OBJECTIVES:
Conducting fundamental and applied research in biology and ecology using aerospace methods and technologies.
Implementing programs and projects related to ecosystem monitoring, biodiversity research, control of emerging natural and anthropogenic threats, the creation of geoinformation systems, and other tasks.
Developing methods and technologies for processing aerospace data to address problems of ecology and environmental protection.
MAIN AREAS:
Addressing a wide range of ecological problems to obtain new knowledge about various processes and phenomena occurring in living nature using aerospace methods and technologies;
Developing system-wide principles for creating and conducting multi-level integrated monitoring of the environment and the sources of anthropogenic impact on it, and of hazardous ecological threats (natural and man-made);
Developing methods and software tools for processing aerospace data;
Creating and updating databases on the characteristics of various environmental features;
Developing modeling methods and creating models of various processes and phenomena occurring in living nature (in the ocean and on land);
Developing methods for forecasting changes in environmental conditions and assessing ecological threats;
Developing scientifically grounded recommendations to support management decisions on environmental protection and rational nature use.
CORE ACTIVITIES:
Developing methods for monitoring ecosystems based on data from existing satellite systems and ground-based data;
Determining the necessary set of satellite data for solving a given range of tasks (analyzing archival remote sensing data or ordering new imagery);
Mastering and applying current methods of obtaining information using remote sensing tools, including unmanned aerial vehicles;
Interpreting remote sensing data to identify biogeographic characteristics;
Mapping and visualizing information on the movements and migrations of large mammals in relation to their habitats;
Studying range and habitat resource use based on satellite biotelemetry data, including assessment of habitat disturbance;
Developing methods for monitoring long-term and seasonal changes in habitat parameters using remote sensing data;
Interpreting aerospace imagery to assess the local distribution of large mammals and the use of habitat resources.
SUPPORTING ACTIVITIES:
Geoinformation support for research and expedition activities using geostatistics and web-mapping methods;
Spatial data analysis;
Producing cartographic materials, including, where necessary, developing Institute-wide cartographic styles;
RESEARCH RESULTS (2014-2017)
In 2014–2017, expedition work was carried out to assess the distribution, capture and tagging of polar bears on Severny Island of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago, on the Chukotka coast near the village of Vankarem, on Bely Island in Yamal, and on Vaygach Island.
The influence of ice conditions on the presence of polar bears near Cape Zhelaniya on Novaya Zemlya in summer was analyzed based on the 2011–2014 field seasons. The abundance of animals encountered in summer 2011 is consistent with the early formation of continuous ice cover on the Kara side of Severny Island the previous autumn, which facilitates animals reaching the archipelago, while an early and rapid retreat of ice in spring means that not all polar bears manage to leave the archipelago in time.
Work on the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and Bely Island (Yamal) showed that polar bears, increasingly remaining on land during the ice-free period without the opportunity to hunt seals, use all available terrestrial food resources — the eggs and chicks of Arctic birds, lemmings, and terrestrial and marine vegetation. Encounters between bears and humans are becoming more frequent, in some cases leading to conflicts that threaten the lives of both humans and bears.
Methodological guidelines for preventing human-polar bear conflict situations were developed for companies operating in the Arctic (jointly with the autonomous non-profit organization "Wildlife Conservation and Study Society").
Maps of the seasonal distribution of polar bears in the Russian Arctic along the coast and in the waters of Arctic seas were created. Data directly or indirectly characterizing polar bear distribution were collected. A quantitative assessment of the distribution of maternity dens was carried out.
In addressing the assessment of the state of Arctic habitats of large mammals, the seasonal winter maximum and summer minimum extent and area of Arctic sea ice in 2014 were assessed. It was shown that the minimum seasonal ice extent in 2014 was 1 million km² higher than in 2013, meaning the September minimum approached the long-term average minimum value.
Monthly average maps of ice habitat conditions and environmental parameters for polar bears in the Chukchi Sea were created for 2015–2016.
Research continued into the potential use of high-spatial-resolution satellite data for detecting marine mammals and signs of their activity. A number of studies were carried out to develop a methodology for estimating the abundance of Pacific walrus at haul-out sites on the northern coast of Chukotka and for verifying the results against ground-based counts.