Despite the fact that an incredible technological breakthrough has recently been observed in the energy sector, brown coal, which was discovered quite a long time ago and began to be actively used back in the 19th century, still remains in demand and is widely used in practice. This situation is explained by the optimal price-quality ratio this type of fuel. In terms of basic characteristics, it is inferior to the same coal, but thanks to the unusual properties of brown coal, its use is possible in a variety of areas of economic activity of modern man.
Origin of brown coal
The characteristics of brown coal are determined by its origin - he is intermediate in the long and chemically complex process of coal formation. The source material for this is underground deposits of the remains of ancient ferns and horsetails, which, under the influence of a combination of factors, were preserved at great depths. As a result, the dense mass gradually turned into carbon (brown coal on average consists of 60% carbon), where the first stage of transformation was peat, then brown coal, which in the process of various transformations became hard coal, and subsequently anthracite.
Thus, Brown coal is young, “unripe” coal. This circumstance largely explains the properties and use of brown coal. Its deposits are located at a depth of up to 600 meters in the form of continuous thick layers of varying thickness. Average the depth of coal layers ranges from 10 to 60 meters, although there are known deposits where the layer thickness reaches 200 m. All this makes the process of mining brown coal simple and low-cost, and, therefore, cost-effective.
Brown coal mining
Experts estimate the total reserves of brown coal in the world at approximately 5 trillion tons. The main deposits are concentrated in Russia, Eastern Europe, as well as in Australia. The largest amount of brown fuel is produced in Germany, where it is mined in open pits at three large deposits.
In Russia, the geography of production is much wider, although most of the deposits are concentrated in the Asian part of the country. One of the largest coal basins in the world is Kansko-Achinsky, located in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and, despite the fact that it partially covers the Kemerovo and Irkutsk regions, Krasnoyarsk is rightfully considered the main supplier of brown coal in our country.
The Kansk-Achinsk basin is a huge territory, divided into dozens of separate fields, each of which is capable of meeting the energy needs of the entire region. For example, The largest section of the basin is Berezovsky, where the so-called Sharypovo coal is mined, supplies the local state district power station with solid fuel, on the energy of which the economy of the entire region rests.
Another large coal basin is the Tunguska. It is also related to the Krasnoyarsk Territory, although most of it is located on the territory of the Republic of Sakha, on the so-called Central Yakut Plain.
Main characteristics of brown coal
Brown coal is considered a low carbonization fuel, since the concentration of carbon (the substance that ensures active combustion) is lower in it than in stone. This also explains the lower specific heat of combustion - the amount of heat that is released during the combustion of 1 kg of fuel. For brown coal this figure averages 5.4-5.6 kcal, but certain varieties, for example, selected, from the point of view of specific heat of combustion, significantly exceed the average level.
Brown coal has a high moisture content – the average is 25%, and in some cases the fuel moisture content can reach 40%. This circumstance does not have the best effect on the combustible properties of brown coal and its application. When it is burned in large quantities, smoke is released and a peculiar, very persistent burning smell appears, which creates certain inconveniences when using coal for heating private houses.
Another important characteristic of any solid fuel– ash content. It is determined as a percentage and refers to the volume of non-combustible waste that remains in the furnace after complete combustion of coal. The ash content depends on the presence of moisture and foreign impurities in the form of various resins in the coal mass. Their content may vary depending on the deposit where coal is mined. Thus, for example, coal from the Borodino deposit is characterized by a high level of moisture and ash content, which in some cases can reach 20% or more.
Scope of application
Depending on the specific combination of the above properties, the use of brown coal is possible in a variety of areas of economic activity. First of all, low cost makes it attractive from the point of view of private home owners, where heating is based on the operation of solid fuel boilers. The most popular in this segment is the one mined in Krasnoyarsk., which is characterized by moderate humidity (20-22%) and ash content (from 5 to 8%), as well as high calorific value. With such indicators, it is ideal for combustion in standard solid fuel boilers.
From this point of view, only Montenegrin hard coal can be compared. Its main advantage is the low content of impurities, as well as humidity, which does not exceed 7%, and in some varieties of Montenegrin coal it is only 3%. Accordingly, the ash content of such fuel fluctuates at the level of 7-8%, and the specific heat of combustion is in the range of 7800-8200 kcal/kg.
Also brown coal can be used in small boiler houses and thermal power plants where the fuel must meet special requirements. The use of hard coal, and even more so anthracite, in this case is unprofitable due to its high cost. But brown coal is almost ideal for such purposes. In Krasnoyarsk, for example, Sharypovsky and Borodino brown coal is used mainly for such purposes.
Thus, the properties and applications of brown coal are quite wide, as noted in the “Russian Energy Strategy for the period until 2020.” This document emphasizes the undoubted importance of this type of fuel for the country’s energy independence.
Brown coal is generally characterized by a high calorific value at a relatively low cost. But at the same time, a large number of foreign impurities in the form of various resins, as well as high humidity, reduce the effectiveness of brown coal as a fuel. Specific recommendations for its use depend on the characteristics of the selected variety. It is ideal for heating private houses using solid fuel boilers, and if automatic or semi-automatic installations are used, then the best solution would be Montenegrin hard coal, which is characterized by low humidity and ash content. And here For the operation of small boiler houses and thermal power plants, lower quality fuels are suitable, with more high content impurities and moisture, for example, Borodinsky or Sharypovsky.
Coal mining as an industrial sector became widespread at the beginning of the twentieth century and to this day continues to be one of the most profitable types of mining of mineral deposits.
Coal is mined on an industrial scale throughout the world.
Contrary to popular belief, this fossil is used not only as a quality fuel. In the mid-twentieth century, the coal industry gave a powerful impetus to the development of scientific research on the separation of hydrocarbons from minerals.
Where is mining taking place?
The largest coal mining countries are China, the USA, and India. ranks 6th in the world ranking for its production, although it is among the top three in terms of reserves.
In Russia, brown coal, hard coal (including coking coal) and anthracite are mined. The main coal mining areas in Russia are the Kemerovo region, Krasnoyarsk region, Irkutsk region, Chita, Buryatia, Komi Republic. There is coal in the Urals, Far East, in Kamchatka, Yakutia, Tula and Kaluga regions. There are 16 coal basins in Russia. One of the largest - more than half of Russia's coal is mined there.
How is coal mined?
Depending on the depth of the coal seam, its area, shape, thickness, various geographical and environmental factors, a specific coal mining method is selected. The main methods include the following:
- mine;
- developments in a coal mine;
- hydraulic.
In addition, there is open-pit coal mining, provided that the coal seam lies at a depth of no more than one hundred meters. But this method is very similar in form to open-pit coal mining.
Mine method
This method is used at great depths and has an undeniable advantage over open coal mining methods: coal at great depths is of higher quality and practically does not contain impurities.
To access coal seams, horizontal or vertical tunnels (adits and shafts) are drilled. There are known cases of coal mining at depths of up to 1500 meters (Gvardeiskaya, Shakhterskaya-Glubokaya mines).
Underground coal mining is considered one of the most difficult specializations due to a number of dangers:
- There is a constant threat of groundwater breaking into the mine shaft.
- There is a constant threat of associated gases breaking into the mine shaft. In addition to possible suffocation, explosions and fires are a particular danger.
- Accidents due to high temperatures at great depths (up to 60 degrees), careless handling of equipment, etc.
Using this method, approximately 36% of the world's coal reserves are extracted from the earth's interior, which amounts to 2625.7 million tons.
Open way
Developments in a coal quarry are classified as open-pit coal mining, since they do not require drilling mines and adits to great depths.
This mining method involves blasting and removing overburden (a layer of excess rock above coal deposits) from the mining site. After this, with the help of excavators, water cannons, bulldozers, crushers, draglines and conveyors, the rock is crushed and transferred further.
This method of coal mining is considered less safe than closed (mine) mining. But it also has certain risk factors associated with careless handling of equipment and large vehicles, the possibility of poisoning from exhaust gases and substances accompanying machine activity.
A significant disadvantage of this method is that it causes great harm to the environment due to the removal large area soil layer and accompanying natural elements.
The open-pit method is considered one of the most widespread in the world - it is used to extract more than 55% of coal per year, which amounts to 4102.1 million tons.
It was first used in the Soviet Union in the 30s of the twentieth century. It involves mining coal in deep mines, while transporting coal rock to the surface using energized water jets. This method allowed us to use the disadvantage of underground coal mining - groundwater - for our benefit.
Recently, hydraulic coal mining has been considered one of the most respectable methods. It can replace the labor-intensive and dangerous process of coal mining by miners, instead of which water will act as a destructive and lifting force.
Based on the example of the participation of Penza polar researchers
Introduction
Chapter 1. Relevance of terra communis research
1.1. International territories
1.2. Russia's position in the Arctic
1.3. Russia's position regarding Antarctica
Chapter 2. Contribution of Penza residents to Arctic and Antarctic research
2.1. Medical surgeon Nikolai Galkin
2.2. Honorary polar explorer Evgeny Suzyumov
2.3. Hero of the Soviet Union Konstantin Badigin
Chapter 3. General conclusions about the participation of Penza residents in Arctic and Antarctic research
Introduction
The work aims to analyze and study the importance for Russia of geographical studies of the Arctic and Antarctic, which are relevant in our time. Conduct a comprehensive study of the participation of Penza residents in polar research and their contribution to world and domestic science.
It was in the Arctic and Antarctic in the 19th century that Russian discoverers brought glory not only to Russian but also to world science. This was the “Golden Age” of great geographical discoveries and explorations. Expeditions of the Russian Geographical Society played a big role in the development of polar latitudes, the dawn of which occurred in the thirties of the last century. The world's largest icebreaking expeditions were organized and the world's first polar stations drifting on ice floes were created. A network of Antarctic research stations has been created.
To this day, Russia is the leading power carrying out scientific research of the North and South Poles, thus ensuring its constant presence in these parts of the World, and thereby forming a geopolitical balance in the world.
Human civilization does not develop in a vacuum - it is closely connected and dependent on its habitat - planet Earth. Territory is important not only from the point of view of the existence of each state separately; interstate relations regulated by international law, occur in the spatial dimension. It is largely thanks to attempts to determine the ownership and results of the division of a particular territory that international law arose, exists and develops. Thus, in modern international law, issues are proactively resolved
related to the regulation of the regime of outer space and celestial bodies on which no human has actually set foot.
Accordingly, the institution of legal regulation of territory in international law is one of the oldest and still has great importance in maintaining international peace and security, developing international cooperation and the progress of all mankind.
We live in a global age environmental changes, one of the indicators of which are the Arctic and Antarctic.
- Nowadays, a variety of states are interested in the problems of the Arctic and Antarctic. And Russia needs to take its rightful place here,- emphasized the head of government D.A. Medvedev - This is a question not only of scientific research, it is a question of geopolitical presence, and therefore a question of the future of our country.
At first glance, the question arises: “What does Penza have to do with it?” Indeed, our region is located at a considerable distance from the shores of the Arctic Ocean, and even more so from the North Pole, not to mention Antarctica. But we are Penza residents, we are citizens of a large and great country - Russia, which has the largest Arctic coastline and shapes geopolitics with its constant presence in Antarctica. The participation of our fellow countrymen in the exploration of the North and South Poles took place from the very beginning polar research and from the first round-the-world Antarctic expedition.
The object of the study are honored people, our fellow countrymen who dedicated their lives to serving the Fatherland and science - Penza polar explorers.
The subject of the study is an analysis of their life path, dedicated to serving the Fatherland, the contribution made by our fellow countrymen, Arctic and Antarctic researchers to Russian and world science.
The chronological framework of the study is the period from the beginning of the 19th century to the second half of the 20th century.
The topic of participation of Penza residents in polar research has been poorly studied and is not widespread among modern youth. In restored ancient travel or ship logs, the participation of our fellow countrymen is briefly mentioned in dry facts and figures; archival information is poorly studied or lost over time.
Unlike the previous period, polar research in the twentieth century, on the contrary, was widely covered in various scientific and fiction literature of those years. The Penza polar explorers themselves, participants in the past heroic events of the conquest of the Arctic and Antarctic, are famous Russian writers, which, of course, helped ensure the accessibility of the description within the framework of the study. However, in the era of market relations, the topic of popularizing the heroic past of our fellow countrymen has noticeably lost its popularity, which, accordingly, forces us to persistently continue research on this topic in order to form a patriotic civic position among Penza youth.
Chapter 1. Relevance of terra communi researchs
1.1. International territories
International territories, or international spaces (terra communis) are geographical spaces that are not subject to the sovereignty of any state and whose legal status determined by treaty and customary international law.
International territory is not subject to national appropriation, but all states have equal rights to explore it and use it in their own interests. It is obvious that technologically more developed countries use these spaces more intensively. International territory includes the high seas and the seabed area beyond the continental shelf; Antarctic; air space over the open sea and Antarctica; outer space, including the Moon and other celestial bodies.
Special legal regime Some international spaces have been called the “common heritage of mankind” regime. This regime is established on a contractual basis in relation to objects of particular value to all humanity. Unlike the terra communis regime, which prohibits the national appropriation of spaces but otherwise does not limit the state in the forms and purposes of its activities, the common heritage of humanity regime additionally establishes a number of requirements. Firstly, all objects of the common heritage of mankind are subject to complete demilitarization and neutralization. Secondly, the exploration and exploitation of the resources of these territories must take place in accordance with established procedures for peaceful purposes, in the interests of all humanity, taking into account the special situation of the least developed countries. Thirdly, these territories are subject to proper environmental protection.
Planet Earth has two opposing regions - the polar regions, which are distinguished by their apparent similarity, with significant differences in terms of physical and geographical characteristics and their legal regulation. The main part of the Arctic is the ocean, and the Antarctic is the mainland. The Arctic is surrounded by the territories of states. Antarctica belongs to international spaces on the basis of the Antarctic Treaty system. In other words, the international legal regime of these regions of the globe is developing in different directions.
1.2. Russia's position in the Arctic
The Arctic is one of the most fragile ecosystems on the planet. Environmental problems in the Arctic, due to its natural and geographical features, have a high probability of developing from regional to global.
In general, according to research, temperatures in the Arctic are rising faster than in the rest of the world. This could lead to the extinction of many species of vegetation and animals in the region. Warming threatens the existence of the indigenous peoples of the Arctic - their way of life directly depends on the flora and fauna.
There are many definitions of the Arctic in the scientific literature due to the large number of criteria that need to be taken into account. In the most general terms, the Arctic (from the Greek arktikos - northern) is the northern polar region of the Earth, including the outskirts of the continents of Eurasia and North America, almost the entire Arctic Ocean with islands (except for the coastal islands of Norway), as well as adjacent parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The southern border of the Arctic coincides with the southern border of the tundra zone. Its area is about 27 million km2 (sometimes the southern border is called the Northern Arctic Circle(66°32" N) and then its area is 21 million km2). Almost half of this is the area of sea ice (about 11 million km2 in winter and about 8 million km2 in summer)
The Arctic is a place where the interests of Europe, Asia and America meet. Since the Cold War as the shortest route between two superpowers and until now - the Arctic Ocean. It is the most militarized space, where military ships and submarines, including nuclear ones, are actively involved. In addition, the Arctic is characterized by large oil reserves, natural gas, coal, nickel, copper, cobalt, platinum and other natural resources. The Arctic Ocean washes the shores of only five so-called. “Near-Arctic” states: Russia, Canada, USA (Alaska), Denmark (Greenland), Norway.
The route laid along the Russian Arctic played a huge role in the development of the Arctic. coastline Northern Sea Route (NSR), 5600 km long. It connected European and Far Eastern ports. It is Russia's main shipping route in the Arctic and was closed to international shipping during Soviet times. The duration of navigation on the NSR ranges from 2 to 4 months, but with the help of icebreakers in some areas it is extended somewhat longer. In recent years, the geopolitical importance of the NSR has increased due to a number of factors. Firstly, there has been increased interest in commercial use NSR for the transportation of goods between the ports of Europe and the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. Secondly, Russia actively exports oil and gas, including from northern fields; the NSR is a cheap route to the resources of the Russian north.
Based on the geographical criterion, the Arctic should be subject to the regimes enshrined in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982). In particular, freedoms must apply open sea, including freedom of navigation, fishing, research. Article 234 of the 1982 Convention provides for the possibility of special regulation of areas most of the time covered with ice to ensure environmental protection. The polar regions are an ecologically very fragile region. Despite the severity of natural conditions, they play an extremely important role in the biosphere, including a decisive influence on the planetary climate, global geophysical and biological processes. Oil in the waters arctic seas, remains there for several decades due to the insignificant rate of its chemical and biological decomposition at low temperatures. It is precisely the protection of the environment of the Arctic regions that the Arctic states often explain the extension of their jurisdiction on a “sectoral principle”.
