Potsdam, 2 August 2023: Tomorrow, the new ArcWatch expedition, organized by the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), will set off from Tromsø, Norway. Four years after MOSAiC, the largest Arctic expedition in history, UFA is once again the exclusive moving image producer on board the German icebreaker “Polarstern”. The two-month expedition to the Arctic will be accompanied by a UFA Documentary camera team.

Marc Lepetit, producer and managing director of UFA Documentary: “I still remember exactly how excited I was about the results and findings of the MOSAiC expedition. On the initiative of Nico Hofmann, a crew under the direction of Philipp Grieß was on board the research vessel “Polarstern” and produced the documentary ARCTIC DRIFT for Ute Biernat’s UFA Show & Factual – impressive and visually stunning. It was a huge international success and the first collaboration with the AWI. Three years later, the first results of MOSAiC have been evaluated and some of them will also find their way into ARCWATCH – HOFFNUNG IM EIS (AT). It is a privilege for us as UFA Documentary to be able to spend exclusive time on the “Polarstern” with Antje Boetius and her team and to produce another documentary with ARCWATCH – HOFFNUNG IM EIS (AT). Our team will do everything to produce impressive images on and under the ice to show viewers what awaits us and where humanity’s journey could take us.”

Philipp Grieß, director and producer of UFA Documentary: “Being able to accompany the ArcWatch expedition led by Antje Boetius is exciting for many reasons: what the scientists on the German research icebreaker “Polarstern” are achieving in the Arctic is unique in the world. We will be able to see at first hand how this groundbreaking research is carried out, what life forms are hidden under the sea ice in the deep sea and we will see what concrete insights we can derive from it for our political action. None of this would be possible without the crew of the “Polarstern”. We will once again be able to experience the day-to-day work of one of the most experienced crews in the polar regions. They find a solution for every challenge the ice throws at them. It is difficult to say what we will discover on this journey, because every expedition into the ice is a journey into the unknown. It is a great honor for us as UFA Documentary to be part of this team.”

Prof. Dr. Antje Boetius, expedition leader and Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute: “My 50th International Deep-Sea Expedition is about returning to places in the Arctic Ocean that have become a kind of second home. Since my first expedition into the ice 30 years ago, I have wanted to know how life works in an ice-covered ocean, all the way down to the deep sea. The Arctic is one of the hotspots of climate change, and the shrinking sea ice is rapidly changing this unique habitat. We want to document whether and how the creatures of the Arctic Ocean are adapting. In times of increasing threats to marine life, we want to give Arctic algae, animals and microbes a face and a name. I am very pleased that UFA will be there with its camera team and will accompany the rapid change with effects down to the deep sea. In this way, a wide audience can participate in the research in this unique region and accompany us in our discoveries.”

In addition to material from the ArcWatch expedition, the documentary will also show previously unpublished image and video material and new research findings from the MOSAiC expedition. MOSAiC primarily investigated the physical conditions of the climate system in the rapidly changing “New Arctic”. But what do these radical changes mean for the biological network of life in the Arctic and can the Arctic ice still be saved? Antje Boetius, Germany’s best-known marine biologist and Director of the Alfred Wegener Institute, wants to find out in her own expedition. She will be accompanied by Esther Horvath, one of the best polar and scientific photographers and a MOSAiC veteran, who will be joining both expeditions as a participant. Her special focus is on inspiring researchers, whom she portrays as role models.

The high-end documentary ARCWATCH – HOFFNUNG IM EIS (AT) will be shown around Christmas 2023 as a series in the ARD Mediathek and as a film on the first channel.

ARCWATCH – HOFFNUNG IM EIS (AT) is a production of UFA Documentary for ARD. The producers of the high-end documentary are Marc Lepetit and Philipp Grieß, who also directs. Nico Hofmann and Ute Biernat are responsible for the material of the production about the MOSAiC expedition. Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR) is in charge of the project within ARD. Marc Brasse (NDR) is editorially responsible.

About the ArcWatch expedition

The ArcWatch expedition is the continuation of the IceArc expedition (2012). The ArcWatch research team wants to find out how the rapid warming of the Arctic and the decline in sea ice is affecting the entire ocean system from the surface to the deep sea and how the biological network of life is adapting to the “New Arctic”. The biology, chemistry and physics of sea ice will be analyzed using a range of proven and new technologies. Marine biologist Antje Boetius already researched this eleven years ago on the IceArc expedition, and now the condition is to be recorded again. As in 2012, the investigations will take place in the ice edge zone and in the central Arctic. Stations from the MOSAiC expedition will also be repeated. Over 50 international scientific participants are on board the ArcWatch expedition and 24 institutions from eight nations are involved.

The “Polarstern” is scheduled to return to its home port of Bremerhaven on October 1. During the expedition, interested parties can already gain impressions from on board on Radio Bremen’s radio program and also follow the expedition in the Polarstern app. Images and further information about the expedition can also be found HERE.

The press release as pdf for download: