July 29 – 31. The expedition begins

On July 29, the Terrestrial Ecosystems mobile field research unit arrived at the CHPP-3 in Norilsk and commenced its research activities.

The start of this large-scale and truly essential work doesn’t seem grandiose at all. Folks in hiking outfits carrying bags, backpacks, capsules, sacks and sachets of all sorts are busy getting acquainted with each other, examining the CHPP-3 perimeter, taking first samples and mapping out their further route.

Perhaps, it seems like they’ve been working and hanging out together for ages, given the enormously friendly the atmosphere of the expedition.

Terrestrial Ecosystems unit is made up of specialists from the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry, the Oil and Gas Research Institute, the Central Siberian Botanical Garden, the Institute of Chemistry and Chemical Technology, the Oil and Chemistry Institute and the Institute of Petroleum-Gas Geology and Geophysics.

These experts are tasked with conducting hydrochemical and hydrobiological research. They are to do their job along the Bezymyanny brook, which flows into the Daldykan River, as well as along Ambarnaya and Pyasina rivers, the Daldykan river itself, and at the Lake Pyasino. In order to fulfill their task, they are to walk, drive and fly all along this route while taking dozens of water and soil samples and collecting biological materials of all sorts in process before the onset of winter.

Here’s how the scientists live during the expedition. Photo

Today is the first day of the expedition. The scientists are in no mood to waste time on figuring each other out though. Instead, they get right down to work.

Meanwhile, expedition leader Nikolai Yurkevich and I were taking a ride in the TREKOL amphibian rover to where the Bezymyanny brook and the Daldykan River converge. Yurkevich decided to explore the route of the expedition beforehand, so that to be sure it is passable by foot without too much risk of getting bogged down in any swamp. One should treat the wilderness of the North with much care and respect in order to avoid some nasty surprises, you know.

However, the natural beauty around us – that’s what matters right now! The mountains, the brook, the tundra, and the birds chirping…

The next day, the expedition advanced along the Bezymyanny brook to where it merges with the Daldykan River, just as planned. The team of scientist continued taking samples. They worked in small groups, keeping each other in sight. Taking samples sounds like a piece of cake, but in fact it requires a broad understanding of science and a solid knowledge of related state regulatory standards, as well as a great deal of attention, endurance, orientation and path-finding skills.

We had lunch right “in the field” in order not to waste our time travelling there and back to canteen. The day turned out to be quite a productive one with more than a kilometer-long strip of land along the Daldykan River thoroughly explored.

July 31. Today, samples were being taken where the Ambarnaya and Daldykan rivers meet and its vicinity nearby. The samples taken near the Ambarnaya River will be exemplary for describing those of the local ecosystems which were not subject to industrial pollution.

We were left with no other options but to walk several kilometers to the site and back, since the TREKOL couldn’t even get there. All in all, we’ve covered ten kilometers or so today.

August 1 – 2. First "airborne landing" in the wilderness

On August 1, the first “airborne landing” in the wilderness took place under the Great Norilsk Expedition. Five scientists arrived by helicopter right where the Pyasina and the Tareya rivers merge, 450 km from Norilsk.

The Tareya River flows through the wilderness. Thus, water, soil, bed sediment and plant samples taken here, as well as the related biodiversity assessment will serve as a “background” for similar sampling at the Pyasina River, which has been subject to human impact. The expedition team had used the same method at the point where the Daldykan and the Ambarnaya rivers come together the day before. Here they explored the background site upstream the Ambarnaya River and took samples at the Daldykan River.

Today, the research team set up camp in the tundra. A spacious three-sectional “public” tent stands right at the center of the camp. Here’s where the kitchen has been set with individual sleeping places everywhere around.

Sample collecting begins later on and is going to continue until late at night. Particular care is required when taking soil samples, since they mustn’t be spoiled by contaminants or impurities, such as metals, so that maximum research accuracy can be sustained later on. The scientists therefore work with wooden or plastic instruments. If there is no chance but to dig with a steel shovel, then the surface of the pit is nevertheless cleaned with wood or plastic. Repellent – that’s the most annoying thing - frightens blood-sucking insects off but distorts the data as well.  

Plant specimens are gathered at each and every soil sampling location. It is important that all the plants be of one species: the plants will be dried and then ground into fine powder for further study..

Water samples needed for microbiological testing are being collected with sterile syringes and placed in special containers, so that all the micro-organisms could be transported safely to stationary urban laboratories at specialized research institutes.

Each of the complex sampling sites should be photographed and backed up with related description and information on its exact location. It usually takes more than an hour to complete all the procedures at each of the sites.

By August 2, the scientists had completed their fieldwork. They called for a helicopter by satellite phone and then dismantled their camp. The reliable northern transport delivered them to Norilsk in two and a half hours.

