"There can be only one reason": Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences on the mass death of marine animals in Kamchatka and on the study of the ocean

- For more than a month, conflicting information came from Kamchatka.

In the water area of ​​Avacha Bay

animals

- Of all the versions of the mass death of bottom fish and invertebrates that have been considered by scientists in Kamchatka, only one remains - natural.

An objective analysis of all the data obtained, numerous samples of water, soil, aquatic organisms, carried out at leading universities, academic institutes and various subordinate institutions of federal executive bodies, showed that there are no elements of technogenic pollution that could cause mass death of animals for hundreds of kilometers of the coastal zone of South-East and South-West Kamchatka.

- Supporters of the technogenic version cite indirect evidence, facts of anthropogenic impact on the water area ...

- Of course, local pollution was found.

They cannot but be, because there is the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky on the seashore, where there is a port, many special facilities.

Of course, the environmental problems of Kamchatka must be dealt with.

But none of the discovered substances of anthropogenic origin could cause such a large-scale death of aquatic organisms.

There can be only one reason - a massive "bloom" of toxic microalgae of several species at once, the toxins of which had such an effect on benthic invertebrates and fish.

Fortunately, this did not affect warm-blooded animals.

• Vice-President of RAS Academician Andrey Adrianov

• RIA News

• © Vladimir Trefilov

- It turns out that the animals died from poisoning with these natural toxins?

- Analysis of all available information showed the massive development, "blooming" of several types of microalgae at once, which produced a complex combination of various toxins.

Such microalgae can lead to the death of benthic aquatic organisms both directly through toxins and indirectly.

How does this happen?

When there is a "bloom", many billions of cells are concentrated in the water.

Then reproduction ends, dormant stages of microalgae are formed, the so-called cysts, which are "buried" in the ground, so that in the future, under favorable conditions, give a massive "bloom" again.

At the same time, the majority of planktonic (that is, floating in the water column) cells that have fulfilled their function die and sink to the bottom.

With large-scale "blooms", this is hundreds of thousands of tons of decomposing organic matter.

The giant rotting mass consumes oxygen from the bottom water.

As a result, there are zones of asphyxia - "deaths".

Extended zones of "death" killed many benthic invertebrates and benthic fish that could not leave these zones.

Bottom fish species, for example, green rasp, can rise above the "frozen" zone to the upper layers, where there is enough oxygen.

However, benthic animals, especially invertebrates, the same hedgehogs, stars, mollusks - they die.

Our analysis shows that, most likely, there was a direct effect of toxins, and there were zones of "death".

This phenomenon is very large-scale and natural, in simple terms it is called "red tides".

It is well recorded from satellites, since at this time there is a huge amount of organic matter and microalgae pigments in the water.

Our colleagues, including foreign ones, are also analyzing this information.

And they also agree that the phenomenon is natural.

• The phenomenon of "red tides" leads to a change in the color of the water area, it is caused by the pigment secreted by microalgae

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Merten Snijders

- So this is also the opinion of the international scientific community?

- Sure.

We communicate with our colleagues, including our overseas colleagues, neighbors in the Pacific Ocean.

They face the same problems, and they experience massive "blooms" of microalgae, causing the death of marine organisms.

Therefore, the opinion of the scientific community here is completely unambiguous.

- It turns out that the phenomenon of "red tides" is not rare?

Has it never been so large-scale or has it never been so resonant?

- The phenomenon is not rare.

There were much larger events than what is now off the southeastern and southwestern coasts of Kamchatka.

But they mainly affected sparsely populated areas - the coast of Chukotka, northern Kamchatka.

And now the peak of this phenomenon fell on the populated area of ​​Avachinsky Bay, in fact, from Cape Shipunsky to the southernmost tip of the peninsula - Cape Lopatka.

It affected the western coast of Kamchatka, which is clearly visible from satellites.

- This phenomenon of "red tides" itself can be caused by human actions, or we do not influence them in any way?

Is it possible to prevent similar incidents in the future?

- It is impossible to prevent these very large-scale phenomena.

Natural processes have taken place, are happening and will continue to occur.

At the same time, they are associated with both climatic changes and large-scale oceanic rearrangements, including vertical and horizontal movements of large masses of water, and so on.

