News / Research Highlights / 2nd U.S. - Russia cruise in the East-Siberian Sea on the IVAN KIREEV

The 2nd US-Russian Cruise in the East-Siberian Sea on the vessel the IVAN KIREEV takes place during mid-August, 2004. IARC Researcher Igor Semiletov is participating in this joint venture, as well as visiting IARC researcher Natalia Shakhova. From Fairbanks, they fly to Vladivostok, Russia then north to Tiksi, where the vessel departs for the Laptev and East Siberian Seas (ESS). The researchers will study the transport of fresh water and terrestrial carbon, and collect water samples from various depths at 20 transects, or sites, (see Fig.1) over a period of almost three weeks.

The first joint US-Russian East Siberian Sea cruise took place from September 10-23, 2003 (Click here), and was also funded by U.S. and Russian agencies, including NSF, International Arctic Research Center (IARC), and the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (FEBRAS). Dr. Semiletov noted in last year's summary that "the widest and shallowest continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean lies beneath the East- Siberian Sea (ESS)", and that this largely unexplored region "provides an excellent natural laboratory for improving understanding of the interactions across the atmosphere-land-ocean systems"

On this year's cruise, the researchers will continue to study the interconnection of the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, and the effects of freshwater from estuaries of the Lena, Kolyma and Indigirka Rivers north to the ice edge. These effects include coastal erosion and sediments that are carried from rivers into the oceans. Using high-tech equipment on board the vessel, they will do hydrochemical measurements of ph, dissolved oxygen, and dissolved methane levels immediately after samples are taken. Salinity, temperature, turbidity and dissolved organic material testing will be done in situ (on site). They will take continuous measurements of carbon dioxide, pCO2 (partially dissolved CO2), temperature and salinity along the ship's route. Additional water and sediment studies will be done in Fairbanks and Vladivostok at FEBRAS and UAF facilities.

This combined effort will aid in an understanding of the ocean's role in global climate change, and the consequences of greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide and methane). It will also provide needed information for creating climate prediction models. Information from the research will be accessible to scientists, students and the public through the IARC website. On future cruises, they plan to deploy moorings that are equipped with water and chemical sensors at key sites in the study area.

Figure 1. The study area: the Second Russia-U.S. cruise in the East-Siberian Sea and the Eastern Laptev Sea.