Cruise ship carrying 1,300 lost in red sea

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Mordoch

Where did you get the 22C temperature from?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea

Surface water temperatures remain relatively constant at 70-77°F (21-25°C)

[KrazyHorse]

70F water is not cold enough to create hypothermia in any adult in normal health. Especially when you're treading water/swimming.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Krill
As soon as core body temp falls below 25C

Good thing human beings are warm-blooded creatures, and do not attain thermal equilibrium with their surroundings.

[KrazyHorse]

I've been swimming in 20C water for over an hour at a time.

Was quite comfortable once I got moving.

[Chemical Ollie]

Most victims probably never got out of the ship before it sunk. And if they did, Arabs are not famous for their swimming skills, so the quite warm water probably didn't matter anyway. Swedish news says about 1000 dead.

Another tragedy in the magnitude of Titanic that will soon be forgotten.

[Chemical Ollie]

I'm just waiting for Fred Phelps comment:

https://www.godhatesmuslims.com

[realpolitic]

In 22C water because

Water holds more heat per pound than air AND it's 1700x as dense.

[KrazyHorse]

Wow. Feel free to keep lecturing me about fundamental thermal physics.

Numbskull

What you're actually looking for is the rate of convective heat transfer due to water, not its heat capacity. Thanks for trying.

[KrazyHorse]

It's a miracle I didn't freeze to death every time I went swimming in a lake in the Laurentian mountains where the water temperature never gets above 70F.

[Jon Miller]

I have played in the water in Pacific NW (and went swimming in it) and I am sure it is never over 70F.

JM

[Jon Miller]

In fact the ocean.. is always about 50F

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/npac.html (although I doubt their data for Newport currently)

JM

[Dinner]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
70F water is not cold enough to create hypothermia in any adult in normal health. Especially when you're treading water/swimming.

You're wrong. When I was in the Army several Ranger trainees died of hypothermia after extended periods in the water. The base is in Florida or all places. If someone can freeze to death in Florida then they can do the same just about any where.

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by Oerdin


You're wrong. When I was in the Army several Ranger trainees died of hypothermia after extended periods in the water. The base is in Florida or all places. If someone can freeze to death in Florida then they can do the same just about any where.

Not true. The surface water temp around Fla is often under 15C

Again, I relate my experience. Over an hour in the water, temps ~20C. No problems. No loss of circulation, no numbness, no heaviness in the limbs.

[Mordoch]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse


Not true. The surface water temp around Fla is often under 15C

Again, I relate my experience. Over an hour in the water, temps ~20C. No problems. No loss of circulation, no numbness, no heaviness in the limbs.

Obviously the Wikpedia article could be a little off for its temperature figures around this time of year, so we may be taking about more like 19C here. In fact I'd trust the newspapers figures more than a Wikpedia article that didn't even definately approximate the extremes for different temperatures in the area, but merely gave a general range.

The point worth making is you only spent 1 hour in the water. The people in question here spent TEN OR MORE HOURS in the water in many cases. This is an entirely different matter as far as hypothermia is concerned. You also swam at least the majority of the whole time you were in the water as far I understand. Major body activity helps raise the body's temperature and prevent it from dropping in the water. Especially for those in the water who were not in perfect shape, significant swimming activity for over ten hours would be extremely difficult, after awhile they probably resorted to mostly floating. Even for those in shape, it was substancially longer until they were rescued in many cases.

The temperature of the water undoubtedly kept the death toll from being even higher, but hypothermia definately took its toll after enough time had elapsed.

[KrazyHorse]

Eh. It could be that hypothermia claimed some of the older or younger victims, or some of those in poor circulatory health. But I don't think that any adults in normal condition would have died from hypothermia.