Scientists and their transportation means. Photo

August 3 – 4. Examining CHPP-3

On August 3, the geophysicists were surveying the CHPP-3’s storage tanks in Norilsk.

Work on dismantling tank No.5, where the fuel leak took place is underway. Meanwhile, the scientists are carrying out research efforts near the other tanks. They must answer the question as to whether continued operation of these containers is possible, and whether they are strong enough or reliable enough. A seismoacoustic receiver helps in picturing the frequency response of a tank. This piece of data may, in turn, be used for detecting and locating loose structural parts, rust and any possible erosion of a tank wall.

It looks like this: first a sensor with a magnetic holder is fastened to the tank wall in order to transmit information on the acoustic noise to a recorder within a five-minute interval. Then they relocate the sensor not further than three meters from its previous position. After six hours, the results of one tank are in: it’s now clear that tank No.2 is fit for further use.

The area in between the reservoirs undergoes ground-penetrating radar testing. This is essential for assessing the condition of the concrete raft’s foundation base at a depth of up to three meters. Based on the results, a three-dimensional model will be built depicting the soil characteristics and freezing patterns.

The Great Norilsk Expedition is now joined by team of aquatic biologist. Nine experts from five research institutes will assess the ecological condition of the Norilo-Pyasinskaya water system from the oil spill area near the CHPP-3 and further along the Bezymyanny brook, the Daldykan and the Ambarnaya Rivers, and down Lake Pyasino itself. Within 12 days of fieldwork, they will survey 13 control sampling sites.

On the first day, the aquatic geologists examined the site near the CHPP-3 where the oil spill had occurred, as well as the Bezymyanny brook and the Daldykan River. They were tasked with sampling water and bed sediment for small organisms (that is, the forage base for fish) and conducting on-site geochemical analysis of the water. For this, they are equipped with a complex multi-parameter probe. The device is capable of measuring the environment’s acidity, checking the water for chlorophyll, blue-green algae, oxygen concentration and some other indicators. Once immersed in water, it starts recording the sensor readings every two seconds.

Permafrostologists commenced their work on August 4. Their mission is to map and explore a permafrost area of up to 50 square kilometers in size and provide an outlook on the fate of the situation.

August 5. Permafrost exploration

On August 5, the permafrostologists were busy surveying the CHPP-3’s fuel storage premises in Norilsk. Thermal sensors were planted into six 5-15 meter-deep boreholes and the temperature was measured inside one of these (-3°C).

Why not measure it in all of them at once, one might probably ask. The sensors that are lowered into the well, surrounded by a layer of waterproofing, in this case must cool down to the temperature of the surrounding soil, and this takes at least two hours. The sensors in the upper sections of the boreholes are spaced half a meter apart, whereas those in the lower sections are spaced a meter apart. By placing them in such a pattern, not only do the scientists seek to figure out the static “picture of temperature” within the permafrost layers, but also explore its dynamics through continuous simultaneous week-long temperature monitoring in several boreholes.

Thermometry is just one of the many aspects to the survey. Drilling works made it possible to investigate, in particular, the composition of the rock, to determine the presence of ice there. According to the scientists, it is still too early to comment on the nature of the permafrost in the subject area since the efforts at Norilsk’s CHPP-3 have just started.

August 6. Aquatic biologists have reached the Ambarnaya River

By August 6, aquatic biologist had already surveyed the Norilo-Pyasinskaya water system from the CHPP-3 area and further down the convergence of the Daldykan and the Ambarnaya rivers. At five control points, the scientists took four types of samples: bacterial, phytoplankton, zooplankton from water, and zoobenthos from bottom sediments.

Having spent the daytime in the field (or more precisely, on the water), the aquatic biologists proceed to the second shift. They have to ensure that the samples remain intact. The organisms in them must be kept safe and sound and in their original density proportions. Armed with tweezers, the scientists work late into the night weeding out macro-organisms, which include all sorts of maggots and worms, and filter out the smaller ones like phytoplankton and algae, using a special filter.

The materials obtained during the fieldwork will later be analyzed not only by aquatic biologists, but by other scientists as well. This will allow for assessing the biomass characteristics, the species composition and some other parameters of the subject ecosystem.

August 7 – 10. Airlift to the Kara Sea coast

This weekend, the scientists had to work by the Kara Sea, 500 kilometers away from Norilsk.

On Friday, August 7, a Mi-8 helicopter flew a team of six to Vhodnoy Cape, where the Pyasina River flows into the sea. This is a completely unpopulated area with a nearby fishing base that was abandoned long ago being the only trace of any human presence. However, now a banner depicting the symbols of the Great Norilsk Expedition is decked out on its wooden wall.

The scientists took soil, water and plant samples from several sites along the Pyasina River bank. They had shovels, spades, garden pruners and sterile syringes for sampling, as well as sat-nav devices and cameras in their toolkit. 

