During the "Beluga Whales of the Solovetsky Archipelago 2026" coastal-marine expedition, which took place in summer of 2026, scientists from the Marine Mammal Laboratory at Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted extensive bioacoustic monitoring in the waters of the Solovetsky Archipelago. The objective of the study was to examine the impact of anthropogenic noise on marine mammals — specifically White Sea beluga whales and true seals (bearded seals and ringed seals) — that inhabit the Solovetsky Bay during the summer months.

The work was carried out under State Assignment No. FMWE-2026-0005, titled "The Impact of Anthropogenic Factors on Beluga Whales and True Seals During the Construction of Hydraulic Structures on Bolshoy Solovetsky Island in the White Sea." This project was initiated by the government in response to the intensive construction and large-scale modernization of the island’s transport and hydraulic infrastructure. It is worth noting that this research is unprecedented: for the first time, a large-scale monitoring program is being conducted to track acoustic landscapes and the presence of beluga whales in the area, with the ultimate goal of preserving a unique natural asset — the summer reproductive aggregation of beluga whales at the Solovetsky Islands.

As part of this year’s phase of bioacoustic monitoring, scientists surveyed a previously unstudied area that is critically important for both beluga whales and seals. Research teams deployed equipment at three locations — within the Solovetsky Bay, along the shores of the Topy Archipelago (where seals establish summer haul-out sites), and in the waters near Cape Beluzhy on Solovetsky Island, a known aggregation area for beluga whales during their reproductive season — thereby establishing an extensive passive acoustic monitoring network. In total, more than 6,600 hours of underwater acoustic recordings were collected. 

The "Topy" study site — the area surrounding the Topy archipelago, including the Topy shoal (where one of the autonomous bioacoustic stations was deployed) — has yielded a unique dataset. For the first time, researchers studied the acoustic activity of beluga whales and the levels of noise pollution in the soundscape far offshore, in an area designated for the planned dumping of dredged material. This information is critically important for assessing future dredging operations and minimizing their impact on marine life.

The intensive construction of berthing facilities in 2026 has yielded valuable new data on the impact of construction activities. Notably, for the second consecutive season, the project has employed the pile-driving method known as "vibratory installation" — a technique that minimizes acoustic disturbance to marine mammals. Nevertheless, scientists conducted four sessions of direct noise measurement at various distances and directions from the pile-installation site. This will allow for a more precise characterization of the noise impact and the validation of a previously developed model for how this noise propagates. Particular attention was focused on assessing the impact of the noise on seals, which — due to their specific hearing characteristics and the way sound travels — are more sensitive to construction-related noise than beluga whales.