КОМПЛЕКСНЫЕ КОМПЛЕКСНЫЕ ОКЕАНОЛОГИЧЕСКИЕ ИССЛЕДОВАНИЯ В АКВАТОРИЯХ КАРСКОГО МОРЯ И МОРЯ ЛАПТЕВЫХ, 72-й РЕЙС

The sediment composition of deep-sea cores from the central Arctic Ocean, the Fram Strait, and the Yermak Plateau was analyzed for several parameters to reconstruct the history of marine paleoenvironment and terrestrial glaciation in the last 200,000 years. Layers with high amounts of coarse, terrigenous ice-rafted debris (IRD) and often high contents of smectite were deposited during extensive glaciations in northern Eurasia, when ice sheets reached the northern continental margins of the Barents and Kara seas and discharged icebergs into the Arctic Ocean. Intercalated layers with relatively low IRD and smectite contents, but abundant planktic foraminifers in the coarse fraction were deposited during periods of Atlantic Water inflow to the Arctic Ocean and seasonally open waters (leads) in a sea ice cover with only few icebergs in the Arctic Ocean. High IRD contents in the sediments reflect the presence of ice sheets on the Kara and Barents seas shelves and the hinterland during the entire oxygen isotope stage 6 (ca 190-130 ka), in substage 5b (ca 90-80 ka), at the stage boundary 5/4 (around 75 ka), and in late stage 4/early stage 3 (ca 65-50 ka). These results are in excellent correlation with those from recent field work in northern Scandinavia, European Russia, Siberia, and on the shelves. Relatively low amounts of IRD in central Arctic Ocean sediments from the Late Weichselian glacial maximum (ca 24-18 ka) correlate well with the recent reconstruction of a very limited eastern ice sheet extension during this time.Oxygen and carbon isotope records of planktic foraminifers from the analyzed sediment cores show a number of prominent excursions which can be interpreted as evidence for freshwater events in the Arctic Ocean. The synchroneity of freshwater events and IRD input suggests a common source. Strongest events were associated with deglaciations of the Barents and Kara seas after the ice sheets had blocked the outflow of large rivers for several millennia. The outflow of freshwater from large ice-dammed lakes occurred at ca 130, 80-75, and 52 ka. Freshwater events in the central Arctic Ocean during the last deglaciation (ca 18 ka) were relatively small compared to the previous events. This indicates that during most of the Late Weichselian glacial maximum a river outflow from northern Siberia to the Arctic Ocean was possible.Atlantic Water inflow to the Arctic Ocean and seasonally open waters in the ice (leads) occurred during the interglacials of oxygen isotope stage 1 and substage 5e, during several interstadials (stage 3, substages 5a and 5c), and to a lesser degree within stadials and glacials (stages 2, 4, and 6). With the exception of the interglacials, these periods were times of strong ice growth on the continents as revealed by terrestrial data. The coincidence suggests that open waters in the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic Seas were an important moisture source (in addition to more southerly sources) which fostered the growth of ice sheets on northern Eurasia.

