The expedition was organized by the Arctic Research Laboratory of the Ilychev Pacific Oceanological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Head of the Laboratory, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Geographical Sciences Igor Semiletov) together with Sakhalin State University, Tomsk State University, P. P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow State University (Geological and Chemical Faculties, MSU-GEOPHYSICS), with the participation of scientists from the International Scientific Center for Ecology and Climate Change and the Scientific Center for Genetics and Life Sciences of the Sirius University of Science and Technology, the Institute of Ecology of the Higher School of Economics, the Soil Science Institute named after V. V. Dokuchaev Institute of Oceanography of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Federal Research Center "Biotechnology".
For the first time, scientists from the State Research Center of the Russian Federation "All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography" (VNIRO) are taking part in the expedition, which is the beginning of interdepartmental strategic cooperation in the field of studying the waters of the Northern Sea Route and the Far Eastern seas, primarily the Sea of Okhotsk.
An employee of the oceanography laboratory of the Sakhalin branch of VNIRO V. N. Chastikov is a highly qualified specialist in the field of oceanographic measurements, he will monitor the temperature at different horizons, salinity and other parameters.
During the expedition, new data will be obtained on the dynamics of the main components of the carbon cycle, climate monitoring and ecology of the entire NSR water area, which will supplement the 25-year unique database on the content and flows of the main greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane in all the Arctic and Far Eastern seas of Russia.
The main areas of work include polygons and transects in the East Siberian Sea, the Laptev Sea, and the Pechora and Kara Seas. Scientists will conduct a unique set of studies of the transformation of organic matter at the molecular and isotopic levels from the coastal Arctic zone to the continental slope. For the first time, representative parameterizations of the main indicators determining water productivity and color will be performed, which will allow calibrating known models of satellite monitoring of water productivity.
Together with scientists from Tomsk State University and the Sirius University of Science and Technology, scientists from Sakhalin State University will assess the impact of organic matter on the functioning of biota at all trophic levels, in particular in areas of massive discharge of bubbly methane (seeps) and in background areas.
The objectives of the expedition and the Admiral S. O. Makarov International Center for Comprehensive Studies of the Far Eastern and Arctic Seas are contained in the updated strategy for scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, approved by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Among its priorities are an objective assessment of emissions and absorption of climate-active substances, reducing their negative impact on the environment and climate, increasing the possibility of high-quality adaptation of ecosystems, population and economic sectors to climate change.
Information about the 45-day voyage will be published in the "Arctic Expedition Diary" (http://sakhgu.ru/spec/dnevnik-arkticheskoj-ekspedicii/).
Press Service of VNIRO
