Expedition Dates: July 08-28, 2017
Expedition Duration: 20 days
Expedition Organizers: Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov; Roshydromet
Expedition Route: Arkhangelsk — the Zhelaniya Cape (Novaya Zemlya) — Hall Island (Franz Josef Land) — Heiss Island (Franz Josef Land) — Jackson Island (Franz Josef Land) — Rudolf Island (Franz Josef Land) — Hooker Island (Franz Josef Land) — Northbrook Island (Franz Josef Land) — Bell Island (Franz Josef Land) — Arkhangelsk.
You can find information about the location of the research vessel “Professor Molchanov” on the geoportal
Expedition participants: 58 people (students, post-graduate students, research fellows of both Russian and foreign scientific and academic institutions)

Partners participating in the expedition: Russian Geographical Society, Russian Arctic National Park, Lomonosov Moscow State University, University of Geneva, University of Lausanne, Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne.
Aims of the expedition:
- acquiring new knowledge about the state and changes in the ecosystem of the coastal areas of Franz Josef Land archipelago;
- training of young specialists of the Arctic-focused specialties: hydrometeorology, ecology, arctic biology, geography, ethnopolitology, international law etc.
RESEARCH PROGRAM:
- assessment of state and degree of contamination within the local island territories of the former economic activities in the areas of work for the elimination of accumulated environmental damage;
- study of the species diversity of living organisms and populations in the archipelagof Franz Josef Land and adjacent waters in the context of climate change;
- study of historical and cultural heritage of the Russian Arctic National park for the purposes of development of tourism and educational activities;
- study of adaptive mechanisms of the human organism tthe conditions of the High Arctic.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM:
The Program focuses on the bachelor, master and PhD students.
Contents of the program: 8 educational modules and 32 hours of the lecture course.
- formation of students’ interdisciplinary knowledge about Arctic region through the demonstration of the natural complex and historical and cultural heritage of the Russian sector of the Arctic.
EDUCATIONAL MODULES:
- Arctic climate;
- Arctic oceanographic;
- Arctic and subarctic biodiversity of Northern European Russia;
- Marine and terrestrial ecosystems of Northern European Russia;
- Modern methods of molecular biology and biotechnology in the Arctic researches;
- Geography of soil landscapes and carbon cycle of Arctic ecosystems;
- The latest geological and paleomagnetic studies in the Russian Arctic;
- Russia in World Politics;