IX Arctic Floating University Expedition Reaches Its Northernmost Point - Arctic-fund

IX Arctic Floating University Expedition Reaches Its Northernmost Point

apu2017 20 07

The Arctic expedition onboard the research vessel «Professor Molchanov» has reached the coordinates of 81 degrees, 15 minutes, 7 seconds north latitude, northward of Kuhn and Kein islands (Franz Joseph Land). This marks the expedition’s northernmost point since the project’s launch in 2012.

«For us this signifies that global climate changes in the Arctic open new opportunities for exploring previously inaccessible areas. This is very important for the training of young specialists intending to work in the Arctic», commented the expedition’s coordinator Konstantin Zaikov.

The current expedition is the ninth voyage to the high latitudes in the framework of the Arctic Floating University project. This year’s trip gathered 58 participants, including 25 foreign researchers from Switzerland, Cuba, Bulgaria, Germany, Sweden, France, the Netherlands. The project combines research and teaching, so it is not surprising that 30 members of the expedition are students from Russian and foreign universities. The Arctic Floating University is co-coordinated by Northern Arctic Federal University and the Northern Office of ROSHYDROMET.