Seminars of the Center for Earth Sciences

Qinglong You (Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, Fudan University, China) discussed amplified Arctic warming and wetting, ocean–sea-ice–atmosphere feedbacks, Atlantic and Pacific decadal variability, and the continuing uncertainty surrounding links to midlatitude climate extremes.

Alexander Lekhnovich, a member of the Laboratory of Arctic Oceanology, reported on a coastal expedition to Cape Schmidt, fieldwork under difficult logistical conditions, the deployment of two anchored temperature and salinity stations, and preliminary indications of freshwater transport through Long Strait into the Chukchi Sea.

Mikhail Krinitskiy, head of the MIPT Laboratory of Machine Learning in Earth Sciences, invited the audience to consider how agentic automation is changing the research cycle, the role of researchers, and the reproduction of scientific expertise. The discussion focused on the boundary between computationally checkable tasks and work in the physical world, learning through one’s own errors, AI’s influence on scientific reputation and resource allocation, and human responsibility for asking questions and validating results.

Daria Gladskikh (Research Computing Center of Moscow State University) presented LIMNIS, a computational technology for modeling the thermohydrodynamics and biogeochemistry of lakes and reservoirs. The seminar addressed links between three-dimensional and reduced models, the roles of morphometry and horizontal variability, and methane-cycle calculations and their validation limits.

Vasilisa Koshkina and Dmitry Krasilnikov (Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences) presented preliminary results from applying the Rortex criterion to automatic identification of mesoscale ocean eddies. Using the Lofoten Basin as a test region, they compared eddy detection in satellite-altimetry and numerical-model data and discussed the transition from two-dimensional analysis to three-dimensional structure.

Matvey Nikitenko-Valiakhmetov, a student at the Department of Oceanology of Saint Petersburg State University, presented a preliminary study of atmospheric-vortex clustering in the Barents and Kara Seas. The seminar addressed physical feature selection, clustering robustness, and limits on the physical interpretation of clusters.

Vasilisa Koshkina presented approaches to automatic identification, tracking, and classification of mesoscale atmospheric vortices in numerical-model data, discussing trajectory validation and next steps toward climatological analysis of vortex systems.

Kristina Prokopyeva presented a satellite-based study of how spring runoff from the Lena River interacts with landfast ice in the estuarine nearshore zone. The seminar discussed the sequence of ice-breakup phases, the role of the river plume, trends over 2000-2025, and the possibility of forecasting landfast-ice breakup using satellite and hydrological data.

Matvey Novikov presented a rehearsal of his PhD pre-defense talk on modeling how biochemical processes influence redox conditions in the Black Sea. The seminar discussed the redox layer, oxygen balance, the role of manganese, hydrochemical changes over recent decades, and bottom hypoxia formation in coastal areas.

Dmitriy Sein discussed regionally coupled ocean-atmosphere modelling, the choice of regional-model configurations, and the role of the ocean component in climate and weather simulations. The seminar addressed model-domain setup, decadal predictions, ocean effects on hurricanes, and examples of high-resolution ocean simulations.