Canada initiated this approach. In 1909, the government of Canada, then a dominion of British America, officially declared as its property all the lands and islands, both discovered and likely to be discovered later, lying west of Greenland, between Canada and the North Pole. In 1921, Canada declared that all lands and islands north of the Canadian mainland were under its sovereignty, and in 1925, it passed an amendment to the Northwest Territories Act that prohibited all foreign states from engaging in any activities within Canadian borders. Arctic lands and islands without special permission from the Canadian government. Today, Canada extends its sovereignty to the lands and islands located within the sector, the apex of which is the North Pole, and the sides are the meridians 60° and 141° West.
The first document defining the status of the lands and islands adjacent to the Arctic coast of Russia was a circular note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire dated September 20, 1916 on the ownership of all lands and islands that make up the northern extension of the Siberian continental plateau to Russia.
The Soviet Union, in the Memorandum of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the USSR dated November 4, 1924, sent to all states, confirmed the provisions of the 1916 note. The issue of the Soviet Arctic zone was fully resolved later in the resolution of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR dated April 15, 1926 “On declaring the territory of the Union SSR lands and islands located in the Arctic Ocean." The resolution stated that “the territory of the USSR includes all open lands and islands that may be discovered in the future, which at the time of publication of this resolution do not constitute the territories of any foreign states recognized by the Government of the USSR, located in the Arctic Ocean north of the coast.” USSR to the North Pole". Russia's ownership of these territories is now not officially disputed by any of the Arctic countries.
The sectoral theory followed by Russia and Canada is not shared by the United States and others European states. Art. was an attempt at compromise. 234 of the 1982 Convention, which gave coastal states the rights to enact laws and regulations for the prevention of pollution and conservation of the marine environment in ice-covered areas not exceeding 200 nautical miles in width. That is, from the point of view of modern international law, the lines marking the lateral limits of the polar sectors are not recognized as state borders. This means that all states of the world have equal rights to use the natural resources of the Arctic Ocean in these sectors. At the same time, the issue of delimitation of the Arctic continental shelf is becoming increasingly relevant. Both Russia in 2001 and Norway in 2006, acting in accordance with paragraph 8 of Article 76 of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, transferred to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf data on the boundaries of their shelves beyond 200 nautical miles from the baselines, claiming territory all the way to the North Pole. However, the Commission considered the submitted Russian experts materials did not fully meet its requirements and proposed supplementing with new data.
Thus, the legal regime of the Arctic is quite complex. On the one hand, as part of the world's oceans, the Arctic Ocean is subject to relevant international legal provisions, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the 1944 Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation, and the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in Three Environments. .etc.
On the other hand, the peculiarities of the practice of the circumpolar states are important, which reserve the right to adhere to the traditions that have developed in the process of development of the Arctic in each of these countries, which are reflected in national legal norms. In the absence of a universal or regional treaty defining the international legal regime of the Arctic, despite the existence of a large number of other international treaties directly related, including to the prevention of marine pollution (there are about 80 of them), on the existing system of international legal regulation of the Arctic region It's too early to say.
A very important step in the development of navigation in Arctic waters was the adoption in 2002 by the International Maritime Organization of the advisory Guidelines for the Operation of Ships in Arctic Waters Covered with Ice (Arctic Guidelines), aimed at ensuring the safety of navigation and preventing pollution as a result of the activities of ships in polar waters.
In 1996, the Declaration on the establishment of the Arctic Council, a new regional international organization that included 8 Arctic states (Denmark, Iceland, Canada, Norway, Russia, USA, Finland, Sweden), was signed in Ottawa. Among the goals of the Arctic Council:
Implementation of cooperation, coordination and interaction of the Arctic states with the active participation of the indigenous peoples of the North and other residents of the Arctic on general Arctic issues;
Control and coordination of environmental programs;
Development, coordination and control of the implementation of sustainable development programs;
Disseminate information, encourage interest and educational initiatives on Arctic-related issues. The Arctic Council will not deal with the problems of military security and demilitarization of the Arctic.
A feature of the structure of the Arctic Council is the inclusion of representatives in it in the status of “permanent participants” non-governmental organizations indigenous peoples of the North.
In May 2008, the foreign ministers of the five Arctic states - Denmark, Russia, Norway, the USA and Canada - at a meeting in Illulissat adopted a Declaration in which they once again confirmed the parties’ commitment to existing treaties and rules, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea g., which regulate behavior in the region, and emphasized that “there is no need to establish a special legal regime” for the Arctic Ocean. The Arctic states emphasized their special responsibility and ability to provide effective mechanisms for monitoring and protecting the marine ecology and navigation safety on the basis of national legislation and international standards.
The Arctic, as a legacy of the Cold War - militarized and nuclearized, poses a whole range of complex political, legal and economic issues. To solve them, it is necessary to find a mutually acceptable compromise between the interests of the Arctic states and the entire world community, which, as practice shows, is not easy.
1.3. Russia's position regarding Antarctica
“On the edge of our planet lies, like a sleeping princess, a land clad in blue. Ominous and beautiful, she lies in her frosty slumber, in the folds of the mantle of snow, glowing with amethysts and emeralds of ice. It sleeps in the shimmering icy halos of the Moon and the Sun, and its horizons are painted with pink, blue, gold and green pastel tones... This is Antarctica - a continent almost equal in area to South America, the interior of which is actually known to us less than the illuminated side of the Moon "- wrote the American Antarctic explorer Richard Byrd.
Thanks to Antarctica, humanity extended its era of great geographical discoveries, dating back to the voyages of Vasco da Gama, Columbus, Magellan at the end of the 15th century. early XVI century.
Antarctica was discovered by the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev in 1820, although other navigators, such as James Cook, had previously tried to approach it. They guessed about its existence, and Mikhail Lomonosov predicted the existence of the southern polar continent based on floating icebergs - this is powerful “hardened” ice that can only form on the mainland.
Large-scale exploration of Antarctica began with the expedition of Bellingshausen and Lazarev. The most striking milestones are the expeditions of Amundsen and Scott to the South Pole at the beginning of the century.
There was a period when a number of Antarctic states laid claim to different sectors of the continent. Chile has been most active in this issue since the 1930s. Thanks to this, Chilean villages appeared on the Ice Continent on the Antarctic Peninsula - with maternity hospitals and schools, which still exist today.
Let us add that Chile’s claims to part of Antarctica also came from General Augusto Pinochet (who came to power in Chile as a result of a military coup in 1973; was head of state until 1990).
However, back in the 1950s, through the efforts of mainly the USSR and the USA, the neutral status of Antarctica was consolidated, the territory of the continent was declared an object of exclusively scientific research.
In 1956, the work of the Soviet Antarctic Expedition began, which continues to this day (already under the name of the Russian Antarctic Expedition). In Soviet times, 10 polar stations were created and operated in Antarctica. Among the most famous are “Vostok” at the global pole of cold, “Bellingshausen”, “Mirny”.
In the 1990s, there was a failure in Russian Antarctic research; since the 2000s, there has been a recovery (5 Russian Antarctic stations are now operating), although it is still very far from the scale of the USSR and there are certain problems.
Antarctica is a continent in the center of Antarctica, with a total area of 13,975 thousand km (including ice shelves and islands), and over 99% of the territory is covered with ice. Antarctica is the southern polar region of the globe, which includes, in addition to Antarctica, the adjacent areas of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans with seas, as well as the islands lying in subantarctic waters: South. Georgiy, South. Sandvichev, Yuzh. Orkney, South. Shetland and others. The Antarctic border lies within 48-60 S latitude.
Antarctica is the only continent on Earth that does not have a permanent population, which is explained by climatic features: in eastern Antarctica there is the Earth's pole of cold, where the lowest temperature on the planet was recorded: -89.2 °C. Average temperatures in winter months are from -60 to -70 °C, in summer from -30 to -50 °C, on the coast in winter from -8 to -35 °C, in summer 0-5 °C.
Antarctica was discovered on January 28, 1820 by a Russian expedition led by F.F. Bellingshausen and M.P. Lazarev. Presumably, the first flag of his power was planted by the Frenchman, Dumont d'Urville. The first, on January 24, 1895, to set foot on the mainland were the captain of the Norwegian fishing vessel "Antarctic" Christensen and the passenger of this ship, natural sciences teacher Carlsten Borchgrevink, who collected mineral samples, saw and described Antarctic lichen.That is, a little over 100 years ago this continent did not exist for humanity.
First half of the 20th century was devoted to the study of the coast and interior of the continent. In December 1911, the expedition of the Norwegian R. Amundsen and a month later, in January 1912, the expedition of the British R. Scott reached the South Pole. The first airplane flight over Antarctica was made in 1928 by the American polar explorer, Admiral R. Byrd. In November 1929, he reached the South Pole by plane. In 1928-1947 under his leadership, four large expeditions to Antarctica were carried out (over 4 thousand people took part in the largest, fourth expedition), seismological, geological and other studies were carried out, and the presence of large coal deposits in Antarctica was confirmed.
In the 40-50s. XX century scientific bases and stations began to be created to conduct regular research in coastal areas. A special contribution to this process was made by the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958), when about 60 bases and stations belonging to 11 states were founded on the coast, ice sheet and islands. In 1991, there were 48 stations operating in Antarctica. From 1,000 to 4,000 people live and work at year-round Antarctic stations. The continent has its own radio and television stations for American polar explorers. In recent years, the continent has become a destination for tourism.
Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus dated August 31, 2006 No. 1104 approved the State Target Program “Monitoring the polar regions of the Earth and supporting the activities of Arctic and Antarctic expeditions for 2007-2010.” and for the period until 2015"1, according to which polar research will be carried out and which provides for the creation of the first Belarusian Antarctic station. Territorial claims to Antarctica began to be put forward by various states in parallel with research activities. Claims were made by Australia, Argentina, Great Britain, New Zealand, Norway, France, Chile. For example, Norway claims territory almost ten times larger than its own, including Peter I Island, discovered by expedition Bellingshausen-Lazarev. Australia considers almost half of Antarctica as its own, where the “French” Adélie Land wedges. Chile and Argentina claim virtually the same territory - the Antarctic Peninsula, which they call differently.
The International Geophysical Year showed the fruitfulness of joint exploration of the Antarctic and, based on this experience, the United States proposed convening a conference to adopt the Antarctic Treaty. The conference was held in Washington from October 15 to December 1, 1959. It ended with the signing of the open-ended Antarctic Treaty, which entered into force in 1961. This treaty was initially signed by 12 states: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand , Norway, Union of South Africa, USSR, Great Britain and USA. As of January 1, 2008, 46 states participated in it, including Belarus’ neighbors: Russia, Ukraine and Poland. Belarus acceded to the Antarctic Treaty on December 27, 2006.
The treaty applies to the area south of the 60th parallel south, including all ice shelves. According to the Treaty, Antarctica is demilitarized, i.e. used only for peaceful purposes. In particular, any activities of a military nature are prohibited, such as the creation of military bases and fortifications, military maneuvers, as well as testing of any types of weapons, including nuclear weapons. However, the use of military personnel or equipment for non-military purposes is permitted. In addition to the demilitarization and neutralization of Antarctica, it was declared a nuclear-free zone, i.e. In Antarctica, any nuclear explosions and destruction of radioactive materials in this area are prohibited.
The Antarctic regime is based on the principle of freedom of scientific research and cooperation for these purposes. In particular, states undertake to exchange:
1) information regarding plans for scientific work in Antarctica in order to ensure maximum savings and efficiency of work;
2) scientific personnel in Antarctica between expeditions and stations;
3) data and results of scientific observations in Antarctica and provide free access to them.
In essence, the treaty declares Antarctica an international scientific laboratory.
The problem was solved in a rather original way territorial claims. According to Art. IV of the Treaty, its provisions should not be interpreted as:
a) waiver by any of the Contracting Parties of previously asserted rights or claims to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica;
b) the abandonment or reduction of any basis for a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica by any Contracting Party which it may have as a result of its activities or the activities of its nationals in Antarctica or for other reasons;
c) prejudicial to the position of any Contracting Party as to its recognition or non-recognition of a right or claim, or basis for a claim, of any other State to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica.
2. No act or activity occurring while this Treaty is in force shall form the basis of the assertion, maintenance or denial of any claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any right of sovereignty in Antarctica. No new claim or extension of an existing claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica shall be asserted while this Treaty is in force."
That is, the territorial claims that existed in 1959 are “frozen,” and all subsequent activities based on this agreement cannot be the basis for new claims.
To monitor compliance with the provisions of the Treaty, the possibility of inspections is provided. Inspection observers must be nationals of their appointing States and their names shall be communicated to each participating State. Observers so appointed shall have complete freedom of access at any time to any or all areas of Antarctica, including all stations, installations and equipment in those areas, and all ships and aircraft at points of unloading and loading of cargo or personnel in Antarctica. In addition, the inspection can be carried out from the air.
Antarctica is no less significant territory of the globe for Russia from a geopolitical point of view. Therefore, it is important to clearly evaluate the contribution that our country has made to Antarctic research and which highly raises Russia’s prestige among the leaders of the world scientific community.
States shall notify each other in advance of all:
a) expeditions to or within Antarctica, carried out by its ships or citizens, and all expeditions to Antarctica organized on its territory or departing from its territory;
b) stations in Antarctica occupied by its citizens;
c) any military personnel or equipment intended to be sent to Antarctica.
Based on the agreement, there are so-called Consultative Meetings intended for the exchange of information, mutual consultations on Antarctic issues, and. also developing, considering and recommending to their governments measures promoting the implementation of the principles and purposes of the Treaty. Participation in the Consultative Meetings can only be taken by representatives of those states acceding to the Treaty that have demonstrated their interest in Antarctica by conducting significant research activities there, such as the creation scientific station or sending a scientific expedition. On September 1, 2004, the Antarctic Treaty Secretariat began operating in Buenos Aires (Argentina).
Through their recommendations and decisions, the Consultative Meetings contribute to the further development of the provisions of the Treaty. It was within the framework of the meetings that the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals of 1972 and the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources of 1980 were developed and adopted.
With the development of technology, the possibility of industrial development of Antarctic natural resources has become achievable. An attempt by developed countries in 1988 to change the Antarctic subsoil development regime by adopting the Convention for the Regulation of the Development of Antarctic Mineral Resources caused a powerful wave of protests and in 1991 the Protocol on Environmental Protection was adopted, which introduced a 50-year moratorium on any practical activity related to development of mineral resources in Antarctica. Accordingly, today the so-called the Antarctic Treaty system, which includes all agreements and the resulting mechanisms of cooperation governing the legal regime of Antarctica.
Chapter 2. Contribution of Penza residents to Arctic and Antarctic research
2.1. Medical surgeon Nikolai Galkin
In 1823, the medical surgeon of the first Russian round-the-world expedition on the sloops “Vostok” and “Mirny”, Nikolai Alekseevich Galkin, was appointed director of the Penza gymnasium.
In 1819-21, an expedition led by Captain 2nd Rank F.F. Bellingshausen and Lieutenant M.P. Lazarev sailed about 49 thousand miles, discovered the continent of Antarctica and several islands in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
“For tireless work and success in treating patients during the voyage,” the ship's doctor N.A. Galkin was elected a corresponding member of the Medical-Surgical Academy.
2.1.1. The need for a round-the-world expedition
The final, reliable discovery of Antarctica dates back to 1820. Previously, people only assumed that it existed. The very first guesses arose from the participants of the Portuguese expedition of 1501 - 1502, in which the Florentine traveler Amerigo Vespucci took part (his name, thanks to a bizarre coincidence, was subsequently immortalized in the names of huge continents). But the expedition was unable to advance further than the island of South Georgia, which lies quite far from the Antarctic continent. “The cold was so strong that none of our flotilla could bear it,” Vespucci testified.
James Cook penetrated the Antarctic waters further than others, debunking the myth of the gigantic Unknown Southern Earth. But he was forced to limit himself to only an assumption: “I will not deny that there may be a continent or significant land near the pole. On the contrary, I am convinced that such a land exists, and it is possible that we have seen part of it. Great cold, a huge number of ice islands and floating ice - all this proves that the land in the south must be...” He even wrote a special treatise, “Arguments for the existence of land near the South Pole.”
