Threat from wandering greenhouse gas
two researchers and their colleagues from the AWI, the Finnish Meteorological Institute in Helsinki and the Russian Academy of Science in Moscow relate in the online journal Scientific Reports. The samples from 2011 came from sea ice that had started its long journey north in the coastal waters of the Laptev Sea of eastern Siberia nearly two years earlier, in October 2009. The samples from 2015, which had only been underway in the Arctic Ocean half as long, showed a markedly lower level of the greenhouse gas. The analysis revealed that this ice was formed much farther out, in the deeper ocean waters
Arctic Sea Ice Melt Continues
seas, where broken up ice floes are starting to melt away. However, large, thick multiyear ice floes persist in several areas; it remains to be seen if they will survive the melt season. A wedge of open water has also penetrated northward from the East Siberian Sea, yet ice remains extensive in the Laptev Sea, blocking the Northern Sea Route. Ice extent continues to be low in the Kara, Barents, and East Greenland seas. The southern (Amundsen’s) route through the Northwest Passage appears open in Advanced Scanning Microwave Radiometer 2 (AMSR2) data. However, data in visible wavelengths from the
Billions of Juvenile Fish under Arctic Ice
to our measurement stations in the sea. These figures correspond with the age and size of the juvenile polar cod that we caught.” These results indicate that the fish caught in the west could have come from the Kara Sea, while those caught at the stations in the east are more likely from the Laptev Sea. To discover how well fed the fish under the ice are, the scientists analysed their tissue in the laboratory. All the fish were in top condition, which suggests that there was enough food under the ice, making the sea ice a true nursery ground for polar cod. Above all, the new insights into
Arctic Bay is a Strait Proves Research Ship
collapse and retreat of glaciers has been recorded, the height of which in 1952 was 100 meters. Today, they have retreated deeper into the land by an average of 4-5 km. "White spots" [chart sounding data] were investigated on the islands of the Severnaya Zemlya and the central part of the Laptev sea, as well as a number of false or dubious depths shown on nautical charts. The route of the expedition in the Laptev sea included memorable places related to the hydrographic expedition of 1910-1915. The expedition visited Cape Chelyuskin and Andrey Island, where in 1913 astronomical points were
Gazprom & Rosneft Receive New Sites in the Arctic
The government supplemented the list of the subsoil sites of federal importance that are available for use without auctions. The Prime Minister of Russia, Dmitry Medvedev, signed the respective decree.The list includes the Pritaymyrsky subsurface site in the Laptev Sea, as well as the Kheysovsky site in the Barents Sea. The area of the Pritaymyrsky plot is 20,619,000 sq. km. The extractable reserves are estimated to be 104.6 million tonnes. Gas reserves total 362.8 billion cubic meters. The Kheysovsky site covers an area of 83,590,000 sq. km. Its recoverable oil reserves are estimated
Rosneft to Carry Out Ecologic Fishery Research in Laptev Sea
For the first time in history of Arctic Rosneft will carry out integrated ecologic fishery research on three licensed sites (LS) of Laptev Sea: Anisinsko-Novosibirsky, Ust’ Lensky and Ust’ Oleneksky. The Program of ecologic fishery research realization is the first and obligatory part of licensed sites water areas geologic research, which includes geological and ichthyological surveys. As a result of the research an integrated picture of original (background) ecological state will be received. The field investigations with two vessels will last for 90 days. In this period of
Oil Majors Expand Far North Exploration Projects
the Russian Arctic and potential participation by Rosneft (or its affiliate) in the Point Thomson project in Alaska. They have also agreed to conduct a joint study on a potential LNG project in the Russian Far East. The agreements, which include plans to explore seven new blocks in the Chukchi Sea, Laptev Sea and Kara Sea, were signed by Igor Sechin, president of Rosneft, and Stephen Greenlee, president of ExxonMobil Exploration Company, in the presence of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The license blocks include Severo-Vrangelevsky-1, Severo-Vrangelevsky-2 and Yuzhno-Chukotsky blocks in Chukchi
Chinese Icebreaker Transits Northern Sea Route
voyage by a Chinese vessel and opening an Arctic route connecting the Pacific and the Atlantic for future Chinese science expeditions. In completing the voyage, the icebreaker Xuelong or Snow Dragon channeled through five marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean: the Chukchi Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Laptev Sea, the Kaka Sea and the Barents Sea. According to Yang Huigen, head of China's fifth Arctic expedition team, the unprecedented voyage enabled the team to conduct Arctic research on the Atlantic sector of the Arctic and also opened up a transportation ocean route linking Asia and Europe. The expedition
February 2024
