boy or. this is the norwegian island of spit back and located in the spile bar archipelago in the arctic ocean. the town of new alston is home to more than a dozen permanent scientific research centers it's the northernmost settlement of its kind in the entire world. right now some of our scientists are getting ready to start their working day. we're going to do some field research and that's when we leave the village we have to take our rifles because of the polar bears you know. there are more bears on fall bar than people who get about 3000 you know sort of a scent of here if they attack it can be life threatening we have to be ready as

limbs of heart. research station manager peter cooper and meteorologist marion meagher to really face this sort of danger every day. most of the research that's done here focuses on the local environment particularly the climate. more than 60 percent of the archipelago is covered by glass yes the scientists observe and record any changes in this pristine arctic environment. this data can then be applied to the north pole region and the rest of the world.

author and merriam have left the village and will now head out into the wild but 1st to loads the rifle with 4 cartridges just to be on the safe side. then the scientists move into polar bear territory there on their way to one of the measuring stations that marion looks after. these instruments measure wind speed and wind direction close to the ground. checks to make sure that the equipment is functioning properly in this harsh environment. meanwhile marine biologist karo hopper is packing for a trip to the arctic ocean she hopes that the weather will be good toward funds and

. it's always best to be out in the water when there's no wind and the equipment has to be lowered and raised vertically if the those is buffeted by the wind it's harder to keep everything stay but i distribute to heighten and we like calm weather and the forecast for tomorrow looks quite good. obviously pressure from all and. doctoral students car of our 4 also go along on this trip the 2 scientists are getting their testing equipment ready now so they won't have to do it on board the ship tomorrow. they'll try to collect as many water samples as possible. so there was a temperature is just below 0 degrees celsius is a chart. trying to find this data is from yesterday. surface wars is just around 0 and below that it drops down to minus

0.3. the weather forecast turns out to be correct clear skies not much wind and a calm sea. clara outlines the focus of their research. that's all that's before we're studying phytoplankton the microscopic plants that grow on the ocean surface to find out what influences their growth and productivity and food here at speech these firefighters have planted on other cornerstone of the arctic food web which provides nourishment for fish polar bears and other wildlife . in fish we want to see how the environment and climate change affect these organisms it's nice to see that some of that if not the. climate change is

a major focus of a joint french and german research facility at new oleson. right now marion is preparing a device that will carry out measurements in the atmosphere at an altitude of up to 30 kilometers the probe is sent up to 4 times a day using a weather balloon. but 1st she has to calibrate the probe she plugs it into a chamber that creates conditions of 100 percent humidity these are at most fair tests might seem straightforward just sending up a balloon but it's not as easy as it sounds. to me. if you don't attach the balloon to the unwinding device properly the balloon can tear off and the end of it's windy the villain will drift sideways instead of upward and the progun fall. if you do so if there's a lot that can go wrong as

a descriptor to produce the most you can come. next marion compares the temperature sensors on the measuring device with a moment hers at this weather station if the data matches the probe is ready to go and the information that it puts out can be used by weather forecasters worldwide. meanwhile karl hopper is preparing a water collection container. she and her colleagues use a steel cable to lower the device which will take water samples of various depths.

clara is particularly interested in finding samples of plants and also called micro algae. as soon as they bring the container back up they start analyzing its contents. it's a good thing that they prepared the individual files in advance because it's cold out here. and them with this thing at the end of the day with freezing. but they put up with the weather because the study of micro provides crucial data. is required we didn't put these organisms produce about half the oxygen and they have the atmosphere is well you know every 2nd breath that we take wouldn't even say also absolutely a lot of carbon dioxide it's 5. carbon dioxide contributes to climate change. back at the research facility marion. he's getting ready to fill her

weather balloon with helium. she's done this hundreds of times but she still gets a kick out of it. the blue moon is made of highly elastic rubber it will have to withstand enormous fluctuations in air pressure as it rises through the atmosphere. all set. it's essential to make sure all that the measuring device isn't damaged during takeoff. looks good so far. over the balloons going straight up because there's not much wind. on it will just

disappear into the clouds. as the balloon moves towards a target down to shoot of about 30 kilometers the device attached to it sends back data including temperature humidity and the air pressure. but the scientists are doing much more than just measuring weather conditions they're also studying climate change and how it affects the environment and the analyzing the interaction between the ocean and the atmosphere. how do the component parts of the earth's ecosystem work together and how are they being altered by global warming it's issues task but the research is here at spitzbergen are up to it. klara well try to. tonight the total amount of microbes in this part of the ocean