At the end of 1818 and at the beginning of 1819, three remarkable Russian navigators, leaders of the Maritime Ministry of the Russian Empire - Vice Admiral G. A. Sarychev, Captain-Commander I. F. Kruzenshtern and Lieutenant Commander O. E. Kotzebue - compiled three independent projects expedition to the South Pole. The essence of these projects boiled down to one thing - to penetrate as far as possible to the South Pole and explore a hitherto almost unknown part of the globe. The hypothesis about the existence of a huge continent “Terra Australis Incognita” (“Unknown Southern Land”) in the region of the South Pole originated in ancient times. However, all attempts to achieve it were in vain.
Captain 2nd Rank Thaddeus Faddeevich Bellingshausen, who was rightly considered at that time one of the best naval officers and had a reputation as a talented navigator scientist, was appointed head of the expedition and commander of the sloop “Vostok”. The commander of the sloop "Mirny" was Lieutenant Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev, who completed an independent circumnavigation of the world in 1813-1816 on the ship "Suvorov" of the Russian-American Company. The crews of the ships and officers were selected strictly on a voluntary basis. In addition to the sailors, astronomer I.M. Simonov and artist P.N. Mikhailov went on long voyages. Medical surgeon Nikolai Alekseevich Galkin was appointed as the expedition doctor. In addition, on the sloop “Vostok” there were also professor of Kazan University I. M. Simonov and academician of painting of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts P. N. Mikhailov, assigned to the expedition.
According to the instructions of the Maritime Ministry, the purpose of the expedition was “to acquire complete knowledge about our globe” and “discoveries in the possible vicinity of the Antarctic Pole.” To do this, the commander was instructed to begin research from the island of South Georgia and the “Sandwich Land” (South Sandwich Islands), and then strive to go as far as possible to the south.
2.1.2. The feat of Russian navigators
On July 4, 1819, the expedition left Kronstadt. Having rounded Europe, the ships headed across the Atlantic Ocean to the shores of South America. From Rio de Janeiro they headed south. Without sailing directions, without beacons, in fog and storms, they walked through unexplored waters, trying to penetrate as far as possible beyond the Antarctic Circle.
Entering Antarctic waters in December 1819, Vostok and Mirny made a hydrographic inventory of the southwestern shores of South Georgia Island. Capes and bays named after expedition members appeared on the map.
The Bellingshausen-Lazarev expedition is rightly considered one of the most outstanding Antarctic expeditions. Having accomplished an outstanding scientific feat in the history of navigation, the expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev covered over 49,860 nautical miles (90 thousand kilometers), a path two and a quarter times the length of the equator. The voyage, during which the Russian sailors showed brilliant examples of ship navigation, lasted 751 days, of which the sloops were on the move for 527 days, 122 days south of the 60th parallel and 100 days in the ice. At the same time, the Bellingshausen-Lazarev expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle six times, four times almost reaching 70° south latitude, three times reaching 67°, and once reaching 65° south latitude. No one could do this before her. During the voyage, the continent of Antarctica and 29 islands were discovered. In addition to geographical discoveries, the expedition made a lot of interesting and valuable astronomical, oceanographic, synoptic and ethnographic observations. With this discovery, Russian sailors made the greatest contribution to world science, writing a new wonderful page in the book of Russian naval glory.
The Russian expedition opened the way to Antarctica for other researchers, inspiring them to new darings. The leader of the English expedition, the famous polar explorer James Ross, later wrote: “The discovery of the southernmost known continent was valiantly conquered by the fearless Bellingshausen, and this conquest remained with the Russians for a period of more than 20 years.” Another world-famous scientist, German geographer and cartographer August Petermann, noted that in the world geographical literature the merits of the Russian Antarctic expedition are completely insufficiently appreciated. Petermann also pointed out Bellingshausen’s unparalleled fearlessness, because the leader of the expedition decided to go against the prevailing opinion in science for about fifty years about the “non-existent Southern continent.” Petermann said: “For this merit, the name of Bellingshausen can be placed along with the names of Columbus, Magellan and James Ross, with the names of those people who did not retreat in the face of difficulties and imaginary impossibilities created by their predecessors, with the names of people who followed their own independent path, and therefore they were destroyers of barriers to discovery that mark eras.”
The Russian scientific community highly appreciated the expedition participants. Russian researchers have done especially much to develop the science of ice. They made the first attempt to classify ice. With great accuracy they described the types of ice, their differences, indicated where and under what conditions they encountered them, paying attention to Special attention their origin. The travelers also did a lot of work to determine the magnetic declination of the compass, using their own observations as a basis. The table sent by the captain of the expedition to the famous mathematician and physicist Carl Gauss shows two hundred and three observations. During the expedition, the position of the Southern magnetic pole. In addition, his expedition brought back valuable ethnographic, botanical and zoological collections.
2.1.3. Participation in the expedition of Nikolai Galkin
Analyzing the significance of the expedition that opened a new continent to the world, Nikolai Galkin’s participation is confirmed by official imperial documents of the Maritime Department and in ship records, as well as in various printed sources of that time.
The ship's reports say: "Thanks to the listed measures and the high qualifications of the ship's doctors, there were no serious illnesses on the sloops, despite the difficult climatic conditions of navigation and frequent transitions from heat to cold and back." Almost the entire crew of the Vostok and Mirny crews returned from a dangerous and long voyage alive and healthy thanks to strict hygiene requirements and the professionalism of the ship’s doctor Galkin. “The officers and servants were completely healthy. During this entire time, one sailor died on the sloop Mirny due to nervous fever. Medical surgeon Galkin, no matter how hard he tried to give him all kinds of help, but due to the strong effects of the harsh climate, all his efforts remained in vain,” wrote Thaddeus Bellingshausen in his memoirs.
“For his tireless work and success in treating patients during the voyage,” the ship’s doctor N.A. Galkin was elected a corresponding member of the Medical-Surgical Academy. There is also Galkina Island in Antarctica. In 1823, Nikolai Alekseevich Galkin was appointed director of the first Penza gymnasium and public schools of the Penza province.
In the winter of 2012, members of the Penza division of the Russian Geographical Society conducted research about Nikolai Galkin’s stay in Penza. In Gymnasium No. 1 of the city of Penza, they know about the legendary member of the team of the first round-the-world Antarctic expedition Galkin, the director of the educational institution in 1823, but, unfortunately, the members of the Society were unable to obtain any more information. Portraits and notes of N.A. have also not survived. Galkina. The question of perpetuating the memory of our legendary fellow countryman, an explorer of Antarctica among its discoverers, remains open.
2.2. Honorary polar explorer Evgeny Suzyumov
There are many apt statements about the greatness of the Arctic. One of them belongs to D.I. Mendeleev: “Russia has so many shores of the Arctic Ocean that our country is rightly considered to lie on the shores of this ocean.” Another - to Admiral S. O. Makarov: “Russia is a building with its main façade facing the Arctic Ocean.”
These words were cited in one of his books by the famous polar explorer, writer, historian of science, organizer of scientific expeditions and our fellow countryman Evgeniy Matveevich Suzyumov.
When the ancient Phoenicians first circumnavigated the southern tip of Africa and, returning to their homeland, began to talk about their travels, the father of history, Herodotus, decisively refuted their claims that at one time the Sun walked above them in the northern part of the sky. “This can never happen!” - Herodotus stated decisively. Now we all know that the father of history was wrong. The Sun, Moon and all our planets move on the celestial sphere along the line of the ecliptic or close to it along the so-called Zodiac Belt, the projection of which onto the Earth does not leave the strip of the tropics. This is why people south of the Tropic of South always see the Sun, Moon and planets in the northern sky. Celestial bodies and planets rise in the east and from right to left in relation to the observer, moving to the west.
But E.M. Suzyumov strongly supported the point of view of Herodotus. In his book, he writes: “We approached the Balleny Islands (off the coast of Antarctica) in the evening, when it was getting dark... A thick cloud appeared from the south, and higher up on a narrow strip of clear sky the full moon was shining.”
Our fellow countryman, honorary polar explorer Evgeny Matveevich Suzyumov forever linked his destiny with the exploration of the Arctic, Antarctic and the World Ocean.
Evgeniy Matveevich Suzyumov(01/17/1908 - 04/30/1998), Candidate of Geographical Sciences, honorary polar explorer, honorable Sir Nizhny Lomov (installed Memorial plaque on the house where E. Suzyumov lived), an honorary member of the Russian Geographical Society and an honorary foreign member of the US Geographical Society. Main field of activity in post-war period- planning and organizational support for expeditionary research of the World Ocean. Participant of many expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic. The writer is the author of 13 popular science books and brochures and numerous articles. Awarded 7 orders and 14 medals.
2.2.1. The pre-polar period of Suzyumov’s life
E. M. Suzyumov was born in Penza on January 17, 1908. When he was three years old, the family moved to Nizhny Lomov, where his father was a county notary until 1917, and upon returning to Penza in 1918 he became one of the organizers of consumer cooperation, a member of the board of the Gubernia Union of Consumer Societies. In 1925, Evgeny Suzyumov graduated from the 4th city school, where he also learned shorthand. Having perfect command of this technique, he worked as a congress stenographer, serving provincial party and Soviet conferences and plenums. In the period from 1926 to 1930, he graduated from the Higher Zootechnical Institute in Moscow and began working as a researcher at an experimental station for sheep breeding in the Voronezh region.
He considered the period of work as a People's Commissar's assistant and a consultant to the Political Directorate at the People's Commissariat of State Farms to be special in his life. In 1986, in one of his letters to the author of these lines, he wrote: “The 30s were filled with trips around the country. I then worked at the People's Commissariat of State Farms of the USSR, was an assistant to the People's Commissar T. A. Yurkin, he spent a lot of time traveling around state farms, from the beginning of the sowing season to the end of the harvest. We traveled all over the country from the Ukrainian SSR and Belarus to Primorye. This is where my passion for travel and geography began.” However, any traveler develops his own attachment, spiritual attachment, passion for a certain region, which determines his future life...” This region became the Arctic.
2.2.2. Fell in love with the Arctic... on Sura
During the Great Patriotic War(1941-1945) it was there that his outstanding organizational skills were in demand - he was appointed deputy chief of staff of Arctic naval operations, assistant to the famous polar explorer I. D. Papanin.
Characterizing this period of life and service to the Motherland E. M. Suzyumova, polar pilot, Hero of the Soviet Union I. P. Mazuruk wrote: “Evgeniy Matveevich did a lot of work during the Great Patriotic War. The work of organizing the delivery of Lend-Lease weapons, which arrived with ships in Murmansk, fell on his shoulders. It was very hard work and a very difficult time - it was on the eve of the Battle of Stalingrad and after it. Everything had to be taken into account. And I. D. Papanin did all this with the greatest help and organizational skills Evgeniy Matveevich Suzyumov. This was a very significant contribution to the Victory - both during the war and in the restoration of the national economy. And all this was gathered in the magnificent figure of Evgeny Matveevich. He knew how to organize, and Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin supported this with his persistence. Without the help of Evgeny Matveevich, Papanin could not have worked so effectively.”
It was Evgeniy Matveevich who was one of those who left for history several works on the role of polar explorers in the Great Patriotic War.
From 1946 to 1949, Evgeniy Matveevich was a senior assistant, deputy head of the Office of the Main Northern Sea Route under the Council of Ministers of the USSR. During this period, he makes two large sea crossings with a detachment of ships from Murmansk along northern seas to Vladivostok. This was his first big, open encounter with the ocean. “In the distant years of my youth,” wrote Evgeniy Matveevich, “when we, students of the 4th Penza school, wandered in a noisy band along the green thickets of the banks of the beautiful Sura, neither I, nor, perhaps, any of my friends, could imagine what it meant to in reality the concept of "ocean". Then, in the 20s, Penza seemed to us hidden so far in the depths of the continent that we felt like landlubbers forever... I passionately fell in love with the Arctic, its harsh nature and vast expanses, where everywhere the eye meets only two colors - white and blue.” .
In September 1949, Hero of the Soviet Union “Papaninets” P.P. Shirshov invited Evgeniy Matveevich to the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences as an assistant to the head of the North-4 expedition for operational matters, and then appointed him the scientific secretary of the institute. Since 1951, Evgeniy Matveevich has been Deputy Head of the Department of Marine Expeditionary Works of the Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. This position turned out to be the last in his career and for life.
2.2.3. Suzyumov is the main organizer of the first Antarctic research in the country
The years 1955 and 1956 were special in the life of E. M. Suzyumov. He is appointed scientific secretary of the First Complex Expedition to Antarctica on the diesel-electric ship Ob. He was initially part of the initiative group for organizing the expedition and, in the process of its discussion and preparation, coordinated the activities of groups that were engaged in individual programs: oceanography, organization of work on the mainland, relations with the Interdepartmental Committee of the International Geophysical Year, within the framework of which the expedition was to be carried out , on glaciology and geography, on meteorology, navigation, on calculations of loading a ship and unloading cargo on an ice continent.
Department sea expeditions USSR Academy of Sciences, whose deputy head (I.D. Papanin) was E.M. Suzyumov, made a huge contribution to the preparation and practical implementation of the expedition program, which included nothing less than:
Study of the influence of atmospheric processes in Antarctica on the general circulation of the Earth’s atmosphere;
Study of the main patterns of movement of Antarctic waters and their connection with the general circulation of the waters of the World Ocean;
Compilation of a physical-geographical description of Antarctica and modern glaciers of Antarctica, geological characteristics and history of the Antarctic region, biogeographical and hydrographic characteristics of Antarctica.
Creation in 1955 - 1956 of a scientific support base on the Antarctic continent and the organization of south polar stations;
Studying the features of geographical phenomena in Antarctica;
Searching for new areas for Soviet whaling, as well as
studying methods for supporting research in Antarctica.
The reference certificate given by the USSR Academy of Sciences directly states: “E. M. Suzyumov was one of the main organizers of the first Soviet research in Antarctica.”
2.2.4. The first Soviet Antarctic expedition.
The Soviet Antarctic Expedition No. 1 was organized in connection with the International Geophysical Year (IGY), which was scheduled to begin on July 1, 1957. The IGY has become one of the largest global scientific events, when, according to a single program, complex natural phenomena in the earth’s crust, in the seas and oceans, in the atmosphere on different heights and in outer space. Back in 1951, the Bureau of the International Council for Scientific Research at the United Nations created a Committee for the preparation and conduct of the IGY.
On July 13, 1955, the Soviet government decided to send a large expedition to Antarctica. Scientific guidance The expedition was entrusted to the USSR Academy of Sciences, and preparation and technical equipment were entrusted to the Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Route of the Ministry of the Navy, as an organization with extensive experience in Arctic research. It was Evgeny Matveevich Suzyumov who led such a complex process of preparation for the expedition.
At that time, the Soviet plan seemed almost fantastic. From the Ross Sea, the attack on the continent, first through the snow and then through the air, lasted for more than 50 years. Ellsworth flew over West Antarctica. Researchers from the two countries visited the Geographical Pole and planted their flags here. Researchers only speculated about the nature of the places where the Geomagnetic Pole and the Pole of Inaccessibility were located.
Such a short time was enough for the organization, since the USSR had accumulated vast experience in working in northern latitudes. After relatively short preparation, the polar explorers were relocated from one pole of the Earth to the other. Hero of the Soviet Union Mikhail Mikhailovich Somov, the legendary polar explorer, head of the North Pole-2 drifting station, was appointed head of the expedition. Another no less legendary Arctic explorer, Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin, head of SP-1, could also lead the “Soviet landing”. His first assistant was Evgeniy Matveevich Suzyumov, the scientific secretary of the expedition.
The participation of the Soviet Union and its plans immediately increased the importance of Antarctic research. Many countries, under the influence of these plans, revised their programs in the direction of increasing them. In particular, the Americans decided, in addition to the bases on the Pacific Ocean, to create a station on the shores of the Weddell Sea and in the neighborhood of the Soviet Union on the Knox Coast.
Three ships were allocated for the expedition. Two diesel-electric ships and a refrigerator. The same type of diesel-electric ships “Ob” and “Lena” each had a displacement of 12,600 tons, a carrying capacity of 4,500 tons, and a vehicle power of 8,200 horsepower. “Refrigerator No. 7,” with a displacement of 2,200 tons, was intended to deliver perishable goods to a coastal base.
On January 5, 1956, 136 years after the arrival of the Vostok and Mirny, the diesel-electric ship Ob approached the Antarctic continent, on which the first Soviet Antarctic expedition arrived.
