The expedition to the North Pole has begun research in the Barents Sea. Scientists from the Arctic Floating University on the ship "Professor Molchanov" are following the route from Northbrook Island to Russkaya Gavan Bay in Novaya Zemlya to take water samples and measure its properties.
In this area, they will stop at fourteen points, where they will lower a special installation with sensors to the bottom. The devices will record temperature, salinity and take water from different depths. More than half of the stations will be "complex": in addition to physical and chemical measurements, analyzes will be carried out for microscopic organisms — phytoplankton and zooplankton.
The purpose of the trip is to understand how Atlantic waters affect the Arctic climate. For the first time, an underwater probe will be tested, which simultaneously measures carbon dioxide in water and in the air, and also determines the depth of the photic layer — the upper layer of the sea, where sunlight still penetrates.
According to the participants, the weather promises to be calm: the wind is weak, the waves are no higher than a meter, although the sky is overcast, light rain is possible. Work on the route will take about a day. In general, "Professor Molchanov" will be at sea until August 1.
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