NSU geologists returned from an expedition on the Arctic Floating University to Franz Josef Land. The scientists collected material that will confirm or refute a new hypothesis.
Geologists from Novosibirsk State University spent 21 days on board the research vessel "Professor Molchanov". Scientists took 125 samples for paleomagnetic studies and 9 samples from different islands for determining the absolute age of the Franz Josef Archipelago.
Dmitry Metelkin, one of the leading paleomagnetologists in Russia, NSU Professor and the lead scientist at Institute of Oil and Gas Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, described the location of their research,
"Franz Josef Land is a huge ancient hot spot, like Iceland. This is a system of volcanoes, which in the past formed huge fields, filled with lava. It is commonly believed that the eruptions occurred about 130 million years ago during a short period of time. Short, of course, from the point of view of geology - a few million years. Then, within this territory volcanoes were formed, along with the main features of the relief and structure that we see today. However, new data recently appeared. It is possible that in the volcanic history of Franz Josef Land there were not one, but at least two major events, separated in time: 190 and 130 million years ago. The data was first obtained by the Moscow geologist Yuri Karyakin, and then indirectly confirmed by our joint research. While it is preliminary, from a geological point of view the data is sensational. Therefore, we decided that during this trip we would find out whether there was another magmatic episode 190 million years ago, and using paleomagnetic methods determine the location of the block of the earth's crust at that time".
This work will be carried out by geologists with the help of samples taken during the expedition. Paleomagnetic results that will make it possible to know the location of the Franz Josef Land many millions of years ago will be obtained by the end of 2017. All of the equipment necessary for this research is in the NSU Laboratory of Geodynamics and Paleomagnetism of the Central and Eastern Arctic. Determining the age of the samples will take more time because it will probably require cooperation between Russian and foreign centers of collective use. This includes the hardware base at the Analytical Center of the Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS. Geologists hope that the first results will be known by spring 2018. "From the geological point of view, this information is very important for understanding the evolution of the Arctic territory", Dmitry Metelkin said.
The Arctic Floating University is a scientific and educational project dedicated to the study of Arctic territories on the basis of marine expeditions. For the duration of the project, the research vessel "Professor Molchanov" serves as the “floating university”. The expeditions include 58 people; more than half of them are foreigners with representatives from Bulgaria, Switzerland, Cuba, the Netherlands, France, and Germany. The organizers of the project are the M.V. Lomonosov North (Arctic) Federal University and the Federally funded Northern Office for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. This is the second time that specialists from Novosibirsk State University have been invited to participate in a Floating University expedition. On the ship, the NSU scientists are responsible for the scientific and educational components of the geological block. The participation of NSU geologists on the Floating University expedition is supported by the 5-100 Project.
NSU Students won Medals at the International Mathematics Olympics
A team from NSU won four bronze medals and was awarded an Honorable Mention at the International Student Olympics International Mathematics Competition for University Students 2017 (IMC 2017), which was held in Bulgaria from July 31 to August 6.
The IMC Olympics, organized by University College London, has been held 24 times. This year, more than 300 students from 70 universities from around the world participated. It is one of the most internationally representative mathematics competitions in the world for students. Traditionally, competitions last two days during which participants are asked to solve problems from different mathematical disciplines: algebra, analysis (real and complex), geometry, and combinatorics. This year, Novosibirsk State University was represented by a team of seven people. The team was led by Alexei Obukhoukhov, a 2nd year student in the Mechanics and Mathematics Department Master's Program and an employee at NSU’s Algorithm Laboratory. He talked about the event,
"The Olympiad took place in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria at the American University in Bulgaria and participants from many countries were there. Every day we were given five hours to solve five tasks. Points were awarded based on the results and places were allocated in the individual category, there was also an additional team category".
Results of internal and regional student Olympics in mathematics held annually in October at NSU determined the composition of the NSU team . Participation by the NSU team in the Olympics was supported by the Top-100 Project.