The mainland suddenly appeared between two icebergs. The ice dome rose smoothly to the south. All around is white silence under the dazzling rays of the sun. Flowing down the icy slopes, a cold south-east wind blew persistently and incessantly. The Ob was the first to “touch” Antarctica, then the Lena and Kooperatsiya came up. The construction of a village began, which was given the name of one of the ships of the expedition of Lazarev and Bellingshausen - “Mirny”. This name also had another meaning: the Soviet Union came to Antarctica for peaceful work, which did not yet seem obvious to everyone. There were still three years left before signing International Treaty, which declared: “Antarctica is used for peaceful purposes only. Any actions of a military nature are prohibited.”
A little more than a month passed, and on the banks of Pravda, named after the main newspaper of the Soviet Union, the Soviet flag was raised - the Russians began the official “conquest” ice continent. By that time, seven states - Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, Great Britain, New Zealand and Norway - laid claim to various parts of Antarctica.
Under the sensitive tutelage of the United States, these countries were already ready to agree on its division. The leadership of the USSR understood that there was no time to waste - Antarctica, comparable in area to the territory of present-day Russia, could officially escape from the attention of the great power that won the Second World War. Our fellow countryman has a significant participation in this achievement of Soviet scientists.
On February 14, 1956, the Mirny Observatory was officially opened. 92 people stayed for the winter. It would be possible for the first time to limit ourselves to regular observations, leaving the exploration of the interior of the continent to subsequent expeditions, but the temptation to plunge into the unknown was too great...
And here is the pilot of the An-2 light biplane Anatoly Kash flew deep into the continent one and a half thousand kilometers from the coast, landing on an ice dome rising more than three thousand meters above sea level. The first acquaintance with the harsh conditions of Inner Antarctica took place. When we took off from Mirny on March 6, the frost was only -4°, but on the dome the thermometer dropped below -50°. Scientists decided that they needed to start observations immediately, and right here, in the “real” Antarctica.
On April 2, a sleigh-and-tractor “train” set off from Mirny towards the South Geomagnetic Pole and encountered unforeseen difficulties on its way. In a month we managed to cover only four hundred kilometers. The “train” stopped, a plane flew towards it, delivering everything necessary for organizing housing and a scientific station in the icy desert. It was opened on May 27, 1956 and was named “Pionerskaya”. Station Manager - Alexander Gusev, professor of physics and mountaineer. During the Great Patriotic War, in 1943, he led a group of climbers who tore the fascist flag from the top of Elbrus.
Polar explorers received the very first data on winter weather on the ice dome, where the minimum temperature reached -67°, and stormy winds blew constantly. The Pionerskaya station continued its work in both the second and third expeditions, but along with it, stations even more distant from the coast were created. First “Vostok-1”, and then “Vostok-2” at latitude 78 ° 28 "These stations were based on the path of the sleigh-and-tractor train that left Mirny under the leadership of the head of the second expedition to Antarctica Alexey Treshnikov.
2.2.5. The global significance of the first Soviet Antarctic expedition
Three years after the arrival of Soviet researchers, the modern status of the continent was determined. On January 19, 1959, the “Antarctic Treaty” was signed, which came into force in June 1961, aimed at preventing the militarization of Antarctica and freezing territorial claims indefinitely, which was certainly a consequence of the presence of scientists from our country at the South Pole. The treaty prohibits in the territory south of the 60th parallel of south latitude “any activities of a military nature, such as the creation of military bases and fortifications, military maneuvers, as well as testing of any types of weapons.”
A separate article introduces a ban on “any nuclear explosions in Antarctica and the burial of radioactive materials in this area.”
In 1991, the Protocol on Environmental Protection of the Antarctic was adopted - a 50-year moratorium was established on geological exploration work, all state parties to the Antarctic Treaty, and there are currently 45 of them, also pledged to protect the ecology of the unique continent.
Currently, five Russian stations operate year-round in Antarctica - Bellingshausen, Novolazarevskaya, Progress, Mirny, Vostok - and two seasonal field bases - Druzhnaya-4 and Molodezhnaya. According to the order of the Russian government on the activities of the Russian Antarctic expedition in 2006–2010, which was issued in July last year, it is planned to reactivate three more field bases - “Russkaya”, “Leningradskaya” and “Soyuz”.
A fundamental decision was made to build a new modern ship, to transform the Progress station, located on the Larseman Hills, into the capital of Russian Antarctica. Significantly increased budget financing. If in 2005 373 million rubles were allocated for operating expenses, then this year - already 550 million, and, accordingly, for investment projects - 48 and 148 million rubles. The same decree increased the size of the Russian expedition: from this year it is 110 people from the wintering staff and 120 people from the seasonal staff.
The invaluable experience and results of observations and research that were carried out as a result of the work of the First Antarctic Expedition are certainly invaluable scientific practical guide for subsequent generations of Antarctic scientists. Suzyumov's Arctic experience during the Second World War was entirely useful in the development of Antarctica, in order to secure our country's leading position as a world power, shaping geopolitics. In addition, Antarctica is the largest reservoir of reserves fresh water and reacts painfully to all changes in the atmosphere that occur as a result of its pollution. Suzyumov was the first to begin observing Antarctic glaciers, which are several thousand years old, and to draw conclusions about their relationship with changing climatic conditions in the world.
If global warming continues, it could lead to intense melting of Antarctic ice. According to scientists, if the ice cover of Antarctica completely disappears, the level of the World Ocean will rise by 70 m, which will result in global catastrophe, which pushes leading countries to currently continue observations and research in order to prevent a global catastrophe.
2.2.6. Unknown Antarctica. Hypothetical Analytics
Exploring biographical sketch about Suzyumov E.M. author Viktor Mirzlyaev “Fell in love with the Arctic...on Sura”, where the period of life of our fellow countryman Evgeniy Matveyevich is described that until 1946 E. M. Suzyumov was in military service in the Navy personnel as a member of the staff of the headquarters of the Authorized State Committee of Defense of the USSR for transportation in the North: adjutant, senior inspector, assistant to the State Defense Commissioner. From 1946 to 1949, Evgeniy Matveevich was a senior assistant, deputy head of the Office of the Main Northern Sea Route under the Council of Ministers of the USSR.
As for participation in the organization of science in general, it is quite impressive: E.M. Suzyumov was directly involved in the organization and implementation of several expeditions to the World Ocean on the research vessels “Vityaz”, “Mikhail Lomonosov”, “Dmitry Mendeleev”, and was one of the main organizers of joint Soviet-Cuban marine research (he is credited with organizing the Soviet -Cuban cooperation in the study of the Atlantic Ocean and its seas and the creation of an oceanology institute in Cuba); served on the organizing committees of the International Pacific Congresses, and was a foreign member of the US National Geographic Society.
There is a little-known side to Antarctic exploration that scientists will have to thoroughly explore in the future. According to the alleged version, Antarctica was explored immediately after the war by the special forces of the USSR - the Fifth Antarctic Fleet, led by the legendary Rear Admiral, Doctor of Geographical Sciences, twice Hero of the Soviet Union Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin. Considering that his first assistant was Suzyumov, it was most likely his direct participation here as a specialist in organizing polar expeditions.
The world capitalist powers have always categorically tried to prevent our country from research in Antarctica, discovered by our illustrious ancestors in the 19th century.
All domestic encyclopedias and reference books write that capitalist countries began dividing Antarctica among themselves long before the Second World War. How successful they were in this can be judged at least by the fact that the Soviet government, concerned about the agility of the British and Norwegians in the “study” of the southern circumpolar latitudes, in January 1939 declared an official protest to the governments of these countries due to the fact that their Antarctic expeditions “...were engaged in the unreasonable division into sectors of lands once discovered by Russian explorers and sailors...” When the British and Norwegians, who were soon bogged down in the battles of the Second World War, had no time for Antarctica, such notes were sent to neutral for the time being , but no less aggressive, in his opinion, the United States and Japan.
A new turn in the destructive war, which soon engulfed half the world, temporarily stopped these disputes. But only for a while. A year and a half after the end of hostilities in the Pacific Ocean, the Soviet military found itself in the hands of the most detailed aerial photography data of the entire coast of Queen Maud Land, starting from Cape Tyuleny and ending with Lützow-Holm Bay - and this is no less than 3,500 kilometers in a straight line!
Few knowledgeable people still claim that the Russians simply took this data after the war from the Germans, who, as is known, carried out two large-scale Antarctic expeditions a year before the Polish military campaign of 1939.
During the war and post-war years in the United States itself, a cautious but persistent press campaign begins. In one of the central American magazines, Foreign Affairs, former US Minister-Counselor to the USSR George Kennan, who had shortly before urgently left Moscow “for consultations with his government,” published an article in which he very unequivocally expressed his idea of “the need for an early organizing a rebuff to the enormously grown ambitions of the Soviets, who, after the successful end of the war with Germany and Japan, are in a hurry to take advantage of their military and political victories to plant the harmful ideas of communism not only in Eastern Europe and China, but also in... distant Antarctica!
The hype around the Sixth Continent quickly died down after Argentina and France supported the USSR. US President Truman, having reflected on the balance of power that had created in this region, reluctantly, but still agreed to the participation of Stalin’s representatives at the international conference on Antarctica, which was scheduled to be held in Washington, but emphasized that if an agreement on the equal presence of all interested countries was signed, it must certainly include such an important point as the demilitarization of Antarctica and the prohibition on its territory of any military activity, including the storage of weapons, including nuclear weapons, at Antarctic bases, and the development of raw materials necessary for the creation of any were weapons should be banned too.
However, all these preliminary agreements are the front side of the coin, its obverse, so to speak. Returning to the failed expedition of the American Admiral Byrd, it should be noted that back in January 1947, the waters of the Lazarev Sea were quite officially plowed by a Soviet research vessel, which, of course, belonged to the USSR Ministry of Defense, called “Slava”.
However, some researchers had at their disposal documents that very eloquently testify that in those harsh years for the fate of the whole world, not only Slava was located off the coast of Queen Maud Land. Having studied the post-war information received and combined it with data that appeared in the open press at different times in history, we can quite reasonably assume that the strongest and well-equipped Antarctic Fleet of the USSR Navy was stationed in the Antarctic region.
Strange as it may seem, until very recently, for some reason, few people paid attention to the fact that the Soviet press paid virtually no attention to the exploration of Antarctica by our compatriots in the 40s and early 50s. The quantity and quality of specific documents of that time, open to the outside public, is also not particularly diverse. All information on this matter was limited to some general phrases like:
- “Antarctica is a country of penguins and eternal ice, it certainly needs to be explored and studied in order to understand many of the geophysical processes occurring in other parts of the globe,” more like slogans than messages. The successes of foreign states in studying this very “land of penguins” were written as if they were at least enterprises of the CIA or the Pentagon, in any case, comprehensive information from the open press was not available to any interested independent expert-enthusiast not invested with the highest confidence of the Soviet government, Couldn't get it.
However, in the archives of Western intelligence services, with whom many Soviet and Polish spies “worked” at one time, and who in our time wished to write their own memoirs, documents were found that shed light on some aspects of the first official (rather semi-official, disguised as the study of industrial situation in Antarctica) of the Soviet Antarctic expedition of 1946-47, which arrived on the shores of Dronning Maud Land on the diesel-electric ship “Slava”. Studying some aspects of the history of the Russian Navy, at some stage you may come across quite interesting things concerning some ships of the Soviet Navy, in particular the Pacific Fleet, which, although they were part of this very fleet, however, starting from 1945, In the waters of the “metropolis” they appeared so rarely that a completely legitimate question arose about the true bases of several of the largest destroyers of the USSR Navy.
Without dwelling on the biography of the legendary Soviet polar explorer Papanin, we should draw the attention of those interested to the important fact that all the persons appearing in the secret documents regarding the unofficial Soviet (Stalinist) expedition of 1946-47 that concerns us received their general's shoulder straps precisely in 1946, just before the start of the transoceanic voyage to the South Pole - this only emphasizes the importance of this expedition personally for Stalin. What Stalin needed in distant Antarctica in the first post-war years is another question, subject to further careful study, but surely these needs were no less significant than for American President Truman, who sent his own polar wolf, Rear Admiral Richard Byrd, on a similar campaign. Based on their analysis of existing sources, it can be assumed that these “unknown forces” that created the balance of power in Antarctica after the war were precisely Papanin’s naval forces.
In 1951, Papanin was already in Moscow, where he was presented with an important government award for an unknown specific merit, and the honorary and responsible post of head of one of the departments of the USSR Academy of Sciences - the Department of Marine Expeditionary Works. It turned out to be more important than all his previous posts. Suzyumov E.M. became deputy head of the Marine Expeditionary Works Department. Presidium of the USSR Academy of Sciences. This significant position turned out to be the last in his career and lifelong
But Papanin and Suzyumov, unlike the legendary Soviet marshals and generals, did not spend a single day on the front lines of the Second World War. Meanwhile, they had the opportunity to participate in the most important intellectual battle in the history of the Cold War between the USSR Navy and the US Navy at the very beginning and not lose it, but most importantly, not to lead the world to a new world massacre. And this happened precisely in early March 1947 on the 70th parallel, near the Soviet naval base they secretly founded, which later became known as Lazarevskaya. After this, the road to the development of Antarctica and the study of the latitudes of the World Ocean was opened for our country. This is the main merit of these people. The official exploration of Antarctica by the USSR began in 1956.
In conclusion, we list the awards that the Soviet government awarded to Evgeniy Matveevich Suzyumov: Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd degree (05/1/1944), Red Star (08/08/1944), Badge of Honor (12/2/44), Red Banner of Labor (12/6/49) , Badge of Honor (06/23/61), Badge of Honor (09/17/75); medals: “For the defense of the Soviet Arctic” (1944), “For the victory over Germany in 1941 - 1945”, “For valiant labor in the Great Patriotic War” (1945), “For the development of the North” and all anniversary medals. Evgeniy Matveevich had the title “Honorary Polar Explorer”. Back in 1952 he was awarded personal rank Colonel-Director of the Navy Administrative Service.
In his native Penza, Evgeniy Matveevich was last time in November 1985, during the celebration of the 75th anniversary of our other famous fellow countryman and the no less famous polar explorer K. S. Badigin.
E. M. Suzyumov died in 1998 and was buried in Moscow.
2.3. Hero of the Soviet Union, writer Konstantin Badigin
Our famous fellow countryman, writer, candidate of geographical sciences, Hero of the Soviet Union Badigin Konstantin Sergeevich is a famous conqueror of the Arctic.
Konstantin Sergeevich is the author of books on the history of polar navigation: “On the ship “G. Sedov” across the Arctic Ocean” (1940), “Unraveling the mystery of Andreev Land” (1953 in collaboration with N.N. Zubov), “Across the icy seas. Essays on the history of ice voyages of Russian Pomors" (1956), as well as the author of the script for the film "The Cold Sea" (1955) and the memoirs "On Sea Roads" (1978).
Famous Konstantin Badigin and as the creator of historical stories and novels: “The Path to Grumant” (1953), “Conquerors of the Cold Seas” (1957), “Alien Sails” (1959), “The Secret of State Importance” (1966), “The Ring of the Grand Master” (1969 ), the dilogy “The Corsairs of Ivan the Terrible” (1973) and “Shipwreck off the Island of Hope” (1978), “The Keys to the Enchanted Castle” (1980).
Konstantin Sergeevich Badigin was chairman of the commission on maritime fiction, editor of the literary and artistic maritime collection "Ocean".
2.3.1. Biography page
Badigin K.S. born on November 29, 1910 in the city of Penza into a family of employees. In 1932 he graduated from the Vladivostok Marine College, then from the Moscow State Pedagogical Institute and graduate school in 1953.
Since 1929 he sailed as a sailor on ships merchant fleet in the Far East, from 1935 to 1936 he was a navigator on the icebreaker Krasin. In 1938-1940 Konstantin Sergeevich led a drifting expedition on the icebreaking steamship Georgy Sedov, for which he was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. The observations and experience gained during the expedition are a significant contribution to domestic and world geographical science.
During the Great Patriotic War, he served as chief of staff of Arctic naval operations and supervised the escort of transports of the White Sea military flotilla. Since 1943 captain Badigin transported defense cargo from the USA to Vladivostok.
Hero of the Soviet Union Konstantin Badigin He was also a holder of the Order of Lenin, the Red Banner of Labor, and the Badge of Honor.
To meet with my fellow countrymen readers Konstantin Sergeevich came to Penza in 1949, 1953, 1968 and 1977. Currently, his personal belongings are stored in the literary museum: a desk, a paper cutter, souvenirs and books.
2.3.2. Legendary drift
The results of the Sedov drift, led by our fellow countryman Konstantin Badigin, can be compared with the results of the Nansen Fram drift.
