Andrey Rybnikov, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Instrumental and Applied Software at RTU MIREA, announced that artificial intelligence technologies have been used to assess potential threats to the flora and fauna of the Arctic.
According to him, machine vision algorithms help identify pollution zones and create real-time environmental risk maps by analyzing data from satellites and aerial photographs of the Kara and Barents Seas.
Rybnikov also emphasized that there is an actively developing method — predictive ecology. By combining information from satellites, ice buoys, and autonomous sensors, AI is able to model the destruction of coastlines, track ice melt processes, and assess environmental risks. This allows scientists to move from observation to understanding changes in the natural system.
This season, the student expeditionary corps "Arctic Team" plans to use AI to analyze chemical and biological samples and drone images in the protected areas of the White and Barents Seas, as well as to identify sources of pollution.
Rybnikov noted that AI does not replace humans in Arctic ecology, but helps to see what is hidden in the data. Technologies make it possible to move from simple observation to deep understanding and prediction.