And we have to morocco where Research Project aims to turn farmers into insect guardians. Nearly 130 years ago norwegian explorer frithiof nonsense froze his ship from into the arctic ice sheet he and his crew spent months drifting towards the north pole measuring the salt content and temperature of the water and observing the ocean currents. In september 29th teen a German Research ship set off in the wake of the fram expedition with an International Team of researchers on board. The polish stand set sail from france or in norway settled into an ice floe and is now on its way through the arctic ocean. Trapped in the arctic ice surrounded by the do. Dark polar night the Research Vessel palash down is stuck out of reach of ice breakers until june although the arctic is called the epicenter of Global Climate change there still isnt enough data about whats happening there. Expedition head to markus rex is back on the mainland and describes what it felt like when the vessel got trapped in the ice. As if. Its a strange feeling just when youve gotten used to things the interior of the ice begins to shift Major Pressure of events make the ice crack. Ridges of ice might bump into the ship making it tremble or jerk and its noisy clatters and squeaks sometimes the ship is propelled several meters through the ice we might find ourselves moving again for a few minutes or maybe half an hour. Then suddenly its over and its quiet again. A Large Research camp has sprouted up near the vessel there are 100 tons of scientific equipment here many kilometers of electric cables and measuring stations located up to 50 kilometers away the very presence of the poor gnashed and can affect the measurements its an alien object here billowing smoke into the sky. And also has an impact on its surroundings we emit Greenhouse Gases which disseminate into the atmosphere. Which settles on the ice nearby. And thats why we set up a measuring stations at increasing distances from the. To assess what processes are taking place and where in the ice. The vicinity near the vessel is a kind of microcosm for what might happen in the future if shipping increases in the arctic and emits a lot of. The farther away we see the arctic as it is now so our presence allows us to measure the future impact of shipping on the arctic. Human one section of the Research Village on the ice scientists conducting atmospheric measurements sometimes using miss piggy a weather balloon how is heat transmitted through the polar atmosphere clouds and those are just 2 of the more than 100 climate parameters that are being monitored over time. Every month another 50 terabytes of scientific data. All the research is a hoping to get a better sense of what will happen in whats been dubbed the new arctic and some of the changes are already plain to see might be increasingly thin and fragile ice. Expected that we derive and look for an ice floe that would be thick enough for us even that wasnt easy then i figured we would see cracks in some shifting but it was more than i anticipated for. One of the defining moments was when we were told come out on to the bridge quickly met city is sailing by cardiff. City is a huge conglomeration of various measuring instruments. It was on an ice floe that broke off and just drifted past the ship. The whole situation is more dramatic than anticipated. Beneath the ice a diving robot is collecting data even in the deepest arctic winter the water is still teeming with life. Like this blue bioluminescent so plankton for example a camera also captures a polar code and even a seal. After 5 months in the dark the polar night is over for the next few months the sun wont set a tall and the arctic will awaken from its winter slumber. And this next phase were keen to see how the ecosystem responds to the returning light. How quickly will life blossom again as the long arctic winter and the species will become active 1st on which ones will hunting each other whats the sequence of species well see waking up in this ecosystem thats what well be doing in the next phase of the father carter this year but. The Research Vessel look continue its mission in the arctic ocean until september for now still frozen in the polar ice. If you want to keep track of the polish down then desert the website follow dot mosaic dash expedition dot org youll find information and updates on the most ambitious polar expedition in history. While some drift with the sea ice others let the wind do the work wind is the Horizontal Movement of air with a defined direction and speed. Winds in the upper atmosphere are stronger and faster than at the surface of the planet that phenomenon got one scientists thinking how about harnessing the power of the wind not with a turbine anchored in the ground but with a flying object such as a. Throne. This aircraft is a flying power plant. That aims to harness the energy of strong winds in our atmosphere. The higher we go the stronger they gas. The airborne wind turbine was the brainchild of rolf looks in are an idea designed to quite literally bring a breath of fresh air to the wind energy sector. Or as it is here ornish vision is to finally honus the full potential of wind power the wind blows strongest higher up in the atmosphere and in particular far out over the sea. So. The physicist an entrepreneur wants to reinvent wind energy no less. He and his team of tween tech have set themselves high aims this is how their technology works. We have here the socalled energy drone the switch on these propellers for taking off and landing. And it can rise until it reaches strong winds. Then like a car it flies backwards and forwards. It circles. It pulls on its tether. Which unwinds. Clear the rotation of the cable spool turns a generator. Which turns this momentum into electricity. With. The most difficult part has been making sure the tethered wing takes off and land safely now theyre concentrating on the Energy Generation stage. In this production hole in the swiss city of dubin doff