The 13th scientific and practical conference entitled “Obdoria: Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems under conditions of climatic and social transformations” took place from 26 to 28 November 2024 in Labytnangi, Russia. Head of the FLNP JINR Sector of Neutron Activation Analysis and Applied Research, Inga Zinicovscaia, participated in the event. Following the conference results, Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics, Arctic Research Station of the Institute of Plant and Animal Ecology (IPAE), and Saint Petersburg State University outlined plans to carry out joint research.

In her talk “Application of nuclear and analytical methods in environmental research”, Inga Zinicovscaia spoke about the analytical capabilities of the sector and demonstrated the examples of environmental studies conducted at JINR. For example, for many years, employees of the sector have been assessing heavy metal deposition using passive and active biomonitoring methods in the JINR Member States. In the presentation, special attention was paid to the determination of the elemental composition of soils and plants and the assessment of the transfer of chemical elements in the soil–plant system. Inga also mentioned studies on the effect of metal nanoparticles on animals.

The event was dedicated to the Arctic ecology and timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the 70th anniversary of the IPAE Arctic Research Station. More than 70 scientists from 19 scientific centres presented their research results at the conference.