Cologne, 12/19/2019

‘Mosaic’ Expedition Delivers First Pictures From The Ice

Bertelsmann Content Alliance companies are accompanying the one-year research expedition of the “Polarstern” icebreaker  in the Arctic. Scientists from 20 nations will be drifting through the polar region for one year. Now, the first pictures from the biggest expedition to the Arctic ever are available.

As part of the “Mosaic” expedition  of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI), scientists from 20 nations are currently on an expedition through the Arctic: frozen in the ice, the German icebreaker “Polarstern” will be drifting through the Arctic Ocean for one year. The team has been in the ice for 91 days and has covered a distance of 4,300 kilometers. The biggest Arctic expedition ever with a budget of more than €140 million is a unique project that aims to compile data about the ocean, the ice and the atmosphere in order to get a better understanding of climate change – because the weather of the future is created right there. Companies of the Bertelsmann Content Alliance – UFA Show & Factual, Gruner + Jahr, Verlagsgruppe Random House and the Audio Alliance – are accompanying the “Mosaic” expedition as the exclusive German media partners (BENET reported). UFA Show & Factual camera teams will be taking exclusive photos and videos throughout the year – and have now delivered the first spectacular pictures from the ice.

“With this expedition, the Alfred Wegener Institute is accomplishing a logistical masterpiece,” said Philipp Grieß, Producer at UFA Show & Factual, who was on the “Polarstern” during the first leg of the journey. “Being able to accompany each step of this unique expedition is every filmmaker’s dream come true: through the Norwegian fjords to the Barents Sea, past the Franz Josef Land, through the ice and into the target region, searching ice floes with helicopters and finally setting foot on untouched ice. It is an unbelievable experience to see how many undiscovered mysteries are slumbering in and below the ice, the Arctic snow and the atmosphere. Experiencing the international team’s passion and dedication to exploring this foreign world at minus 30 degrees Celsius in the darkness of the arctic night is undeniably moving. Our film teams will stay on board for ten more months to document the expedition as comprehensively as possible. For all of us, this is an enormously important project because what happens in the Arctic will not stay in the Arctic. The relevance of this expedition cannot be overstated.”

The ARD documentary “Expedition Arktis” is scheduled to air on ARD in the fall of 2020. Nico Hofmann and Ute Biernat are the producers of the TV documentary. Uli Zahn, Executive Producer and Head of Reality/Factual, and Producer Philipp Grieß are responsible for the content of the project. Along with UFA Show & Factual, Gruner + Jahr, Verlagsgruppe Random House and the Audio Alliance are documenting the biggest Arctic expedition of all time through photos, video, audio and writing. The Bertelsmann Content Alliance companies are using their publishing strength and reach to enable readers, users, listeners and viewers to take part in the one-year research expedition of the German icebreaker “Polarstern” and to educate them about climate change and its consequences. News directly from the Arctic is available via the “Mosaic” channels on Twitter and Instagram with the hashtags #MOSAICexpedition, #Arctic and #icedrift.