The employees of Marine Hydrophysical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences (MHI) took part in a large-scale Arctic Expedition as part of the Floating University Program.

The expedition took place on the R/V Professor Molchanov from July 20 to August 29, 2024, and was part of the second stage of the Learning by Exploring cycle.

The route of the expedition was from Arkhangelsk through the Kara and Laptev seas to the settlement of Tiksi. The main goal of the expedition was to study water masses and ecosystems on the shelf and continental slope of the seas of the Russian Arctic.

Three employees of MHI of RAS participated in the expedition. Master student Vladimir Dobrodiy and Ilya Kopyshov from the Polar Research Laboratory worked in the submesoscale hydrophysics team, studying the peculiarities of submesoscale processes on different shelf types and in the near-shelf ice zone.

Konstantin Gurov, a researcher in the Department of Marine Biogeochemistry, headed the bottom sediment geochemistry group. He described his group's work as follows:

“Our group was involved in the sampling and analysis of bottom sediments in different areas of the Kara and Laptev seas. We measured physical and chemical properties of the sediments, studied the distribution of redox conditions and the content of biogenic elements in the pore waters. In total, we collected 63 surface layer samples and 45 bottom sediment columns. Now we need to further analyze the collected samples under laboratory conditions. Based on the results of our research, we have prepared a scientific report and abstracts for presentation at the MARESEDU 2024 Conference”.

Participation in the MARESEDU 2024 Conference is part of the third stage of the Floating University Program – Integration into the Scientific and Professional Community. In the near future, the expedition participants are also planning to prepare new materials for conference presentations and scientific articles based on the results of their research.

The Arctic Expedition gave many young scientists an opportunity to gain unique experience of field research in the difficult conditions of the North.

Photos by Konstantin Gurov, Olga Mescheryakova.