Translartion. Region: Russians Fedetion –
Source: Novosibirsk State University – Novosibirsk State University –
On April 19, the dean celebrated his 70th birthday. Faculty of Geology and Geophysics, Novosibirsk State University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Honored Geologist of the Russian Federation, Professor Valery Arnoldovich Vernikovsky. He devoted a significant part of his scientific work to studying the Arctic. For a series of works “Geology, tectonics and paleogeodynamics of folded-thrust belts of Siberia” the scientist was awarded the V. A. Obruchev Prize, and for a series of works on a single topic “Study of the deep structure of the Arctic Ocean in order to substantiate the outer boundary of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation” – the O. Yu. Schmidt Prize. Last year, for his great contribution to the development of Russian science, many years of fruitful work and in connection with the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Valery Arnoldovich Vernikovsky was awarded the Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland” of the 2nd degree.
The scientist’s activities have been associated with NSU for almost 30 years. In 1996, he became a lecturer at the Department of General and Regional Geology at NSU, a year later he headed it, and since December 2012 he has become the dean of the Geological and Geophysical Faculty. V.A. Vernikovsky tells about his path to science, his student years and Arctic expeditions.
— Valery Arnoldovich, you are a representative of a family dynasty of geologists. Tell us about your family and its role in your life as a scientist?
— In our family, most people were either doctors or geologists. My father, Arnold Nikolaevich, and his brother, Vladimir, were geologists, and my mother, Inna Pavlovna, and my grandmother were doctors. My sister also chose the same profession. I met my wife, Antonina Evgenyevna, during my student years at the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals. She, like me, is a geologist. Together, we participated in many expeditions and wrote many joint scientific papers. Her father was a mining engineer. My youngest daughter, Irina, also became a geologist. My father and uncle graduated from the geological faculty of Lviv State University, but they did not directly influence my choice of profession; it happened naturally. They did not agitate me for the profession of a geologist, and certainly did not force me to choose it, but they did not dissuade me either, they supported me in my decision. To be honest, I myself do not remember how I chose the path to science. My parents were scientists, candidates of science – my mother worked at the Krasnoyarsk Medical Institute in the pediatrics department, and my father – an energetic and enthusiastic person – managed to work in different organizations. He worked at the deposits in Berkh (Mongolia) and Norilsk, on the Kola Peninsula and on the Angara… And it turned out that when the time came to decide on a university, I had no doubts where to go: definitely only to the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals. And I have never regretted this decision in my life.
I prepared for entering this university in advance. After finishing 9th grade, I asked my father, who was then the director of the Krasnoyarsk branch of SNIIGGiMS, to send me to some geological detachment so that I could work with real field geologists during the summer. He sent me to the then already famous geologist and scientist, Doctor of Sciences Georgy Nikolaevich Brovkov. He accepted me into his detachment, and we worked together for two months in Tuva, right on the border with Mongolia. There I learned the basics of field geology and learned to overcome the difficulties of expedition life. I remember it was a very difficult field. It was hot all June and July, and I was constantly thirsty. You could only take a flask of water with you to the field. This was not enough for the whole day, and Georgy Nikolaevich categorically forbade taking water from streams and puddles. All we could do was wait for the evening, when a car would come for us and the driver would bring a whole canister of water.
After this expedition, my decision to go into geology only became stronger, and a year later I entered the Krasnoyarsk Institute of Non-Ferrous Metals in the Mining and Geological Faculty, from which I graduated with a degree in Geology and Exploration of Mineral Deposits.
My parents always supported me: in my studies, in expedition work, and in scientific research. Of course, family influence is very important and valuable. My parents instilled in me a love of nature, a craving for travel, and a desire for scientific knowledge. We spent weekends on the Krasnoyarsk Pillars, enjoying the beauty of these places. In winter, we went on ski trips to Krasnoyarsk Sopka. We really valued moments of communication with nature, and this, perhaps, also played a role in choosing my life path.
— What were your student years like? Were students of those years different from those of today?