We still don’t really know what is the main trigger when myriads of cysts “sleeping” in the ground suddenly “come out” into the water column, triggering the mass reproduction of microalgae - “red tide”.

A complex of factors works, but they are all natural.

Of course, runoff of anthropogenic organic matter into the sea can also stimulate the development of microalgae.

But not in the case of such large-scale "blooms".

The scale of anthropogenic effluents in Kamchatka under no circumstances can be the root cause of the "red tides", the reason here is unambiguously natural.

- It is widely believed that the nature of the Far East and the Arctic is pristine, untouched.

However, the RAS marine scientific expedition found plastic even at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean.

What measures are currently being taken to save the world from dangerous polymers? 

- Indeed, there are less and less absolutely clean places in the ocean, the Arctic and the Far East are heavily polluted.

For example, the pollution of the ocean with plastic is on the increase.

Even a new phrase has appeared - "plasticization" of the World Ocean.

• For water pollution with polymers, the definition of "plasticization" of the World Ocean appeared

• Gettyimages.ru

• © Rosemary Calvert

Plastic is found in the oceans in a wide variety of shapes and forms.

The simplest example is giant debris spots.

We also find a lot of plastic on the seabed when we work with underwater vehicles.

At the same time, a huge amount of microplastics appears, the particles of which are increasingly found not only in water and soil, but also directly in marine organisms.

We use these marine organisms for food, these particles end up in you and me.

Plastic, of course, is stable, it slowly but nevertheless breaks down in sea water.

But its microparticles and nanoparticles persist for a very long time.

What can be done in this case?

First of all, it is necessary to reduce the use of plastic as packaging, to return to biodegradable materials. 

- How is science developing in the Far East now, what areas are most in demand, what major projects are underway?

- Many scientific directions in the Far East are primarily aimed at studying the World Ocean and its resources.

Here is the border of a huge land mass and the largest ocean.

And a lot of research is aimed at studying large-scale natural phenomena, mineral and biological resources.

Among the interesting and promising areas are deep-sea exploration of the World Ocean.

As our data show, the results of work using underwater robotics, huge mineral resources are concentrated on the ocean floor, significantly exceeding those on land.

They represent a strategic reserve for future generations.

This also applies to biological resources.

• Russian robot "Underwater Inspector"

• © Alexey Kudenko

On land, our options are rather limited - we are increasingly switching to genetically modified products in order to increase yields or agricultural productivity.

In the ocean, absolutely colossal biological resources are concentrated, including in deep-sea areas.

If sustainably managed, these resources can provide high-quality food for the growing population of our planet.

And, of course, this is also a very important strategic resource of our civilization.

- Earlier, you said that the oceans have been studied worse than space.

What are the most pressing global challenges and issues related to the oceans?

- The near space is really studied better than the depths of the oceans.

If we have made quite good progress in space exploration, then with regard to the ocean, only a few countries in the world now have the necessary technical means.

And it is very important for Russia not to lag behind in this race.

It is the availability of technical means that determines the possibility of access to the deep-water resources of the World Ocean.

Many countries pay great attention to underwater engineering, develop new means of research and extraction of resources.

Sooner or later, the deep-sea resources of the World Ocean will be divided, no matter how we say that this is the common heritage of mankind.

- Is Russia acting as a catch-up in this direction?

- Unfortunately, the level of scientific expeditionary activity of Russia in the World Ocean leaves much to be desired.

This is several times less than what it was during, for example, the Soviet Union.

Then the country conducted a large-scale study of the ocean in its various corners, in strategically important areas of the World Ocean for the state.

Now our research fleet is outdated.

Several countries around the world launch new research vessels with the latest technology almost every year.

So far this is only in our plans and projects.

The lag in such studies is fraught with the fact that it may entail restrictions on the part of the world community in access to quotas for the extraction of ocean resources in the so-called international region of the World Ocean - outside the zones of national jurisdictions.

When a country claims resources that are beyond its national jurisdiction, the question arises as to what contribution it has made to the exploration of that resource in the ocean.

Could you scientifically substantiate the possibility of removing this resource from the ocean in the volumes that it claims?

For a long time our country has been the undisputed leader in the study of the World Ocean.

And now we need to pay close attention to this area.