The steppe, a protected lake, and a salt volcano: how RUDN ecologists conducted an expedition to Baskunchak

With the support of their teachers, students organize independent expeditions, including research trips to accomplish specific scientific tasks, as well as science and popularization and educational trips.

“GreenLab does not go on expeditions just for the sake of it. All of our outdoor events have a scientific or educational purpose. We see a demand from students to participate in such scientific expeditions. Most are not interested in simply walking or driving along a route to see something beautiful and take a photo for the sake of it – they want something they can take away with them besides vivid impressions. New knowledge necessary for future careers, skills, understanding of the structure of various ecosystems and natural processes. We select those who share our values and are ready not only to travel, but also to learn. So we have students from other departments of RUDN University joining us, as well as students from other universities,” Daniil Mironov, GreenLab outdoor manager, student of the Institute of Environmental Studies (Applied Mathematics and Informatics, first year).

During the existence of the Student Scientific Society, students have participated in expeditions not only within Russia, but also abroad. The young researchers have explored Kamchatka Krai, Murmansk Oblast, the Republic of Dagestan, Kalmykia, Karelia, Primorsky Krai, and have also worked in regions of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

One of the most recent expeditions took place in the Astrakhan Region. A group of students traveled to the vicinity of Lake Baskunchak. This is not only a well-known salt lake, but also home to karst caves and chalk quarries with various minerals and ancient fossils.

“The goal of the expedition is to study steppe ecosystems, as well as the geological features of Lake Baskunchak and Mount Bogdo. Bogdo is only 150 meters high, but it is the highest point in the Caspian Depression. Few people know this, but this mountain is actually a salt dome covered by sedimentary rocks. Gradually, the salt layers below push it up, causing it to grow several millimeters per year, promising to erupt with real salt lava in millions of years,” Daniil Mironov, GreenLab outdoor manager, student at the Institute of Environmental Studies (Applied Mathematics and Informatics, 1st year).

“We got acquainted with the local flora and fauna. We saw formidable saltpans, alarming snakes, and numerous dung beetles and experienced the variability of the weather in the steppes firsthand – we went on radial excursions under the scorching sun, and in the evenings we prepared dinner and listened to lectures in the rain. We managed to walk on the surface of Baskunchak and in its brine (the salty water of the lake), the bottom of which is covered with the mineral halite – the very table salt that we use and which is mined here on an industrial scale," said Lada Yaseneva, a student at the Institute of Environmental Engineering (Ecology and Nature Management, second year).

Lake Baskunchak itself is fed by 19 springs, only two of which are fresh. Underground waters pass through layers of salt, becoming saturated and then flowing into Baskunchak itself. The salt concentration in the lake is about 250 ml/l, making it one of the saltiest lakes in Russia and the world. Salt is not the only mineral that can be found in the vicinity of Baskunchak. There are chalk quarries nearby, both active and abandoned, where minerals and ancient fossils can be found, such as the vertebrae of fish that lived more than 200 million years ago. Participants were able to take samples of gypsum and feldspar with them.

“In a few days, we managed to visit the most interesting places: we climbed Mount Bogdo with its incredible views, visited a gypsum quarry where the earth resembled alien landscapes, and reached Lake Baskunchak. We had to walk 10 km to the lake, but it was worth it! Walking on salt was painful – it cut our feet like broken glass – but the feeling of standing in the middle of an endless white desert is unforgettable. We brought home salt crystals and gypsum as souvenirs,” Daria Dobrova, a student of the Institute of Environmental Engineering (Energy and Resource Saving Processes in Chemical Technology, Petrochemistry, and Biotechnology, first year).