THE ADVENTURES OF ADMIRAL BYRD IN THE ANTARCTIC

 

 

 

Byrd Glacier, Antarctica: Just as rivers drain the continents, rivers also drain Antarctica - only in this frozen landscape, the rivers are ice. In some places, steep mountains channel the flowing ice sheets and compress them into fast-moving rivers of ice. The Byrd Glacier is one such place. Byrd Glacier flows through a deep valley in the Transantarctic Mountains, covering a distance of 180km and descending more than 1,300m as it flows from the polar plateau (left) to the Ross Ice Shelf (right). The fast-moving stream is one of the largest contributors to the shelf's total ice volume. In this Landsat 7 image from 2000, long, sweeping flow lines are crossed in places by much shorter lines, which are deep cracks in the ice called crevasses. The conspicuous red patches indicate areas of exposed rock. Byrd Glacier is located near the principal U.S. Antarctic Research Base at McMurdo Station, and it is named after the American Antarctic explorer Richard E. Byrd

In 1947 Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal sent a naval task force to Antarctic including Admiral Nimitz, Admiral Krusen and Admiral Byrd, called "Operation Highjump". It was touted to be an expedition to find "coal deposits" and other valuable resources, but in actuality they were trying to find the underground base of the Nazis (Aryans) in Neuschwabenlandt. The Nazis had done a very detailed study of Antarctic and were alleged to have built an underground base there. In this regard however, the Aryans have had an underground under the ice habitation in Antarctic for more than a million years. The task force of OVER 40 SHIPS, included the flagship "Mount Olympus", the aircraft carrier "Philippine Sea", the seaplane tender "Pine Sea", the submarine "Senate", the destroyer "Bronson", the ice breaker "Northwind", and other tanker and supply ships. An armed contingent of 1400 sailors, and three dog sled teams were also on board. The expedition was filmed by the Navy and brought to Hollywood to be made into a commercial film called "The Secret Land". It was narrated by Hollywood actor Robert Montgomery (Naval reserve Officer) . There were three divisions of Operation High Jump: one land group with tractors, explosives, and plenty of equipment to refurbish "Little America", and make an airstrip to land the six R-4D's (DC-3's), and two seaplane groups. The R4-D's were fitted with jet-assist takeoff bottles (JATO) in order to takeoff from the short runway of the aircraft carrier "Philippine Sea". They also were fitted with large skis for landing on the ice field prepared for them. The skis were specially fitted at three inches above the surface of the carrier deck. When landing on the ice at "Little America" the three inches of tire in contact with the snow and ice provided just enough and not too much drag for a smooth landing.   Admiral Byrd's team of six R4-D's were fitted with the super secret "Trimetricon" spy cameras and each plane was trailing a magnetometer. They flew over as much of the continent as they could in the short three month "summer" period, mapping and recording magnetic data. Magnetometers show anomalies in the Earth's magnetism, i.e. if there is a "hollow" place under the surface ice or ground, it will show up on the meter. On the last of many "mapping" flights where all six planes went out, each on certain pre-ordained paths to film and "measure" with magnetometers, Admiral Byrd's plane returned THREE HOURS LATE. It was stated that he had "lost an engine" and had had to throw everything overboard except the films themselves and the results of magnetometer readings in order to maintain altitude long enough to return to Little America. This is most certainly the time when he met with representatives of the Aryans and a contingent of Nazis. The task force came steaming back with their data which then became classified "Top Secret". Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal retired and started to "talk". He was put in Bethesda Naval Hospital psychiatric ward where he was prevented from seeing or talking to anyone, including his wife! after a short while he was thrown out the window while trying to hang himself with a bed sheet. It was ruled a suicide, case closed. He was telling people about the underground Aryan base.

 

The Hollow Earth Chapter 1: Admiral Byrd's Epoch-Making Discovery By: Dr. R. W. Bernard, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. The Greatest Geographical Discovery in Human History "That enchanted Continent in the Sky, Land of Everlasting Mystery! " "I'd like to see that land beyond the (North) Pole. That area beyond the Pole is the Center of the Great Unknown:" - Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd The above two statements by the greatest explorer in modern times, Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd of the United States Navy, cannot be understood nor make any sense according to old geographical theories that the earth is a solid sphere with a fiery core, on which both North and South Poles are fixed points. If such was the case, and if Admiral Byrd flew for 1,700 and 2,300 miles respectively across North and South Poles, to the icy and snowbound lands that lie on the other side, whose geography is fairly well known, it would be incomprehensible for him to make such a statement, referring to this territory on the other side of the Poles as "the great unknown". Also, he would have no reason to use such a term as "Land of Everlasting Mystery". Byrd was not a poet, and what he described was what he observed from his airplane. During his Arctic flight of 1,700 miles beyond the North Pole he reported by radio that he saw below him, not ice and snow, but land areas consisting of mountains, forests, green vegetation, lakes and rivers, and in the underbrush saw a strange animal resembling the mammoth found frozen in Arctic ice. Evidently he had entered a warmer region than the icebound Territory that extends from the Pole to Siberia. If Byrd had this region in mind he would have no reason to call it the "Great Unknown", since it could be reached by flying across the Pole to the other side of the Arctic region. The only way that we can understand Byrd's enigmatical statements is if we discard the traditional conception of the formation of the earth and entertain an entirely new one, according to which its Arctic and Antarctic extremities are not convex but concave, and that Byrd entered into the polar concavities when he went beyond the Poles. In other words, he did not travel across the Poles to the other side, but entered into the polar concavity or depression, which, as we shall see later in this book, opens to the hollow interior of the earth, the home of plant, animal and human life, enjoying a tropical climate. This is the "Great Unknown" to which Byrd had reference when he made this statement - and not the ice - and snow-bound area on the other side of the North Pole, extending to the upper reaches of Siberia. The new geographical theory presented in this book, for the first time, makes Byrd's strange, enigmatical statements comprehensible and shows that the great explorer was not a dreamer, as may appear to one who holds on to old geographical theories. Byrd had entered an entirely new territory, which was "unknown" because it was not on any map, and it was not on any map because all maps have been made on basis of the belief that the earth is spherical and solid. Since nearly all lands on this solid sphere have been explored and recorded by polar explorers, there could not be room on such maps for the territory that Admiral Byrd discovered, and which he called the "Great Unknown" - unknown because not on any map. It was an area of land as large as North America. This mystery can only be solved if we accept the basic conception of the earth's formation presented in this book and supported by the observations of Arctic explorers which will be cited here. According to this new revolutionary conception, the earth is not a solid sphere, but is hollow, with openings at the Poles, and Admiral Byrd entered these openings for a distance of some 4,000 miles during his 1947 and 1956 Arctic and Antarctic expeditions. The "Great Unknown" to which Byrd referred was the iceless land area inside the polar concavities, opening to the hollow interior of the earth. If this conception is correct, as we shall attempt to prove, then both North and South Poles cannot exist, since they would be in midair, in the center of the polar openings, and would not be on the earth's surface. This view was first presented by an American writer, William Reed, in a book, "Phantom of the Poles", published in 1906 soon after Admiral Peary claimed to have discovered the North Pole and denying that he really did. In 1920 another book was published, written by Marshall Gardner, called "A Journey to the Earth's Interior or Have the Poles Really Been Discovered?", making the same claim. Strangely, Gardner had no knowledge of Reed's book and came to his conclusions independently. Both Reed and Gardner claimed that the earth was hollow, with openings at the poles and that in its interior lives a vast population of millions of inhabitants, composing an advanced civilization. This is probably the "Great Unknown" to which Admiral Byrd referred. To repeat, Byrd could not have had any part of the Earth's known surface in mind when he spoke of the "Great Unknown", but rather a new, hitherto unknown land area, free from ice and snow, with green vegetation, forests and animal life, that exists nowhere on the Earth's surface but inside the polar depression, receiving its heat from its hollow interior, which has a higher temperature than the surface, with which it communicates. Only on the basis of this conception can we understand Admiral Byrd's statements. A helicopter carries the SkyTEM instrument, an electromagnetic mapping tool, on November 29, 2011. The TEM in SkyTEM stands for 'transient electromagnetic method,' which refers to a method of creating a magnetic field using a 24-meter by 16-meter transmitter loop. A current running around the farme creates the magnetic field, which penetrates into the ground. Scientists are mapping the coastal areas of Antarctica with SkyTEM. (National Science Foundation/Peter Rejcek) In January, 1956, Admiral Byrd led another expedition to the Antarctic and there penetrated for 2,300 miles *beyond* the South Pole. The radio announcement at this time (January 13, 1956) said: "On January 13, members of the United States expedition penetrated a land extent of 2,300 miles *beyond* the Pole. The flight was made by Rear Admiral George Dufek of the United States Navy Air Unit." The word "beyond" is very significant and will be puzzling to those who believe in the old conception of a solid earth. It would then mean the region on the other side of the Antarctic continent and the ocean beyond, and would not be "a vast new territory" (not on any map), nor would his expedition that found this territory be "the most important expedition in the history of the world". The geography of Antarctica is fairly well known, and Admiral Byrd has not added anything significant to our knowledge of the Antarctic continent. If this is the case, then why should he make such apparently wild and unsupported statements - especially in view of his high standing as a rear admiral of the U.S. Navy and his reputation as a great explorer? This enigma is solved when we understand the new geographical theory of a Hollow Earth, which is the only way we can see sense in Admiral Byrd's statements and not consider him as a visionary who saw mirages in the polar regions or at least imagined he did. After returning from his Antarctic expedition on March 13, 1956, Byrd remarked: "The present expedition has opened up a vast new land." The word "land" is very significant. He could not have referred to any part of the Antarctic continent, since none of it consists of "land" and all of it of ice, and, besides, its geography is fairly well known and Byrd did not make any noteworthy contribution to Antarctic geography, as other explorers did, who left their names as memorials in the geography of this area. If Byrd discovered a vast new area in the Antarctic, he would claim it for the United States Government and it would be named after him, just as would be the case if his 1,700 mile flight beyond the North Pole was over the earth's surface between the Pole and Siberia. But we find no such achievements to the credit of the great explorer, nor did he leave his name in Arctic and Antarctic geography to the extent that his statements about discovering a new vast land area would indicate. If his Antarctic expedition opened up a new immense region of ice on the frozen continent of Antarctica, it would not be appropriate to use the word "land," which means an iceless region similar to that over which Byrd flew for 1,700 miles beyond the North Pole, which had green vegetation, forests and animal life. We may therefore conclude that his 1956 expedition for 2,300 miles beyond the South Pole was over similar iceless territory not recorded on any map, and not over any part of the Antarctic continent. The next year, in 1957, before his death, Byrd called this land beyond the South Pole (not "ice" on the other side of the South Pole) "that enchanted continent in the sky, land of everlasting mystery." He could not have used this statement if he referred to the part of the icy continent of Antarctica that lies on the other side of the South Pole. The words "everlasting mystery" obviously refer to something else. They refer to the warmer territory not shown on any map that lies inside the South Polar Opening leading to the hollow interior of the Earth. 