Drifting ice station

Soviet drifting ice station depicted on a 1955 stamp.

A drifting ice station is a temporary or semi-permanent facility built on an ice floe. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States maintained a number of stations in the Arctic Ocean on floes such as Fletcher's Ice Island for research and espionage, the latter of which were often little more than quickly constructed shacks. Extracting personnel from these stations proved difficult and in the case of the United States, employed early versions of the Fulton surface-to-air recovery system.

Overview[edit]

Soviet and Russian-staffed drifting ice stations are research stations built on the ice of the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean. They are important contributors to exploration of the Arctic. The stations are named "North Pole" (NP; Russian: Северный полюс, romanizedSeverny polyus, СП), followed by an ordinal number: North Pole-1, etc. NP drift stations carry out the program of complex year-round research in the fields of oceanology, ice studies, meteorology, aerology, geophysics, hydrochemistry, hydrophysics, and marine biology. On average, an NP station is the host for 600 to 650 ocean depth measurements, 3500 to 3900 complex meteorology measurements, 1200 to 1300 temperature measurements and sea water probes for chemical analysis, and 600 to 650 research balloon launches. Magnetic, ionosphere, ice and other observations are also carried out there. Regular measurements of the ice floe coordinates provide the data on the direction and speed of its drift.

The modern NP drifting ice station resembles a small settlement with housing for polar explorers and special buildings for the scientific equipment. Usually an NP station begins operations in April and continues for two or three years until the ice floe reaches the Greenland Sea. Polar explorers are replaced yearly. Since 1937 some 800 people were drifting at NP stations.

There are two groups of NP stations:

  • stations, drifting on the pack ice (i.e. relatively thin and short-lived ice): NP-1 through NP-5, NP-7 through NP-17, NP-20, NP-21
  • stations, drifting on ice islands (glacier fragments, that were split from the shore): NP-6, NP-18, NP-19, NP-22.

All NP stations are organized by the Russian (former Soviet) Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI).

History[edit]

The idea to use the drift ice for the exploration of nature in the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean came from Fridtjof Nansen, who fulfilled it on Fram between 1893 and 1896. The first stations to use drift ice as means of scientific exploration of the Arctic originated in the Soviet Union in 1937, when the first such station in the world, North Pole-1, started operations.[1]

North Pole-1 was established on 21 May 1937 some 20 km from the North Pole by the expedition into the high latitudes. Sever-1, led by Otto Schmidt. "NP-1" operated for 9 months, during which the ice floe travelled 2,850 kilometres. On 19 February 1938, Soviet ice breakers Taimyr and Murman took off four polar explorers from the station, who immediately became famous in the USSR and were awarded titles Hero of the Soviet Union: hydrobiologist Pyotr Shirshov, geophysicist Yevgeny Fyodorov, radioman Ernst Krenkel and their leader Ivan Papanin.

Since 1954 Soviet NP stations worked continuously, with one to three such stations operating simultaneously each year. The total distance drifted between 1937 and 1973 was over 80,000 kilometres. North Pole-22 is particularly notable for its record drift, lasting nine years. On 28 June 1972 the ice floe with North Pole-19 passed over the North Pole for the first time ever.

During such long-term observations by NP stations numerous important discoveries in physical geography were made such as valuable conclusions on regularities and the connection between processes in the polar region of the Earth's hydrosphere and atmosphere and the deep water Lomonosov Ridge,[2] which crosses the Arctic Ocean, other large features of the ocean bottom's relief, the discovery of two systems of the drift (circular and "wash-out"), and the fact of cyclones' active penetration into the Central Arctic.

The last Soviet NP station, North Pole-31, was closed in July 1991.

