Russia’s developing, extensive network of Arctic weather stations will become a crucial component of the World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) observations for monitoring and studying permafrost and the climate in the planet’s northern latitudes. WMO head Professor Celeste Saulo welcomed the unprecedented efforts of Russian scientists implementing this large-scale project to deploy hundreds of new permafrost research stations. She noted that the data they provide offers the global scientific community a vast amount of information crucial for understanding Arctic climate processes and analyzing their consequences.
Russia’s numerous Arctic research programs have a long history, covering broad areas across various scientific disciplines. Given Russia’s centuries-long presence in the northern latitudes, Moscow has amassed a huge body of scientific data across fields ranging from meteorology and hydrography to ethnographic and cultural studies of the unique indigenous peoples of the Far North. Since the 19th century, comprehensive Arctic research has been systematic, leading to the establishment of fully-fledged research institutes and scientific schools whose traditions are preserved and expanded upon to this day.
In recent decades, the Russian government and scientific community have paid particularly close attention to comprehensive research programs in the Arctic region. These programs actively develop both the Arctic’s rich natural resources and the promising logistical corridor of the Northern Sea Route. Meteorological research, and specifically the study of permafrost conditions and changes, plays a vital role in these scientific programs and the economic development of the polar zone. The Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, founded over a century ago, is a flagship institution for the study and development of the Russian Arctic and is currently implementing a large-scale program to create a network of weather stations. Around 60 monitoring points have already been deployed, with plans to install approximately 140 stations in the region.
The resulting permafrost observation and research network will provide a massive dataset that will help solve practical problems related to Arctic development and significantly advance fundamental research in meteorology, geology, and hydrography. It’s important to note that without the data from Russian weather stations, neither the development of technologies for extracting minerals in the Arctic region nor the construction of infrastructure in permafrost zones will be possible. Furthermore, long-term and comprehensive permafrost studies will allow the global scientific community to make important strides in understanding and predicting current climate change.
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