In Summer 2025, Experts Used an Underwater Drone to Study Fuel Oil Pollution Impact on Coastal Shelf Ecosystems, Including Macrophytes

Black Sea expedition reveals hidden dangers of chronic oil pollution on marine ecosystems

Scientists assessed the condition of macrophytes—macroalgae and higher aquatic plants—in the Kerch Strait and the Anapa Spit region. The coastal shelf analysis was conducted in June 2025 during an expedition by the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SSC RAS), led by Academician Gennady Matishov. The SSC RAS press service reported the findings, noting that the results were published in a scientific journal.

Researchers deployed a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) in the Black Sea near the Anapa Spit. Over an area exceeding 1,500 square meters, they examined the consequences of fuel oil contamination on the coastal shelf, including its impact on resident macrophyte communities.

Experts described the state of underwater phytocenoses following the tanker disasters in December 2024 as relatively stable.

"Surveys of underwater landscapes were carried out both in open waters—at designated sites from aboard a search-and-rescue vessel—and along four linear transects, with starting points located onshore and offshore," states an excerpt from the study, authored by Doctor of Biological Sciences Oleg Stepanian and Candidate of Biological Sciences Oleg Khoroshev. "In our view, a single catastrophic event has less severe effects on ecosystems than chronic oil pollution in semi-enclosed bays. While fuel oil exposure will not lead to the complete disappearance of brown algae, which dominate coastal ecosystems, the structural 'framework' of the community will remain intact."

As previously reported, scientists continue to evaluate the recovery rate of the seabed following the fuel oil spill near Anapa. A fourth joint expedition by the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) and the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences has begun near the mouth of the Mozhepsin River. Using specialized equipment, researchers are collecting sediment samples for long-term analysis in Moscow.