10 The full moon over DeLaca Island, located close to Palmer Station, on April 6, 2012. The island is named for Ted DeLaca, a biologist who worked in the area in the early 1970s. (National Science Foundation/Edward Quintanilla) # The expression "that enchanted continent in the sky" obviously refers to a land area, and not ice, mirrored in the sky which acts as a mirror, a strange phenomenon observed by many polar explorers, who speak of "the island in the sky" or "water sky," depending or whether the sky of polar regions reflects land or water. If Byrd saw the reflection of water or ice he would not use the word "continent," nor call it an "enchanted" continent. It was "enchanted" because, according to accepted geographical conceptions, this continent which Byrd saw reflected in the sky (where water globules act as a mirror for the surface below) could not exist. We shall now quote from Ray Palmer, editor of "Flying Saucers" magazine and a leading American expert on flying saucers, who is of the opinion that Admiral Byrd's discoveries in the Arctic and Antarctic regions offer an explanation of the origin of the flying saucers, which, he believes, do not come from other planets, but from the hollow interior of the earth, where exists an advanced civilization far in advance of us in aeronautics, using flying saucers for aerial travel, coming to the outside of the earth through the polar openings. Palmer explains his views as follows: "How well known Is the Earth? Is there any area on Earth that can be regarded as a possible origin of the flying saucers? There are two. The two major areas of importance are the Antarctic and the Arctic. "Admiral Byrd's two flights over both Poles prove that there is a `strangeness' about the shape of the Earth in both polar areas. Byrd flew to the North Pole, but did not stop there and turn back, but went for 1, 700 miles beyond it, and then retraced his course to his Arctic base (due to his gasoline supply running low). As progress was made beyond the Pole point, iceless land and lakes, mountains covered with trees, and even a monstrous animal, resembling the mammoth of antiquity, was seen moving through the underbrush; and all this was reported via radio by the plane occupants. For almost all of the 1,700 miles, the plane flew over land, mountains, trees, lakes and rivers. "What was this unknown land? Did Byrd, in traveling due north, enter into the hollow interior of the Earth through the north polar opening? Later Byrd's expedition went to the South Pole and after passing it, went 2,300 miles beyond it. "Once again we have penetrated an unknown and mysterious land which does not appear on today's maps. And once again we find no announcement beyond the initial announcement of the achievement (due to official suppression of news about it - author). And, strangest of all, we find the world's millions absorbing the announcements and registering a complete blank in so far as curiosity is concerned. "Here, then, are the facts. At both poles exist unknown and vast land areas, not in the least uninhabitable, extending distances which can only be called tremendous because they encompass an area bigger than any known continental area! The North Pole Mystery Land seen Byrd and his crew is at least l,700 miles across its traversed direction, and cannot be conceived to be merely a narrow strip. It is an area perhaps as large as the entire United States! "In the case of the South Pole, the land traversed beyond the Pole included an area as big as North America plus the south polar continent. 11 An aurora with rainbow colors illuminates the night sky near McMurdo Station, on July 15, 2012. (National Science Foundation/Deven Stross) # "The flying saucers could come from these two unknown lands `beyond the Poles'. It is the opinion of the editors of "Flying Saucers" magazine that the existence of these lands cannot be disproved by anyone, considering the facts of the two expeditions which we have outlined." If Rear Admiral Byrd claimed that his south polar expedition was "the most important expedition in the history of the world," and if, after he returned from the expedition, he remarked, "The present expedition has opened up a new vast land," it would be strange and inexplicable how such a great discovery of a new land area as large as North America, comparable to Columbus's discovery of America, should have received no attention and have been almost totally forgotten, so that nobody knew about it, from the most ignorant to the most learned. The only rational explanation of this mystery is after the brief announcement in the American press based on Admiral Byrd's radio report, further publicity was suppressed by the Government, in whose employ Byrd was working, and which had important political reasons why Admiral Byrd's historic discovery should not be made known to the world. For he had discovered two unknown land areas measuring a total of 4,000 miles across and probably as large as both the North and South American continents, since Byrd's planes turned back without reaching the end of this territory not recorded on any map. Evidently, the United States Government feared that some other government may learn about Byrd's discovery and conduct similar flights, going much further into it than Byrd did, and perhaps claiming this land area as its own. Commenting on Byrd's statement, made in 1957 shortly before his death, in which he called the new territory he discovered beyond the Poles "that enchanted continent in the sky" and "land of everlasting mystery," Palmer says: "Considering all this, is there any wonder that all the nations of the world suddenly found the south polar region (particularly) and the north polar region so intensely interesting and important, and have launched explorations on a scale actually tremendous in scope?" Palmer concludes that this new land area that Byrd discovered and which is not on any map, exists inside and not outside the earth, since the geography of the outside is quite well known, whereas that of the inside (within the polar depression) is "unknown." For that reason Byrd called it the "Great Unknown." South Pole employees remove snow from the top of buildings during the winter darkness, on May 9, 2012. Red lights are used outside to minimize light pollution during the winter, to lessen the impact on the scientific telescopes. An almost full moon illuminates the darkness. The plume at left is the heat exhaust from the station. (National Science Foundation/Sven Lidstrom) After discussing the significance of the use of the term "beyond" the Pole by Byrd instead of "across" the Pole to the other side of Arctic or Antarctic regions, Palmer concludes that what Byrd referred to was an unknown land area inside the polar concavity and connecting with the warmer interior of the Earth, which accounts for its green vegetation and animal life. It is "unknown" because it is not on the Earth's outer surface and hence is not recorded on any map. Palmer writes: "In February of 1947, Admiral Richard E. Byrd, the one man who has done the most to make the North Pole a known area, made the following statement: `I'd like to see the land beyond the Pole. That area beyond the Pole is the center of the Great Unknown'. "Millions of people read this statement in their daily newspapers. And millions thrilled at the Admiral's subsequent flight to the Pole and to a point 1,700 miles beyond it. Millions heard the radio broadcast description of the flight, which was also published in newspapers. "What land was it? Look at your map. Calculate the distance from all the known lands we have previously mentioned (Siberia, Spitzbergen, Alaska, Canada, Finland, Norway, Greenland and Iceland). A good portion of them are well within the 1,700 mile range. But none of them are within 200 miles of the Pole. Byrd flew over no known land. He himself called it `the great unknown.' And great it is indeed. For after l,700 miles over land, he was forced by gasoline supply shortage to return, and he had not yet reached the end of it; He should have been back to `civilization.' But he was not. He should have seen nothing but ice-covered ocean, or at the very most, partially open ocean. Instead he was over mountains covered with forest. "Forests! "Incredible! The northernmost limit of the timber-line is located well down into Alaska, Canada and Siberia. North of that line, no tree grows! All around the North Pole, the tree does not grow within 1,700 miles of the Pole. "What have we here? We have the well-authenticated flight of Admiral Richard E. Byrd to a land beyond the Pole that he so much wanted to see, because it was the center of the great unknown, the center of mystery. Apparently, he had his wish gratified to the fullest, yet today, nowhere is this mysterious land mentioned. Why? Was that 1947 flight fiction? Did all the newspapers lie? Did the radio from Byrd's plane lie ? "No, Admiral Byrd did fly beyond the Pole. "Beyond? "What did the Admiral mean when he used that word? How is it possible to go `beyond' the Pole? Let us consider for a moment. Let us imagine that we are transported by some miraculous means to the exact point of the North Magnetic Pole. We arrive there instantaneously, not knowing from which direction we came. And all we know is that we are to proceed from the Pole to Spitzbergen. But where is Spitzbergen? Which way do we go? South of course: But which South? All directions from the North Pole are south! "This is actually a simple navigational problem. All expeditions to the Pole, whether flown, or by submarine, or on foot, have been faced with this problem. Either they must retrace their steps, or discover which southerly direction is the correct one to their destination, wherever it has been determined to be. The problem is solved by making a turn in any direction, and proceeding approximately 20 miles. Then we stop, measure the stars, correlate with our compass reading (which no longer points straight down, but toward the North Magnetic Pole), and plot our course on the map. Then it is a simple matter to proceed to Spitzbergen by going south. "Admiral Byrd did not follow this traditional navigational procedure. When he reached the Pole, he continued for 1, 700 miles. To all intents and purposes, he continued on a northerly course, after crossing the Pole. And weirdly, it stands on record that he succeeded, or he would not see that `land beyond the Pole,' which to this day, if we are to scan the records of newspapers, books. radio, television and word of mouth, has never been revisited. "That land, on today's maps, cannot exist. But since it does, we can only conclude that today's maps are incorrect, incomplete and do not represent a true picture of the Northern Hemisphere. "Having thus located a great land mass in the North, not on any map today, a land which is the center of the great unknown, which can only be construed to imply that the 1,709 mile extent traversed by Byrd is only a portion of it." The underworld of the Antarctic: Stunning new images reveal what the UNDERNEATH of an iceberg looks like Around 90 per cent of any iceberg is below the surface, making iceberg flips an extremely rare occurrence Pictures were taken by the the U.S. Antarctic Program in Iceberg Alley, a region in the western Weddell Sea Large old icebergs contain centuries of windblown sediment and minerals, visible as layers when they roll over They are a stunning insight into an almost alien world. Now researchers have unveiled incredible new images which reveal the smooth underside of icebergs. The stunning patterns reveal centuries of material from the Earth's oceans. Scroll down for video +14 Large old icebergs contain centuries of windblown sediment and minerals, visible as layers when they roll over. WHY DO ICEBERGS FLIP OVER? Salt water is much denser than fresh water, causing icebergs to float. As they melt in the ocean, their weight distribution can change, causing some icebergs to flip over completely. However, this is an extremely rare occurrence as 90 per cent of any iceberg is below the surface, meaning the balance is rarely in favour of a complete flip. The images, from the U.S. Antarctic Program, show an overturned iceberg with some penguins on top. 'It contains centuries of windblown sediments and minerals,' said Nasa, which published the images. 'It really is the stuff of dreams.' The pictures were taken in Iceberg Alley, a region in the western Weddell Sea where a large concentration of icebergs move in a north-northeast direction following the clockwise circulation around the Weddell Sea gyre. Large old icebergs contain centuries of windblown sediment and minerals, visible as layers when they roll over. Scientists have analysed the relationship between iron and nutrients contained in these icebergs and the organic carbon production that is released into the ecosystem. Salt water is much denser than fresh water, causing icebergs to float. As they melt in the ocean, their weight distribution can change, causing some icebergs to flip over completely. However, this is an extremely rare occurrence as 90 per cent of any iceberg is below the surface, meaning the balance is rarely in favour of a complete flip. When a flip does occur, the consequences can be devastating. For instance, larger iceberg flips can trigger tsunamis that can damage nearby ships. Their undersides can vary in colour from blue to green, and they will stay that colour for the rest of their lives. It is such a stunning colour because ice absorbs red light, and reflects blue. +14 Salt water is much denser than fresh water, causing icebergs to float. As they melt in the ocean, their weight distribution can change, causing some icebergs to flip over completely. +14 The pictures were taken in Iceberg Alley, a region in the western Weddell Sea. +14

