The Soviet Arctic Stat Ions on Novaya Zemlya Logical
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The Soviet Arctic Stat ions on Novaya Zemlya DONALD H '. CHAPMAN University .of New Hampshire, Durham Prof. Chapman was the official delegate of as important to us as that from Alaska and the American Meteorological Society to the northern Canada and Greenland; daily re- XVIIth International Geological Congress held ports are now being received here from the in Russia last summer; this report of his more easterly section of the Siberian Arctic visit to some of the USSR polar meteorological coast, thanks to the stations opened there by stations should be of much interest to American the Soviets and to their cooperation in trans- meteorologists, because our continent has the mitting them more quickly and directly than same kind of meteorological}-geographical possible heretofore. The meteorological and relations to the Arctic Ocean: a large extent aerological observations from the Russian of low tundra land in the north reaching to polar stations are summarized and published the 80 th parallel over which polar continental in the "10-day bulletins of the General Admin, air builds up and finds a chute to slip its of the No. Sea Routes" (Moscow) and in the chilly freight directly into lower latitudes; "Bulletins" and "Transactions of the Arctic we too have a chain of high-latitude meteoro- Institute" (Leningrad). A discussion of the logical stations to warn us of polar outbreaks. radiometeoro graph soundings made at some However, information from north of Siberia of these stations appeared in the October (Wrangell Is. region) seems to be almost BULLETIN AMER. MET. SOC., pp. 322 ff.—Editor. HE XVIITH INTERNATIONAL Geo- Barents Sea on the west to the Kara logical Congress, held in Moscow Sea on the east. The length of the T and Leningrad, USSR, July 20- islands is more than 900 km; the 29, 1937, was preceded and followed maximum width, 105 km; and the by a number of field excursions to area, more than 81,000 sq. km. The various parts of the USSR. The southern island grades from Arctic writer was among a group of 25 tundra to Arctic desert from south to geologists who visited the Soviet north; while a large proportion of the Arctic on a 23-day trip to the double northern island is buried beneath an island of Novaya Zemlya. Ten land- ice cap which covers even the sum- ings were made on these islands, and mits of the mountains. The western the writer was able to visit three of the coast is bathed by the warm waters Polar Meteorological Stations which of the Atlantic current, but the east- have recently been established by the ern coast is ice-locked during most Soviet government. There are at of the year. least 20 such stations, but the number Vessels from Murmansk and Arch- varies from time to time, and they angelsk bound for Siberian and Pacific are well distributed from Murmansk ports pass through Matochkin Shar and Franz Joseph Land eastward to and are conducted across the Kara the Bering Sea coast (Anadyr Gulf). Sea by government ice-breakers. The Novaya Zemlya is the largest, but Polar Meteorological Observatory of not the most northerly, of the island Matochkin Shar, near the east end of groups in the Soviet Arctic. Its most the strait, is a strategic station in the northerly point, Cape Zhelanie, (Lat. chain of Polar stations which the 76° 54' N; Long. 68° 34'E) lies little Soviet government has recently es- more than 1400 km from the North tablished. Pole. On a map Novaya Zemlya ap- The Novaya Zemlya field party sailed pears as a long, narrow, sausage- from Archangelsk on the govern- shaped island, immediately north of ment-owned, 1800-ton ship, "Vologda,". the Ural mountains. In reality, how- A number of landings were first made ever, Novaya Zemlya is divided into on the western coast of the southern two large islands by Matochkin Shar, island. These included a stop at a narrow strait which extends from Belushie, present administrative cen- Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/04/21 06:56 PM UTC ter of Novaya Zemlya. Lagernoye, the radio equipment, for this is the future capital, at the western end of best-equipped radio station on Novaya Matochkin Shar, was visited before Zemlya. ommunieation is established the Vologda made the passage through with Moscow four times a day, and the strait. After a stop near Tretya- more often when necessary. kov glacier, the Vologda moved on to A subordinate group of buildings is drop anchor at the Polar observatory located 10 km farther east on a cape near the east end of the fiord. extending far out into the Kara Sea, The Matochkin Shar station was and here most of the first-class mete- founded here in 1923 as a geophysical orological instruments are installed. station for