On April 6, the Winter Limnology School and Workshop was launched in Kostomuksha. It is organized by the Scientific Education Center of the Northern Water Problems Institute KarRC RAS in partnership with the Kostomuksha Nature Reserve and the Karelian Institute for Promotion of Education. The participants were teachers from schools of Petrozavodsk and the Prionezhsky District of Karelia, staff of environmental organizations from Karelia, St. Petersburg and Moscow, early-career researchers, and schoolchildren. Under the guidance of scientists, they are learning the theory and methods of limnology – the science of lakes.

– We live in a land of lakes and rivers, so it’s crucial for us to understand how the nature operates, what organisms populate the waterbodies, how lakes function in different seasons, – remarked Anastasiia Sidorova, Head of Hydrobiology Laboratory at NWPI KarRC RAS.

From the very first day, the learners delved into activities: a field class took place on the ice of Lake Kontokki, which has Kostomuksha on its southern and eastern shores. The original plan was to work farther out on ice, but the weather necessitated adjustments, so the place for the limnology class was the lake's littoral zone. Together with specialists, the participants collected water and sediment samples, measured turbidity, dissolved solids and other parameters, as well as conducted hydrophysical measurements. In the evening of the same day, they continued working in laboratories, since samples from the first day had to be processed.


Participants of the Winter Limnology School and Workshop

Today, field training continues on the banks of the Kontokki River, which flows through the lake. The activities include wastewater, sediment, and hydrobiological sampling, as well as hydrophysical measurements. In the afternoon, the participants will be lectured on markers of waterbody wellbeing, research methods, and other aspects of limnology.

The first Winter Limnology School took place in Kostomuksha last year, gathering over 30 participants. This year, the thematic scope was expanded to include microbiology, which is essential, e.g., for sanitary assessment of waterbodies. A large practical on bioassays will be led by Elena Makarova, Researcher at the Hydrobiology Laboratory of NWPI KarRC RAS.

On the final day of the school, April 10, participants will present the results of their research and projects. In conclusion, the attendees will receive relevant certificates, and teachers will additionally obtain further training credentials.

In March, specialists from the NWPI KarRC RAS conducted in Petrozavodsk a limnology school for young researchers from the CIS participating in the project «Under the Pressure of Global Climate Change: a Youth Network for Water Ecosystem Research»

Photos provided by participants and organizers