Russian scientists conduct research into the depths of the Arctic Ocean

Scientists from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), drifting as part of the North Pole-41 expedition in the Arctic Ocean, take soil samples for reconstructions of climate changes in the high-latitude Arctic over the past several thousand years.

This was reported by the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia on its website.

“Work is being carried out in the area of the Lomonosov Ridge and the Amundsen Basin from 83 to 87 degrees north latitude.

Over the past five months, scientists have been systematically sampling and analyzing bottom sediments using a geological complex weighing about a ton, delivered on the Severny Plus ice-resistant platform, the report says.

Currently, research is being carried out in the region of 87 degrees north latitude.

According to the ministry, the data obtained will make it possible to draw conclusions about climate changes in the polar region over several millennia, explain current transformations and make a forecast about the reaction of the natural environment to possible changes in the future.

“Research is being carried out, among other things, with the help of a profiler, which allows you to see the bottom and sediment thickness up to two hundred meters, while directly it is possible to obtain samples that occur only to a depth of about four meters.

According to the composition of the bottom material, scientists can also restore the directions of internal and surface currents, which means predicting what awaits the climate system of the Arctic in the future.

The Ministry of Natural Resources recalled that recently AARI scientists, together with an international scientific team, published the results of a large-scale study of the processes occurring in the waters of the Arctic Ocean. According to these data, changes in the direction and composition of internal currents, coupled with a reduction in the area of multi-year ice, can lead to the growth of microscopic algae and more active absorption of atmospheric carbon.

The expedition "North Pole-41" became a continuation of the program of integrated drifting research in the high latitudes of the Arctic, founded by Soviet scientists. The world's first polar research drifting arctic station "North Pole" ("North Pole-1") began work on May 21, 1937. Since then, 40 such expeditions have been organized. For 75 years, drifting stations have carried out comprehensive research in the field of oceanology, meteorology and biology of the sea, tracked the dynamics of changes in the area of ice, made observations in the ionospheric and magnetic fields of the planet, which made it possible to draw conclusions about the propagation of radio waves.