The Role of the Weather in the Fate of Shackleton’s Endurance

Fogt, Ryan L.; Ziegler, Ashlee N.; King, John; Jones, Julie M.

The Role of the Weather in the Fate of Shackleton’s Endurance

Fogt, Ryan L.; Ziegler, Ashlee N.; King, John ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3315-7568; Jones, Julie M.. 2025 The Role of the Weather in the Fate of Shackleton’s Endurance. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 106 (9). E1873-E1888. 10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0208.1

Before downloading, please read NORA policies.

Preview

Text (Open Access)
© 2025 American Meteorological Society. This published article is licensed under the terms of the default AMS reuse license. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).
bams-BAMS-D-24-0208.1.pdf - Published Version
Download (2MB) | Preview

Abstract/Summary

Endurance, one of the main vessels of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914–17, became stuck and eventually was crushed by sea ice, sinking to the bottom of the Weddell Sea; yet, miraculously, every member of the expedition returned safely home. Nonetheless, it still is not clear what role the weather of 1914–15 may have played in the ship becoming beset and destroyed by the ice conditions, forcing the need for a heroic survival. Through examining the weather observations from Endurance in a climatological perspective, two key elements emerge that may have compromised the expedition. First, the austral summer of 1914–15 was marked with more extensive sea ice in the Weddell Sea both in the context of satellite observations and estimates from the twentieth century, consistent with an ongoing El Niño event. Once the ship became beset in the ice, persistent near-record minimum daily mean temperatures lasted through the remainder of the summer of 1914–15, offering little opportunity before winter to become dislodged. Second, the austral spring season of 1915 was marked by persistent high pressure anomalies in the Weddell Sea, confirmed by nearby observations and reconstructions. These extensive, persistent high pressure conditions delayed ice breakup in the Weddell Sea and moved the ship into heavier multiyear ice, ultimately limiting opportunities for an early escape from the ice. While it is impossible to conclusively prove that these exceptional conditions sealed the fate of Endurance, neighboring years do not show such extreme conditions, which may have led to a different outcome altogether.

Item Type:

Publication - Article

Digital Object Identifier (DOI):

10.1175/BAMS-D-24-0208.1

ISSN:

1520-0477

Additional Keywords:

Antarctica, exploration, Sea ice; Pressure; Extreme events; Climate variability; History

NORA Subject Terms:

Meteorology and Climatology

Date made live:

19 Aug 2025 11:15 +0 (UTC)