Halos and sundogs appear around the sun, in the icy air over the geographic south pole, on December 30, 2011. It’s not the first occasion that America has been well and truly spooked by a series of bizarre occurrences, but is there reason to be worried this time? The fish died first, with an estimated 85,000 ­carnivorous drum fish being washed up along a 17-mile stretch of the Arkansas River last Thursday. Local experts could not recall a time when so many had died so suddenly and, because it was confined to just one ­species, blamed disease. Flock: Mass bird deaths (above, in Louisiana) within days of each other have baffled experts, with some blaming fireworks for confusing the birds or parasites On their own, dead fish — even so many — might not raise too many eyebrows. But just a day later, and only 100 miles away, it was the turn of the creatures of the air to give people a fright. Just before the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve, thousands of birds started to rain down on the small town of Beebe, Arkansas. Up to 5,000 red-winged blackbirds fell in a short stretch no more than 800 yards wide, sprinkling roads, rooftops and lawns. In some places, the ground was turned almost black. Terrified residents hurried indoors as the tiny creatures thudded down around them. Enlarge Apocalypse how? Locator map showing dead wildlife in USA, New Zealand, Sweden, England and Brazil One hit a woman walking her dog, while another resident had to use an umbrella to protect herself. Local man Shane Roberts said it sounded like hail pelting on his roof. ‘I turn and look across my yard and there’s all these lumps,’ he said. Milton McCullar, the town’s street department supervisor, said: ‘It was like a scene out of an Alfred Hitchcock movie.’ He didn’t need to spell out which film. The emergency switchboard lit up as everyone rang in alarm. ‘Some of them were a little panicked, they thought it was the end of the world,’ said Eddie Cullum, the local police chief. The residents’ unease only increased when environmental clean-up workers turned up wearing white hazardous suits, helmets and gas masks to clear away the birds. Officials initially blamed high-altitude hail or lightning hitting the birds. Then preliminary lab tests concluded they had died from ‘multiple blunt force trauma’, implying they had flown into something. (Their stomachs were empty, ruling out poison.) The prime suspect was New Year fireworks, which could have startled the birds from their roosts and send them crashing into houses, trees and each other. But fireworks go off every New Year. Why hadn’t this happened before? Dan Cristol, an academic and co-founder of the Institute for Integrative Bird Behaviour Studies, said he found it difficult to blame fireworks unless ‘somebody blew something into the roost, literally blowing the birds into the sky’. John Fitzpatrick, director of Cornell University’s ornithology laboratory, suggested the birds might have been sucked up by a ‘washing machine type thunderstorm’ that then spat them back out on to the ground. Carnage: Thousands of dead fish have washed up on the shores of Spruce Creek, Florida The plot thickens: Rescue chief Christer Olofsson holds a dead bird in Falkoping, Sweden. Dozens of jackdaws were found dead on the street Other experts still cling to the weather theory. Michio Kaku, a physics professor in New York, said the deaths could have been caused by a flock being hit by a ‘microburst’ — a sudden, fierce downdraft of wind that have been known to bring down airliners. The U.S. Geological Survey has said it knew of 16 cases over the past 20 years of large numbers of blackbirds dying at once. Investigators admit they may never ­discover what happened, but are certain the birds and the fish are not connected. ‘We just think it’s a rather strange coincidence,’ said LeAnn White, a wildlife disease specialist at the ­U.S. Geological Survey. If only the deaths had ended there, most ­people might have swallowed the ­‘coincidence’ theory. But then something happened which sent a shiver down American spines. On Monday, some 500 birds — mainly starlings and blackbirds — were found dead 300 miles south, along a highway in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. They showed signs of internal injuries and blood clots, and the official explanation was they had probably flown into power lines. Soon after, wildlife officials in ­Kentucky reported several hundred birds had been found dead in the western part of the state. Creepy: Thousands of dead drum fish were also discovered just miles away lining the shores of the Arkansas River And then, on Wednesday, it emerged that an estimated two ­million more fish had been found dead in the Chesapeake Bay on America’s East Coast. The local environment department blamed ‘cold water stress’, when the ocean is too cold for the fish to survive in. But that couldn’t explain the thousands of dead fish found floating in a creek in Port Orange, ­Florida. There had been cold weather, said puzzled locals, but that had been a week ago. With the spotlight on ­deceased ­animals, more and more cases are ­turning up — and not just in America. In Sweden, about 100 jackdaws have been found dead in the road in the southern city of ­Falkoping. A lorry driver claimed he ran them over, but police said most birds had shown no signs of damage. Many Americans don’t believe the official line at the best of times, and the burgeoning ranks of conspiracy theorists have found themselves spoilt for choice in picking a reason for these ­animal deaths. Dead birds raining out of the sky and rivers of dead fish are the stuff of apocalyptic visions, and in a country where 41 per cent of people believe that Jesus will return by 2050, some see the hand of God and the Biblical ‘End of Days’ in all this. Internet keyword searches in the U.S. have soared for the likes of ‘dead fish and Bible’ and ‘dead fish and birds and Revelation’. Pastors on Christian internet forums have been busy answering questions about whether what the Washington Post scathingly dubbed the ‘Aflockalypse’ really does signal the beginning of the Great Tribulation mentioned in Revelation as the prelude to the final battle of Armageddon between good and evil. Even before the wildlife started dying, an alliance of Christian groups was spreading the word that the end of the world will begin on May 21 this year. This is a date that’s been ­calculated by Harold ­Camping, a Californian preacher, based on his reading of the Bible. James Manning, a controversial pastor in Harlem, New York, has dubbed the animal deaths ‘Global Katrina 2’ in reference to the New Orleans hurricane, and blamed ­‘biological warfare’. He’s certain ‘we are in the period referred to as the Tribulation’, and that the Bible makes clear this ­pre-Apocalypse period will be about environmental catastrophe rather than war. Gruesome: New Year revellers watched in horror as the birds rained down on houses and cars in Beebe ‘This strange occurrence can’t help but lead this Christian writer to remember the beginning of that 1988 movie The Seventh Sign, wherein signs of the Apocalypse, as outlined in the Book of ­Revelation, seem to be coming true,’ wrote Paula Mooney, for the Examiner newspaper. Those who favour the End of the World theory have also cited the Ancient Mayan ­calendar, which runs out next year, another signpost to approaching Armageddon. Add that to the fact that bird behaviour has been studied since Roman times for clues to the future. As with the canary in the coalmine, the birds are on to something ­earlier than the rest of us. Hollywood sci-fi films have also been plundered for supporting evidence that something sinister is happening. Some have flagged up the Mel Gibson film Signs, in which birds were seen flying into invisible UFOs hovering above cities. Other theories have been anchored closer to the surface of the planet. Mystery: A starling lies along the Morganza Highway in Pointe Coupee Parish, Louisiana. Experts said hundreds of birds may have died after hitting power lines In the Hollywood disaster movie The Core, birds start falling out of the sky because the Earth’s ­magnetic core — which they use to navigate — has shifted. Those who are wary of the U.S. government have preferred to point the finger of blame at its High Frequency Active Auroral Research ­Programme, or HAARP, which ­conducts research into the defence implications of ­harnessing the upper atmosphere’s ionosphere. Some suspicious minds — reportedly including the Venezuelan ­president Hugo Chavez — believe the project’s research instruments are death rays that can excite ­electrons in the ionosphere and so ­create earthquakes, storms and power failures. Others have wheeled out another popular conspiracy theory — known as ‘chemtrails’ — which claims that aircraft vapour trails are chemical agents that are being sprayed at high altitude as part of a secret government programme. It might explain the birds, but the fish, too? Another idea is that the New Madrid Fault earthquake zone — an area covering much of the U.S. mid-west and south, including Arkansas and Louisiana — is coming to life. Those still yearning for other ­culprits can take their pick from pesticides, or toxins released into the air by the start of major natural gas drilling operations in Arkansas. All have their supporters on the internet. Thousands of them: Crabs washed up at Palm Bay, Margate, are thought to have died of hypothermia The UN Environment Programme yesterday played down Apocalyptic explanations, but said more research was needed into mass animal deaths. ‘Science is struggling to explain these things,’ said a spokesman. ‘These are examples of the surprises that nature can still bring. More research is needed.’ Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation at the National Audubon Society, the U.S. equivalent of the RSPB, said he was enjoying the speculation so much he ‘feels guilty’ debunking it — claiming that, in fact, fireworks are the most likely answer. But he agrees with the conspiracy theorists on one point — the importance of not ignoring birds. ‘They can be good indicators of environmental problems in telling us something is wrong, so I’d hate to think that 5,000 would die and nobody would care,’ he said. — We’re in the midst of a parasitic attack on our entire planet to literally change our fundamental operating system. Genetics and other concurrent chemical, biological and electromagnetic alterations to our selves and habitat are the weapons of choice. Amazingly enough, parts of humanity are being induced to not only do this to itself for whatever reward or reason, but the rest are entrained to readily accept it as scientific “advancement”. The implications are of course drastic and the potential consequences dire. Fact is these virus-like programs are already well underway and already infecting your food, air, water and are actively spreading in you, and me. So perhaps it’s time for humanity to wake the hell up and smell our altered reality and this invasive insidious influence on our besieged planet before it’s too late! A War of the Worlds However you want to conceive it, we’re being taken over by malevolent forces out to reduce, subdue, transform and subjugate the life of our planet and its inhabitants. Our crops are adulterated, our rivers, streams, oceans and air deliberately contaminated, and our society completely controlled and manipulated. And I’m not talking about what WE’VE done, I mean deliberately promoted toxic pesticides, fluoridated water, released radiation, chemtrails, oil pollution, EMFs, etc. etc. Not the least of which is the wickedly pushed, promoted and perniciously promulgated GMOs. And the bigger question naturally follows: Why would anyone do such a thing? Answer: Conquest. Conquest and tight control for the purpose of full exploitation with minimal maintenance for the Controllers. Remind you of anything?..Like a slick, streamlined high-tech corporation for example? Those faceless, impersonal entities called corporations are just a smaller fractal of the big picture, a lower level prototype that does the grunt work and helps set the meme. But if that’s as far as you can go in your understanding it works just fine. The reality remains the same. Alien Ain’t So Alien No More Many have posited that if there were alien forces out to fully subdue us they would have done so long ago while earthlings were armed with rocks and spears and they could have gotten it over with very easily way back when. Really? Are we thinking things through Dr. Myopic Flatlander? Trouble is, your workforce hasn’t been fully developed yet. More than that, the technology wasn’t in place to thoroughly carry out the long range plan. If your humanoid creation or subject didn’t know how to utilize this efficient controlling technology and run it for you for your long range plan, you’d be stuck with the job. It would be like herding sheep that hadn’t yet grown legs. Gotta wait till things are in place. But we don’t think THAT long range, do we? Doesn’t mean someone else hasn’t. Think about that! What if you’re in another dimension, and can’t develop the technology or build the infrastructure necessary to carry out another dimension’s potential directives? Gotta work through the system, no? Just wondering… Whatever and whomever these powers that be are, they’re obviously working to establish an elite master race on top with a seriously dumbed-down transhuman fully-controlled server race at the bottom. If you can’t see that I pity you. The Why Is Clear All of this is clearly a Faustian design very likely inspired from beyond the visible realm but you can keep it here if you want to. To me it points otherwise with the long term element being so very different and which has so cleverly fooled the human race. Or should I say the short-term attention span human spectators. And yes, the corporofascists have everything to gain as well, but I maintain they’re underlings and go-fers in the chain of bondage that is attempting this seemingly megalomaniacal takeover. Although perhaps they don’t think that way. Megalomaniac is our definition. It might be normal for them. Compartmentalization can explain a lot of discrepancies in your reasoning if you’re trying to figure all of this out. Even those involved aren’t allowed to connect the dots. Very smart. But I’m sure you can explain that away if you’re not open to moving on. And it’s not just “Oh, the media would have reported something about this if it were true!”, and so the excuse of many will be “I had no idea what I was part of!”