Scientific expedition

MOSAiC, the largest scientific expedition in the Arctic



The largest scientific expedition ever to the Arctic was officially launched this 19 September from the port of Tromsø in Norway. Called MOSAiC, for Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, this mission - which involves many scientific bodies, including researchers from the University of Liège - will collect data on the evolution of the climate process in this region, which is heavily impacted by global climate change.

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he Arctic is the region of the world that has experienced the highest warming in recent decades. Understanding the reasons for this warming, the impact it has on this area and the repercussions it could have on other parts of the planet is therefore crucial. This is the objective of the MOSAiC mission, which brings together research teams from 17 countries*, including Belgium, which will be represented by researchers from ULiège's FOCUS research unit. For one year, 6 research teams will take turns aboard the Polarstern, Europe's largest scientific ship that will be trapped in Arctic ice, to collect data on the atmosphere, sea ice, ocean, ecosystem or the biogeochemical cycle of the Arctic to better understand the interactions that shape the Arctic climate and life in the Arctic Ocean.

Bruno Delille, a FRS-FNRS Research Associate from the Chemical Oceanography Unit (FOCUS Research Unit / Faculty of Sciences), will take part in the last part of the expedition. "One of the main objectives of our group is to estimate the role of Arctic sea ice as a source or sink of greenhouse gases for the atmosphere, in a context where sea ice is changing very rapidly due to climate change. Due to the logistical constraints inherent in working in the Arctic, our vision is desperately fragmented - a few weeks of study here, a few months at most there - with which it is difficult to draw a reliable annual budget of greenhouse gas transfer," explains the researcher. MOSAiC is a truly unique opportunity to study these issues and integrate our measurements into a complete annual cycle in the heart of the Arctic, in one of the most inaccessible regions. It is an exceptional logistical effort, never before conducted. MOSAiC will be a decisive step forward for us, and therefore an essential objective. We will be responsible for the measurement of nitrous oxide, one of the main greenhouse gases, and will collaborate on the measurement of two other more well-known gases, carbon dioxide and methane. »

MOSAiC©StefanHendricks 

The MOSAiC expedition, with a budget of 140 million euros, is led by the Alfred Wegener Institute of the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) and presents unprecedented challenges. An international fleet of 4 icebreakers, helicopters and aircraft will refuel the Polarstern for its epic journey. A total of 600 international participants, half of whom are researchers, will participate in this mission. The mission will end in late summer 2020 Arctic, the Polarstern will clear ice and return to its home port of Bremerhaven, Germany, where it is expected to arrive in mid-October 2020.

Infographic MOSAiC 

For Markus Rex, Expedition Director and researcher at the Alfred Wegener Institute: "This mission is revolutionary. Never before had there been such a complex expedition to the Arctic. For the first time, we will be able to measure climate processes in the central Arctic in winter. This will allow us to understand this region for the first time and represent it correctly in climate models. The Arctic is the epicentre of global warming and has already undergone dramatic changes. And it is the weather kitchen for our weather in North America, Europe and Asia. Extreme weather conditions such as cold Arctic air outbreaks in winter or heat waves in summer are linked to changes in the Arctic. At the same time, the uncertainties in our climate models are nowhere greater than in the Arctic. There is no reliable prognosis as to how the Arctic climate will develop further or what this will mean for our climate. Our mission is to change that. ”

*Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

More information about the expedition

Following the researchers on their journey

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