it's spring now and the organisms are multiplying on a massive scale. that only experts can spot the algae and this to follow the water. good now yes and right now we're at the height of the spring algal blooms that's when they grow quickly and they biomass is that its peak is of your muscle problem but it's like when trees on learn turn green all at once. so it's been like this with 2 or 3 weeks now and it'll probably start dropping off next week you know to get them at the 1st time that we were here we completely missed the spring blues and it's just like icy water to us my students didn't believe that there was any such thing as

a blooming so we're always happy when we catch it in time yeah and as a mouthful there was the ocean. but what if the water gets rough out here. you can get by as a voter actually i've never been seasick i says but i have a very sturdy stomach it has happened after when i'm down in the antarctic with 13 metre waves i think it's great just was that. the sea is pretty calm today amount of good news for the crew. marian checks in on how weather balloon. was here as it was i was all so far it's looking good the probe is sending back data since the balloon has now reached an altitude of 12 kilometers and. i assume that it will continue to fly and transmit

it. by then and then she keeps an eye on the balloon as it rises. the others on this it's already reached the stratosphere the temperature is warmer there because of the layer of ozone molecules and. temperature is now minus $42.00 degrees celsius which is fairly warm so in winter the temperatures can drop to minus 80 but. so in the stratosphere it's already summer. must what is fear of so much. that's confirmed by the data. giving it comes wasn't it's essential for us to take measurements that are highly accurate and properly calibrated. that data is not just used for weather forecasts but it's also a key part of our climate research and despite major trends in the climate we have to use data that's reliable and verifiable before but.

during the winter about 30 people live in new earth a sun most of them a scientists from all over the world the population increases to more than 100 in summer. with station manager to be chefs he talks tomorrow and about current weather conditions since a lot of their research is conducted outside. we asked her about the worst weather she's seen here. to give it up for the start of the most extreme case was when we had rain one winter it was january and here we were at 80 degrees north latitude inside the arctic circle and it was raining the cup not an octopus and wasn't making what was that like a smoke it was like experiencing global warming by the live.

these 3 scientists from the french german research station are also studying the effects of global warming today they're headed out to conduct experiments on snow. 3 are microbiologists bad while bad painter alex holland and rose later. you wouldn't expect to see people traveling by bicycle in the arctic but the research is can't you snowmobiles right now the snow is melting and it's too soft. rose is not happy about that climb straight in that we can't use this name belle because it makes it easy to get up to. however we do have a ton of ted stands favorites now completely clear so we can use bikes to get up we can use an electric car as we can't use any country because now it's. very very contamination it does take more time. you have to be flexible when you lacking in

arctic conditions. treks ability is also an important part of merion matterless job because much of her work depends on the weather today she was shuttled to replace a radiation measuring device that's not going to happen. i don't want to ruin my measurements by leaving footprints we not only measure thermal radiation but also reflected radiation which tells us a lot about soil conditions affect you know reflects a lot of light but not when it starts to melt we've done a lot of tests on the annual phone me show me and a woman with him told her the snow is melting right now and footprints reproduce a darker pattern on the ground and that influences the radiation measurements on the misnomer today he can start by and for those that i'm not going. to replace the

device today just wait until the snow is completely gone and there's new question michel or to quote pic of. me over the past few years we've noticed that the thaw has been starting earlier allow those old to clog it's deep that's an obvious indication of climate change and we can see it right here come on in. it i've been working at this research station for nearly 20 years or until now you notice these changes are in and you're out of this that's a major cause for concern it's very sad and publish them. meanwhile ben was getting ready to take some snow samples. that. the temperature is 3 degrees above freezing that's 10 degrees celsius higher than normal for early may and. is collecting samples of microorganisms he's

wearing special clothing so that he doesn't contaminate the snow this is a key part of the scientists research. they're particularly interested in finding out what sorts of single celled organisms are present in the snow that's fallen here. rose keeps an eye out for polar bass that tough to spot against the snowy background. flater back in the laboratory the snow is melted the some bones are sorted numbered and packed in boxes but what's so important about these samples from spitzbergen bedrock are just as easily have collected some snow in the french alps. see if it's possible in this part of the arctic offer the warming trend is much strong. anger that it is in

