FRANZ JOSEF LAND, July 3. /TASS/. The Arctic Floating University expedition has begun to study parameters of their vessel's underwater noise, a TASS correspondent reported from onboard the Professor Molchanov scientific research vessel. Earlier in the day, the expedition could not start work due to strong winds and waves at sea.

The Professor Molchanov is now in the southwest of Franz Josef Land, near the Mabel and the Bell Islands.

"At last, the weather has allowed us to launch the boat, and we have begun to study the underwater noise of the Professor Molchanov. The work is carried out by specialists of the St. Petersburg Maritime Technical University and the Krylov Scientific Center," the expedition leader Alexander Saburov told TASS. "The purpose is to develop methods to measure underwater noise from a non-specialized vessel, not from a hydroacoustic one. This requires a series of studies to analyze from all sides the Professor Molchanov as a source of noise."

The underwater noise is measured off a boat at a distance of 50, 100 and 150 meters from the star and port sides, as well as from the bow and stern. During the measurements, the on-board power is off.

Underwater noise from marine engineering facilities is a marine pollution factor. Hence, it is important to determine technical capabilities of universal research vessels that do not have a special "silence mode", to ensure sonar measurements relative to "noisy" transport vessels, offshore drilling rigs.

It is planned to develop a technology to measure man-made underwater noise from marine equipment facilities using universal research vessels in drift or anchorage mode with the ship's equipment operating in a regular mode. "For the future, this would facilitate greatly the general work on identification and analysis of marine noises from various vessels, in fact, including in order to analyze their impact on the environment, on wildlife and, accordingly, to develop standards to minimize them," he added.

Arctic Floating University - 2024

On June 25, the Arctic Floating University departed from Arkhangelsk to conduct research in the White and Barents Seas, on the Kolguev Island, on islands of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land.

The project's partners and sponsors are the Arkhangelsk Region's government, the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, the Russian Geographical Society, VTB Bank, Norilsk Nickel, Roshydromet (the hydrometeorology service), the Russian Arctic National Park, the Floating University Coordination Center at MIPT (Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology; also known as PhysTech), the Nauka (Science) year-round youth educational center.