looks in his team developed and constructed the flying wind power plant. But do we really need a new take on wind energy. Being if you look at the Wind Turbines weve got today. We need a huge mast tons of concrete to get the turbines to the elevation where the wind is blowing strongly. Into france but. Its we just need this wing to get up there. Or go even higher. If its going without all of the structures or near the border to go into the wood its been. 10 years ago he was still experimenting with partially inflatable kites. In 2013 he switched to kites that looked like aircraft. From the outset landing and takeoff where the sticking points. Were really entering new territory. That only happens when youre prepared to push your boundaries. And when the craft crashes thats all part of it. Its been an important learning process. But now theyve achieved a major breakthrough for the 1st time theyve created a system that demonstrates the whole process from takeoff to Energy Generation to landing much to the pleasure of its inventor. This is the vision that weve been working towards for years to see it finally working is absolutely brilliant. This high flying team has its sights set primarily on the off shore segment. They dream of entire wind farms driven by their technology. Is really a lot of space and good wind conditions is out over the sea. Into days offshore wind farms all still have to be anchored to the seabed. So they can only be erected in shallow waters. In europe around Great Britain between Great Britain and norway there is so much wind out there at sea. That it could cover the energy needs of europe many many times over. The ages prototype is about to go into a permanent testing phase. But more capital is needed before it can be rolled out commercially. One problem that still needs to be solved though is that offshore Wind Turbines have a damaging Environmental Impact these turbines contain aluminum so they dont rust as say iron would but when they do corrode the metal ends up in the water. All materials no matter how robust they are will inevitably corrode whether or decompose. But what about materials out in space. If you were in argentina sent in a question about that. Doesnt matter also where down in space. The earths atmosphere extends hundreds of kilometers out into space. Up at the orbit of the International Space station the i s s material slowly undergoes space weathering. The atmosphere there is thin but it contains some highly reactive atomic oxygen. Oxygen atoms have even attacked to the surface of the Hubble Space Telescope which orbits the earth 100 kilometers higher than the i s s. Another risk factor for materials in space is bombardment by micro meteoroids these tiny rock particles raced through the universe at high velocities. Many of them form when mars asteroids collide. Their destructive power is plain to see on the moon where the upper layer of rock has been pulverized by such many projectiles. The i. S. A. s has also taken a number of hits. Each impact leaves a tiny sharp edged crater. Micrometeoroid can damage the protective suits of astronauts on. And in 1903 the 1st crew sent up to service the Hubble Telescope brought this damaged solar panel back to earth with them. Yet another cause of space weathering is cosmic rays from distant galaxies as well as from the sun. High Energy Particles from the sun can cause electronic equipment on satellites to short circuit. And also the suns ultraviolet radiation can harm photovoltaic panels. It damages their light sensitive layer and reduces their electrical output. The solar cells on the soho spacecraft have apparently already lost a quarter of their power since it was launched in 1995. How much each factor contributes to space weathering depends on where the material is located in our solar system. If outlet is right why are they even if. Some questions arent easy to answer but that shouldnt stop you asking them send us your science question as a video text or voicemail if we answer it on the show well send you a little surprise as a thank you come on just ask. Youll find more science stories on our website and to get in touch on twitter and facebook. And on our Facebook Page we are still you how do you feel about insects do you like them or not do you have a favorite insect. In mind welly from tanzania wrote personally the insect i love most is the grasshopper because you can also eat it on the other hand i like butterflies because of their beauty and these days theyre becoming a rare species. President s favorite insects are the praying mantis the jumping spider and the lady bird. How many are loves butterflies and hates bed bugs. And tara wrote all animals are necessary and every one of them plays a role in our environment personally i think butterflies are beautiful. Of course certain kinds of insects are annoying and disrupt our peace but they too exist for a reason. The question is for how much longer the world is home to millions of insect species theyre the most Diverse Group of organisms on the planet but theyre dying out 252500000 species have become extinct since industrialisation began and the consequences for humanity could be catastrophic scientists have issued a stark warning insects play a vitally Important Role in the ecosystem as pollinators. They actually collect to for their own purposes drawn by the fragrance and color of the flowers. In the process they transfer pollen from one flower to the stigma of another flower helping the pumps to reproduce. The percepts is called pollination. And those who transport the pollen pollinators. Pollination was originally carried out by the wind. But in the process of evolution insects and animals have increasingly taken over for their work is important 75 percent of crops from cocoa beans to pumpkins depend on pollinators. And if you include all flowering plants its nearly 90 percent. These are probably the best known pollinators and can be found all over the world. That flies also transport pollen. As to be