Monitoring of the permafrost zone will be carried out throughout Russia
The creation of a state system for background monitoring of permafrost has begun in Russia. On Friday, May 19, its first point with a 25-meter well was opened in Salekhard. Until 2025, it is planned to place 140 such points throughout the country, where the so-called cryolithozone occurs.
First thermometric well in Salekhard. Courtesy of AARI.
Technology of arrangement of wells with thermometric braids – wires with electric digital temperature sensors attached to them – previously tested on the territory of the Russian Far North and on the Svalbard archipelago. Now specialists are creating a nationwide network of similar data collection stations.
As reported by «MK» at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI), the first well was launched on the territory of the Yamalo-Nenets Center for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. Its depth – about 25 meters, inside 32 sensors, the distance between which is from 10 centimeters to 2 meters. Data from it has already begun to flow to the AARI Permafrost Monitoring Center.
The first thermometric well in Salekhard. Courtesy of AARI.
It is assumed that the monitoring network in permafrost areas will consist of 140 points. They will measure the permafrost temperature continuously, at different depths. The first 20 observation points will be installed this year, another 58 – in 2024. The system is fully deployed until the end of 2025.
According to the director of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute Alexander Makarov, continuous measurements of the temperature of frozen soils will reveal the zones of the greatest melting, which means – prevent the risks of damage to civil and industrial facilities. With the help of background soil monitoring, it will be possible to estimate natural hydrocarbon emissions in order to study the pace of climate change in Russia. The data obtained using underground thermometers will help specialists create maps that reflect the dynamics of permafrost thawing.