Franz Josef Land, whose islands (there are 192 in total) have a total area of 16,134 square meters. km, located in the Arctic Ocean. The main part of the Arctic territory is part of Primorsky. Geographically, it is divided into 3 large parts: eastern, central and western. The first includes the islands of Wilczek Land (2 thousand sq. km) and Graham Bell (1.7 thousand sq. km). They are separated from the rest by the Austrian Strait. The largest in number is located in the central part. It is washed by the British Channel and the Austrian Strait. The western region includes the entire alliance - George's Land with an area of 2.9 thousand square meters. km. Franz Josef Land for the most part has a flat, plateau-like surface. Its average height reaches 400-490 m, and the highest highest point- 620 m.
Detection
The existence of a group of islands east of Spitsbergen was predicted by more than one great Russian scientist: first Lomonosov, and then Schilling and Kropotkin. Moreover, in 1871 the latter presented his plan for an expedition to study them to the Russian Geographical Society, but the government refused to allocate funds. The Franz Josef Land archipelago was discovered only by chance. This happened when the Austro-Hungarian expedition under the leadership of J. Payer and K. Weyprecht set out in 1872 to explore the Northeast Passage. However, their ship was trapped by ice, and gradually it drifted west from Novaya Zemlya. In 1873, on August 30, the schooner Admiral Tegetgoff landed on the shores of an unknown land. At the same time, Payer and Weyprecht explored its northern and southern outskirts. Before this, where Franz Josef Land was located, no one knew. In April 1874, Payer managed to reach a point with a coordinate of 82°5" north latitude. He also drew up a preliminary diagram of the found archipelago. At that time, it seemed to researchers that it consisted of a number of large areas. The discovered land received the name of the famous Franz Joseph I, Austrian Emperor.
Development
In 1873, Payer and Weyprecht explored the southern part of the territory, and in the spring of 1874 they crossed it from south to north on sleds. At the same time, Franz Josef Land was schematically depicted for the first time. The map, as it turned out later, had many errors. In 1881-1882 Scotsman B. L. Smith visited the open area on the yacht Eira. And in 1895-1897. English geographer Frederick Jackson conducted many important surveys of the southwestern, middle and southern parts alliance. It subsequently turned out that the group consists of a much larger number of islands than expected. However, they were smaller in size compared to the designations on Payer's map.
Around the same period of time, Nansen and Johansen visited the northeastern and middle parts of the archipelago. In June 1896, the Norwegian Nansen accidentally discovered on the island. Northbrook wintering quarters of Frederick Jackson. In the summer of 1901, the southwestern and southern shores The islands were visited and examined by Vice Admiral S. O. Makarov. During the work, the approximate size of the entire territory was established. Then in 1901-1902. American scientists Baldwin and Ziegler continued to conduct research work. Following them from 1903 to 1905. In order to reach the Pole across the ice, a new expedition was organized. It was led by Ziegler and Fial. In the period from 1913 to 1914, a group of geographers G. Ya. Sedov carried out work in Tikhaya Bay near Hooker Island. In the summer of 1914, the last surviving members of Brusilov's expedition - Albanov and Konrad - managed to reach the old Jackson-Harmsworth base. It was located on Cape Flora. Northbrook. There the geographers were saved by the visiting schooner "Saint Foka".
Joining Russia and further development
In 1914, in search of G. Ya. Sedov’s group, an expedition led by Islyamov visited the islands. He declared the area part of Russian territory and raised the flag. In 1929, in Tikhaya Bay. Hooker, Soviet scientists opened the first research station. Thanks to her, Franz Josef Land has since begun to annually host Soviet polar expeditions. In the 50s In the 20th century, air defense units were reorganized. One of them was received by Franz Josef Land. The military base was located on the island. Graham-Bell. The 30th separate radar company and a separate air command post are located here. The latter served the ice airfield. But these are not all the strategic objects that Franz Josef Land had. Alexandra Island hosted the 31st separate radar company "Nugarskaya". These units belonged to the northernmost military units of the Soviet Union. In the early 90s. they were liquidated. In 2008, during research on a nuclear icebreaker called Yamal, it was discovered that it had separated from the island. Northbrook part of the land. In honor of the Arctic captain, it was named after Yuri Kuchiev. On September 10, 2012, the AARI expedition on the nuclear icebreaker "Russia" discovered another separated part from the island. Northbrook.
Population
Franz Josef Land has no municipalities or permanent residents. The temporary population includes FSB border guards and employees of research stations. From time to time, military personnel of air defense units also live here. They carry out missile defense in the northern direction of Russia. According to press reports, in 2005, the outermost post office “Arkhangelsk 163100” was opened on Hayes Island. Its operating time was supposed to be only 1 hour, from 10 to 11 a.m. from Tuesday to Friday. According to data as of September 2013, the Arkhangelsk post office (Heys Island, Franz Josef Land) is listed under the index 163100. His working hours are from 10 to 11 every Wednesday.
