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Russia launches northernmost permafrost monitoring station

When the wells for the state monitoring system were drilled, the scientists sampled many frozen soil cores, and in 2024 the obtained materials will be added to the institute's unique collection of cores

ST. PETERSBURG, December 28. /TASS/. The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI, St. Petersburg) commissioned Russia's northernmost station to monitor the permafrost on the Heiss Island of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, the institute's Director Alexander Makarov told reporters.

AARI has opened another 19 facilities across the Russian Arctic Zone to monitor changes in the permafrost related to climate change and to prevent destruction of the Arctic infrastructures, he added.

"With the purpose to organize 20 observation points our specialists have examined this year about 50 potential locations. In the coming two years, we need to arrange another 60 monitoring stations both in 2024 and in 2025, respectively, and we will have to check up to 250 probable locations for those monitoring stations. At the next stage, we will continue our work in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, in Yakutia, we will also open permafrost monitoring stations in the Far East, in Buryatia, and we hope to commission the southernmost monitoring station in the Altai Region," he said.

The state system for the reference monitoring of the permafrost will include 140 stations throughout the country and thus will cover 65% of the country's area. In addition to the station on Franz Josef Land, new stations have been launched in the outgoing year in the Arkhangelsk, Krasnoyarsk, Altai, Yakutia Regions and in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region.

The commissioned monitoring stations transmit technical data, because when the wells were drilled there in frozen ground, the temperature in them has changed and it will take time to bring in to natural levels. The monitoring system will receive first scientific data in the spring of 2024. The data will be available both to scientists and businesses in the Arctic and Siberia, the institute's director told TASS

When the wells for the state monitoring system were drilled, the scientists sampled many frozen soil cores, and in 2024 the obtained materials will be added to the institute's unique collection of cores.

The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) is the world's leading scientific center to study the Earth's polar regions. The Institute conducts the entire cycle of works in high latitudes in the interests of the Russian Federation and commercial companies. The institute's scientific divisions are engaged in fundamental and applied research of climate, processes in the atmosphere, near space, marine environment and ice cover.

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