The second comprehensive Sakhalin expedition of the POI FEB RAS aboard the R/V “Akademik Oparin” (85th voyage)

On August 11, 2026, a scientific expedition of the V.I. Il'ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute FEB RAS set sail from the port of Korsakov aboard the R/V “Akademik Oparin” (85th voyage). On Sakhalin, the scientific group replaced the previous team of the expedition's 84th voyage, which had conducted hydroacoustic research in the Sea of Okhotsk. The primary objective of the 85th voyage is to study the changes occurring in the Far Eastern seas as a result of climatic and anthropogenic impacts, as well as to assess the role of the Sea of Okhotsk in regional climate processes and its capacity to absorb excess atmospheric carbon dioxide.

During the expedition, a wide range of hydrological, hydrochemical, and hydrobiological studies will be carried out, water and bottom sediment samples will be collected. In addition, monitoring of the radiation status of Russian water areas will be continued due to the ongoing discharge of accumulated water from the Fukushima Daiichi NPP in Japan.

In the previous Circumsakhalin expedition of the POI FEB RAS in 2025, a comprehensive hydrological and hydrochemical survey covered almost the entire shelf of the island. Sakhalin from the east, north and west. As a result, the nature of the distribution of Amur waters through the Amur Estuary and around the Sakhalin Island in the autumn period was studied. The waters of the Amur River have a noticeable impact on the Sea of Okhotsk and are carried far to the south by the East Sakhalin Current, enriching it with biogenic elements and increasing the primary production of phytoplankton, which absorbs carbon dioxide. At the same time, the structure of the currents on the eastern shelf and the continental slope of Sakhalin Island is of great importance. Therefore, during this expedition, a detailed mesoscale survey of the entire northeastern shelf and part of the slope will be carried out, which will make it possible not only to determine the position of the main branches of the East Sakhalin Current at the peak of the summer season, but also to assess such dynamic processes as mesoscale eddy formation and slope upwelling, which significantly affect water exchange across the shelf and the transformation of Amur waters. The environmental situation in the areas of hydrocarbon resource development will also be assessed under the program implemented by Lomonosov Moscow State University. 

The expedition duration is 29 days. The scientific group consists of 31 people — staff from 12 laboratories of the POI FEB RAS, as well as the representatives of the biology and geography faculties of Moscow State University. The expedition leader is V.B. Lobanov, Head of the Laboratory of Physical Oceanology, Candidate of Geographical Sciences.