The explorers hope that the materials they’ve collected here would be helpful in distinguishing industrial pollution from natural geochemical surges. The inferred conservation status

of the local ecosystem was highly assessed by the scientists, since those from the Siberian Branch of the RAS were drinking river water without any qualms whatsoever.

Living and working conditions at such far-flung places are well-organized. The expedition team members live in tents, with one of these serving as a field-kitchen. Sometimes a day’s catch from a nearby river may be added to the usual backpack menu (composed of canned meat, coffee and whatnot), but not this time, since the explorers are now working at the Pyasina Delta site of the Arctic National Park, where hunting and fishing are strictly prohibited.

It seems like park rangers were not the only ones monitoring compliance with these rules. The scientists encountered a seal just 1.5 km away from the camp. At first, it had dived into the water, but it didn’t swim away and got back to the shore and continued “keeping an eye on the situation” instead.

The scientists were held up at the Vhodnoy Cape due to weather that was not fit for flying. They used this time to collect more samples. On Monday, the helicopter transported the team back to Norilsk.

August 11 – 12. Aquatic biologists and the Terrestrial Ecosystems research unit wrap up their fieldwork

On August 11, practically the entire Terrestrial Ecosystems unit of the Great Norilsk Expedition was airlifted by helicopter to the final location on the route near the source of the Pyasina River flowing from Lake Pyasino.

The unit’s task was to collect soil, water, bed silt and plant samples at two sampling sites.The scientists arrived at the site, laid out a camp, had a quick snack and set to work. 

This area is somewhat peculiar, since unlike the other locations, there are no anthropogenically unimpacted background water bodies flowing into the subject river here. It, nevertheless, needs to be surveyed and explored, so that a comprehensive picture of the ecological state of the Norilo-Pyasinskaya water system, stretching from Norilsk to the Kara Sea, could be outlined.

Scientists from the Siberian Branch of the RAS collect samples for dozens of various studies, with each of them requiring some peculiar sample preparation techniques. For instance, bed sediment samples must be taken at sites where the currents aren’t too strong, or otherwise the current could wash away the most of the materials or even leave little or no materials to be tested. 

According to Senior Staff Scientist from the Institute of Petroleum-Gas Geology and Geophysics of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, PhD in Geology and Mineralogy, Alexei Yedelev, water sampling is only possible at sites devoid of objects that are likely to distort the results (i.e. rusty ships, flooded tree trunks, etc.). Throughout the whole expeditionary route, the explorers pick sites where all sorts and types of samples needed could be taken simultaneously and within close range to each other. This will make it possible to compare the soil, water and bed sediment testing results and come up with a comprehensive dimensional picture of the changes later on.

Water samples can be roughly divided into the following three groups: ones that do not need to be filtered (suitable just for chemical analysis); ones that need to be filtered to remove all suspended particles in the water (such samples are used, say, in microelement testing); and ones intended for microbiological testing (which are collected with sterile syringes and put into prepared sterile containers filled with a nutrition medium that provides for the growth of hydrocarbon-oxidizing and ammonifying bacteria).

Sampling coordinates are to be recorded for each sample, these being backed up by field diaries and sampling reports containing detailed descriptions of the river banks, the river bed and other surrounding features, along with photos, Yedelev explained. This detailed information may turn out to be vital for future analysis, as it may shed light on whether some specific parameters depend on the water flow from Norilsk to the sea or local conditions.

Using a hand-held device, the explorers conduct on-site temperature checks, electrical conductivity, pH measuring, and check the redox potential of water in the very layer from which the samples were extracted.

Soil samples are being taken from four successive layers, each of them 5-cm deep, starting from the surface. Each sample weighs 200 grams.  

Having all the work done and completed the field research program, the members of the Terrestrial Ecosystem research unit were able to find time to do a bit of fishing. A small catch of northern pike was just enough for cooking up some fish soup in the evening.

In one way or another, all the scientists participating in the expedition are sentimentalists and experienced hikers. All of them are skilled outdoorsmen, good at reading weather patterns and handle their hiking equipment deftly. At night they sit by the fire and talk, sometimes discussing work issues, sometimes just chatting. The tradition of singing hiking songs is still alive. Alas, no one had brought a guitar here, but a capella singing sounds great too.

The group of aquatic biologists finished collecting samples on the same day. Their double shift began at 7 a.m. It was the KS-110 boat that took them to the last five sampling sites on Lake Pyasina. All in all, they travelled 220 km in 14 hours. The explorers landed ashore twice to do some measuring, having carried out the rest of the sampling at a depth of 0.5-0.7 meters and 7-8 meters while on board.  

August 12 saw both exploration teams finalizing their sampling activities. All in all, more than 30 sampling sites were explored and over 1 500 samples weighing a total of 300 kilograms were collected by the Terrestrial Ecosystem research unit and the group of aquatic biologists.

