The stranded research vessel, Academic Shokalskiy, in Antarctica has created awareness on the amount of ice in the area and its implications for sea levels. Image: IB Times, Divya Avasthy

It appears to have come as a major surprise to many observers, but as the crew of the Academic Shokalskiy have discovered, there is still ice in Antarctica.

A collection of scientists and journalists were airlifted off the stranded vessel today (follow the LIVE RESCUE here), which has been trapped in Antarctic pack ice 1,500 nautical miles south of Hobart since Christmas Eve.

The farcical end to the much-hyped Spirit of Mawson expedition has led to feverish activity among climate contrarians on Twitter, claiming it’s proof global warming is over-hyped. Earlier today the Australian newspaper ran an editorial claiming it’s a “hard lesson for those who persistently exaggerate the impact of global warming.”

“Sea ice has been steadily increasing, despite the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s gloomy forecasts,” it adds. So in these chilly times it’s worth reflecting on what the IPCC’s latest report, which the Australian’s comment team appear not to have read, actually says about Antarctica.

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