Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Polarstern icebreaker of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany is returning to its home port of Bremerhaven in northwestern Germany in relative silence. The vast amount of data that international teams of scientists have collected over the months of the North Pole voyage makes it possible to testify about climate change.
Arrival of the icebreaker Polarstern to Bremerhaven:
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During the summer, scientists were able to map the extent of melting coastal ice in the region, which is considered the “epicenter of global warming,” explained mission chief Markus Rex.
“We saw large areas of water stretching almost to the pole, surrounded by ice that was punctured due to massive melting,” says the climatologist and physicist. And resolutely adds, “Coastal ice in the Arctic is melting at a dramatic rate.”
Observations and measurements are the same
His words are confirmed by satellite observations from the United States. A view from the satellite showed that the coastal ice had melted in the summer and now covers the smallest registered area since 2012.
Researchers from a mission called MOSAIC studied the atmosphere, ocean, coastal ice and ecosystem to obtain data on the impact of climate change on the Arctic region and the world. The analysis of the obtained data will take one to two years. The aim is to refine climate forecasting models to see if and how heat waves and heavy rains or storms, which occur cyclically every 20, 50 or one hundred years, resemble each other.
How the research went
“To create climate models, we needed on-site observations,” said Radiance Calmer, a scientist at the University of Colorado who stayed on the Polarstern from June to September.
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“We used drones to measure temperature, humidity, pressure and wind. This will provide us with information about the atmospheric layer, which will be very useful for creating a climate model, “says the scientist, describing the magical moments she experienced while walking on the coastal ice. “When you concentrate, you can feel the ice moving. It is important to observe the surroundings for a while, not just to concentrate on work, “he adds.
After the expedition left Tromsø, Norway, on September 20, 2019, scientists found themselves in complete darkness for months with temperatures dropping to minus 39.5 degrees Celsius and met two dozen polar bears. In the spring, however, their mission was disrupted by the covidu-19 pandemic, and scientists had to stay at the North Pole for two months longer.
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The German ship had several hundred experts and scientists from 20 countries, Czech scientists did not participate. They studied life under ice and collected water samples on a polar night to study plant plankton and bacteria and to better understand the functioning of the marine ecosystem in extreme conditions. The expedition, whose budget reached 140 million euros (3.78 billion crowns), also returned with more than 1,100 ice samples.
The project was a scientific but also a logistical challenge. There were 14,000 eggs, 2,000 liters of milk, and 200 kilograms of turnips in the bowels of the ship for the first three months of the voyage.
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