Istruzione e Formazione
Endurance is Found
LONDON , March 9, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust is pleased to confirm that the Endurance22 Expedition has located the wreck of , Sir Ernest Shackleton's ship which has not been seen since it was crushed by the ice and sank in the Weddell Sea in 1915.
One hundred years after Shackleton's death, Endurance was found at a depth of 3008 metres in the Weddell Sea, within the search area defined by the expedition team before its departure from Cape Town , and approximately four miles south of the position originally recorded by Captain Worsley.
The team worked from the South African polar research and logistics vessel, S.A. Agulhas II, owned by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment and under Master, Capt. Knowledge Bengu, using Saab's Sabertooth hybrid underwater search vehicles. The wreck is protected as a Historic Site and Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, ensuring that whilst the wreck is being surveyed and filmed it will not be touched or disturbed in any way.
Donald Lamont , Chairman of the Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, said:
Mensun Bound, Director of Exploration on the expedition, said:
Dr John Shears , Expedition Leader, said:
Nico Vincent , Subsea Project Manager, said:
It was Sir Ernest Shackleton's ambition to achieve the first land crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea via the South Pole to the Ross Sea. The Ross Sea Party which was landed at Hut Point on Ross Island had the task of laying supply dumps for Shackleton's crossing party, and achieved its objective, but at the cost of three lives lost. In the Weddell Sea, never reached land and became trapped in the dense pack ice and the 28 men on board eventually had no choice but to abandon ship. After months spent in makeshift camps on the ice floes drifting northwards, the party took to the lifeboats to reach the inhospitable, uninhabited, Elephant Island. Shackleton and five others then made an extraordinary 800-mile (1,300 km) open-boat journey in the lifeboat, , to reach South Georgia . Shackleton and two others then crossed the mountainous island to the whaling station at Stromness. From there, Shackleton was eventually able to mount a rescue of the men waiting on Elephant Island and bring them home without loss of life.
Under the leadership of Dr Lasse Rabenstein , Endurance22's Chief Scientist, a world leading team of scientists from research and educational institutions successfully conducted hundreds of hours of climate change related studies over the duration of the expedition. Representatives from the South African Weather Service, German firm Drift & Noise, Germany's Alfred-Wegener-Institute, German Space Agency (DLR), Aalto University in Finland and South Africa's Stellenbosch University researched the ice drifts, weather conditions of the Weddell Sea, studies of sea ice thickness, and were able to map the sea ice from space. Combined, these important studies will materially help our understanding of this remote region and how it influences our changing climate.
Since the expedition was conceived, educational outreach was a key objective. The FMHT partnered with Reach the World, the US-based education organisation, and the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) who have successfully connected with tens of thousands of children throughout the expedition via regular live stream interviews and material produced for classroom use.
History Hit, the content platform co-founded by historian Dan Snow , award-winning digital content agency and media network Little Dot Studios, and impact driven production company, Consequential, have produced a range of content covering the setting up of the expedition, the voyage and search, and now the discovery itself, as well as the history, science, and other themes that connect to the wider mission. Short-form content continues to be distributed to millions of subscribers, including with content breaking on TikTok. The team has also been filming for a long-form observational documentary chronicling the expedition which has been commissioned by National Geographic to air later this year.
Set to premiere this Fall 2022 as part of National Geographic's EXPLORER series, this documentary event will air globally on National Geographic in 172 countries and 43 languages before it heads to Disney+. Exclusive storytelling about the Endurance will be featured across National Geographic's digital and social platforms, including in the National Geographic magazine and the award-winning podcast, Overheard at National Geographic. An in-depth story about the finding of Endurance, including its historical relevance, is available on natgeo.com now.
Photographs and a 90 second video of Endurance, as well as other expedition images, are available for download at: https://collect.wetransfer.com/board/sowc348bfrvti58ge20220307165300
Images by expedition photographer, Esther Horvath , are available at: https://collect.wetransfer.com/board/sfjlebmu68n9iaalu20220308115614
For further information, visit:
www.fmht.co.uk
www.endurance22.org