ARKHANGELSK, May 26. /TASS/. The first comprehensive expedition, dubbed North - Territory of Discoveries, along the Sotka canyon-type river in the Arkhangelsk Region's Pinezhsky Nature Reserve started from Arkhangelsk. Specialists of the Russian Arctic National Park, experts from research centers in Arkhangelsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg and the Yaroslavl Region, as well as cosmonaut, Hero of Russia Ivan Vagner, are taking part in it, a TASS correspondent reports.

The official start was given at the Sokolov Sports School, where the cosmonaut met with young kayaking athletes. The expedition will be on non-motorized watercraft - kayaks. Vagner is experienced in rafting along rivers, including in the Arkhangelsk Region. "I've been studying rivers, and I enjoy experiencing new rivers, interesting ones. I know the most difficult rivers in the Arkhangelsk Region, and this river is not difficult, but it is very beautiful there. It is most important to draw attention to our region, to the nature reserve, to the national park," he told TASS.

The expedition unites 30 participants. The route will run across the reserve, thus camp sites will be organized with fire precautions and in compliance with other environmental legislation requirements. The river's 40 km run through the specially protected natural area. The Sotka is the only canyon-type river in the Arkhangelsk Region. It has a pronounced seasonal water regime, and hydrologists will study it. "Our task is to assess ecological conditions of the river and surrounding areas, maybe to identify some pollutants, if any. Research in such protected areas makes a great contribution to the general awareness and to monitoring of natural sites. We'll sample water, soil, vegetation, and sediments, and we'll take a series of water measurements: turbidity, depth, and velocity," senior researcher at the Hydrology Laboratory of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Institute of Geography Maria Sidorova said, adding specialists would use obtained data to develop a program of more in-depth research.

The team will visit karst caves along the river together with speleologists from the St. Petersburg branch of the Sergeev Institute of Geoecology; and specialists of the Federal Research Center for Integrated Arctic Studies will measure levels of radon inside the caves. Other expedition participants represent the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Papanin Institute of Biology of Inland Waters (the Russian Academy of Sciences), and the Scientific Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography.

"This is the beginning of our systematic scientific work, we will continue expeditions. We have planned at least two more expeditions along the Sotka River alone. We want to see the river at different times, search for scientifically sound monitoring sites where we can work according to the program that we have put together with academic institutions. The work's peculiarity is that scientists and researchers can see places that are inaccessible to others, since it is a nature reserve and activities there may be either during inspections or as part of research expeditions," the Russian Arctic National Park's Director Alexander Kirilov told TASS.

The expedition will finish on May 29.

About the nature reserve

The Pinezhsky State Nature Reserve is the only nature reserve in the Arkhangelsk Region. It was established in 1974 to study and preserve in natural state the typical North taiga and unique karst landscapes of the White Sea - Kuloy Plateau. The plateau is known for its karst landforms. There are about 90 caves in the reserve and its protected area. The caves' total length is more than 45 km. Since 2025, the plateau has been managed by the National Park.