TOMSK, Aug 26 – RIA Tomsk. Tomsk State University (TSU) won a grant of 150 million rubles from the
Russian Minobrnauki to purchase equipment for the Megafacility, a
network of research stations across Siberia studying climate change; the
purchase will take place over three years, the university's press
service said on Thursday.
Earlier it was reported that TSU
is the coordinator of a scientific consortium to study the Arctic in
the context of climate change and its effects on the shelf and Siberian
rivers. In particular, the issue in question is the release of large
amounts of methane into the atmosphere caused by the degradation of
permafrost. Experts estimate that the consortium will raise at least 100
million rubles a year for interdisciplinary research.
Ice melting, millions needed
"TSU
won a tender from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the
Russian Federation and won a major grant of 150 million rubles. The
funding is intended to equip the unique Megafacility research
infrastructure used by the university to study Siberia and the Arctic", –
the press service said.
According to the press service,
the grant money will be used to purchase state-of-the-art equipment that
will provide the most accurate and detailed data on glacier melting,
volumes of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere and their
transport into the world's oceans. The development of research
infrastructure will allow TSU to strengthen its status of a leader in
the study of Siberia and the Arctic.
"(Siberia and the
Arctic) are now experiencing the most dynamic environmental changes due
to global warming. Melting glaciers, rising greenhouse gas emissions and
a number of other factors have the potential to fundamentally change
the habitual way of life of the population and the socio-economic
situation", – executive director of the Trans-Siberian Scientific Way
Lyudmila Borilo is quoted.
According to her assessment,
the knowledge obtained with the new equipment about the processes taking
place in these areas will be relevant for all mankind.
© сайт Томского государственного университетаResearch equipment at Aktru station
Research in three ecosystems
© РИА Томск. Элеонора Черная
The
TSU press service specifies that the new equipment will make it
possible to build a network of scientific stations located along 3.5
thousand kilometres in the direction from south to north, thus
retrofitting the university's Megafacility.
"For example,
in the floodplain of the Ob River, where TSU with its SecNet partners
intends to establish a carbon polygon, the installation of pulsation
systems to measure greenhouse gases is planned. Availability of such
equipment and equipment of mobile laboratories will open up
possibilities for conducting experiments on measurement of emission and
absorption of greenhouse gases and assess temporal variability of these
flows", – says the report.
According to SecNet coordinator
Olga Shaduiko, the new equipment will improve the accuracy of studies
and obtain more scientific data.
"There are only two such
installations for the whole of Siberia: one of them in Krasnoyarsk Krai
monitors greenhouse gases over forests, the second one is in Yakutia,
where it is involved in the study of permafrost. The appearance of the
third unit, in the Ob floodplain, will be very significant event because
then all the most important ecosystems – permafrost, forest and water
bodies – will be covered by studies", – Shaduiko is quoted.
The
equipment procured with the grant will be deployed not only stationary
at research stations, but also on vehicles, water vehicles and unmanned
aerial vehicles.
"Scientists will have at their disposal
an unmanned helicopter equipped with a lidar – a laser scanner that
"captures" data on the topography of land and glaciers. The availability
of such equipment will enable glaciologists to obtain more information
on the scale and dynamics of glacier melting", – specifies the press
service.
It is planned to purchase the equipment for the
Megafacility over three years. In addition to the use of public funds,
co-financing from TSU and university partners interested in conducting
research at its scientific bases is envisaged. It is worth noting that
the university's research stations are already in stable demand from
Russian and foreign scientists.
© сайт Томского государственного университетаTSU Kajbasovo research station in the Ob floodplain
International interests
It
was previously reported that TSU stations Aktru in the Altai Republic,
Kajbasovo in the Ob floodplain and Khanymei in Yamal are part of a
large-scale European project to study the Arctic INTERACT II. Experts
from Sweden, Norway, Great Britain, the USA and other countries conduct
research there. The same stations are involved in a large European
project on creation of a unified observation system – Arctic Passion.
According
to Borilo, the extremely high interest in the study of Siberia and the
Arctic is due, on the one hand, to the changes that are taking place
here, and on the other hand, to the fact that the vast territory is
still poorly explored.
"There is enormous scope for
scientific discovery here. Of great importance is the fact that the TSU
network of stations makes it possible to conduct research all year
round, while many of our colleagues from other research centers have a
very short field season: they work only in warm months, which greatly
limits research in the northern territories", – she says.
The
press office emphasizes that with the expansion of the Megafacility
infrastructure, the research capabilities of TSU scientists will
seriously increase. This will allow them to implement large-scale
interdisciplinary projects, obtain new data on climate transformation
and the impact of these changes on natural systems and humans.
"At
the same time, the TSU network of research stations will be able to
attract even more Russian and foreign projects, which will not only
increase TSU's visibility globally, but will also bring additional
financial benefits to the university... Tomsk State University was able
to win the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education contest due
to the large scientific potential created earlier", – the report stresses.
In
particular, under the leadership of leading researcher of Pic du Midi
Observatory, TSU scientist Oleg Pokrovsky won a government megagrant and
a major project to study the features of biogeochemical cycles of lakes
and swamps in Siberia and the Arctic was implemented.
In
addition, as previously reported, under the auspices of Tomsk State
University and at the initiative of one of the world's most recognized
experts in Arctic ecology, Professor at University of Sheffield and TSU
Terry Callaghan, an international network for the study of Siberia and
the Arctic – SecNet – was created. It now brings together dozens of
leading research centers in Russia and abroad, specializing in the study
of northern territories.
© сайт Томского государственного университетаGlaciers research at Aktru station