the rest of europe and walked on and we have the data to prove that he's so spitzbergen provides an excellent environment for us to study the effects of climate change something and we can see those effects more clearly here than elsewhere. they feel it's more we can take measurements that are more accurate because there aren't a lot of people here this one over his term or he could have a formal it's a pristine environment. and that will help us to study the snow content even more effectively with it. comes from for this phenomena. beyond glaziers and mountains create a unique laboratory where scientists can study the effects of human activity on the earth's environment. here clara harper and chloroform are analyzing the water samples that they took yesterday clara really enjoys this part of her research. if i'm

human it's always exciting to look at things and of the month prescribe. i'm going to use for those containers of water don't seem very interesting at 1st but then you run the water through the filter sit down and take a closer look. there are lots of really beautiful shapes and. i really enjoy this work. of course there's a serious side to this research at least scientists are studying the impact that humans have on the environment. right now marion is on her way to the local air filter to carry out some tests. these high powered radio telescopes gather data from space now the researchers are going to launch a drone that's form of sensitive sensors that measure weather conditions of the drone data it will supplement the information that's gathered by marian's balloon device.

and says that she's impressed with this kind of technology. this is great i think it's exciting and all of our researchers contribute something different to these projects and that's big we all work together and i think that's wonderful because with that you know. the marine biologists are an important part of the team their research on time tom grows plays an important role in determining the effects of climate change on the environment. the 2 researchers often spend 12 hours or more every day and all of our training.

this time of year there's plenty of daylight. klara explains the significance of our work. so i didn't really have on one hand we're trying to understand how climate change of effects micro and not one year from now a days ahead could also be applied to other areas like the north sea. but at the same time it's important to remember that major european fishing grounds on moving north in. so if there are big changes in the ecosystem and it can no longer provide a proper environment for fish it's going to affect all of us. the researchers here on spitsbergen to trying to predict what those effects might be some of the changes in the local environment may later expand to include other parts of the earth. charter

could be shared ski the head of the research station is one aware of the situation . he's walked here longer than anyone else often under difficult conditions. from a familiar and i miss my family and my friends and our continent i also missing trees and plants. the landscape is beautiful of course of this but there's not a lot of vegetation. it's a few very good sort of. new color certain boasts the world's northernmost post office it's a remote region but marian says that the scientists who come from 11 different countries have created their own community here. can. these american researchers are testing a captive balloon that collects weather data myron of course takes an active

interest in their work. with their family to share information because they understand that everyone here has to work together to solve scientific problems. in. the researches don't need high tech equipment to tell them that the i knew. the thought is under way they can see for themselves. this year the snow and i started to melt early and far too quickly. for decades marian has been collecting data that indicates that global warming is progressing rapidly.

since kids of el monte we've been observing these phenomenon for the last 20 years this graph shows the average annual temperature here which has risen at a rate of about $1.00 degrees celsius per decade and politics dot com that's a much larger increase than we've seen for the rest of the world. for. the earth's average temperature has risen by about one degree celsius over 100 years but here on spitsbergen the increase was 1.6 degrees in just 10 years. the arctic region is warming up faster than anywhere else in the world. here in new all or soon the world's northernmost research facility scientists work together to analyze the changes that are taking place in the earth environment.

at the end of the day they often get together to enjoy the midnight sun and forget about work for a while. these scientists are committed to their various projects because they are concerned about the future of the planet. carry out their work in the snowy world on us. in the atmosphere. and in the ice cold waters of the arctic ocean.

and. it is quite as simple as it seems. to understand the world better we need to take a closer. experience knowledge

to educate next. to. the soviet union secretly or fly. it to a few years before u.s. spy satellites found out. what the russians were up to. the untold story of moscow's efforts to win the space race by putting a man on the moon to find millions. more robert a symbol of a long conflict in the philippines. between the muslims and the christian coalition

. when my instructors occupied the city center in 2017 president to change his response was. this is not the kind of freedom that we want code of morality become a deep way to islamist terror. an exclusive report from a destroyed city. in the sights of our u.s. starts oct 24th on d w. welcome to tomorrow today the science show on t w. coming up. the stuff of life is it possible to create spell out officially. the downside of the internet of things.