In the Arctic, global warming is 2–3 times faster than over other regions of the globe. As a result, noticeable changes are already being recorded in all areas of the environment. However, there is very little data on such changes in the Russian Arctic. Therefore, to fill the gap in the data on the vertical distribution of the gas and aerosol composition of air in this region, an experiment was carried out on the Tu-134 Optik flying laboratory in September 2020 to sound the atmosphere and water surface over the water areas of all seas in the Russian Arctic. This paper analyzes the spatial distribution of methane. It is shown that during the experiment its concentration was the highest over the Kara Sea (2090 ppb) and the lowest over the Chukchi Sea (2005 ppb). The East Siberian and Bering Seas were slightly different from the Chukchi Sea in terms of the methane concentration. Average values of CH4 are characteristic of the Barents (2030 ppb) and the Laptev Seas (2040 ppb). The difference between the concentrations at an altitude of 200 meters and in the free troposphere attained 150 ppb over the Kara Sea, decreased to 91 and 94 ppb over the Barents and Laptev Seas, and further decreased over the East Siberian, Chukchi, and Bering Seas to 66, 63, and 74 ppb, respectively. Horizontal heterogeneity in the distribution of methane over the Arctic seas is the greatest over the Laptev Sea, where it attained 73 ppb. It is two times higher than over the Barents and Kara Seas, and 5–7 times higher than over the East Siberian and Bering Seas.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) provides a general framework for marine scientific research (MSR) in the world's oceans, but some drawbacks exist in the UNCLOS regarding the MSR regime in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). This chapter argues that if hydrographic survey and military survey were to be excluded from the scope of MSR, these surveys could be carried out in the EEZ without any restrictions. This would eventually lead to a collapse of the present MSR regime in the EEZ. Further, MSR activities are very diverse. It is difficult to differentiate MSR from hydrographic survey activities. The chapter also describes that hydrographic/military survey conducted in the EEZs should be regulated by the same MSR regime and subject to costal States' jurisdiction. Finally, it is suggested that procedures and guidelines may be developed to close up legal loopholes and to enhance ocean management. Keywords: costal States' jurisdiction; exclusive economic zone (EEZ); hydrographic survey; legal loopholes; marine scientific research (MSR); military survey; ocean management; UNCLOS

The basis for the 105th voyage of NIS “Professor vodyanitsky” was the Permission of the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation to conduct marine scientific research №DN-09 / 7I dated 19.09.2018 and №14-17/41 dated 30.03.2018, letter of the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation №14-858 dated 18.04.2018, license of the Federal service for Hydrometeorology and environmental monitoring of the Ministry of natural resources and ecology of the Russian Federation №R/2016/3020/100/L dated may 30, 2017 Scientific research in the voyage was carried out in accordance with the themes No. 0827-2018-0001 “Fundamental research of interaction processes in the ocean-atmosphere system, determining the regional space-time variability of the natural environment and climate”, No. 0827-2018-0002 “Development of operational Oceanology methods based on interdisciplinary studies of the processes of formation and evolution of the marine environment and mathematical modeling involving data of remote and contact measurements”, No. 0827-2018-0003 “ Fundamental research of Oceanological processes, state and evolution of the marine environment under the influence of natural and anthropogenic factors, on the basis of observation and modeling methods” and No. 0827- 2018-0004 “Complex interdisciplinary studies of Oceanological processes that determine the functioning and evolution of ecosystems of the coastal zones of the Black and Azov seas”, performed within the framework of the state task by the Federal state budgetary institution of science “ Marine hydrophysical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences), and also in accordance with the themes No. 0828-2018-0001 “Seismological and biogeochemical bases of homeostasis of marine ecosystems”, No. 0828-2018-0002 “Regularities of formation and anthropogenic transformation of biodiversity and bioresources of the Azov-black sea basin and other areas of The world ocean”, No. 0828-2018-0003 “ Functional, metabolic and Toxicological aspects of the existence of hydrobionts and their populations in biotopes with different physical and chemical regime», No. 0828-2018-0004 “Research of mechanisms of management of productive processes in biotechnological complexes for the purpose of development of scientific bases of reception of biologically active substances and technical products of marine Genesis” and No. 0828-2018-0005 “the Structural and functional organization, productivity and stability of marine pelagic ecosystems” performed within the state task by Federal state budgetary institution of science “ Institute of marine biological researches. A. O. Kovalevsky Russian Academy of Sciences” (INSTITUTE IMBI). Works of employees of the Federal state budgetary institution of science “ Institute of Oceanology. P. P. Shirshova RAS “(IO RAS) were carried out within the framework of the state task of the Institute, as well as the project of RNF No. 14-27-00114-P “ Sedimentary-biogeochemical studies of the seas of the European part of Russia (scattered sediment, bottom sediments, diagenesis)”. The interaction of Geosphere, the flow of matter and energy” under the guidance of academician A. P. Lisitsyn.

