Toward Greater Clarity: Revisiting The Coldest March and Its Portrayal of the Ross Ice Shelf Atmospheric Dynamic

Abstract. In the final chapters of The Coldest March: Scott's Fatal Antarctic Expedition, Dr. Susan Solomon analyzes the meteorological conditions surrounding the last blizzard that claimed the lives of Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Dr. Edward Wilson, and Lieutenant Henry Bowers. The book’s conclusion—that the storm could not have lasted ten days and that the men may have chosen to die—warrants close scrutiny. Solomon not only argues that the blizzard was virtually impossible but even suggests that Scott may have ordered Wilson and Bowers to die alongside him, a claim resting entirely on her meteorological misinterpretation, a sensational accusation that was subsequently repeated by several major newspapers. A reassessment of the book’s depiction of the behavior of the Ross Ice Shelf airstream reveals significant discrepancies with established meteorological science, satellite imagery, and historical records. Drawing on satellite observations, archival sources, and contemporary polar research, this article examines the methodological and interpretive problems that shaped Solomon’s conclusions, including oversimplifications of cyclonic incursions, and misunderstandings of barrier winds.

This is not a matter of one interpretation versus another; it is a matter of scientific evidence contradicting a narrative built on a misreading of that evidence.