Scientists at Murmansk Arctic University (UIA) have received a patent for an innovative method for estimating greenhouse gas emissions from marine vessels. According to the authors, the methodology will help sea carriers on the Northern Sea Route comply with current environmental requirements and control harmful emissions.
The growth of cargo traffic along the Northern Sea Route and the tightening of international environmental regulations require a more accurate assessment of emissions. In particular, this is necessary to: comply with MARPOL standards and IMO targets for reducing CO2 emissions; verify the carbon footprint of marine freight; plan "green" routes to minimize environmental impacts; create transparent reporting for shipowners, regulators and environmental auditors.
"Our goal is to create a tool that will make Arctic shipping not only efficient, but also environmentally responsible. The accuracy of emissions estimates is the first step towards reducing them," said Zhanna Vasilyeva, one of the authors of the development, Head of the Research Institute for Environmental Engineering and Pollution Monitoring of the Arctic Zone at UIA.
The essence of the development is to create an adaptive method for quantifying greenhouse gas emissions (including CO2, CH4, N2O) from marine vessels in a given water area. It is especially important that the method is adapted to the specifics of Arctic routes: it takes into account ice conditions, transit duration and engine operating modes, which avoids errors typical of traditional approaches to calculating emissions.
"The logistics of the future requires a balance between the speed of delivery and the impact on the climate. Our method helps to find this balance by integrating data into effective solutions," said Mikhail Vasekha, another participant in the study, Head of the Logistics in the Arctic Research Institute at UIA.
According to the authors, the prospects for the practical application of the new methodology are quite wide. It can be implemented: in environmental monitoring systems of ports and coastal zones; in digital navigation management platforms, including dispatch centers of the Northern Sea Route; in software modules for optimizing routes based on the carbon footprint; in procedures for certification of "environmentally friendly" transportation and ESG risk assessment.
The authors plan to continue their research, in particular, to adapt the algorithm to the ice conditions typical of the Arctic water area, as well as expand the satellite data base to improve monitoring efficiency.
