MOSAiC Expedition: 600 scientists gear up to spend next year trapped in ice to study climate change effects on the Arctic Sea

Being trapped under a sheet of frigid ice for a year, maybe most people's nightmare, but scientists from 17 nations are gearing to travel to Arctic Circle in September to study impact of climate change on cold Arctic zone and how it could affect rest of world, as per international news ncies.

Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition is first of its kind where 600 people from 17 countries will board German research icebreaker Polarstern at Tromso, rway to Arctic Sea where it will spend next year trapped in ice, drifting at sea, as shared in MOSAiC's website.
scientists and or researchers aboard icebreaker will gar data focused at vanced climate and ecosystem research, will be led by Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research says website.

Network Of Lakes Discovered Beneath Antarctica

Ruptures seen in rrn America (Photo: MOSAiC)

Team Le - Markus Rex

Speaking to AWI's Sebastian Grote, expedition he Markus Rex said that while Arctic has been epicentre of global warming, Central Arctic in winter remains virtually unkwn and hence his teams aim at investigating it.

" or region of Earth has warmed as rapidly over past few deces as Arctic; in essence, it is epicentre of global warming. But at same time, we still barely understand region; in particular, Central Arctic in winter remains virtually unkwn. Accordingly, our goal is to comprehensively investigate, for first time, local processes within climate system," said Rex.

Talking about what his expedition will entail, Rex said that beginning from Siberian sea ice where y will drop anchor on a stable floe (a sheet of floating ice) and n drift along Central arctic sea.

"We’ll begin in September 2019 with research icebreaker Polarstern to Siberian sea ice and look for a stable floe to drop anchor on. We’ll n drift along with floe through ice of Central Arctic, as ice thickens. One year later, we should have reached Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard," he said.

Previous Arctic Circle expedition (Photo: MOSAiC)

Gigantic Cavity In Antarctic Glacier Indicates Rapid Decay Due To Climate Change: NASA

What is MOSAiC?

Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) will be first year-round expedition into central Arctic exploring Arctic climate system. project with a total budget exceeding 120 Million € has been designed by an international consortium of leing polar research institutions, under umbrella of International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), as shared in its website.

What is future scope of MOSAiC?

results of MOSAiC will contribute to enhance understanding of regional and global consequences of Arctic climate change and sea-ice loss and improve wear and climate predictions. This will result in safer maritime and offshore operations, contribute to an improved scientific basis for future fishery and support science-informed decision-making and policy development.