. Doesn’t excuse everybody, but when the Truth shakedown comes, man, will this be heard! Genetic Manipulation Is Ultimately the Key Genetics is the crux of this changeover. Want a subservient race? Change it to be so. Easy. Sounds like Huxley’s Brave New World, doesn’t it? Not a coincidence. This is all by design, and they’ve been passing this plan on “in our faces” for generations. The vast increase in this Monsanto/McPharma/genetic methodology for the past several decades in parallel with their ratcheted up social engineering programs is staggering. Now with the Monsanto and Big Pharma & Co. monster metastasizing in full force via the FDA and its UN/Agenda 21 affiliates around the globe, the plan moves faster than a GMO corn field cross-pollinating the neighboring organic farms in the wind…whose crops are then owned by Monsanto. How conveeeenient. Deep Issues – Their Desired Change in Man These systems of conditioning converge and manifest as a mutated human on an altered planet. According to their plans Earth, or better known as Gaia, is not a friend or nurturing mother figure, but a rock that deserves violent raping. Same as their attitude about women….and a host of other “objects”. A clear assault on our being. People today assume it’s normal, that’s how far they’ve brought it. So You Woke Up Don’t worry. We all woke up out of the same nightmare. And this one’s in our face. The good news is Earth will not have it and will naturally work to kill this ugly invasive virus. The Earth is a living entity of its own and will not take all this abuse. We may not be here to see it in the flesh, but it will happen, don’t you worry. Same with humanity…eventually. They also know that time’s short with the fuse they’ve lit. Perhaps that’s why they feverishly work to build underground cities of refuge and off planet escape plans. The fact is, they know they’re not welcome here. Let’s keep it clearly that way. Love and have a good laugh at them. Their foolish games, wherever these dweebs come from, will eventually come to naught. Be aware, be prepared. But never despair.     UFO War: Chinese and US Navy off San Francisco Chinese Naval forces off California said to be on Joint UFO Suppression Mission Joint Fleets Fend Off UFO Threat —— by Gordon Duff, Senior Editor This last week, reports of Chinese naval vessels off the US coast, Northern Californian in particular, have been reported but denied. Now an Asian intelligence agency reports that a combined fleet operation between the US and China has been going on, a full combat operation against what we are told is a “highly unfriendly extra-terrestrial threat.” The verifications of the fleet operations have been many, there have been no confirmations from the US side though the ships have been seen by every vessel that makes it offshore.  The true nature of both the threat and the extent of the multinational military force used is beyond any imaginable classification level. The fleet is armed with FIRESTRIKE family of high-energy, solid-state lasers that meet goals for size and weight reduction and ruggedization for operational applications. The lethality testing used a single Gamma chain at short distance in a way that simulated the effects that a laser weapon of several chains aboard a Navy ship could achieve at a range of several miles. “We validated that the laser could produce the amount of energy we predicted, and that the energy would have the effect on the target that we predicted,” said Wildt. “Gamma has equaled or exceeded the performance we achieved in previous slab lasers, but the real advancement here is in packaging and ruggedization for operations in real-world military platforms,” he added. The term “slab laser” refers to a class of high-power, solid-state lasers with a gain medium, or source of atoms that emit light, in the form of a slab about the size of a microscope slide. The components used in the test included the skin of a surplus BQM-74 drone and other parts configured to represent critical internal components. The BQM-74 was formerly produced by Northrop Grumman for the Navy as a representative cruise missile threat and used for testing defensive systems. “The FIRESTRIKE laser, announced in 2008, forms the backbone near-term laser weapon systems from Northrop Grumman. Combined with advanced electro optical and/or infrared sensors, FIRESTRIKE™ line replaceable units and their subsystems can provide military services with active defense, offensive precision strike and enhanced situational awareness capabilities, all in the same weapon system,” Wildt said. –Physics Laser weapons are a step closer to deployment on Earth's battlefields as a U.S. defence company gears up to test a new land-based device. Boeing has announced that it has successfully mounted a 10kw solid-state laser on an eight-wheeled, 500-horsepower truck that could be used alongside conventional Army forces. The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator (HEL MD) is now ready for field testing and over the next year will have a chance to show off its ability to acquire, track and destroy targets. Scroll down for video Not quite handheld yet... The truck-mounted laser weapons system that Boeing and the Pentagon hopes will prove the efficacy of the technology on the battlefield The U.S. military has long hoped to develop a land-based, laser weapon that could be used to shoot down enemy missiles at the speed of light, but progress on the project has been slow. It is hoped that the new weapon can be used to defend ground forces against rockets, artillery shells, missiles and unmanned drones by destroying threats with a beam of super-powered light energy. U.S. and allied troops currently have limited options to defend against rockets, artillery or mortars. The short-range projectiles are airborne for only seconds, providing little time to take cover. And using heavy gunfire might inadvertently hit friendly forces in the process. But HEL MD’s laser beam, moving at the speed of light - approximately 186,000 miles per second - will hit targets with unprecedented precision and swiftness. Light speed: This artist's impression shows how the team behind the new weapon imagine it will work in practice   The materials are not the images you see - they are given for illustration purpose only - but the pieces of story itself. They are ALL in open, independent from each other sources accessible to public. However, in order to read them, you have to speak at least a few languages. In the meantime, it were like a puzzle. After I put the facts together, I just realized how fascinating a whole picture is. These events took place 60 years ago, but they are still able to steal the show. This story gives us the answers to greatest mysteries of our times...True origin of UFOs...Do aliens are really aliens here?.. Is it true a paradise exists within this planet?.. Earth Geophysics is not the same as we were taught at school?.. Food for thought. Keep your mind open. For serious thinkers and just for anyone who know the truth is out there.   Mike Rinn, vice president of Boeing Directed Energy Systems and director of the programme, said: 'The Boeing HEL MD program is applying the best of solid-state laser technology to ensure the Army has speed-of-light capability to defend against rockets, artillery, mortars, and unmanned aerial threats - both today and into the future. 'High power testing represents a critical step forward for this innovative directed energy system.' Rumors: Extraterrestrial craft are operating from underwater bases. Advanced US sub-orbital weapons platforms represented as “tested” have actually been deployed from Vandenburg Air Force Base.  These are armed with energy weapons. UFO tracking has been moved from conventional to nano-technology with microscopic sensors being used to detect behaviors such as dimensional rifts and distortions in time, things only discussed in TV shows like Fringe and X Files.  (all Fox oddly enough) The actual classified memo on very short distribution mentions only the following: Opposition is extraterrestrial and extremely aggressive and unfriendly The threat represents a “clear and present danger” and is isolated to the Pacific Basin China is forced to carry US responsibility because our own naval capability is sitting in the Persian Gulf when America is under a very real threat. Attempts to seek confirmations or to directly verify these operations will lead to fatal consequences. Our confirmations limit us to this response which I have chosen to represent in a highly deniable form out of personal interest.  Others in the US have better information and sources and have been silenced with warnings only. As to this being a total “hose job,” I don’t see any advantage in it. For several months earlier this year, there had been disclosures tied to the UFO issue.  One real sighting had been made over South Korea. After that, the internet had been flooded, yes, Google’s “YouTube” with manufactured phony UFO videos, some of “beyond next generation” quality. All information given on how UFO video or photos are analyzed is totally false, childishly so, especially that from the UFO “networks.”  They are professionally “self discrediting.” About 6 weeks ago, a “study group” was appointed out of NATO and another one in Asia to look at the pattern of UFO videos.  A decision was made to aggressively investigate one or more groups. Being aggressively investigated on such an issue is not recommended. I either have to give this a 70% or reclassify a reliable official source as purposefully leaking something that makes no sense.  My suggestion is that readers follow other stories for verifications or information that would help in some way, add it to the comment section and see if we can get a better grip on what may well be an extremely dangerous situation. l have their supporters on the internet. In the past those who claimed they had seen a UFO were often dismissed as cranks and fantasists. Now they have been given new credibility after a panel of experts called on the U.S. government to reinvestigate unexplained sightings. The international group of two dozen former pilots and government officials said it was a matter of safety and security. "Especially after the attacks of 9/11, it is no longer satisfactory to ignore radar returns...which cannot be associated with performances of existing aircraft and helicopters," they said in a statement released yesterday. Scroll down for more... UFO conspiracy theories abound in popular culture with films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind The panelists from seven countries, including former senior military officers, said they had each seen a UFO or conducted an official investigation into UFO phenomena. The subject of UFOs grabbed the spotlight in the U.S. presidential race last month when Kucinich, a member of Congress from Ohio, said during a televised debate with other Democratic candidates that he had seen one. Former presidents Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter are both reported to have claimed UFO sightings. Most turn out to be misidentified aircraft, satellites or meteors. A panelist who once worked for Britain's Ministry of Defense said five per cent of incidents cannot be explained. But the sightings are often dismissed by authorities without proper investigations, UFO activists say. Scroll down for more... Grainy images of flying saucers are just one example of UFOs "It's a question of who you going to believe: your lying eyes or the government?" remarked John Callahan, a former Federal Aviation Administration investigator, who said the CIA in 1987 tried to hush up the sighting of a huge lighted ball four times the size of a jumbo jet in Alaska. The panel, organized by a group dedicated to winning credibility for the study of UFOs, urged Washington to resume UFO investigations through the U.S. Air Force or NASA. "It would certainly, I think, take a lot of angst out of this issue," said former Arizona Governor Fife Symington, who said he was among hundreds who saw a delta-shaped craft with enormous lights silently traverse the sky near Phoenix in 1997. The Air Force investigated 12,618 UFO reports from 1947 to 1969 in what was known as Project Blue Book. Investigators concluded that the incidents posed no threat and there was no evidence of space aliens or a super technology in operation. "Since the termination of Project Blue Book, nothing has occurred that would support a resumption of UFO investigations," the Air Force said on its website.

