MOSAiC: Exchange Leg 2 and 3. Photo: Steffen Graupner
Two New Records at the North Pole
Bremerhaven, 02.03.2020
AWI press release on the second leg of the MOSAiC expedition
For days, fast sea ice had slowed the progress of the resupply icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn; bound for the North Pole, her mission was to support the second exchange of researchers and crew in the MOSAiC expedition. Nevertheless, she steadily drew closer to her destination, and finally, at 12:20 pm (CET) on Friday, 28 February, dropped anchor 970 metres from Polarstern, moored to the same floe. While the handover is in full swing on the MOSAiC floe, in Russia another icebreaker will soon leave port in order to supply Kapitan Dranitsyn with additional fuel on her return trip.
This past week there were not one, but two new records in the history of polar research, as the University of Cambridge’s Scott Polar Research Institute has reported: on 24 February Polarstern’s drift took her to 88°36’ North, just 156 kilometres from the North Pole. Never before had a ship ventured so far north during the Arctic winter. And two days later, the Russian icebreaker Kapitan Dranitsyn, shortly before her rendezvous with Polarstern at 88°28’ North, reached the northernmost position on her mission, marking the first time a ship had made it so far north under her own power, so early in the year.
For more information see the full press release of the Alfred Wegener Institute, the Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI):
https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press/press-release/two-new-records-at-the-north-pole.html
Background information on MOSAiC:
On the MOSAiC expedition, experts from 20 nations will study the Arctic for an entire year. For this purpose, from autumn 2019 to autumn 2020 the German icebreaker Polarstern will drift across the Arctic Ocean, trapped in the sea ice. MOSAiC is being coordinated by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI). In order for the unprecedented project to be a success and produce as much valuable data as possible, over 80 scientific institutes are working together in a research consortium. The expedition’s total budget is over 140 million euros.
For the latest news straight from the Arctic, check the MOSAiC channels on Twitter (@MOSAiCArctic) and Instagram (@mosaic_expedition) using the hashtags #MOSAiCexpedition, #Arctic and #icedrift.
For further information on the expedition, visit us at: www.mosaic-expedition.org
Or you can use the MOSAiC Web App to track Polarstern’s drift route and follow events on-site live: www.follow.mosaic-expedition.org
Current information on Leipzig's participation in MOSAiC can be found at: https://www.tropos.de/en/current-issues/campaigns/blogs-and-reports/mosaic-2919-2020
Notes to Editors:
Printable images are available in the online version of this press release: https://www.awi.de/en/about-us/service/press.html
For any questions please contact Sebastian Grote, Dept. of Communications and Media Relations (e-mail: media[at]awi.de).