FROM SEA DEPTHS TO IONOSPHERE

Who Cooks the Weather?

Sergey Pryamikov,
Head of the Department of International Science Cooperation,
The Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

         The Arctic is known to be extremely sensitive to the changes of climate, political one including. The currently occurring warming slowly melts the ice of distrust between Russia and other Arctic nations, built up during the years of the Cold War, it contributes to the development of international scientific co-operation in the area as well.

        Necessary pre-requisites, objectively stimulating western scientific interest to the co-operation with Russia in the field of Arctic studies, primarily include a new opportunity of an access to the results of the studies, long-term data series, accumulated during the decades of Arctic studies by the Russian scientists. However we should notice here that the use of the word "objectively" is intimately related with a well known apt expression that the Arctic is the kitchen of the Northern Hemisphere weather, expanding it to the Russian Arctic it can be said that the Russian Arctic is the Chef at this weather "kitchen". In fact, factors that contribute to the Arctic climate change should be sought for primarily in the phenomena occurring in the Arctic marginal seas and adjacent mainland. Hence any student of the Arctic cannot do without understanding what happened in the past and is currently occurring in the Russian Arctic. Obviously the western interest to the Russian Arctic studies nourishes upon its vast mineral reserves. Determination of the viability and efficiency of the development of these reserves requires a detailed knowledge of the Arctic natural environment which the Russian scientists and experts have in abundance.
        We cannot help mentioning intentions of our foreign colleagues to assist their Russian partners to overcome current problems with funding their Arctic studies. It is true that the Arctic studies are in the limelight of the world community in general.