INTO THE ANTARCTIC

 

The quest to find Ernest Shackleton's lost ship Endurance that disappeared beneath the ice of the Antarctic nearly a century ago. Competing teams of explorers are locked in a battle to find the wreck of the polar explorer’s famous lost ship and solve one of the great mysteries of the Antarctic Ernest Shackleton set off in 1914 on his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, aiming to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic. His ambitious plan failed when their ship Endurance got caught up in the polar ice How do you top finding the world’s most famous shipwreck that had remained undisturbed for 73 years, nearly two-and-half miles down on the bottom of the Atlantic? Since American oceanographer and undersea explorer Robert Ballard first discovered Titanic in her dark and silent grave in 1985, explorers have considered an even tougher challenge, to search for a vessel whose name is synonymous with a golden age of British heroes. The great prize for Ballard and many other shipwreck hunters is Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance, which lies in the icy wasteland of the Antarctic. The polar explorer’s three-masted ship still sits unseen, 10,000ft down on the bottom of the treacherous Weddell Sea, and the hunt for her resting place may finally be nearing its conclusion. Shackleton's own diary entry for November 21, 1915, was brief but heartfelt: 'I cannot write about it' The South Pole continues to lure the brave and the foolhardy, and the frontrunner in the race to find Endurance is David Mearns, originally from New Jersey but now based in Sussex. ‘Endurance is the greatest underwater search challenge in the world,’ he says, sitting in his office in Midhurst village high street. He is surrounded by charts, log books and spreadsheets offering co-ordinates for possible locations of the ship. ‘It’s way more difficult than the Titanic,’ he says. ‘It’s in almost the same depth but you’re doing it under a metre and a half of solid pack ice. How do you operate in that? These are the conditions that destroy ships, that crush them and create shipwrecks, and you’re actually trying to operate there and find a shipwreck.’ He has gathered as many original journals from Shackleton’s 1914 expedition as he can, from museums, the drawers of relatives of those who served on the ship, and by copying down details from items before they were sold at auction. ‘I gathered copies of documents from Guildhall Library, the Scott Polar Research Institute and a museum in New Zealand, while the son of the geologist on board, James Wordie, showed me his papers, and Hubert Hudson the navigator’s son was prepared to loan me the sextant his father used. ‘I have around 15 different documents, nine of them with navigational positions. 'I’ve compared all their positions over time to see the patterns, who’s talking to who and who’s copying who. 'I also have not only Frank Worsley, Shackleton’s captain’s log book, but his work book too. 'It includes every mathematical computation he made to determine his position. I can see how good a navigator and notetaker he was – and he was superb. Endurance trapped in pack ice, 1915 'This is why I’m so confident of the position. I reckon I’ve narrowed the search area to around 150 square nautical miles. 'Compare that with the Australian World War II ship HMAS Sydney II, for which we had one vague German report that was very difficult to corroborate and which left us with a search area of around 1,400 square nautical miles. We still found that in 68 hours.’ Mearns has also found the World War II Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Hood, aboard which 1,415 men died; MV Derbyshire, the largest British ship ever lost at sea; and the Rio Grande, found 3.5 miles down – the deepest shipwreck ever found. He trained as a marine biologist and geologist and got the bug for shipwreck-hunting when he played detective to help locate a ship that went down in the Indian Ocean in 1977, killing six crewmen. The Austrian businessman who owned the Lucona had filed a $20 million insurance claim. But Mearns managed to film the wreckage and prove it had been deliberately sunk using explosives placed in the ship’s hold. The owner ended up serving a life sentence. He now hopes to find and film Endurance using the latest underwater technology; but then, he’s talked about doing so for more than ten years. It has been a fraught journey so far, interrupted by spats, dashed hopes, damaged ships, insults and questions over ethics. A map showing how Endurance drifted, made in 1917 His research and enthusiasm are not in doubt; all he needs now to get there, find it and make it back are the two things Shackleton himself always struggled to get – ships and money. He estimates it will cost in the region of $15-$20 million, for two ice-breaking ships, an autonomous underwater vehicle, and at least $1 million just for fuel. Ernest Shackleton set off in 1914 on his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, aiming to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic. His ambitious plan failed when their ship got caught up in the polar ice before they could even start the long hike. The ice held Endurance in its grip for ten months and she drifted before the pressure finally caused the giant timbers to break, and she disappeared to the bottom of the sea. Shackleton’s right-hand man Frank Wild wrote of the moment she was crushed: ‘It was a sickening sensation to feel the decks breaking up under one’s feet, the beams bending and snapping with a noise of heavy gunfire.’ Shackleton’s own diary entry for November 21, 1915, was brief but heartfelt: ‘I cannot write about it.’ But what followed was an even more epic achievement and the greatest survival story of all time. Alone in the Antarctic, Shackleton realised he had to go for help to save the lives of the 27 crewmen. An underwater vehicle used for deep-water searches is tested off Hawaii So he set sail from Elephant Island with five men in a 23ft boat, the James Caird, through gales, blizzards  and across 800 nautical miles of the world’s roughest ocean. They might have hoped their journey, described by Shackleton as ‘one of supreme strife’, was over when they reached South Georgia Island, but then they had to hike across mountains and glaciers to reach a remote whaling station. Nearly a century on, our obsession with the Antarctic lives on. This month adventurer Tim Jarvis leads a six-man Anglo-Australian team to replicate Shackleton’s perilous journey. If they manage the double feat of the small boat journey and the trek they will be the first to do so since Shackleton in 1916. An unmanned underwater vehicle similar to the one David Mearns hopes to use Attempts to copy the boat journey have so far failed, including an Irish attempt in 1997 that ran into a sustained force-ten storm. ‘Their boat capsized three times and had to be scuttled,’ says Sir Ernest’s granddaughter Alexandra Shackleton. ‘Then a German expedition reached South Georgia, almost, but it had to be towed in, so that doesn’t count either.’ Very soon, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, 68, also heads south to try to be the first to cross the Antarctic in its winter, in almost permanent darkness and average temperatures of -70°F. It is one of the last remaining polar goals and, well aware of the history of Scott and Amundsen, he’s made it clear he is desperate to beat the Norwegians, who also have their eye on the challenge. Robert Ballard put aside his plans to search for Endurance a decade ago, but two rival British teams battled on to try to win funding. One was led by Mearns, the other was fronted by Jock Wishart, together with Professor Jon Adams, who helped raise the Tudor warship Mary Rose, and hydrographer Matt French. Wishart, a maritime and polar adventurer, has rowed to the North Pole and across the Atlantic. He set a record for circumnavigating the globe in 1998 in the Cable & Wireless Adventurer and has also recreated Shackleton’s crossing of South Georgia Island. But competing for funds soon led to bad blood between the two camps. ‘Wishart and his people got interested at more or less the same time, so National Geographic tried to put us together,’ says Mearns. ‘Wishart didn’t come to meet me, he sent one of his underlings, and I said “Yes, I’d be happy to work together with you.” Shipwreck-hunter David Mearns. He trained as a marine biologist and geologist 'I’d been in a situation before where there were two people competing and there’s no sense in that, it’s crazy. But they declined the offer and then they badmouthed me.’ Mearns remains riled, particularly by a quote from Wishart in an American magazine at the time that appeared to question his scientific credentials: ‘We can’t, as a scientific expedition, bring him on board or our code of ethics would go out the window’, it said. But Mearns now has the backing of the Shackleton family, and believes he might win funding too, thanks to serious interest from Hollywood producers keen to make a film, with a documentary alongside it. He hopes the upcoming anniversaries could help focus minds: ‘Luckily we have a few – from 2014 when they left, to 2017 when he returned, which gives us some leeway.’ Many have questioned the point of searching for a ship that could be in a very poor state, when there would be no hope of ever getting her up. ‘I have done considerable research on the Endurance,’ says Robert Ballard. ‘I am convinced it will be in a high state of preservation despite the crushing ice damage that sank it.’ Mearns agrees: ‘Some people think it’ll be a bunch of splinters. There’s no doubt it’s been holed by a great big piece of ice but I think the hull will be largely intact. 'They chose oak called greenheart – it’s very strong and resistant, and so I think the chances are we’ll find it as  a wreck but the hull intact. 'The beauty of it is with the lights and cameras that we have now we may be able to film the whole ship in one view – that would be spectacular.’ There are also items that he would like to find and, if possible, retrieve. ‘The thing that everybody asks about are the glass plates left over from Frank Hurley’s famous photographs, because he didn’t take all of them with him. 'Shackleton knew Hurley was a pretty crazy guy, he knew what he’d do to get an amazing picture – there are photographs of him out on the yardarm with his camera – and he knew that he’d risk his life or someone else’s to go back and rescue those glass plates. 'Shackleton said, “I’m having none of that, you can take this many but I want you to smash the others.” If they can be retrieved to become a museum exhibit, I think those physical shards of glass will tell that story better than anything else. And, yes, I believe the glass will have survived. ‘There’s another thing I’d love to get, although it would be a miracle. 'Shackleton rationed his men, saying they could only take a certain amount of weight – to prove his point in front of them all he stood up, took out a handful of gold sovereigns and threw them on the ice and said “These are worthless to me now.” They’d be separated from the ship but I don’t think at a huge distance. 'And that’s the beauty of gold underwater – you’d see it.’ David Mearns is quietly confident of where Endurance is, has a plan to reach her, and might be the best bet to ultimately find her, perhaps working in combination with Robert Ballard. He has even had a trial run, when he was invited to the Antarctic as a guest on the Royal Navy’s icebreaker HMS Endurance, and used the ship’s sonar to search for a Swedish steamship that sank in shallower waters in 1903. ‘We may have found her but sadly we haven’t been able to go back and put a camera down as HMS Endurance has since gone out of action,’ he says. ‘I challenge anybody to go to Antarctica, though, and not be completely bewitched by the beauty. 'It is spectacular. The fantastic shapes of the icebergs, the scale, the emerald green and blue – on a sunny day it’s like they’re shining from a light within. 'I wasn’t really a Shackleton or polar expert, but I got the bug, big time. Shackleton was the same, until the day he died.’Just to add a touch of suspense to the ongoing saga, Ballard, now a Professor of Oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, insists: ‘I’ve not given up on finding Endurance.’And what of Wishart, currently focusing on trying to raise £500,000 for a project to find and investigate an Armada galleon on the bottom of Tobermory Bay in the Isle of Mull:?