Inside the biggest mission to the Arctic against climate change: "It's freaking out, we have a problem"

• Stories The Arctic's dilemma: harness its precious resources or protect its fragile nature

In 2011, a group of scientists began talks to promote the largest expedition in history to the Arctic to analyze climate change. In September 2019, despite the subsequent threat from Covid,

. In 2030, approximately, the final conclusions will arrive. That's the two-decade timeline on which the MOSAiC expedition, the great polar raid, moves.

"It has been a long expedition, but there will be a before and after in the investigation of global warming, especially in the arctic polar areas, which are heating up at twice the speed of the rest of the world, about four degrees."

, a researcher at the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), spent three months -between July and October 2020- inside the

icebreaker

along with 50 other scientists and 20 crew members.

This Italian is therefore one of the protagonists of the documentary series

of which this Thursday Odyssey premieres the second chapter, which follows the 13 months in the ice in search of conclusions on climate change . "The only option to do this is with international cooperation and changing everything every two or three months. Once there there is no land so the only possibility is to take a boat, trap it in the ice and take samples in the middle of the ocean for a anus".

Exactly to this, despite the difficulty, some scientists have been dedicated to whom the Covid was one step away from leaving work, forced to serve 15 days of quarantine before entering the ship and even trapped some for several months. . "

. That is, they had left their family for two months and returned after six in a pandemic, but this is a historic commitment," he details Dall'Osto.

Even the support ships had to change due to the pandemic because the Chinese and Koreans could not leave and had to be replaced by Russian icebreakers. But there was also good news: "while everyone was confined, we were all Covid negative on a boat hugging each other as if nothing had happened."

A team of about 70 people between researchers and crew living in the same place for months and going down to the ice to take samples. A situation that required physical and especially mental work. "

because you have to decide whether or not to go in a world of pandemic, be confined even if the ship is large surrounded by ice and always see it people ", explains the CSIC researcher

All to collect "the largest sample in history" during the day and night to develop studies that, according to their accounts, will take a decade to "digest, analyze, model and publish all the data."

But Dall'Osto already exposes some conclusion: the

once the winter snowfalls melt in spring and summer.

"This is important because this layer of fresh water blocks all the flows of energy and matter between the ocean and the atmosphere and also the fresh water melts at zero degrees, that is undone with nothing in the summer," he says.

And what does this suppose? "

. There are many disturbances of cold air and hot air and the hot air pushes the cold, an arctic air that goes to the United States or northern Europe with temperatures of -20 o -30 ". Basically the cold waves.

That in winter season. In summer, according to Dall'Osto, extreme heat, fires and extreme storms. Just what happened this summer in Spain and several Western countries. "The problem with global warming is that we have said for years that it was going to be a disaster but that will be in the future.

. Imagine that you make wine and a frost comes to you in April, because everything is lost, "he details.

That will also lead, according to this expert, to "the climate slowly warming up", there are "brutal heat waves along with extreme storms", "some months of February or March hotter than June" and even economic consequences.

"For example, the peach will cost you nine euros per kilo.

."

These issues will be the ones to be addressed from October 31

as well as options to stop this trend. Is there still time for it? "It can be done only with the legislation and that is in the hands of those who are going to vote. And it is not the fault of the politicians but ours because we also have to have more civic and green sense: in winter we cannot be in short sleeves at home , you have to turn down the heating; we have to take some form of public transport, and when you feel like eating a peach in winter, you eat an apple and wait for summer without having to import fruit or vegetables, "says Dall'Osto, who trusts the new generations because they show "a greater sensitivity that comes from schools and documentaries."

And his criticisms also point to his sector:

. We do not have any debate, we know that it is a fact but we have to activate everyone."

For this will be the conclusions of the MOSAiC expedition.

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