ARKHANGELSK, February 13. /TASS/. The Arctic Floating University's expedition in 2026 will measure for the first time waves and currents in polar seas in high resolution, the expedition's leader Alexander Saburov told TASS. During the voyage, scientists and students will be working in 13 scientific areas.

"As for the ocean studies, we have planned something new for the Arctic Floating University: Yury Yurovsky of the Marine Hydrophysics Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Sevastopol will conduct research in remote and contact methods in measuring waves and currents from aboard the vessel. This research is of great fundamental importance, because despite the successes achieved through satellite measurements in recent years, there have not been too many high-resolution measurements in the Arctic seas, especially given the sea ice proximity," he said.

This study will add to data on the specifics of waves in the polar seas in the presence of sea ice. Over recent decades, scientists have made significant progress in measuring parameters of waves and currents thanks to satellite sensors. However, measurements with high spatial resolution are still a complicated or unsolved task. Specialists will measure waves using buoys; they will film them off UAVs, and will make stereo captures.

The Arctic Floating University expedition's participants will work in 13 scientific areas. "We are happy to work with Denis Zakharov, a specialist new to the Arctic Floating University, working at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, who is an expert in bottom communities of the Arctic seas," the expedition leader added.

The main objective of all the research is to study conditions of coastal ecosystems of the Barents and the Kara Seas in the climate change in the Arctic and in the increasing anthropogenic pressure. A big block of work will be devoted to distribution of warm Atlantic waters in the northeastern part of the Barents Sea, where scientists will collect data on specifics of the Atlantic water masses coming into the Arctic. The expeditions have been monitoring these waters at sections between Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land. "We hope to be able to repeat fully the amount of work we have been doing over recent three years," he continued. "It is most important that from year to year the expedition timing remains about the same - from late June to early August, which, of course, allows us to track better the natural systems' development dynamics."

Ground-based research

Missions ashore are planned on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago's north and on the Franz Josef Land archipelago. There, the expedition will study contamination with heavy metals, organic pollutants and radionuclides. The coast will be examined for the presence of marine debris, especially plastics. Microbiologists, ornithologists, and insect specialists will work on the islands.

"As for relatively new directions, we can single out the reiterated topic of studying biodiversity of diptera insects (commonly known as flies). Andrey Przyboro, a specialist at the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, will take part in the voyage for the first time since 2018 to obtain new data on this topic. The team will collect insects in the field, and grow imago (adults) from collected larvae and pupae. Scientists will update data on diptera, obtained almost 10 years ago," the expedition's leader said.

The first departure from Murmansk

The expedition is scheduled for July 1st to 22nd in the Barents and the Kara Seas onboard the Professor Molchanov scientific research vessel. This year, the expedition for the first time will depart from Murmansk, not from Arkhangelsk, and then will return also to Murmansk.

"For us, this is a new departure and arrival location. The plan is the Professor Molchanov will depart from Murmansk. For the organizers, despite necessary planning of new logistics routes, there are certain advantages from this change. First of all, because the distance from the port of Murmansk is closer to the work area," he explained.

About the Arctic Floating University

The Arctic Floating University is a joint project of the Northern Arctic Federal University (NARFU) and the Northern Directorate for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. The project's expeditions continue since 2012.