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The Arctic comprises some of the most sensitive elements of the global environment, which are considered to respond rapidly to climate change. In this context the Laptev Sea and its Siberian hinterland are of particular interest. River discharge into the Laptev Sea constitutes a key source for the Arctic halocline's freshwater budget, and the shallow Laptev Sea Shelf is a major ice-production area, linking the Siberian shelves to the Arctic Ocean and the Nordic seas.
Since 1993 bilateral research activities in the scope of the Laptev Sea System project include land and marine expeditions to the Laptev Sea and the Lena Delta during different seasons of the year, workshops, as well as the exchange of scientists. The GEOMAR Research Center for Marine Geosciences in Kiel (Germany), the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (AWI, Germany), and the State Research Center for Arctic and Antarctic Research in St. Petersburg (AARI, Russia) are jointly responsible for program coordination.
In October 2000, the successful collaboration was widely extended: the Otto Schmidt Laboratory for Polar and Marine Sciences (OSL) was opened in St. Petersburg, Russia. This project is part of a Cooperative Agreement on polar and marine research between the Russian and German Ministries of Science and Technology in order to promote the progress of science and closer collaboration between scientists and engineers of Russia and Germany as well as to support young Russian scientists in polar and marine research.
The OSL at the State Research Center for Arctic and Antartic Research is equipped with state-of-the-art standard laboratories for polar and marine research and an international library, has a fast 10 Mbit direct connection to Internet via fibro-optical cable and and equipment for net-conferencong (web-camera) etc.). The OSL fellowship program enables young highly qualified Russian scholars to carry out specific research projects in the scope of the interdisciplinary research program 'Laptev Sea System 2000'.
Contact address:
38 Bering str., St.Petersburg, Russia, 199397
tel.:+7(812)352-2419, fax:+7(812)352-2883
e-mail: osl@otto.nw.ru
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