The start of the scientific expedition of the POI FEB RAS on the research vessel Akademik M.A. Lavrentyev (102nd voyage) to the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan (East Sea)
On June 9, 2026, the POI FEB RAS embarked on an expedition to the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan (East Sea) aboard the research vessel Akademik M.A. Lavrentyev (voyage 102). From Vladivostok, the Akademik M.A. Lavrentyev set course for the eastern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, where it will explore a vast area from the south-western tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula in the north to Simushir Island in the south. Over the course of 48 days, scientists will conduct geophysical, gas-geochemical, and microbiological studies.
The planned research is the second phase of the study of the Kuril-Kamchatka island arc and adjacent waters of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean. The results of the planned work will significantly contribute to solving the fundamental problem of the formation and deep structure of the seafloor in the study region, and will also allow us to study methane fluxes in the sediment-water-atmosphere system and assess the role of geobiochemical processes in this process.
The main objective of the work is to study the tectonics of the Pacific Plate subduction zone region, including searching for a continuation of the rift zone previously identified on the Pacific shelf of the central Kuril Ridge in the Sea of Okhotsk. Methane concentrations in bottom sediments, the water column, and the atmospheric surface layer will also be assessed to estimate the contribution of this greenhouse gas to global warming. Scientists hope to discover new underwater gas vents, known as "gas flares," in the Kuril Basin. Furthermore, extremophilic microbiomes inhabiting gas seeps and the activity of geobiochemical processes in sediments and the water column will be studied to assess the specialization and activity of bacterial filters, the role of microbial communities in methane generation, and the bioindication of hydrocarbon accumulations.
Research will also be conducted in the Sea of Japan (East Sea): in the southern part of the Tatar Trough and in the area of the deep-water Central Basin, where the main emphasis will be on geophysical and bathymetric studies of poorly studied seamounts.
The research team consists of six Pacific Oceanological Institute (POI) staff members, two students from Far Eastern Federal University, and one researcher from the Pushchino Scientific Center for Biological Research, RAS. They are divided into geophysical, gas-geochemical, and microbiological teams. Maxim Georgievich Valitov, PhD in Geology and Mineralogy and Head of the Geophysical Fields Laboratory at POI FEB RAS, oversees the expedition.
Following the expedition, scientists plan to obtain new data on anomalous geophysical fields, the structure of the sedimentary cover, and the nature of tectonic deformations, as well as compile detailed maps of degassing structures and identify promising oil and gas generation zones.