“Sedov” was forced to drift, thanks to a tragic coincidence of circumstances. In 1937, while conducting oceanological research in the Laptev Sea, the Sedov was delayed and was unable to return to port in a timely manner. The same thing happened with the icebreaking steamships Sadko and Malygin. For mutual assistance all three ships connected and tried to break through the freezing sea, but were squeezedice.
"Sedov", together with "Sadko" and "Malygin", first drifted directly north, to approximately 133° east longitude. A month later, when the Sedov was near the 78th parallel, it turned east and by March 2, 1938, it found itself at 78°25 north latitude and 153°26 east longitude. This point was the easternmost for Sedov. From that time on, the Sedov slowly drifted to the west, while heading north at the same time.
In the summer of 1938, the icebreaker Ermak approached the drifting ships and took the Sadko and Malygina out of the ice into the open sea, but the Sedov could not be rescued from ice captivity because during the winter it received severe damage to its steering gear. I had to leave it to drift with the ice.
On February 17, 1939, the lonely “Sedov” found itself at 85°56 7″ north latitude and 120° 13 east longitude. On this day, the high latitude record for ships drifting with ice, set by the Fram 44 years earlier (November 15, 1895), was broken when it reached latitude 85°55 5″ north and longitude 66°30 east.
From here “Sedov” continued to drift in a generally northwesterly direction and on March 22, 1939 reached 36°34 7″ north latitude and 108°46 east longitude. Then the Sedov's drift began to gradually incline to the southwest. From May 17 to July 27, 1939, the path of “Sedov” seems to intertwine with the path of “Fram”, but then “Sedov” begins to quickly rise north again and on August 29 reaches the northernmost point of its drift - 86°39 5″ north latitude and 47°55 East longitude.
Subsequently, the drift of the Sedov again crosses the path of the Fram and, having described a series of zigzags, heads between the drift paths of the North Pole and Fram stations to the wide strait separating Greenland from Spitsbergen.
Two main tasks faced the Sedovites: the first was to preserve their ship for the Soviet icebreaker fleet and the second was to make maximum use of all the circumstances of the drift to conduct the most complete and accurate scientific observations possible.
The first task was not easy. "Sedov" was not specially built for drifting in the ice of the Arctic Ocean. This is, in essence, an ordinary cargo-passenger steamer, adapted for navigation in weak ice. True, it had an icebreaker bow and additional fastenings were made in the hull, but its sides were almost straight-walled. It was impossible to hope that, under the destructive compression, the Sedova would squeeze the surface of the ice in the same way as the Fram.
Taking into account the experience of the first winter, which so severely damaged the steering gear of the ship, the Sedovites paid special attention to preserving the ship. They strengthened the ship's hull and developed special tactics to combat the pressure of ice using explosives. In winter, when ice compression posed the greatest danger, ammonal charges were always ready on board, and there were pre-prepared holes around the ship. The charges were intended to destroy the sharp corners of the ice fields pressing on the side of the ship, and to form a kind of cushion of ice fragments around the ship, more evenly distributing the pressure of the advancing ice shafts.
Sedovites experienced ice compression 153 times. Some were so dangerous that the crew prepared to abandon ship. One day the ship tilted 30 degrees, water rushed through the holes in the refrigerators into the ship, and only the dedicated work of the mechanics saved the ship from destruction.
In terms of scientific observations, the Sedovites had before them a living example of work in difficult Arctic conditions - the winterers of the North Pole station.
There were no professional scientists among the Sedovites. Except for V.Kh. Buinitsky, then a student at the Hydrographic Institute of the Main Northern Sea Route, all the other Sedovites were ordinary sailors. But all of them painstakingly, carefully, not sparing their strength, for more than two years, day after day, conducted scientific observations, “wrote what they observed, but what they did not observe, they did not write.”
The legendary drift of “Sedov” made a valuable contribution to domestic and world science about the North.
Conclusion. General conclusions about the participation of Penza residents
in Arctic and Antarctic research
Comprehensive studies have been carried out on the participation of Penza polar explorers in the study of the Arctic and Antarctic. The main periods of their life path are considered, where they made their maximum contribution to domestic and world science. The results of the work, during which the main achievements of our fellow countrymen were studied, are summarized in table No. 1.
The participation of our fellow countrymen in scientific research on the study of the north and south poles, the latitudes of the world's oceans formed the basis for the formation of modern geographical science. They helped subsequent generations of scientists and researchers carry out large-scale studies of the ocean and hard-to-reach land areas of the globe.
The service of Penza polar explorers to the Fatherland is great. Our country won the war against the Hitlerite coalition thanks to the high-quality development of the Northern Sea Route, the implementation of competent navigation, and the operational management of northern maritime operations. The experience gained in the study of the North was required when carrying out Antarctic research, which contributed to our country permanently gaining a foothold on the snow-covered continent of the Southern Hemisphere, which is remote from us.
Russia's permanent presence in Antarctica shapes modern world geopolitics, which was achieved thanks to the selfless work of our ancestors, who laid the foundation for polar research.
The achievements made by Russia in the exploration of the vastness of the World Ocean and the study of the northern and southern polar latitudes are comparable in importance to the world's famous geographical discoveries. Legal agreements on the peaceful use of these territories were ratified under the influence and participation of our country, which is the main point in the history of the Arctic and Antarctic.
We are particularly proud that these achievements, including the current legal agreements aimed at the careful preservation of the Arctic and Antarctic, were made with the participation of our fellow countrymen for the benefit of the future of all humanity.
Bibliography
- Golitsyn, V.V. Antarctica: international legal regime / B.B. Golitsyn. - M., 1983.
- Klimenko, B.M. The common heritage of humanity (international legal issues) / B.M. Klimenko. - M., 1989.
- Lukin, V.V. The Antarctic Treaty system: legal acts, comments / V.V. Lukin, V.D. Klokov, V.N. Pomelov. - St. Petersburg, 2002.
- Malyazev V. “Fell in love with the Arctic...on Sura.” Essay about E.M. Suzyumov.
The Arctic conquered humanity at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. This inaccessible region was explored by daredevils from many countries: Russia, Norway, Sweden, Italy, etc. The history of the discovery of the Arctic is not only a scientific, but also a sports race that continues to this day.
Nils Nordenskiöld
Polar explorer Nils Nordenskiöld (1832-1901) was born in Finland, which then belonged to Russia, however, being a Swede by birth, he conducted his expeditions under the Swedish flag. In his youth he visited Spitsbergen a lot. Nordenskiöld became the first explorer to explore the Greenland ice sheet. All famous Arctic explorers of the early 20th century deservedly considered him the godfather of their craft.
Adolf Nordenskiöld's main achievement was his expedition along the Northeast Passage in 1878-1879. The Vega steamship was the first to sail along the northern shores of Eurasia in one voyage and completely circumnavigate the huge continent. Nordenskiöld's merits are appreciated by his descendants - numerous geographic objects in the Arctic are named after him. This includes the archipelago near Taimyr, as well as the bay near Novaya Zemlya.
Robert Peary
The name (1856-1920) is special in the history of polar expeditions. He was the first Arctic explorer to conquer the North Pole. In 1886, a traveler set out to cross Greenland on a sleigh. However, in that race he lost to Fridtjof Nansen.
The Arctic explorers of that time were extreme people in an even greater sense than they are now. Modern equipment did not yet exist, and daredevils had to act almost blindly. Intending to conquer the North Pole, Piri decided to turn to the life and traditions of the Eskimos. Thanks to the “cultural exchange,” the American abandoned the use of sleeping bags and tents. Instead, he began to resort to the practice of building igloos.
Peary's main journey was his sixth expedition to the Arctic in 1908-1909. The team included 22 Americans and 49 Eskimos. Although, as a rule, Arctic explorers went to the ends of the earth with scientific tasks, Peary’s enterprise took place solely due to the desire to set a record. The North Pole was conquered by polar explorers on April 6, 1909.
Raoul Amundsen
The first time Raoul Amundsen (1872-1928) visited the Arctic was in 1897-1899, when he took part in a Belgian expedition, in which he was the navigator of one of the ships. After returning home, the Norwegian began to prepare for an independent trip. Before this, Arctic explorers mostly set out in large teams on multiple vessels. Amundsen decided to abandon this practice.
The polar explorer bought a small yacht “Yoa” and assembled a small detachment that could feed itself by gathering and hunting. started in 1903. The Norwegian's starting point was Greenland, and his final point was Alaska. Thus, Raoul Amundsen was the first to conquer the Northwest Passage - the sea route through the Canadian Arctic archipelago. It was an unprecedented success. In 1911, the polar explorer became the first in human history to reach the South Pole. Amundsen later became interested in the use of aviation, including airships and seaplanes. The researcher died in 1928 while searching for the missing expedition of Umberto Nobile.
Nansen
Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen (1861-1930) began exploring the Arctic literally out of sport. A professional speed skater and skier, he decided to ski across the vast Greenland Ice Sheet at age 27 and made history on his first attempt.
The North Pole had not yet been conquered by Peary, and Nansen decided to reach the cherished point, drifting along with the ice on the schooner Fram. The ship found itself captive in ice to the north. The polar explorer's team set off further on a sleigh, but in April 1895, having reached 86 degrees north latitude, they turned back.
Subsequently, Fridtjof Nansen did not participate in pioneering expeditions. Instead, he immersed himself in science, becoming a prominent zoologist and the author of a dozen studies. As a well-known public figure, Nansen struggled with the consequences of the First World War in Europe. He helped refugees from different countries and the hungry in the Volga region. In 1922, the Norwegian Arctic explorer was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Umberto Nobile
Italian Umberto Nobile (1885-1978) is known not only as a polar explorer. His name is associated with the golden era of airship construction. Amundsen, who was passionate about the idea of air travel over the North Pole, met the aeronautics specialist Nobile in 1924. Already in 1926, the Italian, in the company of the Scandinavian Argonaut and the American eccentric millionaire Lincoln Ellsworth, set off on an epoch-making flight. The airship "Norway" followed an unprecedented route Rome - North Pole - Alaska Peninsula.
Umberto Nobile became a national hero, and Duce Mussolini made him a general and an honorary member of the fascist party. The success prompted the airship builder to organize a second expedition. This time, Italy played the leading role in the event (the polar explorers’ aircraft was also named “Italy”). On the way back from the North Pole, the airship crashed, part of the crew died, and Nobile was rescued from the ice by the Soviet icebreaker Krasin.
Chelyuskinites
The feat of the Chelyuskinites is a unique page in the history of the development of the polar borders. It is associated with unsuccessful attempt establish navigation along the Northern Sea Route. Its inspirations were the scientist Otto Schmidt and polar explorer Vladimir Voronin. In 1933, they equipped the steamship Chelyuskin and set off on an expedition along the northern shores of Eurasia.
Soviet Arctic researchers sought to prove that the Northern Sea Route can be traversed not only on a specially prepared ship, but also on a simple dry cargo ship. Of course, it was an adventure, and its doom became clear in the Bering Strait, where the ship was crushed by ice and crashed.
The Chelyuskin crew hastily evacuated, and a government commission was created in the capital to organize the rescue of polar explorers. People were returned home by plane. The story of “Chelyuskin” and its crew captivated the whole world. Rescue pilots were the first to receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Georgy Sedov
(1877-1914) connected his life with the sea in his youth, enrolling in Rostov nautical classes. Before becoming an Arctic explorer, he participated in the Russo-Japanese War, during which he commanded a destroyer.
First polar expedition Sedov occurred in 1909, when he described the mouth. Then he explored Novaya Zemlya (including its Krestovaya Bay). In 1912, the senior lieutenant proposed to the tsarist government a project for a sleigh expedition, the goal of which was the North Pole.
The authorities refused to sponsor the risky event. Then he raised money from private funds and still organized the trip. His ship "Saint Foka" was blocked by ice near Novaya Zemlya. Then Sedov fell ill with scurvy, but still, accompanied by several comrades, he set off on a sleigh to the North Pole. The polar explorer died on the way near Rudolf Island, where he was buried.
Valery Chkalov
Most often, Russian Arctic explorers are associated with ships, sleighs and dog sleds. However, pilots also made their contribution to the study of the polar spaces. The main Soviet ace (1904-1938) in 1937 made the first non-stop flight from Moscow to Vancouver via the North Pole.
The brigade commander's partners on the mission were co-pilot Georgy Baidukov and navigator Alexander Belyakov. In 63 hours, the ANT-25 aircraft covered a distance of 9 thousand kilometers. In Vancouver, reporters from all over the world were waiting for the heroes, and US President Roosevelt personally received the pilots at the White House.
Ivan Papanin
Almost certainly Ivan Papanin (1894-1896) is the most famous Soviet Arctic explorer. His father was a Sevastopol port worker, so it is not surprising that the boy was passionate about the sea from early childhood. Papanin first came to the north in 1931, visiting Franz Josef Land on the steamship Malygin.
Thunderous fame came to the Arctic explorer at the age of 44. In 1937-1938 Papanin supervised the work of the world's first drifting station, the North Pole. Four scientists spent 274 days on the ice floe, observing the Earth's atmosphere and the hydrosphere of the Arctic Ocean. Papanin twice became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Modern challenges and prospects for research in the Russian Arctic
Introduction
arctic geographic polar
The Arctic is one of the most inaccessible and sparsely populated parts of the Earth. For a long time, it did not represent any practical value for the population of our planet due to extreme natural conditions and the inability to conduct any economic activity. Arctic (from the Greek arktikys - northern), the northern polar region of the globe, including the outskirts of the continents of Eurasia and the North. America and almost the entire North. The Arctic Ocean with all its islands (except the offshore islands of Norway), as well as the adjacent parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
The relevance of the work lies in the fact that against the background of sharply increased attention to the Arctic, there has been a deterioration in relations between Russia and its Western partners. The Arctic is a place where the interests of Europe, Asia and America meet. Since ancient times, certain areas of the Arctic have been used for marine fisheries; in general, this area attracted the attention, first of all, of researchers. With the discovery and development of large mineral deposits in the Arctic, investment and commercial interests in it have increased.
Thus, the sea areas of the Arctic continental shelf act as a strategic reserve of the world energy system and the basis national security Russia.
The purpose of the course work is to study the history of Russian polar research, identify problems and prospects for the development of the Arctic.
To achieve this goal, the following tasks were set:
Get acquainted with the history of Arctic exploration;
Consider scientific literature, archival documents;
Explore the nature of the Arctic;
Identify the current environmental management of the territory;
The object of the study is the study of the development of the Arctic.
The subject of the study is the Russian vector of Arctic exploration.
Methodological basis The research consists of an analysis of scientific literature and archival materials.
Structure and scope of work:
The course work consists of an introduction, 5 expanded points, a conclusion and a list of references from sources.
The work is done on pages of printed text.
1. History of Russian polar research. Stages and characteristics
A huge contribution to the study of the Arctic and the development of Arctic navigation was made by: the Great Northern Expedition led by V. Bering (1733-1745), the first Russian high-latitude expedition under the command of captain 1st rank V. Chichagov (1766-1767), expeditions to Novaya Zemlya (1821-1824) and northeast Asia (1820-1824) under the leadership of F. Litke and F. Wrangel, Russian polar expedition on the schooner "Zarya" under the leadership of Tol (1900-1902) , Hydrographic expedition of the Arctic Ocean on the ships “Taimyr” and “Vaigach” under the command of Colonel I. Sergeev and captain 2nd rank B. Vilkitsky (1910-1915), expeditions led by G. Sedov, V. Rusanov, G. Brusilova (1911-1914). Special place In the history of Arctic exploration, the world's first icebreaker "Ermak", created in 1899 according to the drawings of Vice Admiral S.O. Makarova.
Expedition led by Bering and Chichagov
The expedition of the detachment, which was directly led by Vitus Bering, is often directly called the “second Kamchatka expedition.” This detachment was tasked with finding a route to North America and the islands in the North Pacific Ocean.
By the summer of 1740, two packet boats (“St. Peter” and “St. Paul”) were built in Okhotsk, under the leadership of shipwrights Kozmin and Rogachev, intended for the detachment.
In September of the same year, ships under the command of Vitus Bering (“St. Peter”) (Appendix 1) and Alexei Chirikov (“St. Paul”) (Appendix 2) moved to the shores of Kamchatka, having lost part of their food during the voyage during a storm. In Avacha Bay on Kamchatka, members of the detachment founded a fort, which later grew into the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.