‘Never say never,’ he says. Might there yet be another race to the Pole? New book reveals last words of doomed HMS Bounty's arrogant captain who'd sailed INTO the path of Hurricane Sandy Skipper robin Walbridge's last words are revealed in a new book The Gathering Wind out next week He told his 15 crew - one of whom would die alongside him - 'learn from this' The 180ft tall HMS Bounty - built for the 1962 Marlon Brando classic Mutiny on the Bounty, sank off the coast of North Carolina on October 29 last year Walbridge has been painted as an arrogant man who rode his luck one too many times - and claims that the ship should never have set sail at all The family of deckhand Claudene Christian, 42, who died have filed $90 million lawsuit over her death But book reveals that despite withering official report into the sinking, his crew still stick by him He was the captain who led his crew into eye of Superstorm Sandy, the biggest and most brutal hurricane in living memory. But it was only just as the famed HMS Bounty was about to sink that Robin Walbridge finally admitted defeat, MailOnline can reveal. In ‘The Gathering Wind’, a new book seen exclusively by MailOnline before its release next week, Walbridge called the crew of 15 below deck for one last speech in which he ordered them: 'Learn from this.' In sharp contrast to his previous defiance, he shouted above the howling winds tearing the ship apart: ‘What went wrong? At what point did we lose control?’ Destruction: A new book has detailed the final moments of The HMS Bounty, a 180-foot sailboat, which submerged in the Atlantic Ocean during Hurricane Sandy approximately 90 miles southeast of Hatteras, North Carolina Walbridge’s last, ominous words to them all were: ‘Get some rest while you can. You’re going to need it’. The 180ft tall HMS Bounty, which was built for the 1962 Marlon Brando classic Mutiny on the Bounty, sank off the coast of North Carolina near Cape Hatteras early in the morning of Monday October 29th last year in an area known as the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic’. Two of the crew on the ship died; Walbridge, 63, and deckhand Claudene Christian, 42, a former University of Southern California song girl. Fourteen others survived. Afterwards grave concerns were raised about the entire expedition, the Coast Guard began an official inquiry and Christian’s family filed a $90 million lawsuit over her death. Walbridge has been painted as an arrogant man who rode his luck one too many times - with fatal consequences. Critics say he should never have even set sail at all. Sandy, a ‘Frankenstorm’ made up of two storm systems, would go on to affect some 60 million Americans as it tore up the East coast and grow to 1,100 miles wide with winds up to 110mph. The streets of Manhattan flooded and knocked out the power for half of the island, some $68 billion of damage was caused in the US and at least 286 people were killed. Dramatic: An image taken inside the helicopter shows the moment crew members were saved from the ship Walbridge was aware of the warnings about Sandy because he got them on the ship’s computer - but still decided to go directly into its path. He left New London, Connecticut on Thursday October 25th bound for St Petersburg, Florida on board the ship that he had captained for 17 years and was the love of his life. It was a replica of the 1784 Royal Navy vessel which has also appeared in a string of Hollywood blockbusters including two Pirates of the Caribbean films. But it was also not licensed to take the public out to sea and Walbridge had a reputation for bending the rules to keep it afloat with not enough money for extensive repairs. Walbridge was apparently convinced that the hundreds of experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were wrong and that the storm would not continue its path up the Eastern Coast of the US. Instead he thought that it would come out into the Atlantic Ocean and he could creep round it to the West. He was wrong. In one of her last communications before she died, Christian texted a friend in Florida: ‘Wow! Here we go... straight into Hurricane Sandy.’ Struggle: A footage still shows one of the crew of the Bounty being rescued from a life raft by the Coast Guard after the vessel sank after the captain went against forecasters' advice and sailed into the storm The adventure of a lifetime for some of the crew who were young and loving the romance of sailing a tall ship was about to end. Waves up to 30ft high - the size of two story houses - crashed over the vessel, sending deck hand Adam Prokosh, 27, flying between decks, dislocating his shoulder and breaking several ribs. One wave propelled Walbridge into a table, leaving him badly hurt and lying on the floor in pain. The wind ripped down several sails and at 6.30pm on Sunday October 28th the second generator failed meaning that they were unable to pump out the bilge water that swamped the lower decks in a matter of hours, meaning they were were adrift and taking on water in the middle of the storm. The crew had already alerted the coast guard which sent a plane sent from North Carolina to track them down but the winds were so severe it would be sent up two hundred feet in a second, then go back down again a second later. In 'The Gathering Wind' author Gregory A. Freeman writes that as it became apparent that the end was nigh, Walbridge called the crew to the navigation shack and ‘looked over them silently’. Destroyed: An image taken in July 2010 shows the tall ship HMS Bounty sailing on Lake Erie off Cleveland He told them: ‘Water bottles. Don’t forget to take your own water bottle with you….make sure there’s an EPIRB (emergency beacon) activated in each life raft….stay together’. The book reads: ‘But then Walbridge got to what was really on his mind. He must have understood that his decision to set sail from New London was a mistake. ‘And Walbridge always taught his crew to learn from their mistakes. This was to be his last teachable moment for the crew of the Bounty. ‘He said: ‘I’d like everyone to brainstorm where we went wrong’. ‘How did we get here,’ Walbridge asked loudly, looking around the nav shack, still in command of his ship. ‘What went wrong? At what point did we lose control?’ ‘There was only silence as Walbridge looked around the room. His crew watched him intently, but some had trouble meeting his gaze. They knew what Walbridge was saying to them. 'Learn from this,' Walbridge said more quietly.' The book says that Walbridge looked weary in a way that they had never seen before. Walbridge then told them his final words as their captain: ‘Get some rest while you can. You’re going to need it in a couple of hours.’ 'Arrogant': The late Captain Robin Walbridge, pictured working on the Bounty in 2011, 'recklessly ignored Sandy's size, scope and intensity', according to a lawsuit brought by the family of a victim. Before the storm: Bosun Laura Groves and Chris Malloon work on the rigging in 2010 as the Bounty sailed between New Brunswick and Maine for a haul out. Two crew members died in the storm but 14 survived The crew radioed the C-130 coast guard plane circling over head at 4.45am on Sunday October 25th to say the Bounty was capsizing. Everyone got into a ‘Gumby’ suit, which is a large inflatable survival suit - then all hell broke loose when the Bounty suddenly turned on its side, sending everyone into the water. New details: The final terrifying moments are detailed in the new book, out next week The book recounts how the masts and rigging kept rising up in the water and crashing down on the sailors, hitting first mate John Svendsen and breaking his arm and cutting his face. Every time the rest of the crew tried to swim away - which took a superhuman effort in their bulky Gumby suits - another rope would tangle onto them and try to suck them under. Their suits were so heavy and their hands were so bulky inside them that it took 45 minutes to get the first person in the life raft by grabbing a rope to pull themselves up with their teeth. Somehow 14 of the 16 on board made it to life rafts or clung on to wooden that was floating in the debris until the coastguard helicopter picked them all up. Christian’s body was later found floating by another coastguard helicopter team. Walbridge was never seen again, but soon after the recriminations began. In February the Coast Guard held a week-long hearing in Portsmouth, Virginia into what happened. Its official report is due next year. What came out left Christian’s family appalled. Walbridge was apparently so keen to get to Florida on time because he had scheduled a meeting with a nonprofit organization dedicated to Down syndrome research, which might have helped bring in some money for the ship too. The suggestion was that he and the ship’s owner, New York businessman Robert Hanse, were worried that if they missed the meeting the agreement would fall apart. Team: Captain Walbridge (right) is pictured working with the other Bounty crew. Despite his apparently rash - and ultimately deadly - decisions, the crew has refused to say a bad word against the captain During the hearing it also emerged that, whilst in dry dock before the trip, Walbridge refused to approve the removal of rotten wood on the boat because it would have cost a lot of money. An unfortunate interview he gave emerged in which he bragged ‘we chase hurricanes’ and said that they gave the ship a ‘good ride’. Walbridge also did not tell his crew the full extent of Sandy’s strength and when senior members raised concerns he told them not to worry. No other tall ships were out of port during Sandy, and hardly any other vessels were even with more modern hulls made of steel. Hanse refused to testify at the coast guard hearing and took the Fifth meaning nobody will ever know the full truth. So Christian’s family’s lawsuit against him, Walbridge, the Bounty operating company and the crew alleging that the ship ended up in ‘the greatest mismatch between a vessel and a peril of the sea that would ever occur or could be imagined’. The lawsuit states: ‘Captain Walbridge, who was focused on the rewards lying in St Petersburg, recklessly ignored Sandy's size, scope and intensity. Crew: Chief mate John Svendsen at the helm of the Bounty in 2010. He was second in command on the Bounty and known for his calm authority Working together: Third mate Dan Cleveland doing some maintenance on the rigging of the Bounty in 2011 ‘He also grossly overestimated, to the point of recklessness, Bounty's seaworthiness and overestimated his professional seamanship and weather forecasting abilities to the point of arrogant hubris’. Despite the overwhelming evidence that he put them in grave danger for no reason, Walbridge’s crew still somehow stood by him. It is one of the most puzzling episodes of the whole tragedy, not least as they were being paid just $100 a week for working 18-hour days. Under questioning at the hearing Jess Hewitt, a 25-year-old qualified captain and crew member, refused to put the knife into Walbridge. And when told by a lawyer for Christian’s family that nobody would say a bad word against him, her response was: ‘That’s awesome’. Third mate Dan Cleveland, 25, was even more forthright in his defence of Walbridge. ‘The Gathering Wind’ reads: ‘If Walbridge were alive today and proposed sailing into another hurricane or storm, Cleveland would go with him because the outcome of the Bounty's last voyage was not inevitable. Tragedy: As well as the captain, a woman died and other crew members suffered broken bones and injuries ‘The loss of the ship and two lives was the result of series of problems, he says, and that the sequence of events does not have to repeat itself. If just a few things had turned out differently, the Bounty would have made it through Hurricane Sandy, he insists.' Speaking to MailOnline, Freeman said that in his assessment Walbridge did make a 'serious and tragic mistake'. He thought that in time the crew will eventually 'come to the realization that Walbridge made tragic errors’, but that the camaraderie was so strong the couldn’t see it yet. He said: 'It's hard to call for a mutiny because it's such a powerful word but in retrospect, I think the crew should have more forcefully told the captain that this was a bad idea, yes'. Freeman, who has previously written a narrative non-fiction book about WWII soldiers, added that in those final moments Walbridge ‘realised that he had made this error’. He said: 'I don't see him as the villain. Everyone agrees that he had an admirable career on the sea until that point and he was considered a very fine captain'. First-known footage found of 1915 Chicago boating tragedy that killed 844 passengers BEFORE the ship even set sail On July 24, 1915 the SS Eastland capsized while it was still docked in around 20 feet of water 844 people died out of 2,500 on Western Electric had chartered the boat to take employees from its Hawthorne factory in Cicero, Illinois, to a summer party in Indiana Many of the victims were children and teenagers, who drowned while wearing their Sunday best Almost a century on, footage has surfaced of a freak boating disaster that killed 844 people traveling to a company picnic in Chicago. On the morning of July 24, 1915 the SS Eastland capsized while it was still docked in around 20ft of water. Many of the victims were children and teenagers, who drowned while wearing their Sunday best. Two newly-discovered grainy black and white clips of the incident show workers trying to right the luxury vessel, with survivors huddled together shivering in blankets. +11 Caught on camera: Almost a century on, footage has surfaced of a boating disaster that killed 844 people en route to a company picnic in Chicago +11 All hands on deck: On July 24, 1915 the SS Eastland capsized while it was still docked in an estimated 20 feet of water. Many of the victims were children and teenagers, who were dressed in their Sunday best There were a total of 2,500 passengers on board that fateful day. Western Electric had chartered the Eastland and other ships to take employees from its Hawthorne factory in Cicero, Illinois, to a summer party in Michigan City, Indiana. At the time the company had around 10,000 staff. The Eastland - which launched in 1903 - had a reputation for being unstable and its licensed capacity had been reduced several times in a bid to balance it out. Many blamed its eventual sinking on a case of overcrowding. After being salvaged, the shipwrecked Eastland was sold to the U.S. Navy. It was renovated and renamed the USS Wilmette as a designated gunboat. She was primarily used for training purposes on the Great Lakes and scrapped after World War II Jeff Nichols, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told CBS News that he found the videos of the Eastland while he was looking through seemingly unrelated material on World War I. The Eastland Disaster Historical Society says the film humanizes the tragedy in a new way. +11 Watery grave: Two newly-discovered grainy black and white clips of the incident shows workers trying to right the vessel, while survivors stand shivering in blankets. +11 Boasting tragedy: There were a total of 2,500 passengers on board that fateful day Ted Wachholz, the organisation's executive director said: 'The film footage . . . is the single most important discovery from research over the past 100 years for those who are interested in the history of the Eastland Disaster. 