In the post-Soviet era, Russian exploration of the Arctic by drifting ice stations was suspended for twelve years. The year 2003 was notable for Russia's return into the Arctic. As of 2006, three NP stations had carried out scientific measurements and research since then: "NP-32" through "NP-34".[citation needed] The latter was closed on 25 May 2006.[citation needed]

"NP-35" started operations on 21 September 2007 at the point 81°26′N 103°30′E / 81.433°N 103.500°E / 81.433; 103.500 (North Pole-35 (start)), when flags of Russia and Saint Petersburg were raised there. 22 scientists, led by A.A.Visnevsky are working on the ice floe. Establishment of the station was the third stage of the Arktika 2007 expedition. An appropriate ice floe was searched for from Akademik Fedorov research vessel, accompanied by nuclear icebreaker Rossiya, using MI-8 helicopters, for a week, until an ice floe with an area of 16 square kilometres was found.[3] The ice has since shrunk significantly, however, and the station is now being abandoned ahead of schedule.[4]

Replacement[edit]

Since the mid-2000s it became difficult to find a suitable ice floe to station camp on,[5][6] due to global warming, and several stations had to be evacuated prematurely because of unexpectedly fast thawing of the ice,[4] so in 2008 an idea to replace the ice camps with a drifting research vessel as a station core was proposed.[5] After almost a decade of deliberation, a contract of building the station vessel was awarded to Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg in 2017.[7] This will take a form of a large self-propelled ice resistant barge of ~10000 tons displacement, getting to the initial point of the mission by itself or with a help of an icebreaker and continuing to drift with the surrounding ice.[6] The barge, intended to function autonomously for 2–3 years, but equipped to be supplied by air or passing icebreakers, and equipped with the required research equipment, is expected to be commissioned in 2020.[needs update][6]

Past stations[edit]

