A new masters' degree program, "Physical Oceanography and Marine Bio-Productivity" is being offered at St. Petersburg State University with a focus on the Arctic Region, the university's press service said.

"As the program's title suggests, the ocean's life is the uninterrupted interaction between physical, chemical and biological processes," said Professor Yevgeny Zakharchuk, head of the education program and the university's oceanology department. "This is why seas and oceans are studied comprehensively in the masters' program, and take into account global climate change, increasing anthropogenic impact and the economic crisis."

The program trains experts in oceanology and related applied scientific research areas, such as satellite and industrial oceanology, and the marine environment. The program is unique as it also covers some aspects of other subjects, including hydrometeorology, land hydrology, geomorphology, biology and others.

The program also highlights issues of polar oceanology and includes a course on dangerous and catastrophic phenomena in the Arctic Ocean and its seas, the changing dynamics of water and ice in the Arctic Ocean due to global warming and the possible environmental risks of extracting the energy deposits on the Arctic shelf.