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SAMC
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• ANNUAL REPORT 2013
International cooperation on the
Russian coast
SAMCoT was active on two different sites in Russian
territory in 2013. Researchers chose sites in Baydara
Bay and Varandey so they could study permafrost
and coastal erosion. This was only possible thanks
to the existing collaboration of SAMCoT’s research
partners with key Russian institutions such as the
State Oceanographic Institute (SOI) and Moscow State
University (MSU), a SAMCoT research partner and a key
participant in coastal erosion research during 2013.
Facts
The 2012 SAMCoT report from the field activities in
Varandey pointed out that the above-mentioned sites
are ideal for the collection of full-scale data, because
the coasts of the Arctic seas of Russia are characterized
by low resistance to erosion.
The report, written under the supervision of UNIS
researchers, underscores how these kinds of coasts
can be destroyed at a speed of one to five metres per
year in natural conditions. It also explains that “the
activation of coast abrasion is a consequence of global
climate change. It is mainly caused by changes in the
wave power regime and sea level rise. If added the influ-
ence of human activity the rates of coast destruction can
increase significantly, sometimes by a multiplying factor
of 2 to 3”.
SAMCoT’s objective to ensure sustainable exploration
is the drive behind the efforts of our researchers to
acquire a better understanding of the consequences of
human activity. Learning more about the structure and
dynamics of the coastal zone of the Barents and Kara
Seas in the current environmental conditions is a clear
objective of the coastal technology team.
SAMCoT PhDs candidates Aleksyutina and Guegan during the expedition at Baydara Bay on the coast of the Kara Sea.
Depressions on top of a slope, high terrace, June 2013.
Photo: Jomar Finseth