The Terrestrial Ecosystems unit covered a route of more than 1,000 kilometers from the Nadezhdinsky (or Bezymyanny) brook down to the mouth of the Pyasina River at the Kara Sea coast. During the expedition, aquatic biologists examined 13 sampling sites on four rivers and a lake. At each location, the expedition members took samples of water, bottom sediments and the upper layer of bottom sediments.

I got to talk to a young specialist named Semyon Sivtsev, an engineer from the Laboratory of Geochemistry of Caustobioliths at the Oil and Gas Research Institute RAS. He is a Ph.D. student, and this is his first expedition. He is glad to get to know the scientists, to see the new places, and gather some material for his research work.

As he said, sampling is not a complicated process, but it is absolutely essential to precisely follow the set standards. They have taken more samples than they need, so they will have enough material for research for sure. All in all, he has collected about 50-60 kilos of material. When I ask him about the difficulties he has at work, he laughs – what can be difficult here? Even though his colleagues have helped him to get out of the swampy river bank (you can’t even take a step in about 5 – 10 seconds in such runny mud as this) on two occasions, it was rather funny than difficult.

Senior Staff Scientist from the Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, PhD in Biological Sciences, Igor Mahatkov was responsible for mapmaking. Using the laptop as his main tool, he gathered and organized the information about who did what, where and what for. Also, he helped with sampling and work coordinating, when needed.

From his experience, the main troubles during an expedition may either come from bad weather or surface because of disputes within the group. Yet, that’s not the case for the Great Norilsk Expedition. Makhatkov told me that a good, close-knit team had come together for the Big Norilsk Expedition, where "everyone worked for everyone".

August 13. Soil and permafrost research

Today, experts in soil and permafrost continue their research work at the CHPP-3 vicinity. Two geocryologists were busy measuring borehole temperatures and the thermophysical properties of the soil. Meanwhile, Denis Sokolov, a soil scientist, was making soil cross sections near the Bezymyanny Brook.

As Sergey Serikov, who heads the Igarka Geocryological Laboratory (the structural unit of the Permafrost Institute of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences) told me, today’s scheduled thermophysical soil testing is going to be carried out at the behest of his colleagues from the institute. The subsequent data will be used in temperature field analysis.

These measurements are specific in nature in the sense that they cover two horizontal layers at once. The filled soil on the surface is first, and then the underlying layer formed by a natural green cover remains. The said layers differ in their heat conductivity and heat capacity, which, in turn affects how and where the thawed and permafrost areas are formed.

The scientists have already done a great deal of work and measured the temperature of more than 30 boreholes. Most of them were drilled by other organizations, but the permafrost experts were allowed to carry out their testing there. Three boreholes were drilled specifically for this group of explorers to conduct measurements in them. According to Serikov, the permafrost gurus are almost finished with their activities here, with just two to three days of work left.

The measurement results, visual landscape observations, satellite images and other data will be examined and analyzed (even through the use of mathematical methods) in order to draw a comprehensive picture of the permafrost situation in the area. The most important thing is to examine the material and to figure out why the temperature curve looks specifically this way, and what does it actually show.

The fieldwork toolkit that belongs to the permafrost specialists includes a probe to verify depth, high-sensitivity temperature sensors capable of detecting a 0.1 degree Celsius change in temperature and a special device for determining thermophysical properties of materials. “And of course our experience, which is our main tool,” Serikov added.

The scientists must be fully knowledgeable of the physical processes they are examining and have good spatial awareness skills as well, the lab chief believes. “Knowing the geological, glaciological and cryological history of this area, I can imagine what it all looked like in the past and how it was formed into what we see now,” he said.

As for Denis Sokolov, he had a lot of digging to do today. He managed to dig three comparatively deep boreholes, or cross sections, as soil scientists call them. The scientific part involved a morphological soil description (i.e. visual evaluation of the soil type, humidity and structure).

August 14 – 16. Meeting new faces and proceeding with working routine

On August 14, members of the Great Norilsk Expedition met with the head of the Norilsk Industrial Institute and the staff members from the Federal State Budgetary Institution “United Directorate of Reserve of Taimyr”. During the said events, the scientists shared their impressions of the work, divulged some early results and deliberated over the region’s general environmental situation with their colleagues, while outlining their further plans.

The next day, a team of zoologists embarked on their activities on the Taimyr Peninsula within the framework of the Great Norilsk Expedition. This team is led by the Head of the Laboratory of Technogenic Forest Ecosystems of the V.N. Sukachev Forest Institute at the RAS’ Siberian Branch, Alexander Shishikin, Doctor of Biological Sciences.

The zoologists will investigate rodents and estimate birds’ population density at the key locations along the expedition route. They will use Gero traps to catch rodents. These traps appear similar to common mousetraps. Inshell pine nuts soaked in crude camelina oil (extracted from Camelina sativa seeds) serve as bait.     