Station name Head of the first shift Drift dates Drift coordinates Distance (km)
Began Ended Start Finish
North Pole-1 I.D. Papanin May 21, 1937 February 19, 1938 89°25′N 78°40′W / 89.417°N 78.667°W / 89.417; -78.667 (North Pole-1 (start)) 70°40′N 19°16′W / 70.667°N 19.267°W / 70.667; -19.267 (North Pole-1 (finish)) 2,850
North Pole-2 M.M. Somov April 2, 1950 April 11, 1951 76°03′N 166°36′W / 76.050°N 166.600°W / 76.050; -166.600 (North Pole-2 (start)) 81°44′N 163°48′W / 81.733°N 163.800°W / 81.733; -163.800 (North Pole-2 (finish)) 2,600
North Pole-3 A.F. Trioshnikov April 4, 1954 April 20, 1955 85°58′N 175°00′W / 85.967°N 175.000°W / 85.967; -175.000 (North Pole-3 (start)) 86°00′N 24°00′W / 86.000°N 24.000°W / 86.000; -24.000 (North Pole-3 (finish)) 1,865
North Pole-4 E.I. Tolstikov April 8, 1954 April 19, 1957 75°48′N 178°25′W / 75.800°N 178.417°W / 75.800; -178.417 (North Pole-4 (start)) 85°52′N 00°00′W / 85.867°N -0.000°E / 85.867; -0.000 (North Pole-4 (finish)) 6,970
North Pole-5 N.A. Volkov April 21, 1955 October 8, 1956 82°10′N 156°51′E / 82.167°N 156.850°E / 82.167; 156.850 (North Pole-5 (start)) 84°18′N 63°20′E / 84.300°N 63.333°E / 84.300; 63.333 (North Pole-5 (finish)) 3,630
Weddell 1 [ru] April 12, 1957 December 1, 1957 71°36′S 49°45′W / 71.600°S 49.750°W / -71.600; -49.750 (Weddell 1 (start)) 65°38′S 52°25′W / 65.633°S 52.417°W / -65.633; -52.417 (Weddell 1 (end)) 750
North Pole-6 K.A. Sychev April 19, 1956 September 14, 1959 74°24′N 177°04′W / 74.400°N 177.067°W / 74.400; -177.067 (North Pole-6 (start)) 82°06′N 03°56′E / 82.100°N 3.933°E / 82.100; 3.933 (North Pole-6 (finish)) 8,650
North Pole-7 V.A. Vedernikov April 23, 1957 April 11, 1959 82°06′N 164°11′W / 82.100°N 164.183°W / 82.100; -164.183 (North Pole-7 (start)) 85°14′N 33°03′W / 85.233°N 33.050°W / 85.233; -33.050 (North Pole-7 (finish)) 3,520
North Pole-8 V.M. Rogachyov April 27, 1959 March 19, 1962 76°11′N 164°24′W / 76.183°N 164.400°W / 76.183; -164.400 (North Pole-8 (start)) 83°15′N 132°30′W / 83.250°N 132.500°W / 83.250; -132.500 (North Pole-8 (finish)) 6,090
North Pole-9 V.A. Shamontyev April 26, 1960 March 28, 1961 77°23′N 163°00′E / 77.383°N 163.000°E / 77.383; 163.000 (North Pole-9 (start)) 86°36′N 76°00′W / 86.600°N 76.000°W / 86.600; -76.000 (North Pole-9 (finish)) 2,660
North Pole-10 N.A. Kornilov October 17, 1961 April 29, 1964 75°27′N 177°10′E / 75.450°N 177.167°E / 75.450; 177.167 (North Pole-10 (start)) 88°32′N 90°30′E / 88.533°N 90.500°E / 88.533; 90.500 (North Pole-10 (finish)) 3,960
North Pole-11 N.N. Bryazgin April 16, 1962 April 20, 1963 77°10′N 165°58′W / 77.167°N 165.967°W / 77.167; -165.967 (North Pole-11 (start)) 81°10′N 139°34′W / 81.167°N 139.567°W / 81.167; -139.567 (North Pole-11 (finish)) 2,400
North Pole-12 L.N. Belyakov April 30, 1963 April 25, 1965 76°50′N 165°34′W / 76.833°N 165.567°W / 76.833; -165.567 (North Pole-12 (start)) 81°06′N 145°47′W / 81.100°N 145.783°W / 81.100; -145.783 (North Pole-12 (finish)) 1,595
North Pole-13 A.Ya. Buzuyev April 22, 1964 April 20, 1967 73°55′N 161°19′W / 73.917°N 161.317°W / 73.917; -161.317 (North Pole-13 (start)) 87°55′N 03°32′E / 87.917°N 3.533°E / 87.917; 3.533 (North Pole-13 (finish)) 3,545
North Pole-14 Yu.B. Konstantinov May 1, 1965 February 12, 1966 72°42′N 175°25′W / 72.700°N 175.417°W / 72.700; -175.417 (North Pole-14 (start)) 76°59′N 154°49′E / 76.983°N 154.817°E / 76.983; 154.817 (North Pole-14 (finish)) 1,040
North Pole-15 V.V. Panov April 15, 1966 March 25, 1968 78°49′N 168°08′E / 78.817°N 168.133°E / 78.817; 168.133 (North Pole-15 (start)) 85°45′N 10°30′W / 85.750°N 10.500°W / 85.750; -10.500 (North Pole-15 (finish)) 2,330
North Pole-16 Yu. B. Konstantinov April 10, 1968 March 22, 1972 75°31′N 172°00′W / 75.517°N 172.000°W / 75.517; -172.000 (North Pole-16 (start)) 86°00′N 85°27′W / 86.000°N 85.450°W / 86.000; -85.450 (North Pole-16 (finish)) 5,850
North Pole-17 N.I. Blinov April 18, 1968 October 16, 1969 80°30′N 165°26′E / 80.500°N 165.433°E / 80.500; 165.433 (North Pole-17 (start)) 86°48′N 25°20′E / 86.800°N 25.333°E / 86.800; 25.333 (North Pole-17 (finish)) 1,750
North Pole-18 N.N. Ovchinnikov October 9, 1969 October 24, 1971 75°10′N 165°02′W / 75.167°N 165.033°W / 75.167; -165.033 (North Pole-18 (start)) 86°06′N 153°51′E / 86.100°N 153.850°E / 86.100; 153.850 (North Pole-18 (finish)) 5,240
North Pole-19 A.N. Chilingarov November 7, 1969 April 16, 1973 74°54′N 160°13′E / 74.900°N 160.217°E / 74.900; 160.217 (North Pole-19 (start)) 83°08′N 16°17′E / 83.133°N 16.283°E / 83.133; 16.283 (North Pole19- (finish)) 6,705
North Pole-20 Yu. P. Tikhonov April 22, 1970 May 17, 1972 75°56′N 175°22′E / 75.933°N 175.367°E / 75.933; 175.367 (North Pole-20 (start)) 81°44′N 166°47′W / 81.733°N 166.783°W / 81.733; -166.783 (North Pole-20 (finish)) 3,780
