#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. This year, the organizers invited first-year students from the geography department of the Moscow State University, the construction department of the Polar State University, and future mining students from the polytechnic college of the PSU to participate in the Arctic expedition.
Over the course of ten days, 20 students conducted snow measurements in built-up areas, assessing snow redistribution, the characteristics of snow accumulation in natural landscapes, and its impact on the temperature regime of permafrost.
Equipped with measuring tapes, a 1.7-meter metal probe, a snow gauge for measuring density, and a specialized mobile app, the students collected key data on the location, height, and overall characteristics of each snowdrift.
Each day of this scientific adventure ended with data processing. The students created profiles on a landscape zoning map they had developed during the summer field school. They then calculated the average height and density for each landscape, as well as the thermal conductivity of the snow cover and its thermal resistance. For the first time, a cartography student was part of the winter school team, tasked with creating snow accumulation maps – an essential element in studying permafrost.
These snow accumulation maps will help implement a method for adjusting snowdrifts in Norilsk and Dudinka. By changing their locations each year, permafrost areas free from snow will have time to cool down, thereby strengthening the ground.
During a geotechnical excursion, the winter field school leaders showed students that Norilsk features a highly contrasting architectural landscape from different historical periods. Even closely located structures often face significantly different geological conditions.
When construction began in the northern city in the 1940s, unique permafrost construction technologies had to be developed.
“At that time, nobody knew how to build on permafrost or how to study it. The people involved conducted extensive scientific research to justify construction design solutions. The work of Norilsk scientists became part of regulatory documents, and the experience gained here was applied in other Arctic regions”, said Pavel Kotov, director of the Research Center for Construction Technologies and Monitoring of Buildings and Structures in the Arctic at the PSU and the field school organizer.
“Norilsk is unique because many solutions were developed right here”, noted Valery Grebenets, an associate professor in the cryolithology and glaciology department at the MSU. “An industrial method for foundation construction was created, and in the 1970s and 80s, high-capacity bored piles were introduced. Practicing scientists also invented special antifreeze additives. Moreover, the idea of cold ventilated spaces under buildings originated in Norilsk. The air in these spaces acts as an insulator, separating heat-emitting buildings from the permafrost surface. There is no snow in these areas, and they are not exposed to sunlight, which allows the permafrost beneath them to strengthen and the freezing forces to increase”.
Norilsk continues to serve as an open-air scientific laboratory. Currently, the largest permafrost project in Russia is underway here. Since 2023, the PSU and Nornickel have established a regional background monitoring system for permafrost, incorporating 31 geological wells that range from 10 to 200 meters deep.
In the Norilsk-Dudinka agglomeration, there are 11 permafrost monitoring sites where continuous soil temperature monitoring has been conducted for two years. Data from all wells located in both natural and technogenic conditions are sent to the PSU server.
Seventy-five percent of the studied snowdrifts have shifted slightly from last year’s positions, which also contributes to ground stabilization. By creating a predictive model, the students demonstrated how relatively simple it is to reduce the warming effect of snow on permafrost.
“Everything is interconnected. While we attend summer field schools to conduct geophysical and geocryological research, the winter school focuses on snow measurement work. We found that the thermal resistance of the snow cover varies significantly across the monitoring sites, which in turn affects the temperature regime of the soil. Our research revealed that this factor is crucial and must be considered”, said Pavel Kotov. “Given that we have the snow measurement data we’ve been missing, we will create models for different permafrost monitoring sites this year”.
The PSU’s press service reports that experts have evaluated the results of the latest joint field school held by the PSU named after N.M. Fedorovsky and the MSU after M.V. Lomonosov.
Denis Shmelev, director of the building and structure monitoring center of Nornickel’s Polar Branch, stated:
“Perhaps the most important aspect here is continuity and consistency. This is becoming a tradition, a school in the classical scientific sense, where there is an established team of educators, set approaches, objects, and methods that are continually refined and passed on to students. The younger generation is acquiring this knowledge and skill. It is crucial that this continuity is observed at the PSU. It is also incredibly valuable that the geological and geographical faculties of the MSU are involved, training unique specialists in permafrost studies. For a long time, they were the only ones preparing such specialists; now the Polar State University has joined in. Therefore, we want to emphasize that this continuity is vital”.
Earlier, This Is Taimyr reported on the summer field school focused on permafrost research.
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Text: Maria Ivanova, Photo: PSU’s press service
