Climate scientists prepare for largest ever Arctic expedition

Over 600 scientists from 19 countries are preparing for the biggest ever expedition in the central Artic in the hope of improving our understanding of climate change.

Rotating teams of 100 scientists are participating in the year-long MOSAiC expedition (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate) and will spend two months each visiting the German research boat 'Polasrsten' and conducting research on the ice.

Polastern, which is full of scientific equipment, left the port of Tromso in northern Norway on 20th September 2019 to find an ice floe on which will it anchor before the sea starts to freeze around it - then it will drift of on its own towards the North Pole.

Because of the scale of the operation MOSAiC is an international effort. Scientists from Britain, France, Germany, the US, Russia and China will be working together to study all aspects of the climate system including the ice, ocean, atmosphere and wildlife. A Russian ship is currently escorting Polastern and later it will also be supported by icebreakers from China and Sweden.