An expedition with the research vessel Polarstern will collect data from the Arctic Ocean for one year. On board the ship is the researcher Anders Torstensson from the Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, who will soon be replaced by his colleague John Paul Balmonte.
Experts from 20 countries participate in the expedition, which began in the fall of 2019, when the German icebreaker Polarstern started drifting across the Arctic Ocean trapped in the sea ice. The SLU researchers on board participate in a project that investigates the microorganisms in the central North Sea and their ability to use and produce various nitrogen and carbon compounds. The project will provide knowledge that is important, among other things, for predicting the effects of climate change on biological communities in the Arctic.
Read more about John Paul Balmonte's research in an interview on the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat’s web site: MOSAiC is an amazing opportunity to test exciting hypotheses.
First part of the MOSAiC expedition. Photo: Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, Stockholms University.
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First part of the MOSAiC expedition. Photo: Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, Stockholms University.
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First part of the MOSAiC expedition. Photo: Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, Stockholms University.
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First part of the MOSAiC expedition. Photo: Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, Stockholms University.
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First part of the MOSAiC expedition. Photo: Pauline Snoeijs Leijonmalm, Stockholms University.
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The research project Seasonality of metabolic functions in sympagic and pelagic microbiomes in the Central Arctic Ocean is led by Pauline Snoeijs-Leijonmalm, Professor of Marine Ecology at Stockholm University and Stefan Bertilsson, Professor at the Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, SLU. SLU-researchers John Paul Balmonte, Anders Torstensson and Moritz Buck also participate in the project.