Friday 20th March 2009
After a successful first re-supply of food and equipment, the Catlin Arctic Survey Team of Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley have set off again on their estimated 85 day journey toward the North Pole.
The team endured an anxious three day wait, rationing emergency supplies of their food, as bad weather repeatedly prevented the supply plane from landing alongside them. (more…)
Three British Explorers were tonight finally resupplied with food, fuel and vital equipment after a Twin Otter plane landed on the Arctic Ocean floating sea ice where the team had been waiting for three days. (more…)
Polar explorers Pen Hadow, Martin Hartley and Ann Daniels are surviving on half rations as attempts to resupply them were abandoned for the third day running by the Catlin Arctic Survey.
The team, who have been battling in what they describe as ‘brutal’ conditions are currently surviving on their last food supplies after bad weather forced one resupply mission to turn back and grounded two other planned flights. The explorers now have only a day’s food remaining. Temperatures have been consistently down at minus 40 degrees Celsius with strong winds making things even worse. (more…)
Take a quick visit (via the link below) to the BBC website for a quick update from Pen on how everything is going:
Mary Ann Sieghart profiles the Polar explorer Pen Hadow, who is leading the Catlin Arctic Survey to determine the likely meltdown date of the ice cap. The British trailblazer and his team will drag a mobile radar unit more than 1000 kilometres as they trek to the North Pole.
Hadow, a self-confessed ‘tortured soul’, has been criticised by some in the past for his so-called reckless behaviour. But his current trip, he insists, is not about exploration, but about gathering scientific data that could be crucial to our understanding of climate change.
Mary Ann hears from friends and family of this enigmatic explorer.
Click here view the interview on BBC’s iPlayer
Broadcast on: BBC Radio 4, 7:00pm Saturday 7th March 2009 Duration: 14 minutes
Available until: 7:17pm Saturday 14th March 2009
Information from the BBC News Website
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.
Pen Hadow, Ann Daniels and Martin Hartley will be using a mobile radar unit to record an accurate measurement of ice thickness as they trek more than 1,000km to the North Pole. (more…)
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