Arctic Researchers Prepare to Go With the Floes. Next month, an international expedition led by the German icebreaker Polarstern will lead the biggest Arctic science expedition to date. The ship will depart Tromsø, Norway, in late September, then let itself become trapped in the ice. Researchers plan to spend the next 13 months drifting past the North Pole before returning to Germany in the fall of 2020. During the voyage, some 600 scientists from 17 countries will conduct studies as part of the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), which will also involve a host of aircraft and other icebreakers. Eight years in the making, the $134 million MOSAiC will monitor the rapidly changing Arctic's physical, geochemical, and biological systems, from the start of sea-ice growth in the fall through its breakup the following summer. Science Magazine

 

2019 to be 'Worst-Ever Year' for Wildfires in Siberia and 'Only Rain Can Now Extinguish Flames.' Territory covered with wildfires across Russia has reached its peak for the year so far, with some 5.4 million hectares ablaze mostly in Siberia and the country's far east. The total land destroyed by flames will soon exceed 2018 with weeks of the burning season still to go. Greenpeace Russia has predicted the damage can overtake the worst year on record, 2012. Only some 9% of these fires are actively being fought, since resources are concentrated by the authorities on flames threatening settlements or industrial or other crucial facilities.  Siberian Times

 

Mixed Fortunes for Berry Pickers This Year. The varying weather in different parts of Iceland this summer has caused noticeable differences in the development of wild berries. The south and west of the country are on course for a good harvest, as the sun has been a near-constant companion all season. Berry pickers in East Iceland are less optimistic.  Sveinn Rúnar Hauksson, a doctor and berry expert, says wild berries like crowberries, bilberries, and bog bilberries, could be ready for picking within just a few days if the sun stays out. RUV

 

Roadmap for Detecting Changes in Ocean Due to Climate Change. Sea temperature and ocean acidification have climbed during the last three decades to levels beyond what is expected due to natural variation alone, a new study led by Princeton researchers finds. Meanwhile other impacts from climate change, such as changes in the activity of ocean microbes that regulate the Earth's carbon and oxygen cycles, will take several more decades to a century to appear. The report was published Aug. 19 online in the journal Nature Climate Change. Science Daily