The Coronavirus is jeopardizing an extensive and important international scientific project called MOSAiC as it reaches the Arctic. One confirmed team member has tested positive for the virus and more are quarantined.
It was contracted by airborne
The individual who caught the virus is a member of one of the most crucial Arctic expeditions known as MOSAiC and has been confirmed to test positive, according to reports.
MOSAiC, or Multidisciplinary Drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate is an expedition led by Markus Rex from Alfred Wegner Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research or the AWI, that involved a group of researchers from all over the world in 20 countries. The main objective of this mission is to study and learn more about the effects of global warming on the Arctic, pretty much a region there that is called the "climate kitchen" by the researchers.
A massive German icebreaker is involved in the MOSAiC, which is dubbed Polarstern and is now locked in ice since October 2019.
This member that contracted the virus works on a key part of the mission, which is the aerial element of the expedition that uses scientific aircraft to gather measurements all over Polarstern to give more information for those who are being taken to the ship.
20 more are now quarantined
This unfortunate situation has resulted in 20 other members being quarantined. All of the affected members are currently staying in their own homes and being quarantined for 14-days. Though they are not stationed in the arctic, their absence will definitely be felt as it is expected to disrupt this aerial part of the expedition.
This could also affect their ability to collect data from the atmosphere to try and understand all Arctic regions from up high, using Helicopters and the DC 3 Polar Aircraft.
According to Nature News, "To minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus, all team members who are scheduled to join MOSAiC...are tested for coronavirus before departing their homes for Svalbard, Norway, from where they leave for the ship. There, they are tested a second time before they are allowed to depart. The infected individual had been at a workshop in Bremerhaven on 5 March with other aircraft members; the first round of testing was done as part of this meeting."
The MOSAiC coronavirus infection is the third major virus outbreak to hit a large cruise liner. The other two are the Diamond Princess which was under quarantine for two weeks in Yokohama, Japan and the Grand Princess which was held off at the northern California coast.
This interruption that holds back the MOSAiC expedition is only minimal according to an atmospheric scientist at the University of Colorado, and co-ordinator Matthew Shupe. Though further delays will result in a bad outcome for the mission.
It is terrifying how extremely fast this virus has spread all over the world. Now reaching the North Pole.
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