The geographers from Lomonosov Moscow State University, the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Volgograd University conducted comprehensive field research in the Kronotsky Reserve in Kamchatka. The goal of the expedition was a comparative assessment of the state of the ecosystem on the coast of Olga Bay, in the area of Capes Kronotsky and Kozlov, as well as at the mouth of the Bolshaya Chazhma River before and after the work to eliminate the accumulated environmental damage.
"The reasons for the study are related to the fact that earlier the law enforcement and judicial authorities of the Kamchatka Territory questioned the quality of the work to eliminate the accumulated environmental damage carried out in the reserve in 2015-2016. The research team chose places where, according to the investigation or according to the witness testimonies, objects of accumulated environmental damage were left or buried in the ground," explained at the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University.
The expert group that worked in Kamchatka in the fall of 2022 included subject-matter experts. Among them were hydroecologist, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, member of the Scientific Council of the Russian Academy of Sciences on Global Environmental Issues Sergey Chalov; geomorphologist, Candidate of Geographical Sciences Ekaterina Lebedeva; cartographer-interpreter, Candidate of Geographical Sciences Elena Baldina; ecologist-geophysicist, Candidate of Geographical Sciences Denis Solodovnikov; cartographer Victoria Zorina.
The expedition used a variety of field research methods: interpretation of space images before and after the environmental work, surveying the terrain from an unmanned aerial vehicle, searching for metal objects and concrete fragments at depths of up to 10m with ground-penetrating radar, geomorphological survey of the territory, selection of geochemical samples of soils and surface waters. A comprehensive study, based, among other things, on comparative characteristics before and after the work to eliminate the accumulated environmental damage, showed the absence of mass burials of harmful objects.
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Two buried barrels, one iron can, and a small piece of concrete slab were found in the surveyed area of 3.5km2. These items cannot significantly affect the state of the ecosystem. The results of the survey of watercourses in those places where objects of accumulated damage were previously located showed the absence of significant anthropogenic pollution. The geographers were also able to identify indirect signs of the contamination elimination in the area. For example, traces of the waste relocation to the coast, from where it was then taken out by sea.
"The scientists have noted the positive impact of the work to eliminate the accumulated damage on the restoration of vegetation in the surveyed area. Natural processes in the surveyed area are not disturbed," emphasizes the report from the Faculty of Geography of Moscow State University.