Reintroduce the ice fauna in Siberia to save the planet
On November 27, 2021, as part of its fifth documentary festival, Arte will broadcast a remarkable film: "Back to ice age, Zimov's hypothesis".In northeast Siberia, in the heart of the grandiose icy landscapes of Yakutia, director Denis Sneguirev followed for two years Sergei and Nikita Zimov, father and son who rolled up their sleeves to find a concrete solution to the cast iron of the Arctic Arctic Permafrost, a formidable climate threat.
Image extracted from Denis Sneguirev's documentary.
Sergei Zimov is a Russian geophysicist, a tundra specialist, who founded the northeast scientific station in 1977, not far from Tcherski.This station, which welcomes scientists around the world all year round, is dedicated to the study of tundra, and in particular permafrost.This has recorded cast iron rates reaching 3.3 meters deep in summer in recent years!And the measures show that "the temperatures of the soil has arisen in a few decades", underlines Nikita Zimov in the documentary.According to the sixth IPCC report, the circumpolar permafrost thus stores 1,700 billion tonnes of carbon, which would be rejected in the atmosphere if overall temperatures continue to increase.
"Zimov hypothesis"
In 2005, in an article published in Science, Sergei Zimov explained that it is possible to slow down the melting of this permafrost by reintroducing in this biotope the great herbivores who prospered there at ice age, there are 15.000 years, and which would have disappeared following an excessive hunt. Pour tester son idée – aujourd’hui connue sous le nom d’« hypothèse de Zimov » -, le scientifique a fondé à la fin des années 1980 le parc du Pléistocène, une réserve clôturée de 20 km2 autour de la station scientifique du Nord-Est.With his mathematician as sons Nikita, whom he joined his cause, he has never ceased for 15 years to introduce Rennes, Yacks, bison, musk, horses, sheep, etc..
Image extracted from Denis Sneguirev's documentary.
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"We do not fight global warming, we are fighting so that the scenario is not deadly, explains Nikita Zimov.Our hypothesis is very simple, it is basic physics.Snow is a thermal insulation.If it is removed, the floors freeze.The real difficulty is to have millions of animals to do the work ".Because the survival of mammals taken from environments further south is difficult above the Arctic Circle.They must indeed adapt to the cold, the difficulty of finding food or the polar night, which deprives the organisms of vitamins A and E.However, the objective of the two Russian scientists is to promote their reproduction, so as to obtain new generations more suited to local conditions.
An experience that already obtains results
The path is arduous, strewn with disappointments and unexpected difficulties.But over the documentary, the incredible energy deployed by the Zimov and their team forces admiration.Especially since this large -scale experience that is the Pléistocene park already obtains results.Thus, in the areas which have experienced a strong trampling of herbivores, the packed snowpack desets much less deeply in the summer season.
Back to ice age, Zimov's hypothesis, a documentary by Denis Sneguirev.
To see, Saturday November 27, 2021 at 10:25 p.m. on Arte.
Or from November 20, 2021 to January 25, 2022 on Arte.TV
From 23 to 29 November 2021, the Arte documentary festival will broadcast thirteen renowned directors' films, some of which are awarded at major international festivals.