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Australian icebreaker runs aground in Antarctica

By Scott Bachmeier •

Antarctic Infrared composite images [click to play animation]

Antarctic Infrared composite images [click to play animation]

The Australian icebreaker Aurora Australis was resupplying at Mawson Station along the Indian Ocean coast of Antarctica (map) when a strong storm (surface analysis) producing blizzard conditions — with winds as high as 86 knots gusting to 98 knots at 0936 UTC — caused it to break free from its mooring lines and run aground on 24 February 2016 (news release). Antarctic infrared composite images (using data from both geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites), above, showed the evolution and movement of the storm as it intensified close to Mawson Station early in the day on 24 February.

Categories: Antarctic