Cruise 89 (First Leg) of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh: Climate Experiment in Interaction with the Tu-134 Optik Flying Laboratory

A unique climate experiment was carried out to study the composition of air and characteristics of the underlying surface in the Russian sector of the Arctic and Siberia. Synchronized research on board the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and the unique scientific facility (USF) the Tu-134 Optik flying laboratory were carried out in the South Kara Sea. The airborne and spaceborne optical satellite algorithms were validated to retrieve the sea surface characteristics during the cruise. For the first time on the Arctic shelf, data on methane concentration in the natural troposphere–near - surface atmosphere over sea–water column–bottom sediments system was obtained. Greenhouse gases fluxes were estimated simultaneously from the shelf area and adjacent land. Related research on recent and ancient sedimentation conditions and processes was carried out in the South Kara sedimentary basin, where huge oil and natural gas reserves are located.