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Scientists wrap up Russia-US expedition to study climate changes in Arctic

During the expedition, AARI scientists have taken more than 9,000 water samples and tested them onboard

ST. PETERSBURG, October 20. /TASS/. The Nansen and Amundsen Basins Observational System (NABOS) expedition to study the climate changes in the Arctic ended on Tuesday. The Akademik Tryoshnikov research vessel returned to the Kirkenes port in Norway. During the expedition, the scientists confirmed the Arctic climate is affected mostly by the ocean, not the atmosphere, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) said in a post on its Telegram channel.

"Today (October 19), to Kirkenes has come the Akademik Tryoshnikov research vessel: the Russian-American expedition NABOS-2021 is completed. During the expedition, AARI scientists have taken more than 9,000 water samples and tested them onboard. The ocean and hydro-chemical data, received this year, will add to the NABOS expeditions’ database, which continues from 2002. One of the conclusions is that the ocean becomes the major force in forming the Arctic climate (earlier conclusions gave the leading role to the atmosphere - TASS)," the post reads.

During the expedition, the vessel covered more than 6,000 nautical miles. The scientists went on the drifting ice three times. The expedition had planned to conduct studies in the Laptev, East-Siberian Seas and in deepwater areas of the Arctic Ocean.

The scientists have noticed consequences from the climate changes in the Arctic: back in 2002, when the NABOS expeditions began, research vessels could get to designated areas only following icebreakers. Nowadays, the power of ice-class vessels is sufficient for such voyages. "The ocean warmth is gradually getting up to the surface, thus changing the hydrology, including the ocean’s chemical structure," the post quoted the expedition’s leader Igor Polyakov as saying. "In the climate context, we can speak about ‘new Arctic’."

The scientists will leave for Russia on October 20.

During the scientific season in 2019, NABOS expedition’s scientists listed the reasons, due to which the air circulation in the 21th century makes the ice in the Arctic’s Eurasian part melt quicker than in the American part.