The Akademik Mstislav Keldysh returns to the Arctic following repairs

"The Research Vessel (R/V) Akademik Mstislav Keldysh has resumed its research expeditions following repairs at the Pyotr Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which were carried out with assistance from the Federal Agency for Scientific Organizations (FANO). It will operate in the Baltic, Norwegian, Barents and White seas," the FANO press service said in a statement.

At the first stage, the scientific crew will study the area of a major inflow where water from the northern seas streams into the Baltic Sea. The goal is to determine the possible effect of about four billion metric tons of salt from the North Sea on the Baltic ecosystem.

At the second stage, scientists will study the interaction of water masses from the Atlantic Ocean in the south with Arctic streams.

"The expedition will increase Russia's contribution to the international program called CLIVAR, Climate Variability and Predictability, which aims to identify processes responsible for climate variability and to forecast possible changes," the statement says.

At the third stage of the expedition, the vessel will go to the Norwegian, Barents and White seas to analyze ocean floor sediments. The ultimate goal is to investigate climate change in the North Atlantic and the Barents Sea over the past 20,000 years.

The expedition will end in Arkhangelsk in late August. The next expedition will take the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh to the Kara and Laptev seas.