The Multi-Disciplinary drifting Observatory for the study of Arctic Climate programme (MOSAiC) is the first year-round expedition into the central Arctic Ocean to explicitly study the Arctic climate system.
Led by AWI in Germany, in close cooperation with AARI in Russia and the University of Colorado in the United States, with participation from many other countries, it offers the opportunity to make a step-change in in-situ observations and contribute to understanding the regional and global consequences of Arctic change. Starting in October 2019, the expedition will see the RV Polarstern frozen into the Arctic sea ice and then drift across the top of the Arctic Ocean, conducting an enormous range of marine, atmospheric, biological and other research from the floating platform, field camps and advanced remote and autonomous vehicles. It is expected the vessel will complete its drift by October 2020.
The NERC Arctic Office worked closely with BEIS to secure funding (£500,000) for UK researchers to join the vessel during the expedition phase. NERC subsequently announced a special £1.8m call for research projects. In this section, you can meet the successful UK teams and find out more about what they will be doing. The NERC Arctic Office will continue to work closely with the project team in AWI and other partners to ensure the maximum possible potential for UK engagement.