On June 1741, the packet boats "St. Peter" and "St. Paul" under the command of Vitus Bering and Alexei Chirikov set sail for the shores of America. At the very beginning of the voyage, the ships lost each other in heavy fog and acted separately. "St. Peter" under the command of Bering reached Kodiak Island off the west coast of America. On the way back, the expedition wintered on a small island, where Bering died during the winter.
“St. Paul”, under the command of Chirikov, reached the shores of America on July 15, in addition, having visited individual islands, and on October 11 of the same year returned to the Peter and Paul prison.
Expedition led by Toll
In 1900, the Russian polar expedition began under the leadership of Eduard Vasilyevich Toll, a Russian geologist and Arctic explorer. In 1899 Toll began organizing an expedition whose purpose was to study sea currents in the Kara and East Siberian seas of the Arctic Ocean, the study of already known and search for new islands in this part of the Arctic, and if successful, the discovery of " big continent"("Arktida", Sannikov Lands), in the existence of which Toll firmly believed. In the same 1899, the three-masted hunting bark "Herald Harfinger" (Norwegian Harald Harfager) was purchased in Norway. This ship was recommended to Toll by Fridtjof Nansen as similar to the famous Fram. Bark receives a new name - “Zarya”. The newly caulked and repaired barque, lined with a new anti-ice belt, is transferred to the Colin Archer shipyard in the port of Larvik. Here, all the premises that were supposed to be adapted for conducting expeditions in the Arctic are being completely rebuilt. The intermediate inter-deck bulkheads were replaced with new ones, and a deck superstructure with seven cabins for crew members was erected between the foremast and mainmast. The sailing rig underwent significant modifications; straight sails were left only at the foremast. As a result, after reconstruction, the ship's sailing rig began to correspond to the type of schooner-barque or barquentine.
Since Zarya set off on a voyage under the flag of the Nevsky Yacht Club, she received the status of a yacht. After completion of the work in October 1899, “Zarya” was inspected by the Norwegian bureau “Veritas” and issued a long-distance voyage certificate for three years. The scientific “backbone” of the polar expedition was formed by: the head of the expedition and geologist Baron Eduard Toll; surveyor, meteorologist and photographer Fedor Matisen; hydrographer, hydrologist, magnetologist, hydrochemist and cartographer Alexander Kolchak; zoologist and photographer Alexey Byalynitsky-Birulya; astronomer and magnetologist Friedrich Seeberg; bacteriologist and zoologist Hermann Walter. The Zarya team included: fleet lieutenant Nikolai Kolomeytsev, boatswain Nikifor Begichev, senior machinist Eduard Ogrin, sailors Semyon Evstifeev, Sergey Tolstov, Alexey Semyashkin (later replaced by Pyotr Strizhev), Ivan Malygin (replaced by Stepan Rastorguev), Vasily Zheleznyakov, Nikolai Bezborodov, second driver Eduard Shirvinsky, senior fireman Ivan Klug, second fireman Gavriil Puzyrev, third fireman Trifon Nosov, cook Foma Yaskevich.
June 1900 "Zarya" weighed anchor in St. Petersburg with 20 crew members on board. On July 24, the ship arrived in Aleksandrovsk-on-Murman (now Polyarny) and sailed into the Kara Sea in August. In the fall, Zarya was blocked by ice in Middendorf Bay for 24 days. Toll named this bay part of his teacher, the famous scientist and explorer of Taimyr - Alexander Fedorovich Middendorf. The first wintering took place off the coast of the Taimyr Peninsula. In April 1901, as a result of disagreements with Toll, Lieutenant Kolomeytsev, accompanied by Stepan Rastorguev, left the ship. In 40 days, two expeditioners walked about 800 kilometers to the Golchikha River (Yenisei Bay) and then safely reached St. Petersburg. Along the way, they discovered the Kolomeytseva River flowing into the Taimyr Gulf, and in the Pyasinsky Gulf - Rastorguev Island (one of the Kamenny Islands). Matisen became the new captain of the Zarya. In the summer of 1901, the expedition explored Taimyr. On August 25, “Zarya” set off to search for the Sannikov Lands, but already on September 9, it came across a belt powerful ice. The second wintering took place in Nerpicha Bay. In May 1902, preparations began for a sleigh and boat passage to Bennett Island (one of the De Long Islands) and on July 5, 1902, Toll left the Zarya, accompanied by astronomer Friedrich Seeberg and fur traders Vasily Gorokhov and Nikolai Dyakonov It was planned that Zarya would approach Bennett Island two months later. On July 13, E. Toll's party on dog sleds reached Cape Vysokoy on the island of New Siberia. On August 3, they reached Bennett Island by kayaks. Due to heavy ice conditions, Zarya was unable to approach Bennett Island on time and received serious damage, making further navigation impossible. In September 1902, Lieutenant Mathisen was forced to take the ship into Tiksi Bay and run aground.
The crew of “Zarya” arrived in Yakutsk on a regular ship along the Lena River and were already in St. Petersburg in December 1902. In 1903, a search expedition led by A. Kolchak discovered Toll’s site on Bennett Island, his diaries and other materials. It is known that Toll’s group, without waiting for Zarya, decided to independently move south towards the continent, but further traces of these four people have not yet been discovered.
Vitus Jonassen Bering (dat. Vitus Jonassen Bering; etc. Ivan Ivanovich Bering; August 12, 1681, Horsens, Denmark - December 8 (19), 1741, Bering Island, Russia) - navigator, officer of the Russian fleet, captain-commander. Danish by origin.
In 1725-1730 and 1733-1741 he led the First and Second Kamchatka expeditions. He passed through the strait between Chukotka and Alaska (later the Bering Strait), reached North America and discovered a number of islands of the Aleutian chain.
An island, a strait and a sea in the North Pacific Ocean, as well as the Commander Islands, are named after Bering. In archaeology, the northeastern part of Siberia, Chukotka and Alaska (which, as is now believed, were previously connected by a strip of land) are often called the general term Beringia.
Pavel Vasilievich Chichagov
Pavel Vasilyevich Chichagov (1767-1849) - Russian admiral, son of Vasily Yakovlevich Chichagov, Minister of the Navy of the Russian Empire from 1802 to 1809 (officially until 1811)
Well-known Anglophile. In 1812, he replaced Kutuzov as commander of the Danube Army and led the pursuit of Napoleon across the territory of Belarus. After the French crossed the Berezina, he was accused of failing to block the enemy’s path to retreat. He spent the rest of his life in a foreign land, essentially in exile.
The Chichagov Islands, a group of two islands in the Franz Josef Land archipelago, are named after the admiral.
Fedor Petrovich Litke
Count Fedor Petrovich Litke (September 17 (September 28) 1797, St. Petersburg - August 8 (August 20) 1882, St. Petersburg) - Russian navigator, geographer, Arctic explorer, adjutant general, admiral (1855), president of the Academy of Sciences in 1864-1882.
For twenty years (with a break to serve as a port commander and military governor in Reval and Kronstadt), Litke was vice-president of the Russian Geographical Society. He also took an active part in the studies of the Nikolaevskaya main observatory, at one time managed its affairs.
Litke's services as president of the Academy of Sciences (1864-1882) were also great. Under him, the facilities of the main physical observatory, meteorological and magnetic observatories in Pavlovsk were expanded; the number of awards for scientific and literary works, the condition of museums, collections and other scientific materials has been improved.
Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel
Baron Ferdinand (Fedor) Petrovich Wrangel (German) Ferdinand Friedrich Georg Ludwig von Wrangell) December 29, 1796 (January 9, 1797), Pskov - May 25 (June 6), 1870, Dorpat) - Russian military and statesman, navigator and polar explorer, admiral (1856), manager of the Naval Ministry.
Awards of the Russian Empire:
· Order of St. George, 4th class for 25 years of service (1837);
· Order of St. Stanislaus, 1st degree (1840);
· Ring with diamonds (1841);
· Insignia for XXX years of blameless service (1846);
· Order of St. Anne, 1st class with Imperial Crown (1846);
· Order of St. Vladimir, 2nd degree (1855);
· Order of the White Eagle (1859).
Baron Eduard Vasilievich Toll (German) Eduard Gustav von Toll; 2 March 14, 1858, Revel - 1902, missing) - Russian geologist, Arctic explorer.
In 1899, Toll began organizing a new expedition, the purpose of which was to study sea currents in the Kara and East Siberian seas of the Arctic Ocean, study already known and search for new islands in this part of the Arctic, and, if successful, discover the “big continent” (“ Arctida", Sannikov Lands), in the existence of which Toll firmly believed.
June 1900 "Zarya" weighed anchor in St. Petersburg. In the summer of 1901, the expedition explored Taimyr.
2. Features of the Arctic nature
Arctic (Greek? ????? - bear (Greek arktikos - northern, from arctos - bear (according to the constellation Ursa Major))) - a single physical-geographical region of the Earth adjacent to the North Pole and including the outskirts of the continents of Eurasia and North America, almost the entire Arctic Ocean with islands ( except the offshore islands of Norway), as well as adjacent parts of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The southern border of the Arctic coincides with the southern border of the tundra zone. Area about 27 million square meters. km; sometimes the Arctic is limited from the south by the Arctic Circle (66° 33? N), in which case its area will be 21 million square meters. km.
2 Nature of the islands. Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island
New Earth
Novaya Zemlya is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean between the Barents and Kara seas; is included in the Arkhangelsk region of Russia in the rank municipality"New Earth".
The climate is arctic and harsh. Winter is long and cold, with strong winds (the speed of katabatic (katabatic) winds reaches 40-50 m/s) and snowstorms, and therefore Novaya Zemlya is sometimes called the “Land of the Winds” in literature. Frosts reach?40°C.
About half the area of the North Island is occupied by glaciers. Over an area of about 20,000 km ² -a continuous ice cover extending almost 400 km in length and up to 70-75 km in width. The ice thickness is over 300 m. In a number of places, the ice descends into fjords or breaks off into the open sea, forming ice barriers and giving rise to icebergs. The total area of Novaya Zemlya glaciation is 29,767 km ², of which about 92% are cover glaciers and 7.9% are mountain glaciers. On the South Island there are areas of arctic tundra.
The ecosystems of Novaya Zemlya are usually classified as biomes of arctic deserts (North Island) and arctic tundra.
The main role in the formation of phytocenoses belongs to mosses and lichens. The latter are represented by types of cladonia, the height of which does not exceed 3-4 cm.
Arctic herbaceous annuals also play a significant role. Plants characteristic of the sparse flora of the islands are creeping species, such as creeping willow, saxifraga oppositeifolia, mountain lichen and others. The vegetation in the southern part is mostly dwarf birches, moss and low grass; in areas near rivers, lakes and bays, many mushrooms grow: milk mushrooms, honey mushrooms, etc.
The largest lake is Gusinoye. It is home to freshwater fish, in particular Arctic char. Common animals include arctic foxes, lemmings, partridges, and reindeer. Polar bears come to the southern regions with the onset of cold weather, posing a threat to local residents. Marine animals include harp seal, ringed seal, sea hare, walruses, and whales.
On the islands of the archipelago you can find the largest bird colonies in the Russian Arctic. Guillemots, puffins, and seagulls live here.
Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, in northern Europe. Part of the polar possessions of Russia is part of the Primorsky district of the Arkhangelsk region. Consists of 192 islands, total area 16,134 km².
The climate of the archipelago is typically arctic. Average annual temperature up to?12 °C (Rudolph Island); average July temperatures from -1.2 °C in Tikhaya Bay (Hooker Island) to +1.6 °C (Hayes Island, where the world's northernmost meteorological station is located - the Krenkel Observatory); the average January temperature is about? 24 °C (minimum temperatures in winter are up to? 52 °C), the wind reaches 40 m/sec. Precipitation ranges from 200-300 mm to 500-550 mm (in the zone of accumulation of ice domes) per year.
Glaciers cover 87% of the archipelago's territory. Ice thickness ranges from 100 to 500 m. Glaciers descending into the sea produce a large number of icebergs. The most intense glaciation is observed in the southeast and east of each island and the archipelago as a whole. Ice formation occurs only on the top surfaces of ice domes. The glaciers of the archipelago are rapidly shrinking, and if the observed rate of degradation continues, the glaciation of Franz Josef Land may disappear in 300 years.
The vegetation cover is dominated by mosses and lichens. There are also polar poppy, saxifrage, grains, and polar willow. Mammals include the polar bear and, less commonly, the arctic fox. The waters surrounding the islands are home to seals, bearded seals, harp seals, walruses, narwhals and beluga whales. The most numerous birds (26 species) are: little auks, guillemots, guillemots, kittiwakes, white gulls, glaucous gulls, etc., forming so-called bird colonies in the summer. There are polar stations on the islands of Alexandra Land and Rudolf Island. On Hayes Island there is a geophysical observatory named after E. T. Krenkel (since 1957).
Northern land
Severnaya Zemlya (until 1926 - the Land of Emperor Nicholas II) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Administratively part of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) municipal district Krasnoyarsk region.
The area of the archipelago is about 37 thousand km². Uninhabited.
On Severnaya Zemlya there is the northernmost island point Asia - Cape Arctic on Komsomolets Island.
The climate of the islands is marine, arctic. The average long-term temperature is 14 °C. The minimum temperature in winter reaches?47 °C, frequent strong storm winds up to 40 m/sec. In summer highest temperature rises to +6.2 °C; the average temperature in January is from?28 to?30 °C, in July from 0 to 2 °C. From 200 to 500 mm of precipitation falls annually, mainly in summer; their maximum reaches in August, with most of the precipitation falling in the north-west of Severnaya Zemlya. At a depth of 15 cm there is permafrost.
During the long polar night, there is a large loss of heat through effective radiation. Therefore, the temperatures of the underlying surface at this time (from October to March inclusive) are very low; Thus, the average surface temperature in January - March is from?31.2 °C to?31.8 °C. The process of cooling of surface Arctic air occurs most intensively over the islands.
Even ice-free areas of the islands of the archipelago are not rich in vegetation. On Bolshevik Island, the territory occupied by Arctic tundra does not exceed 10% of the total area, and the further north you go, the smaller this figure becomes; yes, on the island October revolution Only 5% is occupied by tundra, and on Komsomolets Island there is no vegetation at all. The plants are mainly mosses and lichens, and the flowering plants are foxtail, polar poppy, saxifrage, and semolina.
The fauna of the islands is richer. Birds include the polar owl, waders, snow bunting, ivory gull, pink gull, skua, fulmar, glaucous gull, kittiwakes, long-tailed duck and tern, less commonly eider, loon, ptarmigan , Herring Gull and Sabine-tailed Gull. Mammals include the polar bear, wild reindeer coming from the mainland, arctic foxes, wolves, lemmings and other small rodents. The coastal waters are home to seals, harp seals, beluga whales, walruses (including the endemic Laptev Sea walrus (Odobenus rosmarus laptevi)) and bearded seals
New Siberian Islands
New Siberian Islands (Yakut. Sa?a Sibiir aryylaralisten)) is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean between the Laptev Sea and East Siberian Sea, administratively belongs to Yakutia (Bulunsky ulus). Area 38.4 thousand km ². The New Siberian Islands are part of the protective zone of the Ust-Lensky State Nature Reserve.
Consists of 3 groups of islands: Lyakhovsky Islands, Anjou Islands and De Long Islands.
Geologically, the archipelago is dominated by permafrost and underground ice. The bedrock, which is hidden under loose Quaternary sediments and thick deposits of fossil ice, is limestone, shale with intrusions of granites and granodiorites. In the coastal cliffs of sandy-clayey soil covering fossil ice, the remains of fossil plants and animals (mammoths, rhinoceroses, wild horses, etc.) thaw, indicating that many millennia ago the climate in this area was milder. Maximum height - 426 m (Bennett Island). The islands have an arctic climate. Winter is stable; there are no thaws from November to April. Snow cover lasts 9 months. The prevailing temperatures in January are from?28 °C to?31 °C. In July, on the coast the temperature is usually up to 3 °C, in the central part it is several degrees warmer, frosts are possible throughout the warm period, but there are no sharp temperature fluctuations due to the proximity of the sea. Annual quantity precipitation is low (77 mm). The greatest amount of precipitation falls in August (18 mm). The largest river is Balyktakh.
The surface of the islands is covered with arctic tundra vegetation (mosses, lichens), including flowering plants: polar poppy, buttercups, cereals, saxifrage, spoon grass). Among the animals that permanently live are: reindeer, arctic fox, lemming, polar bear. Birds include polar owl and white partridge. The abundance of reservoirs attracts ducks, geese, and waders here in the summer. Coastal areas are inhabited by gulls, loons, guillemots, and guillemots. Arctic fox was previously hunted on the archipelago.
