TASS, November 8. Three projects of Russia's Tyumen State University won the competition of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) and the government of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, the university's communications department announced.
This is a research in the field of environmental protection, environmental safety and management, including environmental monitoring as well as assessment of the impact economic activity has on the environment in the region.
"Arctic development is one of Russia's scientific and technological development priorities. We have synchronized efforts with the government of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region reaching mutual understanding on cooperation issues in scientific research on preserving the bioresource base and ensuring biological safety," the communications department quotes the Tyumen State University rector Valery Falkov as saying.
As part of the development of the inter-regional West Siberian scientific and educational center, the problems of Arctic ecology and biosafety are a priority, thus, the unification of all parties interested in the implementation of the projects will maximize the preservation of bioresources and unique landscapes of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, the report reads.
Tundra soils
The project dubbed Comprehensive Study of the Arctic Tundra soil of the Gydansky Peninsula and the Kara Sea islands is aimed at studying the history of the development of soil cover and assessing its current ecological condition on island and continental Arctic tundras. Currently, the soil in this area is not comprehensively studied .
Research on the topic was carried out mainly on Yamal and the Bely Island.
"Comprehensive soil studies are the basis for the formation of a relevant and adequate perception of the ecological state of geosystems, which is extremely important for the Arctic due to the processes of its nature's transformation in the global climate change, as well as increased anthropogenic pressure," the communications department of the Tyumen State University noted.
The study of the processes of relief formation
The second project named Northern Dunes of Western Siberia: Origin, History of Development, Modern Dynamics and Stability in Climate Change and Anthropogenic Impact. The project is due to continue the systematic study of the natural features of the tundra relief, forest-tundra and Western Siberia's northern taiga from the standpoint of stability in the global climate change and the increasing anthropogenic impact.
The project consists of remote, expeditionary and stationary research.
For the first time for the entire Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, continuous mapping of the blown sands and big relief forms of glacial and water-glacial genesis will be carried out, which will allow scientists to obtain a unified and consistent picture of the area's geomorphological structure and to trace the boundaries of the transition from the zone of dominance of marine relief-forming processes to areas where glacial forms dominate.
Whitefish habitat rehabilitation
Another research will focus on finding ways to rehabilitate contaminated waters to increase the vitality of valuable whitefish species.
"A significant number of reserviors in Western Siberia are areas of environmental degradation. Under conditions of multifactorial pollution their bio-productivity decreases, spawning grounds are being destroyed, feeding grounds are worsening, and juveniles of valuable whitefish species are dying," says the report.
During the project, the studies of the manifestations of genetic, cytological and histological abnormalities of the reproductive and neuroendocrine systems in the early ontogenesis of whitefish with toxic effects typical for the Ob-Irtysh basin will be carried out.
By using molecular genetic and cytological histological methods, the researchers will asess rehabilitation methods for the systems affected by intoxication.