'Over the past 16 years, EDHS has pursued numerous leads, driven hundreds of miles, sent emails, and made phone calls all while responding to reports of possible film footage of the Eastland Disaster. 'All of these previous leads have ended without any results. Late Friday, however, Mr. Nichols was gracious enough to share his discovery on our Facebook page. 'All of us at EDHS and many more who follow us have gotten chills upon viewing this incredible footage, and we know that thousands more will experience the same.' Caroline Homolka, 17, was among the victims of the Eastland sinking. She and her brother Joe both worked for Western Electric and were getting ready to attend the picnic and decided to go separately with their own friends. Surprise find: Jeff Nichols, a doctoral student at the University of Illinois at Chicago, told CBS News that he found the videos of the Eastland while he was looking through seemingly unrelated material on World War I +11 Company outing: Western Electric had chartered the Eastland to take employees from its Hawthorne factory in Cicero, Illinois, to a summer party in Michigan City, Indiana +11 New pastures: After being salvaged, the boat was sold to the U.S. Navy +11 Victims: Agnes Latowski was an employee of the Western Electric company and was aboard the Eastland along with her older brother Walter and older sister Nellie who both perished Joe was rescued but Caroline was killed. Her sister Blanche recalled the heartbreaking chain of events: 'I'll never forget that evening. Joe was home by then exhausted as were poor Mother and Daddy. 'We kids couldn't imagine such a tragedy. I even remember there was a shortage of coffins and so when my dear sister Carrie was brought home, they had placed her on a sort of wicker sofa. She lay there as beautiful as ever. 'Oh poor Carrie, we were told that she must have fallen when the boat tipped over because she had a dark bruise, and that it killed her instantly 'There she lay, and she had a death pall over her face. It was brought home to rest every time we sat at the table and there was one missing, at every meal, one missing.' Marion Eichholz, the last known survivor of the Eastland ship disaster, died last November aged 102. This year marks the 100th anniversary of the accident. +11 Flashback: Marion Eichholz, the last known survivor of the Eastland, died last November aged 102 +11 A century ago: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the disaster +11 Photographic memory: Small boats attempt to rescue survivors gathered on the exposed side of the Eastland

INTO THE ANTARCTIC         They are a stunning insight into an almost alien world. Now researchers have unveiled incredible new images which reveal the smooth underside of icebergs. The stunning patterns reveal centuries of material from the Earth's oceans.   2,000 miles, epic mountains and making tea with melted snow: Rare photos reveal life on the first successful Antarctic crossing Vivian Fuch led his team of explorers on an overland expedition of Antactica via the South Pole Team member George Lowe, released his photographs in a book on the mission, The Crossing of Antarctica The fascinating pictures give an eye-opening look into life in one of the world's harshest climates It was a feat many deemed impossible, with previous attempts ending in fatalities and failure. But in 1958, Vivian ‘Bunny’ Fuch, successfully led a Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition team to complete the first ever overland crossing of Antarctica via the South Pole. Part of the triumphant team was Everest veteran George Lowe, who documented the magnificent feat, and his photographs provide a fascinating insight into one of the 20th century's greatest explorations.  +15 The Crossing of Antarctica, by George Lowe and Huw Lewis-Jones, celebrates the achievements of the 1957/1958 Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition team +15 Edmund Hillary joined the team for the final stages of the crossing. Here, Ed and Bunny melt a chunk of ice in their tent to make some tea +15 'Magga Dan left us at the end of January 1957. After a frantic day of writing last letters for home, we headed down to the ice edge to wave her off. We felt no regrets as we had not been marooned; instead our real adventure was just beginning. Our thoughts turned to the huge challenges that would lay ahead to secure our way out - 2,000 miles across a continent' Despite not being as enamoured with the scenery as he was with Everest, Lowe snapped amazing images of the epic voyage, but sadly died while the book he co-authored with Huw Lewis-Jones, The Crossing of Antarctica was in production. The expedition team arrived in Antarctica in November 1955, where they spent nearly two years building base camps on the continent. Fuchs and 11 other men left a base camp on the New Zealand sector of the Antarctic in late November 1957 and began the overland crossing. A further party set off from the other side of the continent, under the leadership of explorer Sir Edmund Hillary. +15 'The long Antarctic night was ending and darkness was giving way to the twilight weeks. Having dug out the aircraft it was time to get everything set for the long journey' +15 The team faced harsh conditions such as snow piling up on their accommodation's roof. The snow actually helped to keep the heat in Originally the plan had been to rendezvous at the South Pole around Christmas, but bad weather stalled the British team about 357 miles from the pole. Fuchs' team arrived at the pole on January 19, 1958, where the two forces united to push on to Scott Base Camp, where Hillary's party had started. The triumphant teams arrived there on March 2, 1958, 99 days after Fuchs' expedition had begun. Discoveries along the way included the British team finding a 7,000-foot mountain range, and the New Zealanders discovering a 9,000-foot range. +15 Fierce winter winds scoured the ice into a large gully behind the hut at Shackleton. Meteorologist Hannes le Grange documented wind speeds nearing 60 knots +15 Dog teams remained a vital part of the expedition. This shot was taken by members of the New Zealand party on the Skelton Glacier. They were the first men to set foot there, and establishing a route up on to the plateau was crucial to the future success of the main crossing. A cavalcade of machines would roar down here in 1958 Fuch received a telegram from Queen Elizabeth II after completion of the 99-day trip. 'You have made a notable contribution to scientific knowledge and have succeeded in a great enterprise,' it read. Bunny and his team were knighted for their trip, which went beyond crossing 2,500 miles of harsh terrain in the world's most hostile climate. The comrades confirmed the existence of a single continent beneath Antarctica's polar ice cap and vast mountain ranges above sea level. +15 Discoveries along the way included the British team finding a 7,000-foot mountain range, and the New Zealanders discovering a 9,000-foot range +15 The telegraph from the Queen after their exploration said: 'You have made a notable contribution to scientific knowledge and have succeeded in a great enterprise' +15 Sir Ernest Shackleton famously attempted the mission during his ill-fated Endurance voyage. The book, released one hundred years after he set out, celebrates the men who succeeded where he had failed and rewrote the history books The book, published by Thames and Hudson, includes over 150 photographs, in black and white and colour. The pictures bring to life the day-to-day moments of the historical expedition, with the stark landscapes providing a sensational backdrop to the events. The crossing of Antarctica begins with an introduction by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and the core chapters detail George Lowe's own account of what he experienced of the trip.  Sir Ernest Shackleton's antarctic journey on the Endurance   +15 Fuchs and 11 other men left a base camp on the New Zealand sector of the Antarctic in late November 1957 and began the overland crossing, and would eventually arrive at the pole on January 19, 1958 +15 Some of the pictures were taken at –50°C (–58°F) and many are seen for the first time. Sadly, Lowe died before the book was completed, but it stands as a testament to the remarkable explorer +15 Bunny and his team were knighted for their trip, which included crossing 2,500 miles of harsh terrain in the world's most hostile climate +15 One of our Sno-Cats, Haywire, was returned by ship to London and then went on a tour of towns all over England, arranged by major sponsor, British Petroleum. Here Bunny is speaking to a crowd of people in Trafalgar Square on May 14, 1958 +15 Many polar experts and explorers also add their reflections in the book on Antarctica, and the meaning and art of true exploration. They include Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Peter Fuchs, Jonathan Shackleton, Børge Ousland, Sebastian Copeland, Ken Blaiklock, Felicity Aston and Paul Dalrymple       Large old icebergs contain centuries of windblown sediment and minerals, visible as layers when they roll over. WHY DO ICEBERGS FLIP OVER? Salt water is much denser than fresh water, causing icebergs to float. As they melt in the ocean, their weight distribution can change, causing some icebergs to flip over completely. However, this is an extremely rare occurrence as 90 per cent of any iceberg is below the surface, meaning the balance is rarely in favour of a complete flip.  The images, from the U.S. Antarctic Program, show an overturned iceberg with some penguins on top.'It contains centuries of windblown sediments and minerals,' said Nasa, which published the images. 'It really is the stuff of dreams.'The pictures were taken in Iceberg Alley, a region in the western Weddell Sea where a large concentration of icebergs move in a north-northeast direction following the clockwise circulation around the Weddell Sea gyre.  Large old icebergs contain centuries of windblown sediment and minerals, visible as layers when they roll over. Scientists have analysed the relationship between iron and nutrients contained in these icebergs and the organic carbon production that is released into the ecosystem. Salt water is much denser than fresh water, causing icebergs to float. As they melt in the ocean, their weight distribution can change, causing some icebergs to flip over completely. However, this is an extremely rare occurrence as 90 per cent of any iceberg is below the surface, meaning the balance is rarely in favour of a complete flip. When a flip does occur, the consequences can be devastating. For instance, larger iceberg flips can trigger tsunamis that can damage nearby ships. Their undersides can vary in colour from blue to green, and they will stay that colour for the rest of their lives. It is such a stunning colour because ice absorbs red light, and reflects blue. +14 Salt water is much denser than fresh water, causing icebergs to float. As they melt in the ocean, their weight distribution can change, causing some icebergs to flip over completely. +14 The pictures were taken in Iceberg Alley, a region in the western Weddell Sea. +14 Not all icebergs are white: This photograph by Alex Cornell proves that their undersides can come in spectacular shades of colours Last month while on an expedition to Antarctica, Alex Cornell was stunned when he spotted an 'alien' blue iceberg floating across the landscape. Unlike the icebergs around it, the surreal sleeping beast was completely free of snow and debris, revealing a polished azure surface. What Mr Cornell witnessed in Drake Passage was an incredibly rare phenomenon; a flipped iceberg caused by an imbalance in frozen water. 