Fram Strait sea-ice sediments (SIS) contain on average more than 94% silt and clay. Both fractions were compared with bottom deposits of the Kara and Laptev seas to identify shelf sources of fine-grained Arctic SIS. Based on silt granulometry and clay mineral assemblages we determined Fram Strait SIS provinces. Western Fram Strait SIS has medium to fine silt compositions, whereas eastern Fram Strait SIS is enriched in fine silt.Western Fram Strait SIS clays (low smectite/high illite) were statistically grouped with eastern Laptev shelf deposits, and are similar to East Siberian and North American shelf sources. Eastern Fram Strait SIS clays (high smectite/low illite) cluster with shelf deposits of the western Laptev Sea and the Kara Sea. We conclude that western Fram Strait pack ice consisted of a mixture of floes from the Laptev Sea and sources farther to the east during the 1997 and 1999 sampling periods. Eastern Fram Strait ice originated from sources towards the Kara Sea. There was an average annual flux of ca. 158 Tg (Mt) SIS export through Fram Strait during the late 1990s.We expect no qualitative changes in the SIS entrainment process (“suspension freezing”) with decreasing Arctic ice cover, although the process may increase through larger fetch. SIS incorporation and flux will be enhanced with increasing shelf open water during winter freezing, and with the current acceleration of the Transpolar Drift, but we speculate that the transport of SIS towards Fram Strait will be seasonally truncated with the onset of ice-free summers in the Arctic Ocean.

<p>The Arctic is warming much faster than other regions of the globe. In 2020, temperature anomalies in the Russian Arctic reached unprecedented high levels. The atmospheric composition in this key region still remains insufficiently studied that makes difficult predicting future climate change.</p><p>In September 2020, an extensive aircraft campaign was conducted to document the tropospheric composition over the Russian Arctic. The Optik Tu-134 research aircraft was equipped with instruments to carry out in-situ measurements of trace gases and aerosols, as well as with a lidar for profiling of aerosol backscatter. The aircraft flew over a vast area from Arkhangelsk to Anadyr. Six measurement flights with changing altitudes from 0.2 to 9.0 m were conducted over the waters of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi, and Bering Seas. The weather was unusually warm for this period of the year, surface air temperatures were above 0°C through the campaign.</p><p>Here, we present the results of in-situ measurements of the vertical distribution of aerosol number concentrations in a wide range of sizes. A modified diffusional particle sizer (DPS) consisted of the Novosibirsk-type eight-stage screen diffusion battery connected to the TSI condensation particle counter Model 3756 was used to determine the number size distribution of particles between 0.003 mm and 0.2 mm (20 size bins). Distribution of particles in the size range from 0.25 µm to 32 µm (31 size bins) was measured by means of the Grimm aerosol spectrometer Model 1.109.</p><p>The flights over Barents and Kara Seas were predominantly performed under clear sky or partly cloudy weather conditions. Number size distributions were wide representing particles of almost all aerosol fractions. When flying in the upper troposphere with a constant altitude over these seas, some cases of enhanced concentrations of nucleation and Aitken mode particles comparable to ones in the lower troposphere were recorded, suggesting in situ new particle formation was likely to be taking place via gas-to-particle conversion aloft.</p><p>East of the Kara Sea, flights were conducted under mostly cloudy conditions resulting in a lower median aerosol number concentration and narrower size distributions.</p><p>This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 19-05-50024).</p>

"Polar Science in the North and South: Tailoring Lessons from Antarctica to Improve Reliability of Legal Access for Marine Scientific Research (MSR) to the Arctic Ocean" published on 01 Jan 2012 by Brill | Nijhoff.

