The observations made during his “Ocean Change” expedition worry the researcher Arved Fuchs. The 69-year-old and his crew were on the trail of climate change in the northern North Atlantic this year. “The temperatures that we just measured on the previous stage were sometimes three to five degrees above the expected temperatures,” said Fuchs on Thursday at the 12th Extreme Weather Congress in Hamburg shortly after his return from the expedition. That is extremely large in the ocean and of course has significant effects – for example on the melting of the ice.
Its measurement data is currently being analyzed by scientists. The Schleswig-Holsteiner had to temporarily interrupt the fourth leg of his expedition in July because he had to undergo emergency surgery in Iceland due to intestinal bleeding.
Social solidarity necessary
With the “Ocean Change” expedition, Fuchs wants to track down, examine and document the changes in the oceans and draw the attention of as many people as possible to them. “The problem of climate change can only be somehow solved if all social forces work together,” said Fuchs. With a view to rising energy prices and the Ukraine war, he knows that people are also addressing many other issues. But: “You still have to stay on the ball, climate change doesn’t matter at all, it’s progressing,” emphasized Fuchs. “We have no more time.”
He is convinced: “If we had started investing in renewable energies twenty years ago and hadn’t always put it off, then we wouldn’t have this energy crisis today. Ecology is also economy.”
Fuchs started the “Ocean Change” project on board the “Dagmar Aaen” in 2015. He wants to continue, said the expedition researcher. But it is still too early to name new goals.
Extreme Weather Congress Program of the Expedition Ocean Chance Congress
