The Polarstern, or the Polar Star, vessel was built in Germany’s Kiel and Rendsburg in 1982 especially for Arctic and Antarctic research
Russian scientists will take part in the international MOSAiC Arctic Drift expedition onboard the Polarstern research vessel, Alexander Makarov of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the Russian Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, said on Monday.
“Our institute will take part in this project with a 100% probability. The drift expedition is planned for 2019-2020. Preparations will begin in 2018,” he said, adding that the project is timed to coincide with the Year of Polar Prediction announced by the World Meteorological Organization, which will take place from mid-2017 to mid-2019.
It is planned to send the Polarstern research vessel owned by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany, to the polar sea-ice to let it get locked and drift across the north pole. It will be used as a base for an international team of researchers exploring the Arctic climate system.
The Polarstern, or the Polar Star, vessel was built in Germany’s Kiel and Rendsburg in 1982 especially for Arctic and Antarctic research. The ship was the world’s first to sail around the north pole in one expedition in 2008.