On May 19, 2015, the German research icebreaker Polarstern began a six-week expedition to the Arctic Ocean initiated by the “ART” team, which stands for “Arctic in Rapid Transition”. The expedition PS92 (ARK XXIX/1) “TRANSSIZ” (Transitions in the Arctic Seasonal Sea Ice Zone, Fig. 1.1) conducted ecological and biogeochemical early spring process studies from the shelf to the basins of the European Arctic margin and on the Yermak Plateau, in order to link past and present sea-ice transitions in the Arctic Ocean. The cruise involved scientists from eleven countries in collaboration with research groups from divisions of the Alfred Wegener InstituteHelmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research together with scientists from the German BMBF-project ‘Transdrift’, as well as from the French-Canadian projects ‘GreenEdge’. Overall the vessel travelled 3,665 sm and carried out 68 stations with a total of 242 casts. Some groups also used the transit to the research area to study meridional variability of trace gases, algae species and nutrients from temperate regions of the North Atlantic and into the ice-covered Arctic Ocean by using the surface online water system. Once reaching the investigation area, the science parties conducted process studies for rate measurements of productivity, ecosystem interactions and carbon- and nitrogen cycling. By comparing data from the shelf, data from across the shelf-break into the deep basin it was possible to compare carbon export from plankton and sea ice communities as well as identifying the potential characteristics in carbon production, the fate and export, and to identify similarities and differences in ecosystem functioning along topography-, sea ice- and water mass-related gradients. The ice stations (Fig. 1.2) involved coring of a standard set of sea-ice cores for biological, physical and chemical variables as well as for trace gases and geological proxy validation. It further involved the study of sea ice properties and under-ice water and covered the study of trace and greenhouse gases, biodiversity, primary and bacterial production as well as a detailed study of the nitrogen cycle. Short-term moorings were deployed under the ice to determine the vertical carbon flux. A small Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) was operated under the ice to focus on spectral radiation measurements, but also to record environmental parameters (e.g. ice thickness, salinity, temperature) and video imaging of the under-ice environment. Light transmission measured with the ROV showed an increase of light penetration during the course of our expedition. The under-ice fauna and other environmental parameters were investigated by using the towed “Surface Under Ice Trawl” (SUIT). Helicopter flights were used to determine the large-scale distribution of sea-ice thickness with an EM-bird along the cruise track, which overall revealed that the average sea-ice thickness was 1.4 m, that is, comparatively thin and similar to summer vales previously observed in Fram Strait. During the sea-ice stations, parallel sampling of pelagic and benthic ecosystems and geological cores were conducted. Light spectra of hyper-spectral radiometers were used to establish the penetration depth of ultraviolet radiation into the different types of oceanic waters from the zodiac and under the ice. Water samples were taken from the water bottles of the CTD rosette to study the chemistry, biology and various geological proxies. A UVP (Underwater Video Profiler System) was deployed to provide detailed vertical profiles of particle distribution, size composition and the zooplankton community. Quantitative sampling of the mesozooplankton, and also foraminifera, which are used as paleo-proxies, were carried out by using multi-nets. For macrozooplankton and nekton, a Multiple-closing Rectangular Midwater Trawl (MRMT) was used. The distribution of macrozooplankton and pelagic fish was monitored continuously on selected transects with Polarstern’s EK60 echosounder. Benthic communities were collected by box corers and the material was further used for experimental and biogeochemical analyses of the benthic surface sediment layers, including sea ice- and paleo proxies. Benthic communities show a clear shelf to basin decrease in the oxygen demand. Overall, the communities also show a clear North South gradient in our study area. TV-Multi-corers for geological measurements were used to get undisturbed core tops of near-surface sediments (Fig. 1.3). For the geological coring, detailed bathymetric mapping and sub-bottom profiling systems (Hydrosweep and Parasound) were used to find suitable coring positions for Kastenlot and Gravity cores. Special emphasis on this cruise was taken to quantify the environmental preconditions for productivity (e.g. nutrients, stratification) which will allow us to be able to improve predictions of the potential annual primary production in a future ice-free Arctic Ocean, as well as improving reconstructions of productivity, sea ice and ocean circulation across the last 1-2 last glacial cycles. Results from the cruise will further improve the understanding of ecosystem functioning and biogeochemical cycles during the transition from spring to summer. The expedition ended on the morning of the 28th June 2015 in Longyearbyen.

