All the data was brought to the file storage on the ship in many different ways. We sent data directly through the cables on the ice, but we also transmitted data wirelessly and used pen drives and external hard drives, too. How was the data transferred to land? It was definitely too much to send by satellite, the only means of communication aboard Polarstern. It would have taken a very long time and been too expensive. Most of it was transported by hand on external hard drives at the end of each leg. Most of the samples still need to be processed by special laboratory instruments. After that, this data will be uploaded to a huge file storage in Bremerhaven!
As you can see, it was not at all an easy task to get this data and the expedition was also quite expensive. It was a long and hard journey to get into the Central Arctic by breaking ice. Conditions in this remote area were harsh with wind, fog, low temperatures and polar bears making every working day a challenge.
This data are very valuable as it was hard to get! It would be very difficult and costly to try to get any comparable year-round data. This is why we guard the data like a treasure, but also share this treasure with the world! Data has to be analyzed in order for us to understand what it means. It will take years and many scientists to analyze all the data gathered during the MOSAiC expedition. This can’t be accomplished only by the few scientists during MOSAiC. Therefore, we need to make sure that more people have a chance to work with this data. Maybe in a few years there will be new technologies and methods available to extract information that we could not even imagine now!
