Tomsk State University will open a new research station “Vasyugan” in the Bakchar District of the Tomsk Region. It will be used by climatologists and biologists and will not only be a site for scientific research, but also a tourist site. The new TSU station is planned to open in September.
A stationary base with living quarters and a laboratory will be built on the bank of the Parbig River. This will allow researchers to conduct work not only in the field season but at any time of the year. The base will be used as a tourism site.
- We are preparing a three-year plan for the development of the Vasyugan station, including the construction of guest houses and a tourist infrastructure for about 80 people - says Lyudmila Borilo, director of the Trans-Siberian Scientific Way (TSSW).
The study of climate change is one of the leading topics of Tomsk State University. The university is included in several international scientific collaborations dealing with this topic. A new station at one of the biggest swamps will help to better study the changes taking place in the world and prepare for their consequences.
Today, the TSU scientists and international colleagues conduct research at three stationary stations - Aktru in the Altai, Khanymey in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, and Kaybasovo in the Krivosheinsky District of the Tomsk Region. All stations are included in the INTERACT, the international network of research and monitoring in the Arctic.
The Vasyugan Swamp is one of the largest in the world, with an area of 53,000 square kilometers. The majority of the swamp is located in the Tomsk Region, and also some of it is in the Novosibirsk and Omsk Regions and in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug. Swamps counteract the greenhouse effect, reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In 2007, the Vasyugan Swamp was included in the preliminary list of UNESCO World Heritage sites.