Comparison study of the modern ostracod associations in the Kara and Laptev seas: Ecological aspects

Hard life in cold waters: Size distribution and gonads show that Greenland halibut temporarily inhabit the Siberian Arctic

<p><span>Discharges from the largest rivers of the World to coastal sea form sea-wide freshened surface layers which areas have order of hundred thousands of square kilometers. Large freshened surface layers (which are among the largest in the World Ocean) are located in the Kara, Laptev, and East-Siberian seas in the Eastern Arctic. </span><span>This work is focused on the structure and inter-annual variability of these freshened water masses during ice-free periods. The freshened surface layer in the Laptev and East-Siberian seas is formed mainly by deltaic rives among which the Lena River contributes about two thirds of the inflowing freshwater volume. Based on in situ measurements, we show that the area of this freshened surface layer is much greater than the area of the freshened surface layer in the neighboring Kara Sea, while the total annual freshwater discharge to the Laptev and East-Siberian seas is 1.5 times less than to the Kara Sea (mainly from the estuaries of the Ob and Yenisei rivers). This feature is caused by differences in morphology of the estuaries and deltas. Shallow and narrow channels of the Lena Delta are limitedly affected by sea water. As a result, undiluted Lena discharge inflows to sea from multiple channels and forms relatively shallow plume, as compared to the Ob-Yenisei plumes which mix with subjacent saline sea water in deep and wide estuaries. The shallow Lena plume spreads over wide area (up to 500 000 km<sup>2</sup>) in the Laptev and East-Siberian seas during and shortly after freshet period in summer and then transforms to the Laptev/East-Siberian ROFI in autumn. Area and position of the relatively shallow freshened surface layer in the Laptev and East-Siberian seas have large inter-annual variability governed by local wind forcing conditions, however, do not show any dependence on significant variability of the annual volume of discharge rate from the Lena River. The deep freshened surface layer in the Kara Sea also has distinct seasonal varability of area and position, however, is stable on inter-annual time scale.<br></span></p>

The Russian icebreaker KAPITAN DRANITSYN carried out the TRANSDRIFT III expedition to the Laptev Sea (October 1 to 30., 1995), the largest ice factory in the Arctic Ocean and source region of the Transpolar Drift. In this shelf region, ice free for only three months a year, a comprehensive interdisciplinary working program concerning the causes and effects of annual freeze-up was performed. Unlike our previous expeditions to the Laptev Sea, which focused On oceanographical, hydrochemical, ecological, and sedimentological processes during the brief ice-free period in summer, this expedition studied these processes during the extreme physical change through the onset of ice formation in autumn. This is the first study of its kind under these conditions, and gave important clues to the rapid (14 to 40 days) freeze-up, which has significant year-round effects for the Laptev Sea and global environment. Freeze-up began one month later than usual (a 40 year record) close to the Novosibirskie Islands in low salinity surface waters due to heat stored in an intermediate water layer between 10 and 25 m water depth. Later, huge tracts of turbid, dirty ice were found off the Lena Delta where an unusually high phytoplankton concentration for this time of year occurred. The origin of these anomalies, and whether they are anomalies at all, and their relationship to global environment in real time are the focus of continuing research.

