#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. The end of October in Putorana is the time of leaden water and the last sunsets before the long Arctic night. Inspectors change at the cordons of the Taimyr Nature Reserves. For example, at one of the most infrastructural objects of the Big Lakes – the Lake Sobachye cordon – Alexey Bovkunov and Alena Kravtsova took over.
Larisa Stryuchkova, leading public relations specialist at the Taimyr Nature Reserves directorate, spoke about working autonomously at the cordon in the Arctic winter.
“The long polar night, the famous arctic frosts and blizzards, an abundance of snow and life in a confined space – all this requires a certain character and practical skills that have been developed over the years. Even such a simple job as providing the base with water requires not only physical strength, but also ingenuity”, she explained.
The specialist added that inspectors have to clean the paths every day from snow, which can fall more than a meter in just one night, and it must be removed immediately, otherwise it will freeze and the process will become much more difficult. You also have to carry out preventative maintenance on equipment and do a lot of housework. In addition, employees go on raids around the lake, conduct phenological observations, prepare resources for future use, and so on.
Despite such a heavy workload, inspectors also find time for creativity – the nature of the Arctic, which they see at different times of the year, encourages contemplation and comprehension.
“Four days of calm on the water, so long-awaited and so beautiful in its mirror-like appearance. Calmness is the ideal state of nature for completing the hustle and bustle of human autumn affairs”, Alena Kravtsova, Lake Sobachye inspector, wrote in her essay.
Earlier, scientists from the Taimyr Nature Reserves said that ecosystems with new conditions are appearing in the Arctic and what a lemming season is without lemmings.
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Text: Angelika Stepanova, Photo: Taimyr Nature Reserves directorate