ARKHANGELSK, November 5. /TASS/. The Mikhail Somov scientific expedition vessel returned to Arkhangelsk from a voyage along the Northern Sea Route to Chukotka, the national Hydrometeorology Service's Northern Department, Sevhydromet, told TASS. The vessel delivered cargo and personnel shifts to Russian polar stations.
"The service's Mikhail Somov scientific expedition vessel has successfully completed its third voyage to supply the Hydrometeorological Service's polar stations," the institution said. "The vessel was operating in the Arctic for almost two and a half months, where it covered the return route from Arkhangelsk to the Wrangel Island (in the Arctic Ocean, between the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea)."
Polar explorers' shifts and vital supplies for the upcoming wintering - fuel, food, building materials, and equipment - were delivered to the hard-to-reach stations of the service's Northern, Yakut, and Chukchi Departments. The installation of a modular office and residential building of the weather station was completed on the Kotelny Island, and the staff moved to a new location. During the voyage, at the weather stations, Sevhydromet's specialists performed maintenance of computing, meteorological, energy and communications equipment. The department's ocean studies' experts inspected stations for marine coastal observations.
Research and cleaning
The Lomonosov Moscow State University's Marine Research Center's expedition for integrated environmental monitoring in the Northern Sea Route waters was working on board the vessel throughout the entire voyage. Results of the expedition's research will help to assess the impact of economic activity on the Northern Sea Route's environment.
During the navigation, Sevhydromet and the Clean Arctic environmental movement continued a joint project to clean up the Arctic territories from the waste accumulated there since Soviet times: scrap metal, fuel barrels, and old equipment. The Mikhail Somov has delivered some of the scrap metal, collected by the volunteers, to Arkhangelsk for further processing.
"Due to a grant from the Presidential Nature Foundation, it became possible to clean Cape Chelyuskin, which our organization has been doing for recent three years, and also to organize comprehensive scientific work, take numerous samples of soil, water, biota, and examine them in special laboratories, organize the search and delivery of historical artifacts, and organize training for future polar explorers in practical life support skills in the Arctic conditions. Thus, we believe that this expedition's results will become the basis for restoring Cape Chelyuskin's unique ecosystem and will start the process, where Eurasia's extreme northern point will be re-gaining the status of the most important scientific research center in the Arctic," the Clean Arctic project's leader Andrey Nagibin told TASS.
The expedition participants also delivered to the mainland historical equipment that was used in the Arctic development more than 90 years ago. After restoration, the equipment will be exhibited at the Arctic Museum and Exhibition Center in St. Petersburg. More than 50 people have taken part in events for future Arctic explorers, including Moscow school students participating in the Great Arctic Expedition led by famous polar traveler Matvey Shparo.
"Over the past navigation, the Mikhail Somov delivered personnel and supplies to more than 70 locations along the Northern Sea Route from Arkhangelsk to Chukotka: to 51 polar weather stations of the Russian Hydrometeorology Service and to other facilities on islands and coast of the Arctic seas," Sevhydromet's Deputy Director Alexey Barakov said.
During the period between navigation seasons, the Mikhail Somov vessel will undergo dock repairs.