ARKHANGELSK, July 16. /TASS/. Scientists of the Arctic Floating University expedition started sampling on the Northern Island of Novaya Zemlya to study radioactivity, to measure general radioactivity, as well as dose rate and radon flux density, head of the Environmental Radiology Laboratory at the Federal Research Center for Integrated Arctic Studies (the Russian Academy of Sciences' Urals Branch) Evgeny Yakovlev told TASS from aboard the Professor Molchanov research vessel.

"For a radioecologist, the most interesting is, of course, Novaya Zemlya, where nuclear tests have been conducted. Therefore, Novaya Zemlya is my priority, and there will be the most detailed research. When ashore, of course, we sample soil as the main element of terrestrial landscapes. Although they are very scarce here in terms of the soil profile development, they have little organic matter due to the harsh environmental conditions. Nevertheless, for terrestrial ecosystems they are the main depositories and they reflect the ecology conditions," the expert said.

Radioactive isotopes of man-made origin, concentrated in soils, provide important information about the polluting load on the Arctic ecosystems, so that to identify pollution sources, forms and migration mechanisms, to predict how the radiation background may change due to global warming. The study of atmospheric precipitation radionuclides in permafrost soils will clarify data on formation and development of the high-latitude Arctic's soil cover and will assess its role in atmospheric carbon's accumulation.

Radiation pollution of ecosystems in the Russian Arctic's western sector is associated with fallout from nuclear weapons tests on Novaya Zemlya. Besides, anthropogenic radionuclides have been brought there by sea currents from radiochemical plants in Western Europe. Other sources are the long-term operation of Soviet and Russian nuclear fleets, and radioactive waste's discharge and burial at sea.

Risks of changing radioactivity in the natural environment may be associated with global warming. After the nuclear tests, significant amounts of man-made radioactivity have accumulated in Novaya Zemlya glaciers, which may cause secondary radiation pollution of the marine environment once they melt. Additionally, the permafrost degradation can deteriorate the radon situation in areas with an unfavorable radiogeochemical background.

Collected samples will be studied at the research center's stationary laboratory.

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.