In the past 15 years, climate change has transformed the Arctic

The pace of change has surprised researchers who launched the annual report card in 2006

remote sensing instruments in the Arctic

With remote sensing instruments similar to those used in satellites, MOSAiC gives up-close measurements of the thickness and composition of Arctic snow and ice. In late 2019, the mission embedded a boat in an ice floe for an unprecedented yearlong expedition.

Steffen Graupner/Alfred-Wegener-Institut  (CC-BY 4.0)

Fifteen years of grading warming’s impact on the Arctic has made one thing abundantly clear: Climate change has drastically altered the Arctic in that short time period.