the measurement of earth The writer did not have an oppor- magnetism, and the meteorological tunity to visit this station. equipment was added in 1929. The While at anchor off Matochkin Shar observatory is located on the north station, the party experienced a touch shore of Matochkin Shar fiord about of the bora, a local wind which occa- ten miles from the Kara Sea. The sionally blows down the fiords of buildings stand on a ibleak and barren Novaya Zemlya with high velocity. terrace 60 feet above the sea. All For six hours or more, a pile of three are solidly built of wood, having been or four stationary [lenticular] clouds, originally constructed in the USSR, one above another, remained over then knocked down and shipped to the nearby mountain summits while the station where they were finally erected. wind reached gale force. The bora The largest of the buildings, about 75 is induced by the passage of low-pres- feet long and 20 feet wide, serves as sure areas along the coast, which living quarters for the 20 observers, drains the cold air off the interior ice- their wives, and six radio men. The capped highlands,1 members of the station staff are sent No promise had been made by the out by the government for periods of organizers of the Novaya Zemlya approximately two years, after which trip that the east coast would be they are transferred eleswhere, usu- visited, for in ordinary seasons ice ally to the mainland. In all the sta- presses hard against the Kara Sea tions visited, the meteorologists were coast. The past summer, however, young men, intelligent, and well was exceptional in the Eurasian trained. Private rooms are arranged Arctic. The ice pack was much farther along one side of a central corridor, north than usual; in fact the southern while the other half of the building is edge of the sea ice lay beyond the occupied by a kitchen, a dining room- northern shore of Franz Josef Land, lounge, and other common rooms. In 640 km north of the northern tip of the well furnished lounge is a good- Novaya Zemlya. Thus it happened sized library of books, journals, and that the Vologda was able to cruise maps. up the eastern coast of Novaya Zem- Near the center of the station lya and pass around Mys Zhelanie grounds are the usual instrument ( = Cape Desire) without difficulty. shelters containing thermographs, hy- Most interesting from a meteoro- grographs, wet-dry bulb hygrometer, logical standpoint was the landing etc. In a small, newly constructed made by the party at Cape Zhelanie, building, earth magnetism observa- where sixteen observers are stationed. tions are made regularly; while in The meteorological station which has still another building continuous earth- 1This is quite the same phenomenon which magnetism recorders are operated. commonly occurs in Greenland and Spitsber- gen ; it is a glacier wind on a large scale and One of the largest buildings houses of course is also a foehn-like wind.—Ed. Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/04/21 06:56 PM UTC been erected here (Fig. 1, insert opp. at irregular intervals ; but during the p. 353) is about 1400 km from the recent polar flights, soundings were North Pole and has actively cooperated made daily.* They are equipped to on each of the recent attempts of the send back continuous records of tem- Soviet flyers to reach or cross the perature and pressure but not of Pole. As delegate of the American humidity. Soundings up to a height Meteorological Society, the writer was of 27 km have been made although given the rare permission to take a the average height reached is but 10- few outside photographs of this, one 12 km; and temperatures down to of the most northerly perennial mete- —50 °C have been recorded aloft. orological stations in the world. Kite-meteorograph ascents are also The buildings are located on low made at irregular intervals; this in- ground in the protection of the head- strument contains recording baro- land. Nearest the shore stands the graph, thermograph, hygrograph and main instrument building, containing eight-cup anemometer. But pilot bal- two comparatively large rooms for loons are regularly sent up, the hy- equipment and laboratory work (Fig. drogen being shipped from the main- 2). The building which serves as living land. quarters for the observers stands near After leaving the Cape Zhelanie the center of the group. It is similar in station, the Vologda rounded the cape construction and size to the building and proceeded southwest through the used for the same purpose at Matoch- Barents Sea along the western shore kin Shar. A third building houses of the northern island. At Russian the radio equipment, power for which Harbor, 200 km southwest of Cape is generated by a large, three-bladed Zhelanie, a stop was made to observe windmill.