In September 2022, the North Pole, a unique ice-resistant and self-propelled platform, will embark on its first expedition. According to the platform’s developers, this will be a brief trial run involving researchers, due to be followed by a two-year expedition.

It was only in the XXI century, after the industrial boom of the XX century, when humanity extracted and used natural resources, without thinking about the impact of these actions on the environment, which, of course, affects the future of mankind, that they began to attach importance to environmental challenges. Humanity has to cope with many consequences of unresolved environmental problems today, not only at the regional level, but also at the global level.

"Heat bombs" affect the melting of ice in the Arctic, but it is impossible to consider "bombs" as the main cause of the melting of Arctic ice, since this natural mechanism worked long before climate change, explained Roman Vilfand, scientific director of the Hydrometeorological Center.
Earlier, an article was published by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (USA), in which American, British and German scientists investigated how the waters move from the Pacific to the Arctic Ocean. At the same time, the study talked about "heat bombs" that penetrate the Arctic and destroy sea ice.
Scientists have discovered that there are large volumes of warm water under the surface water in the Pacific Ocean. They are the "bombs", because when they float to the surface, the ice is destroyed, " said Vilfand. Vilfand explained that scientists were able to accurately describe how water flows from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to the Arctic Ocean, which is very little studied. The scientist noted that it is impossible to say that the reduction of ice in the Arctic is due to" heat bombs "and that" bombs " are a key manifestation of climate change in the Arctic.
As Vilfand explained, on the surface of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, the water is salty due to the constant evaporation of water from the surface, and the fresh part evaporates. Therefore, the salt content on the surface is significant. In the Arctic Ocean, it is much smaller.
"It is there (under the ice of the Arctic Ocean - ed.) cold and fresh, and on the surface of the Pacific Ocean - salty and warm ... Salt water is denser than fresh, so when more salty waters of the Pacific Ocean come through the Bering Strait, they sink, as if diving under the colder water that comes into contact with the ocean… There are really large volumes of warm water circulating there, they seem to come to the surface, and the ice begins to melt, " Vilfand explained.
He noted that the same situation is developing with the ingress of water from the Atlantic Ocean into the western sector of the Arctic.
"Can this lead to an acceleration of warming in the Arctic Ocean? Due to what, this is not a process that has just begun. This has always been the case, so you need to be more calm. All the factors (warming - ed.) that exist are evaluated. The main problem is greenhouse gases, " Vilfand added.

Russia has launched a new online platform изменениеклимата.рф that will allow school and university students, environmental activists and anyone who is interested to receive the latest scientific information on climate change. Anyone can learn how to acclimatize, how to contribute to countering climate change and to adapt to its consequences in everyday life.The project was launched as a result of international cooperation of many world organizations and leading universities from different countries.

Information is presented in an interactive format. The project includes several options.

— Play-based lessons for school students in grades 1-4 and grades 5-11, each of which contains a detailed scenario, animated presentation, cards for play-based assignments, an instruction booklet, a methodological guide and video instructions. In addition to the universal information block for all Russian regions, this section includes lessons on regional climate change in the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions and the Nenets Autonomous Area.

— An international distance course on climate change around the world and the risks and damage from climate change in different countries, in the framework of which leading German experts consider the issue from different perspectives: physical, economic and social.

— Lectures on the entire range of climate issues — natural and anthropogenic climate change, trends and forecasts for Russia and the world. Some lectures are devoted to specific topics: the Arctic and the Paris Climate Agreement; the Arctic regions of Russia – the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions and the Nenets Autonomous Area; and also to subjects like “Forest and Climate” and “Adapting to Climate Change.”

— An online venue for NGOs and activists (to be launched soon).

A research aerosol station has been installed on Bely island in the Kara sea to help determine the impact of emissions from burning fossil fuels, natural gas, and wildfires on the Arctic atmosphere. The station appeared thanks to the joint work of scientists from Moscow state University and their colleagues from the scientific center for the study of the Arctic (Salekhard)

 "Currently, assessment of the environment and climate change in the Arctic region is greatly complicated by the lack of knowledge on emission sources, the number and composition of aerosol pollution, which determines the impact on the Arctic ecosystem," - said a leading scientist of the Department of microelectronics SINP MSU Olga Popovicheva.

Indeed, Bely Island is the northernmost territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomy District. It is located on the path of air masses that come to the Arctic from areas of Northern Siberia with high industrial activity.

According to the researchers, combustion of aerosols is the most ecologically and climatically significant component of the polluted atmosphere, and continuous measurements will allow analyzing the degree of load of the Arctic atmosphere with the climatically active component, black carbon, in order to determine the contribution of burning fossil fuels, natural gas and wildfires to the Arctic atmosphere.

It is also expected to determine the main characteristics of the background Arctic aerosol and seasonal variability trends during the Arctic haze.

First, in 2014, the island was established by the research hospital of the Russian center of Arctic exploration, and in 2015, scientists of the Institute of industrial ecology Ural branch of RAS mounted Picarro laser analyzer for continuous measurements of greenhouse gases. The data obtained today help to determine the sources and volumes of greenhouse gas emissions at a distance of up to a thousand kilometers.