Technological partners
- P.P. Shirshov Institute of oceanology RAS - Atlantic Branch
- Vyshtenets Nature Park
- DESIRE, PeatRus International Projects
Participants
Institute of Sylviculture, RAS
Carbon measurement test sites
Off-shore site
Gdansk depression. Postglacial slightly inclined plain, brackish, eutrophied shelf of the intracontinental sea, covered with terrigenous silt-pelitic silts subject to sporadic anoxia, with a high content of organic carbon and hydrocarbon gases.
Wittgirren Peat Bog
Anthropogenically altered landscape represented by a peat bog (drained swamp) and surrounding agricultural lands
Carbon sequestring test area (carbon farm)
At the Wittgirren peat bog
Tasks
Create a system of ground and coastal measurements of fluxes of climate-active gases based on pulsation and chamber measurements
Create a working information system for supplying the carbon measurement supersite with space monitoring data
Conduct laboratory and field testing of sequestration technologies aimed at reducing the emission of climate- active gases, their verification
Bring capacity of human resources up to a new level in order to develop and maintain the climate monitoring system
Research results
Wittgirren Peat Bog
- an information system has been developed providing data on remote sensing of the Earth and aerial photography and ground measurements
- a topography map of the peat bog has been drawn
- revised verification drilling of peat strata was carried out on profiles located along the main channel and perpendicular to it to assess the depth and composition of the residual peat deposits
- soil studies have been carried out to compile a soil map
- initial hydrological studies have been carried out to establish seasonal fluctuations of moisture reserves in soils, the level of swamp water, hydrology features of underlying rocks, spatial patterns of accumulation and consumption of moisture in the annual cycle
Gdansk depression
- ocean data of the site analyzed, including satellite data
- the first estimates of the integral (for the 0-25 m layer) biomass values of the main components of the marine biocenosis, forming the suspended organic carbon flux, have been made
- for the 0-25 m sea layer, the first estimates of the carbon balance constituents in the marine environment, typical for the summer period, have bee made
- several estimates of the vertical flow of the total suspension at a depth below the photosynthesis layer have been obtained for various seasons
- a source of methane in bottom sediments has been confirmed: maximum concentrations were found in the bottom sea layer, a weak subsurface maximum of methane is associated with zooplankton (Cladocera, Temora longicornis (Copepoda)), which can also serve as its source
- over 40 satellite images of the sea surface in the visible and infrared ranges analyzed for obtaining data on sea surface temperature and chlorophyll concentrations
Laboratory tests on sequestration of greenhouse gas emissions from drifting algae and marine debris
- the volume and species diversity of emissions of drifting macroalgae on the Baltic Sea coast assessed, the dominant species of algae Ulva intestinalis, Polysiphonia urceolata, Furcellaria lumbricalis and Cladophora sp established.
- the predominant impurities in macroalgae emissions determined: natural materials (wood, foliage, feather, mineral impurities) and polymers (high and low pressure polyethylene)
- over 40 samples of algae collected and their main physical and chemical parameters established
- the high value of algae as a source of valuable raw materials with high added value has been confirmed
- the ranges of optimal technological parameters of the hydrothermal liquefaction process with the production of liquid synthetic oil have been established
Education and training
Expected number of young scientists, students, postgraduates — 10
Together with the Far East Federal University and Sebastopol State University, a network Master’s program «Ocean and Coast Environmental Studies» was developed and laucnhed in September 2021
International Summer School «Coastal zones: management, research and prospects», field workshop on secondary waterlogging of peatlands
International integration
#h4
DESIRE Project
«Development of sustainable (adaptive) management of peatlands in the Neman River basin”
Project implementation period: 2019—2021
Partners: «Vishtynetsky Nature Park» (Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Kaliningrad Region), Greifswald University, Michael Zukkov Foundation, Warsaw University of Natural Sciences, Polish Society for the Protection of Birds, Vytautas Magna University, Lithuania; Lithuanian Nature Protection Fund
PeatRus Prtoject
«Restoration of peat bogs in Russia to prevent fires and mitigate climate change»
Project implementation period: 2021—2023
Partners: Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of Kaliningrad Region, Wetlands International, Michael Zukkov Foundation, Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology of Greifswald University
Expected outcomes
Climate monitoring of natural and anthropogenic systems of the Kaliningrad Region within the context of global environmental changes (Dr L.D. Bashirova):
- quantitative estimates of greenhouse gas fluxes
- adaptation of the methodology of climate monitoring and assessment of greenhouse gas emissions in anthropogenically altered landscapes
- projection of changes in the carbon balance resulting from a partial watering of the Wittgirren peat bog
Temporal variability of carbon fluxes at the marine carbon measurement supersite in the Baltic Sea (Associate Professor Dr V.V. Sivkov):
- quantitative values of carbon emission and sequestration indicators in the marine environment, taking into account seasonal variability
- adaptated specialized methodology for monitoring carbon emission and sequestration indicators in the marine environment Development of technology for uptaking greenhouse gas emissions generated by the natural decay of drifting algae and marine debris (Dr O.O. Babich)
- a data set on the climate change impact of the various GHG sequestration technologies for rotting biomass
- results of the study of the physical and chemical characteristics of solid (bio-coal), liquid (bio-oil, biodiesel, bioethanol) and gaseous biofuels (biogas) obtained from algae biomass
- practical recommendations on the use of products derived from the processing of biomass of drifting algae and marine debris for various industries