The zoologists have set 200 traps: 40 at each of the five scheduled locations. First and foremost, the specialists are interested in shrews, as this species has a very broad diet. The area subject to research is mostly inhabited by two species of shrews - namely, common shrews and tundra shrews. Weighing just about 8 grams, these small rodents live short (year or year-and-a-half-long) but quite intense lives, the scientists say.

The rodents are being caught for background sampling at a site about 80 kilometers west of Norilsk not subject to human impact. This area lies close to Boganidskoye Lake and the mouth of the Bolgohtoh River.

Two rows of 20 traps at a distance of 10 meters apart were set up here, in a dense untrodden forest. In order to do this, the scientists had to wade through dead wood and bushes. Another field of traps was placed in blueberry and cowberry patches nearby.

The third field of traps was set near Kayerkan (that is, one of the Norilsk districts, 20 km west from the centre of the city), and the fourth one – across the road from the Nadezhdinsky Steel Works (about 10 km away from the city centre).

Speaking of the Terrestrial Ecosystems unit which completed its work recently, there are some plants to be sent to 14 “mainland” institutes for further examination among other samples collected by its experts.

About 200 plant samples were included into the herbarium at the close of the unit’s expedition. The bank of the Pyasina River flowing from Lake Pyasino was one of the last sampling sites. According to Doctor of Biological Sciences, Mikhail Telyatnikov, from the Central Siberian Botanical Garden of the Siberian Branch of the RAS and a botanist with 40 years of experience, only 5 to 10 vegetation species may be found at the river head, which is quite typical of such places. Swampy grassland near the river source is home to lime grass, while sedge and flowers usually grow further downstream.

The Pyasina is a river with clean turquoise water and abundant game fish stock including whitefish, muksun, broad whitefish and pike. Its banks are covered with buttercups, chamomiles, forget-me-nots and other plants commonly found in central Russia, whereas the bottomlands host about 100 plant species.

When running across some familiar plants, botanists herbarize their twigs and leaves only, but may dig an entire plant out if there are some doubts about its species membership. Sometimes several samples of the same plant may be herbarized, should it turn out to be of particular scientific interest.

August 17 – 19. Base camp at the Ambarnaya River

On August 17, six scientists belonging to various units within the Great Norilsk Expedition were flown by helicopter to the base camp on the Ambarnaya River where it merges with Lake Pyasino.

By August 19, they were through with soil and phytomass sampling at seven sampling sites located within a radius of three kilometers. Being the representatives of the field-specific institutes of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, Denis Sokolov and Igor Mahatkov were also to take bottom sediment and water samples for their colleagues who had already finished their fieldwork and are currently getting prepared to proceed with their laboratory examinations at various research institutes in Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk. The scientist will send soil samples to five institutes, phytomass samples to another three and bottom sediment and water samples to four research institutes.

The area where the Ambarnaya Rivers flows into Lake Pyasino has also been researched by zoologists. They managed to explore three biotopes in detail in 48 hours, having set 50 traps for small mammals in each of the said biotopes. 

The experts caught five grey voles that feed on grass. Such a low vole population density is not unique for this environment. The experts note that these rodents have been found in low numbers here for years, as the monitoring shows. Zoologists determine the approximate age of the rodents by the degree of their teeth grinding.

The researchers were also joined by a team of geochronologists who took soil samples for further geochemical analysis and conducted core drilling in two places in order to obtain a soil profile.  

Researchers’ work tools

Mikhail Telyatnikov, a Doctor of Biological Sciences at the Central Siberian Botanical Garden of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, was in charge of the botanical research. He reported that in little more than two days he was able to complete 20 phytocenosis descriptions, that is, the descriptions of plant communities which are relatively homogeneous in terms of their species composition. Some of the descriptions were made for background sites and some for those that were subject to human impact. In general, the botanists on this expedition have tasked with identifying local vegetation and plant communities in their full diversity.

Each description requires the selection of a 10x10-meter area, he noted. First, the related coordinates, terrain features and soil types are determined. Then the plant community is to be named, its species composition described and its projective cover - that is, the horizontal projection area of vegetation on the ground – is to be estimated. It is also important to write down, whether the area subject to description is wet or dry. Some additional nuances concerning any plant community may be highlighted as well. Each description of such sort presupposes collecting samples of all the plant species found in the area subject to exploration, so that the species composition could be checked against the resulting herbarium later on if necessary.

Local plant communities are not that diverse and mostly comprise 10 species or even less, the botanist explained. That’s why it takes less time to describe them than those growing in lower latitudes. Each description fits on half a page in a notebook. Later on, all the descriptions will be added to the scientist’s database. After publication, this data will be sent to the open international database.