North Pole-21 G.I. Kizino April 30, 1972 May 17, 1974 74°06′N 178°15′E / 74.100°N 178.250°E / 74.100; 178.250 (North Pole-21 (start)) 86°16′N 143°35′E / 86.267°N 143.583°E / 86.267; 143.583 (North Pole-21 (finish)) 3,605
North Pole-22 V.G. Moroz September 13, 1973 April 8, 1982 76°16′N 168°31′W / 76.267°N 168.517°W / 76.267; -168.517 (North Pole-22 (start)) 86°10′N 00°00′W / 86.167°N -0.000°E / 86.167; -0.000 (North Pole-22 (finish)) 17,069
North Pole-23 V.M. Piguzov December 5, 1975 November 1, 1978 73°51′N 178°25′W / 73.850°N 178.417°W / 73.850; -178.417 (North Pole-23 (start)) 87°40′N 22°31′W / 87.667°N 22.517°W / 87.667; -22.517 (North Pole-23 (finish)) 5,786
North Pole-24 I.K. Popov June 23, 1978 November 19, 1980 76°45′N 163°00′E / 76.750°N 163.000°E / 76.750; 163.000 (North Pole-24 (start)) 86°03′N 29°40′E / 86.050°N 29.667°E / 86.050; 29.667 (North Pole-24 (finish)) 5,652
North Pole-25 V.S. Sidorov May 16, 1981 April 20, 1984 75°01′N 168°35′E / 75.017°N 168.583°E / 75.017; 168.583 (North Pole-25 (start)) 85°50′N 122°15′W / 85.833°N 122.250°W / 85.833; -122.250 (North Pole-25 (finish)) 5,754
North Pole-26 V.S. Sidorov May 21, 1983 April 9, 1986 78°30′N 174°46′E / 78.500°N 174.767°E / 78.500; 174.767 (North Pole-26 (start)) 82°46′N 170°31′W / 82.767°N 170.517°W / 82.767; -170.517 (North Pole-26 (finish)) 5,380
North Pole-27 Yu. P. Tikhonov June 2, 1984 May 20, 1987 78°31′N 160°30′E / 78.517°N 160.500°E / 78.517; 160.500 (North Pole-27 (start)) 86°28′N 09°02′W / 86.467°N 9.033°W / 86.467; -9.033 (North Pole-27(finish)) 5,655
North Pole-28 A.F. Chernyshov May 21, 1986 January 23, 1989 80°40′N 168°29′E / 80.667°N 168.483°E / 80.667; 168.483 (North Pole-28 (start)) 79°40′N 03°09′E / 79.667°N 3.150°E / 79.667; 3.150 (North Pole-28 (finish)) 7,634
North Pole-29 V.V. Lukin June 10, 1987 August 19, 1988 80°22.8′N 112°59′E / 80.3800°N 112.983°E / 80.3800; 112.983 (North Pole-29 (start)) 84°42.8′N 56°34.3′W / 84.7133°N 56.5717°W / 84.7133; -56.5717 (North Pole-29 (finish)) 2,686
North Pole-30 V.M. Piguzov October 9, 1987 April 4, 1991 74°18′N 171°24′W / 74.300°N 171.400°W / 74.300; -171.400 (North Pole-30 (start)) 82°31′N 126°26′W / 82.517°N 126.433°W / 82.517; -126.433 (North Pole-30 (finish)) 7,675
North Pole-31 V.S. Sidorov October 22, 1988 July 25, 1991 76°35′N 153°10′W / 76.583°N 153.167°W / 76.583; -153.167 (North Pole-31 (finish)) 73°33′N 161°04′W / 73.550°N 161.067°W / 73.550; -161.067 (North Pole-31 (finish)) 5,475
North Pole-32 V.S. Koshelev April 25, 2003 March 6, 2004 87°52.5′N 148°03′E / 87.8750°N 148.050°E / 87.8750; 148.050 (North Pole-32 (start)) 84°41′N 03°33′W / 84.683°N 3.550°W / 84.683; -3.550 (North Pole-32 (finish)) 2,418
North Pole-33 A.A. Visnevsky September 9, 2004 October 5, 2005 85°05′N 156°31′E / 85.083°N 156.517°E / 85.083; 156.517 (North Pole-33 (start)) 86°14′N 95°54′E / 86.233°N 95.900°E / 86.233; 95.900 (North Pole-33 (finish)) 3,156
North Pole-34 T.V. Petrovsky September 19, 2005 May 25, 2006 85°39′N 115°19′E / 85.650°N 115.317°E / 85.650; 115.317 (North Pole-34 (start)) 87°26′N 07°39′E / 87.433°N 7.650°E / 87.433; 7.650 (North Pole-34 (finish)) 2,032
North Pole-35 Vladimir Chupun[8] September 21, 2007 July 22, 2008 81°30′N 103°54′E / 81.500°N 103.900°E / 81.500; 103.900 (North Pole-35 (start)) 81°00′N 31°18′E / 81.000°N 31.300°E / 81.000; 31.300 (North Pole-35 (finish)) 3,614
North Pole-36 Yuri Katrayev September 7, 2008 August 24, 2009 82°32′N 144°56′E / 82.533°N 144.933°E / 82.533; 144.933 (North Pole-36 (start)) 85°53′N 26°41′W / 85.883°N 26.683°W / 85.883; -26.683 (North Pole-36 (finish)) 2,905
North Pole-37 Sergey Lesenkov September 7, 2009 May 31, 2010 81°28′N 164°35′W / 81.467°N 164.583°W / 81.467; -164.583 (North Pole-37 (start)) 80°04′N 140°40′W / 80.067°N 140.667°W / 80.067; -140.667 (North Pole-37 (finish)) 2,076
North Pole-38 Tomash Petrovskiy October 14, 2010 September 20, 2011 76°07′N 176°32′W / 76.117°N 176.533°W / 76.117; -176.533 (North Pole-38 (start)) 83°53′N 154°18′W / 83.883°N 154.300°W / 83.883; -154.300 (North Pole-38 (finish)) 3,024
North Pole-39 Alexander Ipatov October 2, 2011 September 15, 2012 84°10′N 148°49′W / 84.167°N 148.817°W / 84.167; -148.817 (North Pole-39 (start)) 83°57′N 96°44′W / 83.950°N 96.733°W / 83.950; -96.733 (North Pole-39 (finish)) 1,885
North Pole-40 Nikolai Fomichev October 1, 2012 June 7, 2013 85°21′N 142°53′W / 85.350°N 142.883°W / 85.350; -142.883 (North Pole-40 (start)) 82°25′N 130°25′W / 82.417°N 130.417°W / 82.417; -130.417 (North Pole-40 (finish)) 1,736
North Pole-2015 Dmitrij Mamadaliev April 11, 2015 August 9, 2015

