The Russian-German research station Samoylov, Lena Delta: a key site for polar research in the Siberian Arctic

• Main Authors: Hubberten, Hans-Wolfgang, Wagner, Dirk, Pfeiffer, Eva-Maria, Boike, Julia, Gukov, Alexander Yu.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Deutsche Gesellschaft für Polarforschung; Alfred-Wegener-Institu für Polar- und Meeresforschung 2006
• Subjects: Arctic; Laptev Sea; Alfred Wegener Institute; Ice; laptev; lena delta; permafrost; Polar Research; Polarforschung; Tundra; Siberia
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/27403/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/27403/1/2006_Hubberten-etal-Samoylov_Polarforsch2003_2-3_6.pdf; http://epic.awi.de/28541/1/Polarforsch2003_2-3_6.pdf

The Lena Delta – located at the Laptev Sea coast of northeast Siberia – is a key region for the understanding of the basic processes of the dynamic and development of permafrost in the Siberian Arctic. In the frame of the Russian-German scientific co-operation under the umbrella of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Russian Ministry of Science and Education projects System Laptev Sea, System Laptev-Sea 2000 and The Dynamics of Permafrost in the Laptev Sea important scientific results for the understanding of carbon dynamics and involved microbial processes and communities, of the energy and water budget of Arctic tundra, of the development of the ice-rich permafrost and of Arctic coastal dynamics could be elaborated. The obtained results are the necessary data and information base for the prognosis of the impact of possible climate changes to the sensitive ecosystems of the Arctic. For long-term investigations of the processes of permafrost formation and decay, transformation and emission of green house gases (CH4, CO2, N2O, H2O), thermal and hydrologic studies on the active layer and – not at least – as a logistic base for field investigations of the environment, formation and development of the Lena Delta and the relict late Pleistocene permafrost, the small research station Samoylov of the Lena Delta Reserve (LDR) was used and has been developed further under contribution of the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) into an ideal location for coastal and terrestrial polar research. Within this context Samoylov Station has been the base and starting point for numerous international expeditions in the Siberian Arctic like the expeditions Lena 1999 through Lena 2005, the expedition COAST I as well as many sub-projects of some marine expeditions to the Laptev Sea (e.g., RACHOLD & GRIGORIEV 1999, PFEIFFER & GRIGORIEV 2002, SCHIRRMEISTER et al. 2004). In this paper the unique situation of Samoylov Station as a research station and a base for multi-disciplinary studies in the high ...