Telyatnikov boasts almost 40 years of fieldwork research experience. While going into detail regarding working conditions in this natural area, he mentioned that thanks to the permafrost, one rarely needs to wear waders here: one would be ok with just regular boots, albeit one or two sizes big, so that warm socks could fit in. By the way, he shared a good lifehack for drying boots that he himself had learned from deer-breeders: if you put the boots on their side, bootlegs to the wind, they will get dried off and ready-to-wear in just 20 minutes. Standing boots will never get dried off that quickly.

The scientist told me of one of the most memorable episodes in his long expeditionary career, when he had encountered a bear. It happened in the winter of 1984. At that time, he was a very young man exploring deer pastures in Tuva. Once he followed a bear trail by mistake, but he was lucky enough to be accompanied by a more experienced colleague, who managed to stop him just in time. A bit further down the trail there stood not what he thought was a “reddish-brown stump”, but a bear. The beast stood up on its hind legs and started growling. In such a situation, anyone’s natural urge would be to run away. “Don’t you even think of running away! Look it in the eye, but don’t run away, or it will tear you apart,” Telyatnikov’s companion ordered. The two men froze, and the bear ran off.

August 20 – 22. Zoology and geology

On August 20 – 21 scientists embarked on studying the mouth of the Daldykan River.

A team of zoologists led by Alexander Shishikin, who heads the Laboratory of Technogenic Forest Ecosystems at the Sukachev Forest Institute of the Siberian Branch of the RAS, worked here together with Bagai-ool Saryg-ool, a geologist and staff scientist from the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy of the Siberian Branch of the RAS.

The zoologists explored two sites: one of these being situated in the area unaffected by the diesel fuel spill (and thus considered as a background site) and another one - in the presumably contaminated zone.

All in all, 100 Gero traps were set up here, 50 at each of the said sites. When setting the traps, the specialists followed the same pattern in order to get comparable results.

As Shishikin told me, this was the first time in almost a week that the zoologists saw a merlin here. This small hawk is also called a lesser kestrel or a pigeon hawk. The researcher explained that coming across this bird may indicate the presence of rodents here, albeit not quite a reliable one. Two buzzards were also spotted the same week, these being typical birds that prey on mice as well.  

The fact that mice-hunting birds are rare indicates that the population of rodents in the area is quite low, which is confirmed by the trapping results. Zoologists have been monitoring this area since 2002. As a rule, hundreds of mouse-like species were caught in their traps, yet this year only a few were. However, there were years during the period of observation when the population of rodents here had been as low as this year. Upon their return to Kransoyarsk, the researchers will check the currently obtained data against those collected by previous similar expeditions for comparative study, Shishikin explained.

Geologist Saryg-ool was tasked with two types of activities. He took both surface soil samples for chemical testing and core samples (that is, deeper cores indicating the sedimentation rates over the past decades since the start of the Norilsk Region’s industrial development).

Sergei Krivonogov, who leads the zoology unit, managed to adjust the sampling tool for cutting vertical sediment columns precisely for the purposes of this expedition, making its construction lighter. The device is now specially designed for taking soil samples. It is basically a 5-cm-wide tube equipped with a vacuum suction cylinder. The tube is being hammered into the ground, and then a column is extracted from it with the vacuum suction tool. The removed column is then sealed in the tube and sent to the lab for further examination. It is important to store these samples vertically, just like they were removed from the soil, so that they remain unchanged and the soil fragments do not mix. 

Meanwhile, the main group of geologists was working at Lake Melkoye, 25 kilometers east of Norilsk. On August 19 - 21, the researchers extracted five columns: four roughly meter-long ones and almost a four-meter-long one. Lake Melkoye was selected as a background site for assessing the decades-long industrial impact on the surrounding environment. In order to get high-quality samples of bottom sediments, it is important that there are no waves on the water.

On August 22, geologists were exploring the area along the Norilsk-Alykel highway. They took more than 20 samples while moving from Lake Nizhny Bolgohtah to Kayerkan. The same day, geologists were also busy getting ready for their upcoming work at Lake Pyasino.

August 23-25. The geochronologist team suffers a temporary setback

The fieldwork phase of the Great Norilsk Expedition is nearing completion. Beautiful weather has been shining upon the Norilsk industrial area. Daytime temperatures have not dropped below 14-15 degrees Celsius with practically no rain or wind. You’d think, the scientists and I had seen it all already, but we found ourselves on an adventure when we least expected it.  

At 8:30 a.m., three members of the geochronologist team drove to the pier on the Norilskaya River, where they boarded a KS-100 motor boat and travelled downstream reaching the mouth of the river closer to Lake Pyasino. Today’s mission was to collect bottom sediment samples in the southern part of the lake. The planned scope of work is similar to that already accomplished at Lake Melkoye: the team of three is to extract four meter-long columns and a four-meter long one.

We travelled downstream as close to Lake Pyasino as we could, and we moored by the shore of the river. Had we proceeded any further, we would have been in danger of running aground.

