TASS, August 10. A group of scientists, participating in the Great Norilsk Expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch, took samples of water, soil and sediments at the confluence of the Rivers Pyasina and Tareya some 450 km from Norilsk, the expedition’s press service told TASS.

“We have taken samples at the river confluence area, as in our tests one of the rivers would be a background source, and the other – a contaminated source,” the press service quoted the expedition’s leader Nikolai Yurkevich as saying. “One of the locations was the confluence of the Pyasina and the Tareya. The complex of samples remains as it is: water, soil, sediment, herbarium, biodiversity.”

Next to every location, where scientists collected soil samples, they took samples of plants, which later on will be dried and powdered for further laboratory tests. The sampling process is very thorough – the experts have to collect samples most accurately, making sure they are free from any impurities. Scientists register what they see, take pictures of the area, put down GPS data. It takes the group more than one hour to take samples at one location.

About expedition to Taimyr

The Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences for the first time in recent years heads for the Taimyr Peninsula at the invitation of Nornickel. The big scientific expedition will study the peninsula and later on scientists will present suggestions for industrial companies, working in the Arctic, on how to preserve the nature.

The expedition’s key points will be watersheds of the Rivers Pyasina, Norilka and Ambarnoye, and Lake Pyasino. The expedition will work for five months – from July to November. It will feature experts from 14 research institutes of the Academy of Sciences’ Siberian Branch. The experts will analyze large-scale changes in the region.