89°34′N 17°08′W / 89.567°N 17.133°W / 89.567; -17.133 (North Pole-2015 (start))

86°15′N 07°52′W / 86.250°N 7.867°W / 86.250; -7.867 (North Pole-2015 (finish)) 714

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "North Pole drifting stations (1930s-1980s)". Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved April 30, 2009.
  2. ^ Calvert, James, Vice Admiral USN Ret. (1996) [1960]. Surface at the Pole. Annapolis, Maryland: Bluejacket Books. p. 86. ISBN 1-55750-119-X.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  3. ^ September 21, 2007 Press-Release[permanent dead link] by AARI
  4. ^ a b 14 July 2008 news story Archived 18 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine by the Associated Press
  5. ^ a b TASS, Artics Today, in Russian
  6. ^ a b c Admiralty Shipyard begun building a "North Pole" drifting station Fontanka.ru, 20 Decemped 2018, in Russian
  7. ^ Admiralty Shipyard goes adrift, Kommersant, 9 October 2017, in Russian
  8. ^ Скалина, Ирина (10 July 2008). "Опасный дрейф; Полярников эвакуируют на судне "Михаил Сомов"" (web). Российская газета. Retrieved 2008-07-12.(Russian/English)Skalina, Irina (July 10, 2008). "A dangerous drift; Polarnik evacuated on the ship "Mikhail Somov"" (web). Google Translation. Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Retrieved 2008-07-12.

External links[edit]