The German Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry froze funds for the plant. Staff salaries were paid from this money.

Peter Gergersberg, spokesman for the Max Planck Society, said the freezing of funds is likely to interrupt continuous measurements at the station since 2013, jeopardizing scientists’ understanding of the warming trend.

This company is financed by Germany. The funds backed the Russian station’s instruments, which measure how quickly climate change is melting Arctic permafrost and how much methane is being released. It is a powerful gas that warms the planet.

A funding freeze could interrupt continuous measurements at the station since 2013. This will threaten understanding of warming trends.

But Russian station workers are trying to support it. Exactly how much money they lost is unknown.