ARKHANGELSK, July 14. /TASS/. The Arctic Floating University expedition onboard the Professor Molchanov scientific research vessel started oceanology research in the Barents Sea's north, where scientists began work on a section from the Northbrook Island of Franz Josef Land to the Russian Harbor bay of Novaya Zemlya, the expedition leader Alexander Saburov told TASS from aboard the vessel.

A section is a line with points having fixed coordinates where measurements are made and water samples are taken.

"We plan 14 oceanology stations in the section from the Northbrook Island, Franz Josef Land, to the Russian Harbor on Novaya Zemlya, and more than half of these stations will be integrated, that is, for hydrophysical, hydrochemical and hydrobiological studies. We hope the section arrangement will go well, since the weather is expected to be quite favorable, without sudden gusts of wind, and the wave height would be not higher than one meter. We hope the typical overcast weather and, possibly, light precipitation will not prevent our scientists from doing successfully all the planned work," the expedition leader said.

The studies are important to understand how water masses spread from the Atlantic to the Barents Sea in the climate change context. At each point, researchers lower to the sea bottom bathometers that collect water at different depths, measuring temperature and salinity.

"We expect to see the object of our study - branches of Atlantic waters. This year, our program is expanded compared to previous years. At this section, we will sample phytoplankton and zooplankton. Plus samples for hydrochemical tests for oxygen, nutrients, and chlorophyll A - one of the phytoplankton pigments," said Anna Vesman of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. "The underwater complex will measure the depth of the optical layer in the sea, and we will try new equipment. This is an underwater probe to measure carbon dioxide in water and in air in parallel. This is the first time that we conduct these studies."

The photic layer is a part of water column where sunlight penetrates. Work on the section may take about a day. During the expedition, scientists will have three big oceanology sections. According to Vesman, if the weather and ice conditions allow, scientists will also make short sections to clarify the flow pattern in that area of the Barents Sea and to see water flows between the Victoria Island and Franz Josef Land.

About the expedition

The Professor Molchanov departed from Arkhangelsk on July 9, and the expedition will continue to August 1. The project's sponsors and partners are Russia's Ministry of Science and Higher Education, VTB Bank (the general sponsor), the Russian Geographical Society, the Norilsk Nickel Company, and the Floating University Coordination Center based at MIPT.