Northern Fleet and Russian Geographical Society to conduct experiments in Novaya Zemlya 
© RIA Novosti. Valeriy Melnikov

Northern Fleet and Russian Geographical Society to conduct experiments in Novaya Zemlya 

Members of the Northern Fleet’s research group, the Russian Geographical Society and institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences are preparing for a joint Arctic expedition, during which they plan to conduct experimental research in the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago.

“The Northern Fleet is set to conduct an interesting expedition in the Barents and Kara seas. The Fleet’s auxiliary vessels will also take part in historical experiments in Novaya Zemlya and will retrace the expeditions of polar explorers Fyodor Rozmyslov, Fyodor Litke, Pyotr Pakhtusov, Vladimir Rusanov and Rudolf Samoilovich. The Russian Defense Ministry’s 12th Main Directorate is to conduct these experiments together with the Russian Geographical Society,” Sergei Churkin, Head of Research with the Northern Fleet’s Comprehensive Expedition, noted.

According to organizers, the experiments will provide new explanations for numerous geographical and historical problems linked with the Earth’s changing surface. “For us, this approach signals a resumption of the traditional fundamental research projects in high latitudes that were launched by Otto Schmidt, a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences, a heroic polar explorer and a prominent geophysicist,” said Alexei Sobisevich, Deputy Director of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics of the Earth and the Academy’s Associate Member.

In 2020, leading scientists from research agencies of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted a series of experiments aboard the Northern Fleet’s icebreaker Ilya Muromets. They studied current seismic and tectonic processes in the areas covered by the expedition and also conducted zoological research. Geophysicists used advanced research methods, including geo-location, micro-seismic sounding and aerial photography that made it possible to study the subsurface and deep-level structure of active geological formations.

“The most important results were obtained near the Taimyr Peninsula and on Wrangel Island. Specialists watched marine mammals and birds for 96 days. They also monitored hydrometeorological conditions and the state of the sea’s surface. This made it possible to take about 27,700 photos of birds and 7,000 of mammals,” the expedition’s organizers said.