moths. And butterflies in tropical and subtropical regions but also help to pollinate along with facts they like flowers with strong smelling slimy nectar. In madagascar the socalled travelers tree is pollinated by lemurs. But the most important pollinators for farmers worldwide are insects domestic honey bees alone can pollinate all the fruit crops. Wild pollinators are often more productive. In the case of the Apple Blossom for example a wild mason is 80 times more effective as a pollinator but its the insect diversity that lester increases the yield in the case of coffee more fritos produced when various types of bees pollinate the flowers and when the same number of bees from only one species are involved. The problem is insect diversity is in decline some food crops like rice or wheat manage without pollinators but many nutrient rich fruits and vegetables cant do that. A lack of pollinators could lead to crop losses which could in turn in danger food security. As land is converted into farmland many insects find that natural habitat dwindling disappearing completely conventional farming often involves huge monocultures here pollinators find only a limited choice of flowers if any at all and only for a limited period. Theyve also been hit by the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. So how can pollinators be protected we need to preserve the habitat of insects and we all need to understand their importance in certainly protecting just as much as the big impressive animals the cute and cuddly ones. Theres a lot farmers can do to help protect habitats. They can plant insect friendly beds next to their crop fields. But thats only a viable option in affluent countries such as germany where the state can help subsidize farmers so they dont make a loss but in morocco farmers are also making efforts to protect pollinators without compromising their harvest. So here we kick him for it yeah ok research requires time and patience these scientists are counting every single flower on this cherry tree thats that the ground i take the lead and see also the smaller one there is one we just just established and really very small. The tree is part of a plantation thats being farmed using an innovative method successfully it would seem. That you might walk from 50 this is an amazing resolve. As well as cherry trees a range of other trees and plants are growing here that attract beneficial insects. Theres even a special habitat for them to nest in. If you mark on others or if youre morocco weve already conducted experiments with apple trees they show that the 5 methods resulted in higher yields than in the control fields theres a good local clock. Fund is an acronym for farming with alternative pollinators the idea is that farmers grow their main crop a plant for example but like on the fruit plantation they also grow plants that attract many different insects in other words pollinators that way the farmers are protecting insect populations while also boosting their yields control fields where only the main crops grow show if the idea works many people in morocco live from agriculture which is why stephanie cust man set up a Research Project here the experiments are being conducted in a range of regions with different climatic conditions which plants are grown depends on whether the region is arid all wet. And as this is semi i read it in the course of Climate Change this area might become more dry so for the farmers whereas in 20 years or 30 years it will be very important that the pollinators are still around so they can shift to depend on crops or to give a higher revenue drop off or to cooperation with farmers is an important aspect of the project unfortunately they dont necessarily realize what a crucial role insects play in their harvests researchers have established the told though they know about honeybees they know little about wild pollinators unfortunately the majority or farmers are illiterate so its always difficult to explain to them how the permian asian and the poor natures im persons to have a good yield and also for for for a system so for the farmers we try to explain very easily and we dont really talk about probably nature is but when we talk about insect insects that visit the flowers the fab project is based in robot the capital the institute belongs to the International Center for Agricultural Research in the dry areas or in canada houses a collection of sounds of insects found by the scientists during their field experiments many pollinators that exist in morocco have yet to be identified its easy to get various species mixed up. Sikes i can say its 10 percent or 20 percent but i was asked i could not say this is an alter for a for example and say ok this is not true for those have discussion in that same discussion with our supervisor with people who are really specialists in this field and then we say ok this is this is the genius and this is the final decision because. Stephanie crist months project has the backing of the moroccan agricultural ministry. It organizes workshops in villages for farmers to learn about the fall initiative. Who would lose. Their most important is that the farmers learn about pollinators that they recognize their needs and that they know what is the farm a nest but they provide service and support for the pardon like us and then they realize that they have higher income and that they will need less chemicals if they know that it is fine. The Pilot Project will run for another 2 years hopefully the fund method will then be rolled out in other countries in africa. You know hes a very very Good Condition very good. On an upcoming show well be catching up with some researchers who are observing giant ocean forces what effect do they have on the seas and the climate to me and again to find out c assume. Be more intimidated into a nameless mass of their bodies mere tools the history of the slave trade is africas history it describes how the money for power and profit come into an entire continen