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Expedition on its way to find the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship
Can modern astronomical maps help find the wreck of il Endurance, which sank in the Weddell Sea?
Modern maps of the night sky could lead to the wreck of Sir Ernest Shackleton's launch, Endurance. Aboard the ship, the famed voyager, explorer and Antarctic explorer set out on another expedition in 1914 with 27 men. The Imperial Transantarctic Expedition was to last from 1914 to 1917.
On February 14, 1915, the ship and its crew were trapped by ice. At this point, the dramatic struggle for survival began. After just over six months, in October 1915, the expedition abandoned the Endurance after the growing ice cover severely damaged the ship. On October 27, 1915, Shackleton's ship was literally crushed by the ice and sank over the course of the following days.
On November 21, 1915, Captain Frank Worsley wrote in his diary the coordinates of the place where the ship sank: 68°39' 30 "S, 52°26'30 "W. The group then left for the open sea.
After these events, there was only one option for the expedition members: they set out on foot for the edge of the ice field. They took what they could with them and, dragging three lifeboats behind them, waged a desperate fight for survival.
Expedition 2022
Now, more than 107 years after Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship sank in the Weddell Sea, another expedition has set out to find the wreck of the Endurance. The expedition members aboard the South African icebreaker Agulhas II are using the logbook of one of the crew members, Frank Worsley, and modern technology to reach their goal.
"This is the most unreachable wreck in history. That makes it the biggest hunt of its kind in history," Mensun Bound, a marine archaeologist and leader of the search, told The New York Times.
New findings
One of the goals of the Endurance22 expedition is to use the ancient data from Worsley's records, created due to astronomical navigation, to locate the missing ship.
The three researchers carefully examined the coordinates from Worsley's diary and overlaid them with an image of modern astronomical maps. They presented their findings in an article published in the Journal of Navigation. They concluded by hypothesizing that the wreck of the Endurance is likely located several kilometers east of the Worsley report.
"Many factors must be considered. You can't just take the Worsley position as a given and go there immediately. We have to use our own judgment," David Mearns, a searcher who has found many other historic wrecks, told the BBC.
Mearns also said the searchers are sharing the results of their work with the crew of the Agulhas II, which is searching for the wreck of the Endurance. The focus was on the marine chronometer clock used for navigation, which Worsley used to determine longitude. Due to an error, they initially believed the wreck was west of Worsley's report. Another error, in turn, pointed east. Mensun Bound has confirmed that its crew has seen the research, but it is not known if it will be used during the expedition.
Search
Based on available information, the Agulhas II crew has narrowed the search area to a 7 by 14 mile zone. In this area, the expedition members will search for the wreck for about two weeks. That's how long forecasts are for conditions in the Weddell Sea to deteriorate significantly.
Although the wreck has still not been found, it is protected under the Arctic Treaty, which has declared it a historical monument. Therefore, once the wreck is discovered, it will be possible to document it without exploring or destroying its structure. Experts believe that the wreck of the Endurance is preserved in a very good condition due to the conditions in the Arctic Ocean.
Another interesting detail is that the expedition was funded by an anonymous donor who covered the cost of more than $10 million.
Expedition page (and live tracker): endurance22.org