{
  "id": 7509175,
  "title": "Drift durchs Eis: „ISS der Arktis“ auf Expedition - Hund warnt vor Eisbären",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/drift-durchs-eis-iss-der-arktis-auf-expedition-hund-warnt-vor-eisbaren",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-15T08:19:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/forschung-innovation/drift-durchs-eis-iss-der-arktis-auf-expedition-hund-warnt-vor-eisbaeren/100254619.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "An unusual, one-year expedition to explore the Arctic began in late August in Norway, involving twelve people - six scientists and six crew members - who planned to be enclosed in sea ice and drift for up to a year across the North Polar Sea. The goal was to better understand the state of the polar ocean and the Earth's, according to the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven. The Friedrich-Schiller University Jena is also a partner of the project, which involved a total of 32 scientific institutions from around the world. Living like on a space station, marine researcher Marcel Nicolaus said during a marine environment symposium in Hamburg that polar drifting was an established research concept, with the norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen having made such an expedition 130 years ago. The specialized ship, named the \"Tara Polar Station,\" was built by the French Tara Ocean Foundation and has an oval shape to withstand ice pressure. On board, there are laboratories, sleeping cabins, a kitchen, a hospital, and a bridge for the captain on three decks. The largest laboratory has direct access to seawater to deploy a submersible robot for data collection. They operate like a space station, Nicolaus said. The ship will not be relieved until mid-April next year. No cooperation with Russia The ship set sail from the French port of Lorient with a six-person crew on July 19. On August 22, six researchers from France, Germany, Switzerland, and Canada boarded the ship in northern Norway. From there, the ship sailed through the Barents and Kara Seas, meeting the Chinese research icebreaker \"Xue Long 2\" at the edge of the ice north of the Siberian Island, which took over the escort. The ship has already found a large ice floe where it anchored, which according to AWI should serve as the basis for the extensive exploration of the Arctic Ocean for a year. On the way, the \"Tara Polar\" passed through the Exclusive Economic Zone of Russia, for which the expedition had received permission. \"Scientifically, there is no cooperation,\" Atmosphere researcher Julia Regnery said in a live stream to the symposium in Hamburg. \"The Russian authorities only allowed transit and did not allow research in the zone.\" The researchers wanted to avoid drifting towards Russia. Dog \"Örkki\" was to warn against polar bears In addition to the crew, eight men and four women are mentioned by Regnery on the \"Tara Polar Station.\" There are also a Finnish Lapphund named \"Örkki.\" \"His main job will be on deck and on the sea ice: Örkki will warn us early of polar bears to contribute to our safety, especially during the long polar night,\" Regnery wrote on Instagram. She described in detail the life on the isolated station. In the winter half-year, each researcher had their own cabin. In the summer, when there are 18 people on board, they had to share the cabins. Movement only occurred in small rounds on the ship or on a home exercise bike. Once the station was enclosed by ice, the researchers could leave it via a gangway and walk on the ice. Nicolaus said that once the station is enclosed by ice, the researchers could leave it via a gangway and walk on the ice. Limited supply of fuel and food must last for the entire drift. The space for waste is limited. Before the expedition began, Nicolaus had unpacked 300 boxes of chocolate to dispose of the cardboard at land. During their free time, they played music or board games, Regnery reported. They spoke English with each other, but the crew was French. Life on board was associated with restrictions, such as only having shared bathrooms. \"There is an unusual toilet situation because you have to separate wet and dry waste,\" Regnery said. Everything liquid was released into the sea, while the rest was burned on board. \"The station disturbs the natural balance in this sensitive habitat almost without emissions,\" explains Jena professor for bioanalytics Georg Pohnert. Four months of darkness Four months of darkness would begin in October, with four months of darkness lasting in total. The researchers had 220 measurement protocols to complete, focusing on the change of the Arctic ecosystem, microbiological processes, pollutants, and other topics. The Arctic ice surface had been decreasing by 12 percent per decade, Nicolaus said. In the next 20 years, ten expeditions would be carried out from the research station, bringing light to the scientific darkness.",
  "summary": "Ein internationales Forscherteam driftet mit einem Spezialschiff durch das arktische Eis. Mindestens acht Monate müssen die zwölf Menschen an Bord ausharren. Ein Hund soll sie vor Eisbären warnen.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}