Scientists from the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology at the Russian Academy of Sciences have launched a comprehensive study of marine mammals in the Una Bay of the White Sea on the territory of Onezhskoye Pomorye National Park.

The scientists are working from equipped sites on bay ice to study the population, distribution and acoustic signals of the white whales and the ringed and bearded seals. They are using cutting-edge equipment to record and process the signals these mammals produce.

Nadezhda Cherenkova, deputy director for biodiversity studies at Kenozersky National Park, said the goal this season is to record the acoustic signals of the white whales underwater from the shore ice edge. “We hope to be able to collect unique information, because this has never been done in the White Sea in winter,” she said.