A polar station has been operating on Kotelny Island since 1933.
Wrangel Island
Wrangel Island (Chuk. Umkilir- “polar bear island”) is a Russian island in the Arctic Ocean between the East Siberian and Chukchi seas. Named in honor of the Russian navigator and statesman of the 19th century Ferdinand Petrovich Wrangel.
It is part of the reserve of the same name. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site (2004).
The climate is harsh. For most of the year, masses of cold arctic air with low moisture and dust content move over the area. In summer, warmer and more humid air from the Pacific Ocean comes from the southeast. Dry and highly heated air masses from Siberia periodically arrive.
Winters are long and characterized by persistent frosty weather and strong northerly winds. The average temperature in January is 22.3 °C, with especially cold months being February and March. During this period, temperatures stay below 30 °C for weeks, and there are frequent snowstorms with wind speeds of up to 40 m/s and higher.
Summer is cold, there are frosts and snowfalls, the average July temperature ranges from +2.5 °C to +3 °C. In the center of the island, fenced off from the sea by mountains, summers are warmer and drier due to better air heating and hair dryers.
The vegetation of Wrangel Island is distinguished by a rich ancient species composition. The number of species of vascular plants exceeds 310 (for example, on the much larger New Siberian Islands there are only 135 such species, on the Severnaya Zemlya islands there are about 65, on Franz Josef Land there are less than 50). The flora of the island is rich in relics and relatively poor in plants common in other subpolar regions, of which, according to various estimates, there are no more than 35-40%.
About 3% of plants are subendemic (silver grass, Gorodkov poppy, Wrangel's cinquefoil) and endemic (Wrangel's bluegrass, Ushakov's poppy, Wrangel's cinquefoil, Lapland poppy). In addition to them, another 114 species of rare and very rare plants grow on Wrangel Island.
The fauna of the island as a whole is not rich in species, which is due to the harsh climatic conditions. The most numerous birds are white geese, which are among the rare animals. They form one main colony in the valley of the Tundra River in the center of Wrangel Island and several small colonies. Passerines are also numerous, represented by snow buntings and Lapland plantains. Brent geese come to the reserve for nesting and molting. Also among the inhabitants of the reserve are eider ducks, Icelandic sandpipers, tules, glaucous gulls, fork-tailed gulls, long-tailed skuas, and snowy owls. Less common in the reserve are dunlins, pouters, Arctic terns, skuas, red-throated loons, crows, and redpolls.
The island has the largest walrus rookery in Russia. Seals live in coastal waters.
3. Modern environmental management
1 Start of oil production
The Arctic shelf of the Russian Federation can become a real goldmine. In the past few years, the country has stepped up efforts to develop the vast hydrocarbon resources on its continental shelf as part of government initiatives aimed at stimulating offshore oil and gas production. The area of the shelf and continental slope of the Russian Federation is 6.2 million square meters. km, and a significant part of this territory falls in the Arctic region. This figure may be even higher, since Russia is now working on preparing an application to expand the boundaries of its continental shelf in the Arctic. If the decision is positive, its area will increase by another 1.2 million square meters. km. The application is expected to be completed by the end of 2013.
In addition, the government of the Russian Federation is completing work on a program for the exploration of the Arctic continental shelf and the development of its mineral resources for the period from 2012 to 2030. Intensification of geological exploration work is one of the main priorities stated within the program, and a major role should be played in achieving these goals investments of private Russian oil and gas companies.
20 large oil and gas provinces and basins have been discovered on the Russian shelf, 10 of which have proven reserves. The largest sedimentary basins in the Arctic are the East Barents, South Kara, Laptev, East Siberian and Chukotka. The most significant part of the resources of the Russian Arctic (about 94% of the total volume) is concentrated in its western part, and the undiscovered reserves in its eastern part (along the continental slope and in the deep Arctic basin) are mainly classified as inferred or conditional.
Gazprom began oil production at the Prirazlomnoye field in the Pechora Sea. This is the first project in the history of Russia to develop the resources of the Arctic shelf, the beginning of Gazprom’s large-scale work to create a large hydrocarbon production center in the region.
The Prirazlomnoye oil field is located in the Pechora Sea, 60 km from the coast. Recoverable oil reserves amount to 71.96 million tons, the project production level is about 6 million tons per year (to be achieved after 2020). The shipment of the first tanker with oil from the Prirazlomnoye field is expected in the first quarter of 2014; in just one year it is planned to produce at least 300 thousand tons of oil.
All technological operations at the field - drilling, production, storage of oil, preparation and shipment of finished products - are ensured by the Prirazlomnaya offshore ice-resistant stationary platform. Thus, for the first time in the world, hydrocarbon production on the Arctic shelf will be carried out from a stationary platform.
Prirazlomnaya is a unique platform designed and built in Russia by order of Gazprom. It is designed for operation in extreme climatic conditions, meets the most stringent safety requirements and is capable of withstanding maximum ice loads. During its construction, materials from special alloys that are resistant to corrosion, low temperatures, high humidity and aggressive marine environments were used. The platform is securely held on the seabed due to its weight (506 thousand tons, taking into account the stone berm artificially created to protect against erosion). The platform is protected from wave and ice impacts by a high-strength deflector.
Gazprom is Russia's outpost in the Arctic. Last year we conquered Yamal, creating on land in the Arctic latitudes a new gas production center that has no analogues in the world. And today they have become pioneers in the development of the Russian Arctic shelf. There is no doubt that Gazprom will continue to conquer the Arctic."
2 Military bases
The Russian nuclear test site is located in the southern part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago. The main base of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Navy is Severomorsk. Murmansk region. In 2013, Russia began recreating military base on the New Siberian Islands (Kotelny). In particular, we are talking about recreating the Temp airfield. It is also planned to create seven northern airfields located in the cities of Tiksi (Yakutia), Naryan-Mar, Alykel (Taimyr), Amderma, Anadyr (Chukotka), as well as in the village of Rogachevo and at the Nagurskoye border post (Franz Josef Land)
Nuclear test site on Novaya Zemlya.
On September 17, 1954, a Soviet nuclear test site was opened on Novaya Zemlya with its center in Belushaya Guba. The test site includes three sites:
· Black Lip - used mainly in 1955-1962.
· Matochkin Shar - underground tests in 1964-1990.
· D-II SIPNZ on the Sukhoi Nos Peninsula - ground tests in 1957-1962.
In August 1963, the USSR and the USA signed a treaty banning nuclear tests in three environments: the atmosphere, space and underwater. Limitations were also adopted on the power of the charges. Underground explosions were carried out until 1990. In the 1990s, due to the end of the Cold War, testing abruptly came to a standstill, and currently only research in the field of nuclear weapons systems is carried out here (the Matochkin Shar facility). However, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the creation of the test site on Novaya Zemlya, the head of the Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency, Alexander Rumyantsev, said that Russia intends to continue to develop the test site and maintain it in working order. At the same time, Russia does not intend to conduct nuclear tests on the archipelago, but intends to carry out non-nuclear experiments to ensure the reliability, combat effectiveness and safety of storage of its nuclear weapons.
Northern Fleet
The Northern Fleet (SF) is the operational-strategic association of the Russian Navy, the “youngest” of all Russian military fleets. Formed on June 1, 1933 as the Northern Military Flotilla. On May 11, 1937, the flotilla was transformed into the Northern Fleet.
The basis of the modern Northern Fleet is made up of nuclear missile and torpedo submarines, missile-carrying and anti-submarine aircraft, missile, aircraft-carrying and anti-submarine ships.
Its main location is Severomorsk. The basis of the modern Northern Fleet is made up of nuclear missile and torpedo submarines, missile-carrying and anti-submarine aircraft, missile, aircraft-carrying and anti-submarine ships. The fleet is home to Russia's only heavy aircraft-carrying cruiser, Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Kuznetsov, and a carrier-based aviation regiment, as well as today's only nuclear-powered surface cruisers in the world.
Military base on the New Siberian Islands.
Since 2012, military exercises of the Russian armed forces have been held on the New Siberian Islands (Kotelny Island). In 2013, military equipment and property were delivered to the islands. In September 2014, the organization of a permanent military base in the Arctic was officially announced.
Temp is originally a polar station, and now an airport on the western tip of Kotelny Island (New Siberian Islands) in Stakhanovtsev Bay. Founded in 1949. In the 1950s, south of Tempa, the Kienr-Urasa fishing and hunting station was located, which included 5 buildings. In the 1960s, an air defense radar was installed near the station, which was serviced by a company of soldiers. In the 1970s, the station was used as a seismological station. In the post-war years, communication with the mainland (Tiksi point) was maintained by Li-2 aircraft. The station consisted of two log barracks, a garage and tents. In 1993, the station was mothballed (abandoned). IN beginning of XXI century, in the context of intensifying international competition for Arctic resources, the Russian government decided to restore the station.
Since October 29, 2013, the station has become a strategic point of Russian presence in the Arctic, capable of receiving An-72 class aircraft. The airfield's runway is located on a pebble spit separating Stakhanovtsev Bay from the lagoon. About 50 military personnel serve the base.
3 Drifting weather stations
Russia is the first country to use so-called drifting polar stations. Each such station is a complex of station houses installed on a drifting Arctic ice floe, in which expedition participants live, and the necessary equipment. For the first time, such a cheap and effective way of exploring the Arctic was proposed in 1929 by Vladimir Wiese, a researcher who worked at the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. Thanks to the existence of drifting stations, Russian scientists have the opportunity to explore the Arctic all year round.
The first drifting expedition, called "North Pole", landed at the pole on May 21, 1937.
In September 2005, the North Pole-34 expedition set off to explore the Arctic.
The data obtained during the expeditions expands scientists' knowledge of the processes occurring in the natural environment of the Central Arctic and will help explain the causes of global climate change.
In July, the polar expedition “Arctic 2007” started from Murmansk. Its leader was a deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, special representative of the Russian President on issues of the international polar year, Hero of the Soviet Union and famous polar explorer Artur Chilingarov. The expedition participants were tasked with studying in detail the structure of the ocean floor in the polar region, as well as conducting a number of unique scientific studies.
The path to the North Pole was paved by the flagship of the Russian scientific polar fleet, Akademik Fedorov, and the nuclear icebreaker Rossiya. August 2 in the most northern point The Earth was dived to a depth of up to 4.2 thousand meters on the deep-sea manned vehicles “Mir-1” and “Mir-2”. During this dive, man reached the ocean floor under the North Pole for the first time. There, the team of the Mir-1 apparatus planted the flag of the Russian Federation, made of titanium alloy for durability.
The drifting station "North Pole" ("North Pole-1", "SP", "SP-1") is the world's first Soviet polar research drifting station.
The official opening of the "SP" took place on June 6, 1937 (near the North Pole). Composition: station manager Ivan Dmitrievich Papanin, meteorologist and geophysicist Evgeny Konstantinovich Fedorov, radio operator Ernst Teodorovich Krenkel, hydrobiologist and oceanographer Pyotr Petrovich Shirshov.
The “SP” station, created in the North Pole area, after 9 months of drift (274 days) to the south, was carried into the Greenland Sea, the ice floe floated more than 2000 km.
The icebreaking steamships “Taimyr” and “Murman” picked up four winterers on February 19, 1938 at latitude 70, several tens of kilometers from the coast of Greenland.
Ice floe size: 3x5 km, thickness 3 m. Every month reports on the scientific work done were sent to Moscow.
Since the end of January 1938, the ice floe has been continuously shrinking, and soon the polar explorers had to send a radiogram:
“As a result of a six-day storm, at 8 a.m. on February 1, in the area of the station, the field was torn by cracks from half a kilometer to five. We are on a fragment of a field 300 meters long and 200 meters wide. Two bases were cut off, as well as a technical warehouse... There was a crack under the living tent. We will move to a snow house. I’ll give you the coordinates later today; If the connection is lost, please do not worry."
The Murmanets steamship, and then the Murman and Taimyr, were sent to rescue the four. The last two took the Papanins off the ice floe.
“... At this hour we leave the ice floe at coordinates 70 degrees 54 minutes north, 19 degrees 48 minutes west and having drifted over 2500 km in 274 days. Our radio station was the first to report the news of the conquest of the North Pole, provided reliable communication with the Motherland, and with this telegram ends its work.”
Soon the polar explorers boarded the icebreaker Ermak, which delivered them to Leningrad on March 15. The first person to hear the distress signal sent from a cracked ice floe was the young radio operator Pavel Georgievna Sukhina (1913-1982), which was recorded in her work book and a bonus was paid.
3.4 Stationary weather stations. Protected areas on the islands. Northern Sea Route in the seas of the Arctic Ocean. Military units
Stationary weather stations
Specially protected natural areas on the islands of the Russian Arctic.
The basis of territorial nature conservation in Russia is the system of specially protected natural areas (SPNA). The status of protected areas is determined by the Federal Law “On Specially Protected Natural Territories”, adopted by the State Duma of the Russian Federation on February 15, 1995.
Currently, a federal network of 14 state reserves, the Russian Arctic National Park and the Franz Josef Land federal reserve has been formed in the Russian Arctic and adjacent territories. They are classified as category 1 protected areas according to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. Their area is more than 15 million hectares out of 30 million hectares of the total area of northern, Arctic and sub-Arctic protected areas.
The network of organized and planned protected areas covers key landscapes of the North. The density of protected areas in different regions is very different. Thus, there are 6 of them on the Kola Peninsula. In the Eastern European, Western and Central Siberian sectors, 12 protected areas have been created or are being organized. In the Arctic territory of Eastern Siberia there are only 4 operating, as well as several planned protected areas.
Protected marine areas are included in a number of nature reserves (Bolshoi Arctic, Kandalaksha, Komandorsky, Koryaksky, Kronotsky, Nenetsky, Wrangel Island), the Russian Arctic National Park and nature reserves (Franz Josef Land, Nenetsky, Severozemelsky). , occupying a total of about 10 million hectares, which is about 2% of the area of the continental shelf. At the same time, in the Wrangel Island and Komandorsky nature reserves, the water area occupies a larger area than the land area.
The Great Arctic Nature Reserve was created on May 11, 1993 by decree of the Russian government on the territory of the Diksonsky administrative district Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug in order to preserve and study the natural course of natural processes and phenomena, the genetic fund of flora and fauna, individual species and communities of plants and animals, typical and unique ecological systems. Its total area is 4169222 hectares, this largest reserve Russia and all of Eurasia. It covers an area of 1000 km from west to east and 500 km from north to south. Its shores are washed by two seas of the Arctic Ocean: the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea.
The state natural reserve of federal subordination "Franz Josef Land" was created on April 23, 1994 by Order of the Government of the Russian Federation as part of the formation unified system Arctic protected areas. The reserve occupies the entire Franz Josef Land archipelago and the adjacent waters of the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. The reserve is intended to preserve the landscapes of the high Arctic islands, in particular, breeding grounds for polar bears, marine mammals, and mass nesting birds - bird colonies.
RUSSIAN ARCTIC NATIONAL PARK
Location: Russia, Arkhangelsk region, part of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago and the Franz Josef Land archipelago.
Area: 1.5 million hectares
Specialization: conservation and study of rare species of animals and natural objects and complexes.
"Russian Arctic" is one of the youngest national parks in Russia. Under his management is the state nature reserve of federal significance “Franz Josef Land”, formed on April 23, 1994, the area of which exceeds 7 million hectares, of which 80% is marine waters.
The national park carries out active environmental protection activities - this also includes the elimination of accumulated environmental damage in the Arctic and the conservation of such rare species as the polar bear. All these projects have been supported by the Russian Geographical Society since 2010.
So, in April 2013, with grant support from the Russian Geographical Society, scientists began the program “Study of the role of the Franz Josef Land reserve in preserving the population? rare species of marine mammals and polar bears.” Until September, employees of the Russian Arctic National Park were studying the islands of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, which are a kind of “last refuge” for animals driven out from everywhere by civilization? and those affected by climate change.
date of creation
The state natural reserve of federal subordination "Franz Josef Land" was created on April 23, 1994 by Order of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 571-r. The reserve was created as part of the formation of a unified system of protected areas in the Arctic.
Geographical position
The reserve occupies the entire Franz Josef Land archipelago and the adjacent waters of the Barents Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Administratively, the archipelago belongs to the Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Purpose of creation, main objects of protection
The reserve was created in order to preserve the landscapes of the High Arctic islands, in particular, the breeding grounds of polar bears, marine mammals, and places of mass nesting of birds - bird colonies. It was created within the framework of a unified system of protected areas in the Arctic. Separately, it should be noted the abundance of monuments to the history of Arctic exploration associated with the names of F. Nansen, G. Sedov and many other researchers.