The researchers started assembling a pontoon and a bottom sediment drilling machine. It took them about 5 hours (with some minor “tea” breaks) to get this job done.

It was all done and ready by nightfall. The group was to start moving into the scheduled fieldwork area at 7 o’clock in the morning. Sergei Krivonogov, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences from the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy of the Siberian Branch of the RAS who leads the group of geochronologists, agreed to take me with them tomorrow.

Upon wrapping up all this work, some of us went for a swim in the river. Then we had supper with a fantastic sunset for dessert.

The weather was so calm and wonderful that we were looking forward to the next day of fieldwork, hoping (in vain, as it turned out later) to get back to Norilsk a bit sooner than expected.

We got up at 6 o’clock in the morning, had breakfast and got ready to go. We fastened the pontoon with the drilling “pyramid” on it to the left side of our inflatable motorboat and set sail from the river bank.

Onboard drilling is impossible when high winds and large waves are prevalent. The weather was perfect the day before, but it had deteriorated overnight. The sun hid behind the clouds and the wind began picking up strength. And that’s just on land, not to mention along open waters. Still, the weather conditions were more or less tolerable for us to stick to our initial work plan.

The first sampling point was situated 10 km away from our camp. We were almost there, when an increasingly powerful wind started twisting the boat around, and, at the same time, the current was sweeping it farther and farther away from our destination point. It soon became clear that no drilling would be possible for the next few hours.

We were now trying to get closer to our camp somehow, but the pontoon’s side lashing our boat was tied to began falling off as the fastening screws were loosening. Sergei Krivonogov, who was in the boat, managed to grab the pontoon with two other geologists and me on board.

We decided to leave the pontoon at the nearest sandbar. The geologists – all three of them – were fixing the side lashing whilst I was busy taking photos of them at work and captivating northern views as well. 

After completing the repairs, we tried to return to our camp by boat, but to no avail, as the wind didn’t let us do so. It was then decided to get as close to the nearest lakeside as possible and get back to our camp by land. 

The boat moved at full speed, or otherwise the wind would drag it in the opposite direction. High waves were smashing against the boat’s bow and splashing water all over us and soon we all were soaking wet.

When the boat’s motor began striking the bottom about a kilometer off the shore, the only crewman who was wearing waders jumped off the boat and started dragging the vessel further ashore. He was having a hard time with his waders getting bogged down in the bottom sediment time and again. Finally, we were left with no choice but to take our boots off and proceed to the shore on foot. Even when we managed to get out of the water, we were still lumbering knee deep through the swampy mud. At last, when we made it to firm ground, we had mud “stocking” plastered all over our feet and legs.

At this point, our clothes were almost dry again, thanks to the wind. We wiped our feet with grass and started making our way along the shore towards the camp. We had an 18 kilometer-long route ahead of us, so it promised to be quite a walk. We left our boat by the water in order to retrieve it later, once the wind died down. By five o’clock in the evening, we had finally made it to the camp.

The water level had ebbed considerably, so we had to leave before our motor boat would run aground. We moved upstream towards Norilsk and camped in the vicinity of the Talnakh district.

Despite the fact that the scientists were unable to complete their planned work and collect bottom sediment samples, they, nevertheless, got to know Lake Pyasino “in person”. A thorough knowledge of this body of water may turn out to be helpful for further exploration efforts.   

On the morning of August 25, the sky above Lake Pyasino, where the boat and the pontoon were left the day before became impenetrably overcast with stone grey clouds containing a deep purple tint. We weren’t able to get back there, so what were we going to do? Having checked the weather report, the researchers chose to wait out the storm. In the evening, they managed to reach the previous day’s evacuation site by boat, retrieve all the valuable equipment and get back to Norilsk with it.

What lies ahead is the exploration of three sampling sites: the southern (and still unsubdued) and the northern parts of the Pyasino Lake, and the Ambarnaya River mouth alongside the base camp.

Onboard drilling is always a complex undertaking that is sometimes very difficult to plan. In order to make all the related preparations at some specific site, like, say, the Pyasino Lake, one should take several factors into consideration (i.e. weather forecasts, wind force, water level, currents and fairway-axis).

According to Sergei Krivonogov, it is not that easy to explore a lake like this. “For starters, we knew practically nothing about it, since we had no plans for exploring it before. We had collected the available pieces of information about it. Not too much, in fact. Clearly, this lake which is 100 kilometers long and up to 10 kilometers wide can’t be a piece of cake. We managed to get some clues about its bathymetry - that is, about its depth map – from the satellite images we had at our disposal… The lake dries up a bit periodically in the late summer, and we managed to find satellite images showing that it consists of three relatively deep-water basins (the northernmost of these being the deepest one) interlinked by channels, through which the water flows during the “shallow season”. Thus, we were able to outline the drilling sites at the edges of these basins more accurately… As for technical problems, we only faced the wind and waves now…” he explained.

