That’s why we need to find a way to provide this data in a way that everyone can access and understand it. This is a challenge, since every scientific discipline has different ways to describe and store their data. An oceanographer, for instance, might describe things quite differently from a biologist. In MOSAiC, we use meta data systems that store when, where and which instrument measurements or samples are taken. This information is stored in the same way for all MOSAiC data, ensuring that data can be compared and combined.
For some time, data will only be available to members of the MOSAiC project. They will later publish a lot of datasets and scientific papers describing the processes in the Arctic. In January 2023, all MOSAiC data will become publicly available through so-called "data repositories". In a few years, YOU might be analyzing data we collected as a part of this expedition in one of your upcoming projects.
This is a big effort to understand the processes in the Arctic! You might ask yourself: Is it really worth it? And I would say, "Yes, it is!" The Arctic has been changing rapidly. It plays a key role in the global climate system. However, knowledge about this area is limited. If we have more information about the Arctic, this can help develop climate models to better understand and predict environmental changes and, therefore, our impact on it. The better we understand the complex connections, the better we can make decisions towards climate change mitigation.