'Antarctica is one of those places where you can point the camera in any direction and come away with something spectacular,' Mr Cornell told Fstoppers. 'Typically icebergs are white, with blue accents near the water - this by contrast was alien-blue. More like a galactic artefact than anything terrestrial.' The San Francisco-based photographer added that the glacier was likely to be extremely old, with the blue being 'the glacial equivalent of aging white hairs.' Experts say the iceberg could be anything from tens to hundreds of thousands of years in age.     +14 While on an expedition to Antarctica, San Francisco- based Alex Cornell was stunned by an blue iceberg floating across the landscape +14 Unlike the icebergs around it, the surreal sleeping beast was completely free of snow and debris, revealing a polished blue surface +14 What Mr Cornell witnessed was an rare phenomenon; a flipped iceberg caused by an imbalance in its frozen body. Around 90 per cent of any iceberg is below the surface, making iceberg flips an uncommon occurrence +14 +14 These stunning images were taken while Mr Cornell was travelling through the Drake Passage between the southern tip of South America at Cape Horn, Chile and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica Iceberg six times as big as Manhattan seen drifting   Using his Canon 5D Mark II and a 16-35mm f/2.8 lens, Mr Cornell was able to capture some incredible views of the iceberg and its surroundings. Around 90 per cent of any iceberg is below the surface, making iceberg flips an extremely rare occurrence. Salt water is much denser than fresh water, causing icebergs to float. But when they melt, their weight distribution can change, making some icebergs to flip over completely. But when one does occur, the consequences can be devastating. For instance, larger iceberg flips can trigger tsunamis that can damage nearby ships. Hugh Corr, a glacial geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey told i100.co.uk he had rarely seen an image of a flipped iceberg that was so stunning. While it is difficult to tell its scale, Mr Corr suspects it is reasonably small – much smaller than those than can reach up to eight miles long. +14 This beautiful images was taken from Cierva Cove. The back of Cierva Cove is a glacial face, which regularly calves ice into the bay +14 +14 Using a Canon 5D Mark II and 16-35mm f/2.8 lens, Mr Cornell was able to capture some incredible views of the iceberg and its surroundings +14 A seal relaxed in Cierva Cove. The area is southeast of Cape Sterneck in Hughes Bay, along the west coast of Graham Land, Antarctica +14 '[It] is one of those places where you can point the camera in any direction and come away with something spectacular', said Mr Cornell   Their journeys would end in tragic circumstances, crushed up against the rocks with the precious cargo lost and some of the crew members dead. But, no matter the treacherous conditions, every time a ship ran aground off the coast of Cornwall, members of the Gibson family would be there to take photos of the vessel's demise. These ghostly images of shipwrecks were first taken 150 years ago when John Gibson bought his first camera and have now been put together in a collection which is expected to be sold for between £100,000 and £150,000 at an auction next month.   Crowded: The Dutch cargo ship Voorspoed pictured surrounded by horses used to help take away the cargo after it was wrecked at Perran Bay, Cornwall in March 1901. All of those on board died in the incident as the ship travelled from to Newfoundland, Canada to Perranporth, Cornwall.   History: The Minnehaha was shipwrecked in 1874 as it travelled from Peru to Dublin, it was carrying guano to be used as fertiliser and struck Peninnis Head rocks when the captain lost his way. The ship sank so quickly that some men were drowned in their berths, ten died in total including the captain. Taken by four generations of the family of photographers over a period of 130 years, the 1000 negatives record the wrecks of more than 200 ships and the fate of their passengers, crew and cargo as they travelled from across the world through the notoriously treacherous seas around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly At the very forefront of early photojournalism, John Gibson and his descendants were determined to be first on the scene when these shipwrecks struck. Each and every wreck had its own story to tell with unfolding drama, heroics, tragedies and triumphs to be photographed and recorded - the news of which the Gibsons would disseminate to the British mainland and beyond. The original handwritten eye-witness accounts as recorded by Alexander and Herbert Gibson in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries will be sold alongside the collection of images. Dark: The Norwegian sailing ship the Hansy,was wrecked in November 1911 on the eastern side of the Lizard in Cornwall. Three men were rescued by lifeboat and all of the rest of the passengers managed to escape up onto the rocks. Hypnotizing: turbulent ocean  during a storm Tempest: Waves crash as the ocean swells         Bad weather: The Bay of Panama was wrecked under Nare Head, near St Keverne, Cornwall during a huge blizzard in March 1898. At the time it was wrecked it was carrying a cargo of Jute, used to make hessian cloth, from Calcutta in India, 18 of those on board died but 19 were rescued.   Founder and apprentice: John Gibson (right) started the business after buying his first camera and took on his son Herbert (right) as an apprentice in 1865 The Gibson family passion for photography was passed down through an astonishing four generations from John Gibson, who purchased his first camera 150 years ago. Born in 1827, and a seaman by trade, it is not known how or where John Gibson acquired his first camera at time when photography was typically reserved for the wealthiest in society. However by 1860 he had established himself as a professional photographer in a studio in Penzance. Returning to the Scillies in 1865, he  employed his two sons Alexander and Herbert as apprentices in the business, forging a personal and professional unity which would be passed down through all the generations which followed. Inseparable from his brother until the end, it is said that Alexander almost threw himself into Herbert’s grave at his funeral in 1937. The family’s famous shipwreck photography began in 1869, on the historic occasion of the arrival of the first Telegraph on the Isles of Scilly. At a time when it could take a week for word to reach the mainland from the islands, the Telegraph transformed the pace at which news could travel. At the forefront of early photojournalism, John became the islands’ local news correspondent, and Alexander the telegraphist - and it is little surprise that the shipwrecks were often major news. On the occasion of the wreck of the 3500-ton German steamer, Schiller in 1876 when over 300 people died, the two worked together for days - John preparing newspaper reports, and Alexander transmitting them across the world, until he collapsed with exhaustion. Although they often worked in the harshest conditions, travelling with hand carts to reach the shipwrecks - scrambling over treacherous coastline with a portable dark room, carrying glass plates and heavy equipment - they produced some of the most arresting and emotive photographic works of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Crash: The French ship, the Seine was on her way to Falmouth with a cargo of nitrate when she ran into a gale off Scilly on Decermber 28, 1900. She ran ashore in Perran Bay, Perranporth, Cornwall, but thankfully all crew members were rescued with Captain Guimper reported as the last man to leave the ship before she was broken up in the next flood tide. Crash: The German owned 300ft merchant vessel the Cita, sunk after it pierced its hull and ran aground in gale-force winds en route from Southampton to Belfast in March 1997. The mainly Polish crew of the stricken vessel were rescued a few hours after the incident by the RNLI and the wreck remained on the rock ledge for several days before slipping off into deeper water. Generations: When Herbert Gibson died,  the business changed hands to his son James (left) who had assisted him for ten years. Frank (right) left the Isle of Scilly after a family argument and went to learn about new technology which helped advance the business when he returned in 1957 Storm: A French trawler called the Jeanne Gougy pictured being engulfed by waves at Land's End in 1962. It was on its way to fishing grounds on the southern Irish coast from Dieppe in France when it went aground on the north side of Lands End in the early hours of November 3rd. Twelve men including the skipper were lost, swept away by massive waved before they could be rescued. Rex Cowan, a shipwreck hunter and author said: 'This is the greatest archive of the drama and mechanics of shipwreck we will ever see - a thousand images stretching over 130 years, of such power, insight and nostalgia that even the most passive observer cannot fail to feel the excitement or pathos of the events they depict.' Spy author John Le Carre said of the collection: 'We are standing in an Aladdin’s cave where the Gibson treasure is stored, and Frank is its keeper. 'It is half shed, half amateur laboratory, a litter of cluttered shelves, ancient equipment, boxes, printer’s blocks and books. Precious cargo: The Glenbervie, which was carrying a consignment of pianos and high quality spirits crashed into rocks Lowland Point near Coverack, Cornwall, in January 1902 after losing her way in bad weather. The British owned barque was laden with 600 barrels of whisky, 400 barrels of brandy and barrels of rum. All 16 crewmen were saved by lifeboat. 'Many hundreds of plates and thousands of photographs are still waiting an inventory. Most have never seen the light of day. Any agent, publisher or accountant would go into free fall at the very sight of them.' And fellow author John Fowles said: 'Other men have taken fine shipwreck photographs, but nowhere else in the world can one family have produced such a consistently high and poetic standard of work.' The archive will be sold as a single lot in Sotheby’s Travel, Atlases, Maps and Natural History sale. Lost: The Mildred was traveling from Newport to London when it got stuck in dense fog and hit rocks at Gurnards Head at midnight on the 6th April 1912. Captain Larcombe and his crew of two Irishmen, one Welshman and a Mexican rowed into St. Ives as their ship was destroyed by the waves.   Saved: British ship, the City of Cardiff was en route from Le Havre, France, to Wales in 1912 when it was wrecked in Mill Bay near Land's End. All of the crew were rescued Stuck: The steamer City of Cardiff pictured trapped on rocks with steam still coming out of the chimney, it was washed ashore by a strong gale in March 1912 at Nanjizel. The Captain, his wife and son, and the crew were all rescued but the vessel was left a total wreck. Sinking: A British built iron sailing barque, The Cromdale, ran into Lizard Point, the most southerly point of British mainland, in thick fog. The three-masted ship was on a voyage from Taltal, Chile to Fowey, Cornwall with a cargo of nitrates. There were no casualties but within a week the ship had been broken up completely by the sea.   Apprentice: Alexander Gibson was invited by his father John into the business in 1865 The Gibson family originated from the Isleof Scilly and have 300 years of family history. John Gibson acquired his first camera whilst abroad around 150 years ago when photography was still mainly reserved for the wealthiest members of society. He had to go to sea from a young age to supplement the income from a small shop on St Mary’s run by his widowed mother. Making ends meet on St Mary’s was a constant struggle and he learned to use the camera and set up a photography studio in Penzance. Around 1866 he returned to St Mary’s with his family and he was assisted in his photography by his sons Alexander and Herbert in the studio shed in the back garden of their home. Both Herbert and Alexander learned the art of photography at their father’s knee and Alexander was to become one of the most remarkable characters in Scilly. He had a passion for archaeology, architecture and folk history. He took endless pictures of ruins, prehistoric remains, and artifacts not just in Scilly but all over Cornwall. Herbert by contrast was a quiet man, a competent photographer and a sound businessman. There can be no doubt that without his steadying influence, the business aspect of their photography might not have survived Alexander’s more flamboyant approach. Frank spent some time working for photographers in Cornwall learning about new technology. But Frank returned to Scilly in 1957 and worked in partnership with his father for two years. After this time it was apparent that they could not work together and James retired to Cornwall and sold the business to Frank. Under Frank’s stewardship the business expanded. He produced postcards and sold souvenirs to supplement the photography, and opened another shop. Scilly is always in the news and there is always demand for pictures by the press.

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