Ran, a research vessel without a crew owned by the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, was last in contact in January
A research vessel without a crew has gone missing under the massive “Doomsday Glacier” in Antarctica. The 23-foot-long vehicle, capable of reaching depths of 1,600 feet, was last heard from during the weekend of January 27. The vessel, named Ran, has been instrumental in providing crucial data about the colossal glacier, which has significant implications for the climate. The University of Gothenburg in Sweden, the vessel’s owner, reported the disappearance in a press release.
“During January of this year, Ran completed several successful dives under Thwaites, but during the last planned dive of the expedition, something went wrong,” said Professor Anna Wåhlin, the project’s leader. “After a long journey under the ice, the AUV [unmanned underwater vehicle] did not appear at the programmed rendezvous point.” Wåhlin added that the support vessel RV/IB Araon then “aborted the homeward journey and searches were conducted with acoustic search equipment, helicopters and drones, without success.”
“In the end, it was just a matter of realizing that Ran had been lost,” Wåhlin said. The vessel, approximately 23 feet in length and worth about $3.6M (38 million Swedish Krona), was on its second visit to the Thwaites Glacier. In the past, it has provided crucial data about the colossal glacier in West Antarctica — one which has significant climate implications.
“Thanks to Ran, we became the first researchers in the world to enter Thwaites in 2019, and during the current expedition we have visited the same area again,” Wåhlin said. “Even if you see melting and movements in the ice from satellite data, from Ran we get close-ups of the underside of the ice and information about exactly which mechanisms are behind the melting.” The Thwaites Glacier is approximately the size of Florida, according to CNN. It earned its “Doomsday” name due to its potential to raise global sea levels by meters if it were to melt completely, Wåhlin said.
AUV, which traveled to depths of about 1,600 feet, is currently untraceable.
“It’s a bit like looking for a needle in a haystack, but without even knowing where the haystack is,” Wåhlin said. “At this point, Ran’s batteries are dead. All we know is that something unexpected happened under the ice. We suspect it ran into trouble, and then something prevented it from getting out.”
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