How does global warming affect Siberian waters? What pollutants could be released from the melting permafrost? These questions are being investigated by specialists from scientific centers in Gdańsk and Bydgoszcz.
Dr. Małgorzata Szopińska from the Faculty of Civil Engineering and Environment, Dr. Krystyna Kozioł from the Faculty of Chemistry of the Technical University of Gdańsk, and Prof. Danuta Szumińska from the Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz carried out a research project in the Russian Arctic within the CheMikroPolarLAB intercollegiate research team. They analyzed the degree of release of various types of pollutants from the melting permafrost and their penetration into rivers and lakes. This is to help in protecting the climate-sensitive permafrost and thus reduce emissions of the important greenhouse gas – methane, which is hidden in it.
The research was conducted near the so-called Pleistocene Park, a site where Russian specialists have been working since 1988 to restore grassland ecosystems by grazing large herbivores.
The first results are expected to be available in a few months.
The PollAct project led by Prof. Szumińska was funded by the International Network for Terrestrial Research and Monitoring in the Arctic (INTERACT) under the International Infrastructure Sharing Program. It is part of the activities of this interdisciplinary scientific group.