Foto: Steffen Graupner

MOSAiC 2019/20

The Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) is an international research project aimed at collecting data from the Arctic Ocean for an entire year by letting the research vessel Polarstern drift with the pack ice.

Research on fish and microbes in the Central Arctic Ocean

23 Oct 2020 Research on fish and microbes in the Central Arctic Ocean

Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, Professor of Marine Ecology at Stockholm University, participated in the first leg of five during the polar expedition MOSAiC. A strong memory is when the German research icebreaker RV Polarstern anchored to an ice floe to drift with the pack ice in the Arctic Ocean for a year.

“To discover a whole new world will be a magical experience”

11 Jun 2020 “To discover a whole new world will be a magical experience”

The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat supports five research projects within the year-long Arctic Expedition MOSAiC, where a total of nine researchers from Swedish universities participate. Salar Karam, PhD student in Oceanography at the University of Gothenburg, is now preparing to participate in the final phase of the research expedition.

“I leave MOSAiC with the feeling of having completed something big”

26 May 2020 “I leave MOSAiC with the feeling of having completed something big”

Patric Simões Pereira, Postdoctor at the University of Gothenburg, is now heading back from the international research expedition MOSAiC where he spent six months studying halogenated organic compounds.

Study greenhouse gases that break down the ozone layer in the Arctic

07 May 2020 Study greenhouse gases that break down the ozone layer in the Arctic

For almost 19 weeks, research engineer Adela Dumitrascu participated in the world’s largest polar expedition MOSAiC in the Arctic Ocean. During the expedition, she took samples on snow, ice and water to understand the processes associated with the greenhouse gas halocarbon. Now she is back in Gothenburg to continue with the analysis of the data.

“MOSAiC is an amazing opportunity to test exciting hypotheses”

30 Apr 2020 “MOSAiC is an amazing opportunity to test exciting hypotheses”

The MOSAiC expedition has faced logistical challenges due to the coronavirus but is soon ready to enter its next phase. John Paul Balmonte, researcher in water ecosystems at Uppsala University and Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, is currently in quarantine in Germany and soon ready to start his transit to the German research vessel Polarstern.

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Fast facts

September 2019 to October 2020

Vessel: Polarstern

Central Arctic Ocean

Swedish universities: 4

Swedish researchers: 9

Chief Scientist: Markus Rex

Read more

MOSAiC webpage
Follow the expedition
Blogs
MOSAiC on Twitter
MOSAiC on Instagram
MOSAiC - One Year trapped in the Ice

Projects supported by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat

  • Seasonal sea ice – a new source of bromine during polar night
    Research Lead: Katarina Abrahamsson, Professor, University of Gothenburg
  • Why is the deep Arctic Ocean Warming?
    Research Lead: Céline Heuzé, Senior Lecturer, University of Gothenburg
  • Seasonality of metabolic functions in sympagic and pelagic microbiomes in the Central Arctic Ocean, with emphasis on carbon and nitrogen cycling
    Research Lead: Pauline Snoeijs-Leijonmalm, Professor of Marine Ecology at Stockholm University
  • Uncovering the largest blind spot on the map of the world’s fish stocks: mesopelagic fish, their dependence on sea ice, and their role in the Central Arctic Ocean food web
    Research Lead: Pauline Snoeijs-Leijonmalm, Professor of Marine Ecology at Stockholm University
  • Drivers of anthropogenic changes in carbon storage and ocean acidification in the new Arctic Ocean
    Research Lead: Adam Ulfsbo, Researcher, University of Gothenburg 

About MOSAiC

On the MOSAiC expedition, experts from 20 nations studied the Arctic for an entire year. For this purpose, from autumn 2019 to autumn 2020 the German icebreaker Polarstern drifted across the Arctic Ocean, trapped in the sea ice. MOSAiC is coordinated by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). Over 80 scientific institutes are working together in a research consortium. The expedition’s total budget is over 140 million euros.