Epilogue

Getting no sleep for 35-40 hours was my usual schedule during the Great Norilsk Expedition. I spent a whole month travelling with the researchers from CHPP-3 to the northernmost part of the Taimyr Peninsula. We were communicating and arguing with each other. I was even able to help them a little bit from time to time, when no special knowledge or skills were required. Therefore, this diary would be incomplete without some sort of a balanced account of the expedition and the city of Norilsk itself.

It goes way back to 1921, when the first residential building was put up in the Old Town here. Members of that geological expedition led by the famous explorer and discoverer Nikolai Nikolayevich Urvantsev were first to settle in it. Urvantsev is a personal hero of mine, along with Georgy Ushakov, Otto Schmidt, Valerian Albanov and other persistent scientists, travelers and pioneers, who expanded the horizons of our knowledge and capabilities. It is thanks to Urvantsev and his many years of research along with his exploration effort that the entire Norilsk industrial area had emerged as a huge nickel and palladium mining and production center (not to mention other metals indispensable in many industrial applications).

It is symbolic that a century later, it was here where an unprecedented scientific expedition took place. Organized in a remarkably short time after the oil spill that occurred on the CHPP-3 premises, the expedition’s goals and interests go far beyond determining the causes and effects of this accident. 

First and foremost, scientists are interested in the global picture: What are the natural concentrations of various chemical substances in local soils and waters? How has the ecological situation been transforming here since the early 20th century? Are there any hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria in the subject area? And, most importantly, how can we help the environment to recover? These questions cannot be answered in a matter of minutes or days. Answering these will take months or even years. That’s why scientists refrain from jumping to conclusions and mostly emphasize the need for constant environmental monitoring of this industrial area. The latter would help in seeing the situation for what it is and provide valuable data for further research.

The expedition has revealed Taimyr in all its beauty to me. I’ve been to the Arctic before. I swam in the Kara Sea, I helped in cleaning up abandoned military bases and weather stations during my years of environmental volunteering. But I’ve never spent that much time at trans-polar freshwater bodies before. These bodies of water form a huge and impressive, albeit very fragile system. Taimyr is one of Russia’s most incredible treasures indeed, and we must take care of it.

The expedition has given me a chance to get acquainted with the city of Norilsk. I want to come back here again and again. The locals seemed very open-hearted, humane and full of life to me. I saw crowds of teenagers and droves of children on the streets and heard their joyous laughter echoing from the yards. I also saw adults filled with openness, kindness, longing and spirituality deep in their eyes. Many of those with whom I talked revealed to me that they love Norilsk despite its heavy industry and despite its remoteness from the “mainland”. These people merit respect, as their magnificent Arctic home deserves a transformation.

This mission has taught me not to form any hasty conclusions and to address dozens of nuances instead. Scientists tend to be callous most of the time when it comes to environmental problems. As seasoned professionals, they prefer analyzing data, figures and facts cool-headedly instead.

For instance, when assessing the level of industrial impact on any environment, one should proceed from the natural environmental background and its initial state. It’s not enough to merely state that hydrocarbons or other chemicals somewhere exceed norms. Someone has to find out why that all happened this way. Scientists try to discover the truth, and not speculate on what’s on the surface, just as good journalists do. Many are dismissive of this point of view. Nonetheless, the researchers’ input becomes more valuable and important by doing their work systematically and in line with all the regulatory state standards and sampling methods. 

The expedition turned out to be a rousing adventure that I will remember for the rest of my life. There were times when I slept two to three hours a day, but I felt potent and eager to work almost all the time. I flew in choppers, drifted about on rafts and boats, trudged through thick mud, getting soaked and covered in gnat bites (I even had my leg ripped open with dry brush once), but getting only positive emotions each and every time. I cherish the belief that the Great Norilsk Expedition would provide a significant boost to the Norilsk industrial area’s transformation and rebirth.

This undertaking has taught me to be part of a team. It’s been a month without a single quarrel between the explorers who were working as one, demonstrating precise and coordinated teamwork. These are not only the executive heads on whom the team’s work results depend, but on each and every team member as well. It’s the only way to find solutions to any problem. 

The expedition has helped me better understand myself and the world we’re living in. I got to know that nature would cope with anything – it just needs a bit of help. I got to know that landscape does not always need to be restored to what it had been before industrial development. Sometimes it may be feasible to transform it in order to make the flora and fauna more viable and variable. I got to know that scientists have solutions ready, but are often not listened to. It is within our power to learn how to pay particular attention to rational arguments supported by patents, scientific publications and years of research.

I believe that scientists will return to Norilsk and continue their work here as eagerly and resolutely, as Nikolai Urvantsev did a hundred years ago. Years of painstaking scientific work will help restore and preserve the Arctic’s natural environment and make the residents of Norilsk happier.