— During my student years, young people were distinguished by their focus on their studies and the profession they had chosen. The level of training of my classmates was different: among them were guys from the city, as well as from remote villages and settlements. It was the most difficult for them. But they set themselves the task of graduating from the university and acquiring a specialty. And they made maximum efforts to do this, persistently moving towards their goal, and then working in their specialty. They never refused to go on field trips — such a thought never even arose. If there were any health problems or any obstacles to undergoing field practice, they hid it, just to get into the field. Now, however, I often encounter students who try to avoid this and ask permission to undergo practice in institute laboratories. But a geologist must be familiar with field work — this is my firm conviction. However, it is gratifying that most current geology students remain committed to field practices and expeditionary work. Unfortunately, there are also those who, after 1-2 months of study, realize that they made the wrong choice and leave.
To reduce such cases, I talk to each applicant individually. I think this is very important, because recently a lot of guys have come who do not understand at all what the specialty of “geologist” is. When communicating with such applicants, we try to find out which direction attracts them more and matches their interests: geochemistry, geophysics, geology or paleontology. It happens that they are not ready to make a choice and cannot give a definite answer. Apparently, this is why a certain number of students drop out already in the first year. Some realize that they entered the wrong specialty, and some cannot handle the workload. For some reason, some people think that geology is easy. Not at all. Perhaps it is even more difficult than in other areas, because geology as such is not taught at school. Therefore, first-year students also have to master terminology that is new to them. Not everyone is ready for this, and they decide that it would be easier to leave.
During my student years, the dropout rate was something exceptional. The profession of a geologist was considered prestigious – the competition was 5-6 people per place. We were recruited into two groups, and almost everyone who entered got their diploma and then worked in their specialty – some became chief geologist of a mine, some – chief geologist of a prospecting party, many worked as geologists at mining and processing or mining enterprises, some teach at a university or work at a research institute.
— Valery Arnoldovich, what was your first student geological practice like?
— Our first practical training took place after the first year at Lake Itkul in the Shirinsky District of the Republic of Khakassia. Now there is a permanent NSU training ground there with comfortable houses, a bathhouse, office rooms and a canteen. At that time, there was nothing like that at Itkul. Our field camp was located on the other side of the lake. We lived in 10-bed army tents. The discipline was semi-military: we were divided into teams, and each of them was on duty in the kitchen according to the schedule — preparing breakfast, lunch and dinner. Every day at 7 a.m. the physical education teacher took us out on a three-kilometer cross-country run. Then followed water procedures, which we took right in the lake. A short breakfast — and on the routes. Like today’s geology students, we surveyed the area and made geological maps.
Despite the difficulties of everyday life, we lived very amicably and happily. In our free time from work we played volleyball and trained so well that teams from neighboring villages came to us, and we organized friendly competitions.
— Valery Arnoldovich, at what point did you become interested in studying the Arctic?
– This happened in his student years thanks to my teacher, Arctic geologist, Professor Lev Vasilievich Makhlaev. He taught us lithology and metamorphism. After the second year, we all had to go to industrial practice. And Lev Vasilievich suggested that I and my classmate Sergei Gubanov turn to Krasnoyarsk SNIIGGIMS with a request to include us in the scientific group under the leadership of Anatoly Ignatievich Zabiyaki, who travels to Cape Chelyuskin Peninsula Taimyr. Lev Vasilievich said that he himself worked as part of this group, and we will probably be very interesting to similar experience. We followed his advice and, as a result, went to our first Arctic expedition for as many as 4 months. The session had to be taken ahead of schedule, and by the beginning of the next school year we were late, but it was worth it. Work in Taimyr has become for us not only a school of geology, but also a school of life. Everything for us was new, many difficulties had to be overcome in severe polar conditions. The scientific group was based at the polar station. We flew to Taimyr from the island of Dixon on the Li-2 aircraft. We met us on two old all-terrain vehicles GAZ-47. We got to the polar station on them. After several days of preparation and repair of the same all -terrain vehicles, we went to the place of work in the direction to the south. The path was very difficult – in three days we managed to overcome only 150 kilometers without sleep, without rest, in water and snow. Our all -terrain vehicle constantly stuck in the melted snow. To pull it out, it was necessary to put a log under it, which the caterpillars (tracks) dragged it to the entire length of the case. And then – again and again. Three days later, the difficult path was traveled, we got to the place of work. Only next year we began to set up a tent right on the roof of an all -terrain vehicle. So we have a place to relax. When the tundra began to thaw, we began to go on routes. They were long-every day each of us passed 20-30 kilometers. The first impressions were incomparable. We very slowly, step by step, knew field work, met the Arctic, and she fascinated. I didn’t want anywhere else, and in the future I returned again and again to these places as part of the same scientific group. Here he prepared a candidate, and then a doctoral dissertation. I took root in this region and loved it with all my heart. On the only peninsula, Chelyuskin has documented routes – more than 3 thousand kilometers.
