The Russian expedition is drifting 650 km from the Arctic Ocean

The scientific expedition "North Pole-42" is located less than 650 km from the geographical North Pole. She is drifting in the Arctic basin of the Arctic Ocean. Experts note that there have been no comprehensive studies on this area of the ocean since 2007.

According to Bi-port news agency, the station's drift trajectory passed over the morphometric structures of the ocean floor, including the Lomonosov Ridge, the western slope of the Mendeleev Ridge and the Submariners Basin.

According to Alexander Ipatov, head of the North Pole-42 drifting station, a decrease in the salinity of the upper homogeneous layer was recorded as the station moved eastward. This may indicate the increasing influence of desalinated surface waters from the Beaufort cycle.

The anomaly could have arisen due to the Pacific water that penetrates into the Arctic through the Bering Strait. The importance of studying and analyzing these important processes lies in the fact that the influx of warm Pacific Ocean waters strongly affects the warming of the Arctic, scientists at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute believe.

The North Pole 42 drifting polar expedition began on September 15, 2024. It started from Murmansk. Scientists are conducting research in the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean. The expedition is scheduled to last until spring 2026.