Among the facilities to be studied are Yaroslavl (Rybinsky station), Samara (Zhiguli station), Volgograd (Volgograd station), Amur (Zeya station), Magadan region (Kolyma station), as well as in Dagestan (Chirkey station), Khakassia (Sayano-Shushenskaya station), Krasnoyarsk (Boguchany station) and Khabarovsk region (Bureya station).
The aim of the project is to test the results of research conducted in 2017-2018 by the head of the general biology department at Lomonosov Moscow State University, Dmitry Zamolodchikov, who concluded that Russian reservoirs had carbon negativity. According to his calculations, when converted to CO2 equivalent, Russian reservoirs emitted less methane (3.52 million tonnes per year) than the volume of greenhouse gases contained in their bottom sediments (5.21 million tonnes).
To verify these findings, scientists from the Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Y. Israel Institute of Global Climate and Ecology and the Lomonosov Moscow State University began collecting water and air samples at the reservoir sites.
The modern equipment used in this research allowed the level of greenhouse gas emissions to be established on the surface of the water as well as their concentration within the reservoir and the volume of accumulated carbon in their bottom sediments.
The work is to proceed year-round for a period of three years on the basis of principles of the International Panel on Climate Change with due regard for senior officials of the International Hydro Association in measuring greenhouse gas emissions in reservoirs.
Upon completion of the work, the specialists will present an accurate picture of the exchange of greenhouse gases between the atmosphere and reservoirs, RusHydro said in a statement. And this should provide a conclusion in arguments over whether hydropower can be considered a carbon-free source of energy in Russian climate conditions.
