MOSAiC Expedition

September 2019 - September 2020

The Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) will be the first year-round expedition into the central Arctic exploring the Arctic climate system. The focus of MOSAiC lies on direct in-situ observations of the climate processes that couple the atmosphere, ocean, sea ice, bio-geochemistry and ecosystem. The backbone of MOSAiC will be the year round operation of RV Polarstern, drifting with the sea ice across the central Arctic during the years 2019 to 2020.

In recent years, Arctic sea ice has been retreating at an unprecedented rate. This change will have profound consequences for marine ecosystem and biogeochemical cycles. All available evidence points to nitrogen (N) as the primary limiting nutrient for phytoplankton growth in the Arctic. Our lab will measure the isotopic composition of reactive nitrogen in the Central Arctic. Our aim is to shed light on the main sources of reactive N in the Arctic halocline and sea ice, the main N-transformations, as well as their role on primary productivity, food web, nutrient dynamics, and the production of nitrous oxide.