Old whaling logbooks offer new insights into modern-day climate conditions

By Evan Lubofsky, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Justin Buchli

Captains and first mates of whaling ships kept daily logs of weather information during each voyage, including wind speed and direction, sea conditions, air temperature, and other variables. Researchers can use these weather records to gain a better understanding of climate conditions we face today.

In September 1871, a fleet of 33 American whaling ships navigating through Arctic waters came upon a disastrous impasse. Mountains of ice pack, some clumped nearly mast high, formed a natural blockade around the convoy. Crews anxiously waited for winds to bail their ships out from the pulverizing grip of the ice, but it never blew their way. Ice tore into hulls and as the shredded vessels surrendered to the sea, more than a thousand men, women, and children fled for nearby rescue boats.

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