— What was it about the tundra that captivated you so much – such a harsh and inhospitable region?
— The tundra is incredibly beautiful at any time — both when it is covered with snow and when it thaws. The vegetation here is sparse — only dwarf willows and birches barely rise above the ground. There are no mushrooms or berries here, although sometimes you can see russula. Nothing else grows here, but the beauty of the relief, the summer snowfields that do not melt, the coast of the ocean, bound by ice or stormy, is mesmerizing. It cannot be described in words, you have to see it. There are people who are sick with the Arctic. And I became one of them. I think it is some kind of very good disease that you do not want to be cured of.
— What do you remember about the Arctic routes?
— I loved them very much, but they were very difficult. Since there was no possibility to involve route workers, we often went on routes alone, thus violating safety regulations. I went on many routes alone. I left early in the morning after breakfast and returned late in the evening, losing track of time. In the summer in this region there is a polar day, the sun shines as if it were daytime, even at 2 am. Despite constant fatigue, we still strove to quickly go on a new route: to learn something new, to discover, to bring something.
The polar bears were a serious danger on the route. But we were all armed. I had a five-shot carbine, I shot quite well, and I was not afraid. And after one dangerous incident, I developed the habit of never parting with a gun on the route.
This happened on Cape Kaminsky, on the shores of the Kara Sea. The three of us on an all -terrain vehicle almost reached the cape. On our way, there was a stone kurumnik – a large -sized exposure. Do not go further. I remained to work there, 200 meters from an all -terrain vehicle, and my colleagues left the bay to expose on another cape two kilometers from me. I left a heavy carbine in an all -terrain vehicle – why carry an extra 6 kilograms with me, because the car is very close? He became interested in the work-he repulsed the samples, made notes, signed the labels, and suddenly someone warned: “Look where your colleagues are.” I looked closely and saw a very strange picture: they fled in my direction. Running along the tundra in swamp boots, and even with backpacks is very difficult. So something happened. But surprisingly, no one pursued them. What happened? I looked around and saw that three white bear were approaching me: a huge mother and two of her grown cubs, only a little inferior to her parent. The animals have not yet noticed me, although they were approximately 300 meters from the place where I worked peacefully. And if it had not been distracted, we would definitely have met, and this meeting did not promise me anything good. It’s good that I knew one iron rule – in such situations, in no case should I run. The bear will still be faster. Where, crawling, where, bending, under the cover of stones, I got to the saving all -terrain vehicle. Soon my colleagues arrived in time, and the bears reached the place where I worked and sniffed him carefully. We shot into the air and scared them off. I did not have more such meetings, but I learned a lesson forever.
— How important is it to study the Arctic?
