SALEKHARD, January 30. /TASS/. Authorities of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District will allocate during the current year more than 63 million rubles (more than one million dollars) for scientific research, head of the region’s science and innovations department Alexei Titovsky told TASS on Monday.
"We have drafted all scientific research programs, directions, on which we shall work this year," he said. "The investment is 63.4 million rubles, where we plan financing certain research and cross-disciplinary expeditions."
The investment in scientific developments has not changed from the previous year, the official said.
"About 60 million rubles annually remain for the recent five years, but this year’s plans differ greatly in contents," he continued. "We shall have more complicated and sophisticated research, and gradually we move from fundamental tasks to applied approaches - those are problems related to the economy, social sphere of the North’s indigenous peoples, and environment."
In 2017, scientists will install seismic sensors in Yamal’s tundra to forecast new gas swirls and emissions. The equipment will analyze smoothly all seismic processes within a radius of 200 km. Besides, Russian and French scientists will be the first ever to begin researching sediment of thermokarst lakes formed from melting of permafrost on the Yamal Peninsula. This way, scientists will learn past of the water reservoirs to assess their contribution to the global warming processes.
"Another item on the plan is a science-research expedition, Yamal-Arctic, on peninsulas Yamal and Gydan (in the Kara Sea)," he continued. "The expedition is organized by the Interregional Expedition Center."
"Scientists also continue researching permafrost, the food base for reindeer in tundra, as well as populations of polar bears and other animals and birds," he said. "The Archeology of Arctic Forum is due on Yamal in 2017."
The Arctica Interregional Expedition Center was established in 2013 for studies of the Arctic region, including for research and expeditions, for design of new technologies in Yamal. The center assists scientists in the field stage of projects both at specially equipped stations and in the wild tundra. The center’s main directions are in studying the biological diversity, climate changes, the Arctic’s ecology and culture of the indigenous peoples.