2 million hectares according to Government Order No. 571-r dated April 23, 1994, of which 1.6 million hectares are land territory. 85% of the land is occupied by ice domes.
Position in the structure of regional land use
With the exception of small areas occupied by border posts and polar stations, the territory belongs to state land reserves.
Subordination
The reserve is subordinate to the Main Directorate of Natural Resources for the Arkhangelsk Region.
Scientific activity and tourism
The archipelago is visited annually by icebreaker cruises. Scientific research, including historical and archaeological research, is carried out by the Institute of Natural and Cultural Heritage. Constant observations are carried out at a number of polar stations (Tikhaya Bay, Hayes Island).
Northern Sea Route in the seas of the Arctic Ocean
Northern Sea Route, The Northern Sea Corridor is the shortest sea route between European part of Russia And Far East; the legislation of the Russian Federation is defined as “a historically established national unified transport communication Russia V Arctic".
Passes across the seas Arctic Ocean (Karskoye, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukotka) and partly the Pacific Ocean (Beringovo). Administratively, the Northern Sea Route is limited to the western entrances to Novaya Zemlya straits and the meridian running north from Cape Zhelaniya, and in the east in Bering Strait parallel 66° N. w. and meridian 168°58?37? h. d. Length of the Northern Sea Route from Kara Gate to Provideniya Bay about 5600 km. The distance from St. Petersburg to Vladivostok along the Northern Sea Route is over 14 thousand km (via the Suez Canal - over 23 thousand km).
The Northern Sea Route serves the ports of the Arctic and large rivers of Siberia (import of fuel, equipment, food; export of timber, natural resources).
An alternative to the Northern Sea Route is transport arteries passing through the Suez or Panama Canals. If the distance traveled by ships from the port of Murmansk to the port of Yokohama (Japan) through the Suez Canal is 12,840 nautical miles, then along the Northern Sea Route it is only 5,770 nautical miles.
Organizationally, the Northern Sea Route is divided into:
· Western sector of the Arctic- from Murmansk to Dudinka, served by icebreakers of the Murmansk Shipping Company.
· Eastern sector of the Arctic- from Dudinka to Chukotka, served by icebreakers of the Far Eastern Shipping Company.
4. Scientific research in the Russian Arctic within the framework of the International Polar Year 2007-2008
2007 marked the 125th anniversary of the First International Polar Year (1882-1883), the 75th anniversary of the Second Polar Year (1932-1933) and the 50th anniversary of the International Geophysical Year (1957-1958). These are landmark projects during which researchers from all over the world conducted a huge number of serial and unique coordinated studies of the polar countries. However, since then a lot of water has flowed under the bridge (and the ice has melted)… The time has come to join forces again. So, on the initiative of Russia, the international community decided to hold a new IPY, the first in the 21st century. IPY 2007-2008 is international program coordinated, interdisciplinary scientific research and observations in the Earth's polar regions.
In addition to scientific goals, the goals were to attract and develop the next generations of polar scientists, engineers and logistics specialists; excite and attract the interest of schoolchildren, students, the public, as well as people making decisions on the development of polar territories.
The official IPY period is from March 1, 2007 to March 1, 2009. This makes it possible to conduct observations in all seasons and work out two summer field seasons in each polar region. Geographical coverage - from approximately 60 degrees latitude to the poles, both North and South.
Already in January 2006, the implementation of a comprehensive European project began in the Arctic Ocean - Developing modeling and observation capabilities for long-term study of the Arctic environment . The project is carried out within the framework of the 6th Framework Program of the European Commission Global Changes and Ecosystems . The duration of the project is 4 years (2005-2009), and its funding from the European Community (EC) is about 17 million euros. DAMOCLES is the EU's main contribution to the International Polar Year (2007-2008). As part of the project, more than 100 experts in the field of Arctic Ocean studies from 45 organizations in 11 EU countries and Russia brought together their research efforts and national resources. The project involves coordinating its research with other large-scale Arctic projects being implemented or planned for implementation in North America (USA, Canada) and Asia (Japan, China and Korea). From Russia, the state scientific center participates in the DAMOCLES project Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute , Institute of Oceanology named after. P.P. Shirshov Russian Academy of Sciences (IORAN) and several other organizations.
The project deployed a long-term integrated measurement and forecast system of ocean conditions in the Arctic Ocean to assess and predict the risks and consequences associated with possible extreme climate events, such as the disappearance of sea ice in the Central Arctic Basin in summer. Observations in recent years show a decrease in the distribution of drifting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean and a decrease in their average thickness. All current climate models predict the loss of multi-year sea ice in the Central Arctic Basin within the next few decades or even sooner. If we accept these predictions as reasonable, it remains unclear, however, exactly when this disappearance will occur and what regional and global consequences it will have for the Earth's climate. The IORAS Polar Oceanology Group undertook, within the framework of DAMOCLESa, to conduct a series of studies based on the existing collection of historical oceanographic data, as well as to prepare and install two of the 18 planned autonomous measuring platforms on the drifting ice of the Arctic. These platforms will be equipped with a set of sensors for measuring parameters of the near-ice atmosphere and ocean, as well as satellite communication and navigation systems.
Goals and Intentions
The planning group developed the following IPY goals:
· determination of the current state of the environment in the polar regions, assessment of changes;
· determination of the state of population in the polar regions in the past, forecast of future changes;
· improving the connections of the polar regions with the rest of the planet, in particular improving the understanding of such connections and interactions;
· study of cultural, historical and social processes, affecting the sustainability of life of small northern peoples;
· conducting modern scientific research;
· creation of observatories in the polar regions to study processes occurring inside the Earth, on the Sun and in space.
The Joint Committee selected statements of intent to participate in the IPY, which contained proposals for scientific research within the framework of the stated goals. The Joint Committee consisted of 19 experts: one each from international organizations (WMO, ICSU, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, International Arctic Science Committee and Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research) and 14 leading experts in the field. Out of more than a thousand proposals, the joint committee approved 218 cluster, or core, projects (166 scientific and 52 educational), which were announced in April 2006. Projects cover observations of the atmosphere, ocean, lithosphere, cryosphere, biosphere, that is, all the shells of the Earth, as well as near-Earth space.
Arctic research is currently gaining great geopolitical importance
5. Prospects for studying the Russian Arctic
In recent years, Russia has begun to actively economic development their northern territories, including hydrocarbon production, as well as the development of the Northern Sea Route (NSR), which is all in to a greater extent becomes an alternative to traditional routes from Europe to Asia.
Russia has the maximum extent of borders in the Arctic, almost half of the Arctic coast. The total value of mineral resources concentrated in the Russian Arctic region exceeds $30 trillion. For comparison, the size of the entire global economy in 2012 was about $70 trillion. The region produces products that provide about 11% of Russia’s national income (with the share of the population living here being 1%) and up to 22% of the volume of all-Russian exports.
All this creates conditions under which our country itself has been given the opportunity by fate to play a leading role in the development of the Arctic region. And here the importance of the NSR is difficult to overestimate. After all, it is the national maritime transport route of Russia in the Arctic.
When assessing the prospects for the development of the NSR, it is necessary to take into account several circumstances.
Firstly, according to experts in the field of transport, rapid growth in Euro-Asian transport volumes is expected in the coming decade. As you know, an increase in production volumes by 1% entails an increase in the volume of the transport component by 1.5%.
Secondly, due to the rapid economic development The Asia-Pacific region of the NSR can bring considerable revenue to the budget of the Russian Federation. The Northern Sea Route allows transportation 1.5 times faster than the traditional route through the congested Suez Canal. The route through the Northern Sea Route, compared to the route through the Suez Canal, is shorter by 2,440 nautical miles and reduces the duration of the voyage by 10 days, and, in addition, saves a huge amount of fuel - about 800 tons for an average ship.
Thirdly, the idea of reviving transport connection along the Northern Sea Route is becoming more acute in light of the growing severity of the problem of piracy in the Gulf of Aden. The sharp increase in risks when transporting cargo along the Southern Sea Route, as well as the gigantic costs incurred by shipowners and states forced to maintain squadrons of warships in troubled regions, create good potential for some transport workers to switch to other routes.
Conclusion
I believe that the prospects for the development of the Arctic are optimistic because there are certain climate changes. Over the last 10-15 years we have seen a big trend in warming. It is more pronounced in the Arctic region. We know that the Northern Sea Route becomes ice-free almost every year. The Northern Sea Route is currently being developed and restored. In Soviet times, a lot of cargo was transported along the Northern Sea Route. Now we are beginning to re-master these transport communications, which means the North will also develop.
In addition, in the Arctic zone there are concentrated huge deposits minerals, including hydrocarbons. There are very smart people living in the north, smart people, there are centers of scientific and technological development here, which include the Northern (Arctic) Federal University and many other universities. Good guidance here. In this sense, I am optimistic about the development of the northern territories of our country.
Literature
1. Arctic drifting stations. Ocean Research / Rep. ed., M. Suzyumov and others. Issues of geography. Sat. 101 Geograph branch, USSR society. M.: Thought. 1976.
Kanevsky 3- M. Ice and Fate. 2nd ed. M.: Znanie, 1980. Kanevsky Z. M. All life is an expedition. (About R. L. Samoilovich). M. Thought. 1982
3.Milkov F.N. “Natural areas of Russia” 2012
5. Romanov I. P. “Arctic” and “Siberia” in high latitudes. L.1 Knowledge, 1980
6. Ruksha V.V., Smirnov A.A., Golovinsky S.A. Problems of the Northern Sea Route // Arctic: ecology and economics - No. 1. - 2013. - P. 81 - 82.
Suzyumov E. M. Four brave ones. .Conquest of the North Pole. M.: Education, 1981.
Popov V.A. Prospects for the development of ports in the Arctic and the Northern Sea Route // Science and Transport. - 2013. - No. 5. - P. 14 - 15
Paulsen Results of IPY 2007/08 and prospects for Russian polar research 2013.
10. Magazine “Ecology and Life”. Article by A.A. Mochalova, V.P. Parkhomenko, A.M. Tarko
Applications
Ship "St. Peter"
Ship "St. Paul"
Arctic zone of the Russian Federation
Stationary weather stations
No. Station nameLocationYear of organizationLatitude deg, minLongitude deg, min1.BarentsburgIcefjord, Spitsbergen193278°04"14°13"B2.PyramidIcefjord, Spitsbergen195078 1115 083.Victoria, islandBarents Sea19594.NagurskayaAlexandra Land, Franz Land -Joseph195280 4646 395.Heisa, islandFranz Josef Land6 .Malye KarmakulyNovaya Zemlya 187772 2352 447.Menshikov, capeNovaya Zemlya195370 4257 368.Rudolfa, islandFranz Josef Land 193281 4458 009.Bolvanskiy Nos, cape. Vaygach 191470 2759 0410. Khabarov Strait Yugorsky Shar 193969 3960 2511. Yugorsky Shar Kara Sea 191369 4960 4512. Amderma Kara Sea 193369 4661 4113. Russian harbor, Novaya Zemlya Bay 193276 1462 3914 .Ust-KaraKara Sea193369 1564 3115.Marre-Salep-ov Yamal191469 4366 4916.Tambeyp-ov Yamal17. Kharasaveyp-ov Yamal195371 0665 4518.Zhelaniye, Cape Novaya Zemlya193176 5768 3519.Bely, Kara Sea Island193373 2070 0220.Drovyanoy, Cape Obskaya Bay193272 3972 5821.Kamenny, Cape Obskaya Bay195068 28 73 3622. Vilkitsky, Kara Sea island 195473 3175 4623. Tadibyakha Bay of Ob 195070 2274 0824. Vize, Karskoe island sea194579 3076 5925. Gyda-Yamo Gydan Bay 193170 5578 3126. Leskino, Cape Yenisei Bay 193472 2179 3327. Ushakova, Kara Sea island 195480 4879 1528. Dikson, Kara Sea island 191573 3080 242 9. Uedineniya, island of the Kara Sea 193477 3082 1430. Sopochnaya KargaYenisei Bay 193971 5382 4131. Izvestia, islands of the Kara Sea 195375 5583 0032.Guard Yenisei 194670 0483 1333. Ust-Yenisei Portr. Yenisei 192069 3984 2434. Dudinkar. Yenisei 190669 2486 1035. Igarkar. Yenisei192967 2886 3436.Sterlegova, Myskar Sea, shore of Khariton Laptev193475 2588 5437.Isachenko, Kara Sea island, Sergei Kirov Islands195377 1389 1538.Tareyar. Pyasina 195273 1388 4739. Taimyrskier crosses. Pyasina 193970 5289 5340. Golomyanny, Kara Sea island, Sedov Islands 193079 3390 2541. Peschany, Cape Severnaya Zemlya 194142. Pravdy, Nordenskiöld island archipelago 194076 1694 4643. Volochankar. Heta193270 5894 3044.Russky, Nordenskiöld island archipelago193577 1096 2545.Tyrtova, Nordenskiöld island archipelago194076 3597 3146.Krasnoflotskie islands, Kara Sea195378 3498 4147.Taimyr, Taimyr lake1943 74 37101 2548 Khatanga, river Khatanga Bay 193271 59102 2849. Solnechnaya, Vilkitsky Strait Bay, island. Bolshevik195177 48104 1550. Chelyuskina, Cape Vilkitsky Strait, Taimyr Peninsula 193277 43104 1751. Small Taimyr, island of the Laptev Sea 194378 05106 4952. Kosisty, Cape Khatanga Bay 193973 40109 4453. Andrey, island, Laptev sea 194276 49111 1054. Pronchishchevoy, bay, Laptev sea 193575 34113 2555. Preobrazheniya, Laptev Sea Island 193474 39112 4756. Olenek Oleneksky Bay 193872 59119 4957. Taymylyrr. Olenek194672 36121 5558. Danube, island of the Laptev Sea 195373 55124 3059. Stolb, island of the Lena River delta 195372 24126 4860. Tiksi, Buor-Khaya Bay 193271 35128 5561. Tiksi, airport Buor-Khaya Bay 1955 71 39128 5262. Mostakh, Buor-Khaya Bay Island 193671 33131 0263. Yuedeir. Yana195571 31136 2564.Ust-Yanskr. Yana194270 54136 2065. Temp, bay. Kotelny 194975 48137 3366. Kotelny, New Siberian Islands, Cape Anisiy 193376 00137 5467. Sannikova, Strait. Kotelny, Cape Medvezhy194274 40138 5568. Kigilyakh, Cape Laptev Sea, about. Bolshoy Lyakhovsky193473 21139 5269. Holy Nose, Mysproliv Dm. Lapteva195272 48140 4670. Bunge Land, New Siberian Islands 195374 49142 3671. Shalaurova, Cape East Siberian Sea, o. Bolshoy Lyakhovsky192873 11143 1472.Chokurdahr. Indigirka 194070 37147 5373. Zhokhova, De Long Islands 195576 06153 5574. Alazeyar. Alazeya194570 40154 0075.Kolymskayar. Kolyma 194068 48161 1776. Ambarchik, bay of the East Siberian Sea 193569 34162 1877. Chersky, r. Kolyma 78. Chetyrekhstolbovoy, island East Siberian Sea, Bear Islands 193370 38162 2479. Rauchua East Siberian Sea 194069 30166 3580. Aion, island East Siberian Sea 194169 55167 5881. Pevek Chaun Bay 193469 42170 1682.ApapelkhinoChaunskaya Bay194869 48170 5083.Valkarkay, Cape East Siberian Sea193470 05170 5684 .Shalaurov, islands of the East Siberian Sea 194169 58172 3485. Bellings, Cape Long Strait 193569 53175 4686. Gabriel, Bering Sea Bay 193562 25179 0887. Ugolnaya, Bering Sea Bay 193563 03179 1988. Schmidt, Mysproliv Longa 193268 55179 2989. Doubtful, Bay. Wrangel195470 55179 1890. Olovyannaya, Kresta Bay 193566 11179 0091. Wrangel, Chukchi Sea Island, Rogers Bay 192670 58178 3292. Vankarem, Cape Chukchi Sea 193467 50175 3693. Kolyuchiy, Chukchi Sea Island 193467 28174 3894. Provideniya, Bering Sea Bay 193474 26173 1495. Nettan, Bering Sea Cape 193466 57171 4996. UelenBeringov Strait193366 10169 5097. Ratmanova, Bering Strait Island194065 47169 05
Russian Arctic National Park
Sanctuary "Franz Josef Land"
Northern Sea Route
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