— The research group I was a part of was engaged in thematic work. At that time, funding in these regions was allocated only for geological surveys and gold prospecting. The thing is that at that time there was not even a state 200,000-square-meter survey of the territory in Taimyr, and we had to do geological mapping. We also did structural surveys of the area, and studied magmatism and metamorphism. In addition, we searched for native and placer gold, sampled quartz-vein formations and various sulfidization zones. And, by the way, we found gold. An increased gold content was found in the ore occurrence, the first samples from which we took, but only 30 years later geologists-explorers came there with trenching and drilling. Then a fairly good ore occurrence with a higher gold content was established, but due to the remoteness of the territory, the lack of roads and the high cost of the work, exploration was again frozen. This is a gold-bearing region, but prospecting and especially mining are very difficult and expensive. Moreover, such work can only be done for three months a year, when the short summer comes.
— The second region that is in the sphere of your geological attention is the Yenisei Ridge. Tell us about your work in its territory.
— The Yenisei Ridge is the second region that I love very much, and where I worked quite a lot. For various reasons, it was not always possible to fly to the Arctic, but the Yenisei Ridge can be reached by UAZ or GAZ-66 vehicles.
This is a very interesting region in terms of geological structure with a very complex evolution of formation, and I am glad that we managed to do a lot here. For example, to describe the tectonics and evolution of granitoid magmatism of the Yenisei Ridge, to show the evolution of the formation of tectonic structures and much more. We worked mainly like this: we were dropped by helicopters to the upper reaches of the right tributaries of the Yenisei and from there we rafted in rubber boats carrying out geological work. And while we were rafting, for a month or a month and a half, we worked all these tributaries and streams in order to understand the geological structure of the region.
Working in the taiga has its own specifics. If on Taimyr, where there is no high vegetation, I could climb to any elevation, see all the primary rock outcrops and map out a route, then here everything is different. You have to look for rock sections along the Yenisei, Angara and tributaries along which we rafted. If I first got to Taimyr for practical training in 1974 after my second year, then I ended up on the Yenisei Ridge a year later, as part of a different group, again as part of my practical training. Here I worked under the supervision of Vitaly Nikolaevich Pilipenko. He taught me a lot, we went on a lot of routes with him, so the Yenisei Ridge became my second region, which I love very much and where I have returned many times. After the 2011 field season, spent on the New Siberian Islands and the De Long Islands, I no longer had the opportunity to go to the Arctic for field work for 3-4 months, since in 2012 I became the dean of the Geological and Geophysical Faculty of NSU. But I went to the Yenisei Ridge almost every year.
— Valery Arnoldovich, tell us about your work as part of the commission preparing the application for the expansion of the continental shelf of the Russian Federation.
— In February 2016, at the 40th session of the UN Commission in New York, the Russian Federation submitted an application to expand its continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. I was part of the state delegation. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, Sergei Donskoy, gave a two-hour presentation. In his speech, he spoke about the large volume of geological and geophysical work carried out over the past 15 years to substantiate this application. According to it, Russia laid claim to the Lomonosov Ridge, the Mendeleyev Rise, and several other areas of the Arctic. Scientists have proven that these territories are an extension of the Russian continental shelf. By the way, our country has previously submitted an application to expand Russian borders in the Arctic. And there is serious scientific evidence for this, which is exactly what we were looking for as part of our research.
Russian scientists have managed to prove that the Mendeleev Ridge, located at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, has continental, not oceanic, crust, which means it is an extension of the continent and Russia may well lay claim to expanding the boundaries of its continental shelf in the Arctic.
— In your opinion, how important is the role of family in the life of a scientist?
— Of course, the support of loved ones is incredibly important. Most of the time I worked together with my wife. We started a family in 1979. A few years later, Antonina Evgenyevna and I began going on expeditions together. She worked with me for several field seasons on Taimyr, we worked a lot on the Yenisei Ridge. We prepared many joint scientific papers and publications. Such a coincidence of interests and mutual understanding is very helpful in work, it is not for nothing that family dynasties of geologists are not uncommon. In such families, as a rule, there is understanding, mutual assistance, support. You do not need to explain the specifics of your work, your loved one is already familiar with it in all details. He is on the same path and overcomes the same difficulties. It is much easier to go through life together. Especially if you are scientists. Because on this path you can formulate some common task, conduct research together and write a good scientific article.
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