Major hydrocarbon reserves have been discovered and developed during the last 20 years in the Russian Arctic. Productive basins include the West Siberian, Pechora, and Vilyuy. Gas discoveries in the Anadyr basin are too new to be evaluated. Untested basins include the following: (1) onshore: Anabar, Lena delta, Indigirka, and Kolyma; and (2) offshore: Barents and Pechora Seas, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Bering Sea, and Sea of Okhotsk. In the West Siberian basin, as of January 1, 1970, more than 40 oil fields and 50 gas fields had been found. Production is from Cretaceous and Jurassic paralic to nonmarine strata. At least 9 oil fields had reserves greater than 500 million bbl; 20 gas fields had reserves greater than 3.5 Tcf. Samotlor is the largest oil field with 15.1 billion bbl; Urengoy, the world's largest gas field, had 210 Tcf. Deepest production was from about 10,500 ft, but most production was shallower than 8,150 ft. The Pechora basin contained about 62 oil and gas fields productive from Devonian through Permian marine strata. Of these, 1 oil field contained more than 500 million bbl and 2 gas fields, more than 3.5 Tcf. Deepest production was from about 11,155 ft. The Yenesey-Khatanga trough contained several fields, but is relatively undeveloped. The Vilyuy basin contained about 41 gas fields, of which 2 gas fields contained more than 3.5 Tcf each in Triassic and Jurassic paralic strata. Deepest production was from about 9,840 ft. More than 200 structures remain to be tested in the 4 basins. Although deformed basement has been penetrated in several areas, particularly near basin margins, the basin centers have not been explored thoroughly. In most of the West Siberian basin, for example, 2,000-8,000 ft of section below the deepest producing zones has not been tested. In the West Siberian basin alone, proved plus probable oil reserves exceed 35 billion bbl, and proved plus potential gas reserves exceed 400 Tcf. If the results from the West Siberian, Vilyuy, and Pechora basins are indicative of Russian Arctic potential, a bright future could be in store for the Russian petroleum industry. Despite the high costs and enormous logistics problems involved in development of these remote permafrost areas, the Russians are well on their way in developing End_Page 2495------------------------------ the West Siberian fields. The first pipeline of 40-in. diameter was completed to the Omsk refinery in 1967, and a second pipeline, of 48-in. diameter, is under construction. Siberia already has achieved self-sufficiency and the flow of crude oil in the Trans-Siberian pipeline was reversed west of Omsk in the summer of 1970 so that surplus West Siberian crude now moves westward to European Russia instead of the previous eastward flow of Volga-Urals crude to Siberia. In the Pechora basin, development of the largest potential producer, the Usa field, was underway in 1970 and construction of a pipeline to the Yaroslavl refinery in central Russia was started. The gas of the Vilyuy basin at present is used only locally, in the city of Yakutsk. No specific plans for long-distance transmissio have been announced. End_of_Article - Last_Page 2496------------

This chapter quantifies shipping intensities, and maps out shipping patterns and their changes over seasons and over years, in the Kara, Laptev and East Siberian Seas. Use is made of two main data sources: first, position reports from the AIS automatic ship reporting system, in particular using the Norwegian AIS satellites; and second, ship detections derived from satellite radar images, in particular from the EU’s Sentinel-1. It is seen that the ship traffic in the three seas is seasonally dominated by the winter ice cover, which practically halts all shipping in the Laptev and East Siberian Seas for a large part of the year; in the Kara Sea, the busiest of the three, some routes remain used also in winter. Over the last years, the number of ships observed by satellite AIS has grown, especially in the Kara Sea. Concerning shipping type, practically no fishing activity is seen (in contrast to the Barents Sea); most traffic seems to be transport and exploration.

The size and sex structure, the dependence of the state of the gonads of females on the size of the individual, and the composition of the food of the shrimp, Sabinea septemcarinata (Sabine 1824) (Crustacea, Crangonidae) from the Laptev Sea, the Khatanga Bay and the Kara Sea are described (598 individuals: 230 of them had empty stomachs, 368 contained food in their stomachs, and 34 had them full). The shrimps were collected in August–September 2016. The total body length of the shrimps examined varied from 31 to 103 mm: 32–103 mm in females and 31–74 mm in males. The lifespan seems to last 3–4 years in females, vs 2–3 years in males. Based on the condition of the gonads of the females, the time of material collection coincided with spawning. Among the females there are individuals at all stages of the reproductive cycle: feeding, spawning and preparing for the next spawning. This indicates extended population spawning. Sabinea septemcarinata belongs to the life form of burrowing shrimp. According to the frequency of occurrence in the stomachs, detritus takes the first place (92.2%). The second and third places are taken up by cumin crayfish and sedentary polychaetes, which occur in almost every second and third stomach (frequency of occurrence 37.7 and 23.9%, respectively). Sand shows a frequency of occurrence of 50.3%. In the virtual food lump, a little more than a third of its volume is taken up by detritus (39.7%), followed by cumin crayfish and polychaetes that take second and third places (23.6 and 22.6%, respectively). Consequently, S. septemcarinata feed on infauna. Thus, S. septemcarinata are characterized by elements of an attacking predator and a detritophage.