Новости
Rosneft will conduct eight expeditions to study arctic animals
10:10 27 апреля 2020
Категории: News in English

Фото yanao.ru
“Rosneft” launched the program on assessment of stability of arctic ecosystems. The program is based on the study of key animal species in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. In the period up to 2023 the company will conduct 8 expeditions in the Laptev Sea, the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. The scale of the upcoming research will be unprecedented in the history of study of the region. Scientific work in such amounts has not been fulfilled in the Arctic before, as the information policy department of “Rosneft” informs.
The program on preservation of biological diversity for ensuring of safe development of the Arctic provides for marine research, observation of animal species that are indicators of the Arctic ecosystem. It became a continuation of large-scale studies of polar bears, walruses and reindeer performed by “Rosneft” in 2014-2018. According to their results, unique scientific materials about the current state of animals living in the Arctic were collected and systematized.
Leading scientists from the largest Russian research centers will participate in the expeditions: A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and Siberian Federal University. Within the expeditions it is planned to conduct more than 170 hours of aviation research, including with use of unmanned aerial vehicles. The aerial survey will cover the area of more than 500 thousand square kilometers. During more than 200 days of field observations tagging and ringing of more than 100 animals and birds will be conducted, and selection of more than 1 thousand biological samples for next laboratory studies will be taken. The analysis of the received materials will be done in 10 laboratories of the country, including regional ones. It is planned to conduct several thousand tests.
As it should be noted, “Rosneft” has been studying the Arctic since 2012. The company organized and conducted more than 20 complex research expeditions with participation of specialists from “Arctic research center”. Special attention in their program was paid to complex study of the ice environment, including physical and mechanical properties of flat ice, hummocks, icebergs and producing glaciers. They worked out components of the system for control of ice conditions, such as towing of icebergs with help of a rope and a special net. A separate set of tasks is related to detection of icebergs in various weather conditions with use of technical means, including unmanned aerial vehicles.
“Rosneft” is a pioneer in development of the Russian shelf. The company holds 55 licenses for areas in waters of the Arctic, Far Eastern and southern seas of Russia. The hydrocarbon resources in these areas are estimated at 41 milliard 500 million tonnes of oil equivalent. As a responsible producer and a participant in the global energy market, “Rosneft” aims at rational development of natural resources and implements large-scale projects in the sphere of oil and gas extraction, modernization of production and oil-refining capacities to reduce the environmental impact and to produce modern eco-friendly fuels.