JOINT RUSSIAN-BRAZILIAN RESEARCH OF THE AMAZON RIVER PLUME DURING THE 52nd CRUISE OF THE R/V “AKADEMIK BORIS PETROV”

Abstract

The paper provides information about the international Russian-Brazilian field studies in the largest river plume of the World Ocean, on the shelf of the northern part of Brazil near the mouth of the Amazon River. The field work was conducted from November 20 to November 29, 2022, as part of the scientific program of the 52nd cruise of the R/V “Akademik Boris Petrov”. The research was organized and implemented jointly by Russian and Brazilian scientists. Measurements performed at 28 stations included CTD profiling and sampling of water from different depth levels, zooplankton and phytoplankton collection, as well as the collection of microplastic samples by a towed Manta net. It is known that the Amazon River is the largest source of plastic litter into the ocean, but such detailed studies of the distribution of plastic in the Amazon plume are very few. The work of the R/V “Akademik Boris Petrov” near the Amazon in the territorial waters of Brazil was the second ever expedition of a Russian scientific vessel in this area, after the 9th cruise of the R/V “Professor Shtokman” in 1983. The new expedition made it possible to obtain rare scientific data on a unique region of the ocean, and also, in our opinion, became a significant milestone in the development of international cooperation between the BRICS countries.