Glaciers
They cover most of the surface of the archipelago (87%). The thickness varies from 100 to 500 m. Icebergs subsequently form from glaciers descending into the sea. The eastern and southeastern parts of the entire territory are more susceptible to icing. New formations appear only at the very tops of ice sheets. At the same time, according to the results of ongoing research, the cover of Franz Josef Land is declining very quickly. If the observed rate of its destruction remains the same, glaciation of the territory may disappear forever after 300 years.
Franz Josef Land. Hot, cold?
The group of islands experiences a typical Arctic climate. The average annual temperature on the island. Rudolph reaches -12°C. In July, in Tikhaya Bay on Hooker Island the air warms up to -1.2°C, and on Heisa Island, where the observatory is located. Krenkel (the northernmost meteorological station in the world), - up to +1.6°C. average temperature in January it is approximately -24°C, and the lowest reaches up to -52°C. Maximum wind gusts - 40 m/sec. In the zone of accumulation of ice sheets, an average of 250 to 550 mm of precipitation falls annually.
Flora and fauna of the Arctic
The vegetation cover of the archipelago is dominated by mosses and lichens. Cereals, saxifrage and polar poppy are also found. Among the mammals you can see the polar bear. Less common is the white arctic fox. The coastal waters are home to walrus, beluga whale, narwhal, seal and seal. Birds are richer in the fauna of the archipelago - there are only 26 species of winged birds. Among them are guillemots, common kittiwakes, guillemots, ivory gulls, little auks, glaucous gulls, etc. In summer they form bird colonies.
Tourist trips to the North Pole
How much does a cruise to the Franz Josef Land archipelago cost? Tours to the Arctic can be purchased for RUB 875,076. ($24,995). Yes, a very expensive pleasure! The package may include a trip with an expedition team to the Franz Josef Land Nature Reserve. Undoubtedly, this is one of the most unusual and luxurious holiday options. The excursion program invites its guests to reach the “Top of the World” - 90 degrees N. w. on board the world's most powerful nuclear icebreaker "50 Let Pobeda". The conquest of the icy expanses ends with a polar barbecue on the ice cover, a cheerful round-the-world dance and swimming in the Arctic Ocean. On the way back, travelers will be offered helicopter excursions to the islands of the archipelago, the incredible panorama of which will surely captivate you with its beauty. 540 miles from the North Pole is home to huge numbers of seals, arctic birds, walruses and polar bears. When planning such a tourist trip, you should take into account the fact that the trip takes place in a hard-to-reach, little-explored and remote part globe. As a result, the program route can be considered only as a general, introductory plan for the expedition, since it may change under the influence of such external factors as ice conditions, weather, etc. As ten years of practice show, not a single expedition tour to the Arctic repeats the previous one exactly. The nature of the North Pole makes its own adjustments. This is the peculiarity and specificity of expedition cruises.
General travel plan
Day 1
Arrival in Murmansk, boarding the icebreaker. At the pier, waiting for a group of travelers to board, stands the world's most powerful nuclear icebreaker with the lyrical title "50 years of Victory". After some time the ship will leave Mainland and will go towards new impressions, passing by
Day 2
In the Barents Sea. An integral part of every expedition is preparing passengers for the peculiarities of an unusual journey. Members of the organizational team will familiarize vacationers with the safety rules on board the ship and helicopter, and will also talk about all the nuances associated with disembarking in the Arctic.
Day 3-5
Direct course to the Arctic. The next three busy days spent on board the ship will introduce passengers to interesting historical facts and the amazing nature of this region.
Day 6
Arrival at the North Pole. On the way to the destination, the captain, with slow, precise maneuvers, will bring the icebreaker to the cherished coordinate - 90° north latitude. After the ship stops, vacationers will go down onto a suitable ice floe and carry out the already traditional ritual of a “round-the-world procession.” Then another interesting ritual follows - travelers will be asked to write notes, which are subsequently placed in metal capsules and immersed in the depths of the Arctic Ocean.
Day 7-9
Destination - Franz Josef Land. Despite the fact that the main task of the expedition has already been completed, many interesting and impressive events will still await travelers. Well-preserved buildings make it possible to trace the most important historical events that took place on the archipelago many years ago. Among them it is worth noting the house on the island. Bell, built in 1881 by members of Lee Smith's expedition, and the ruins of the old camp on the island. Northbrook. It was there in 1896 that a significant meeting between Nansen and Jackson took place. It is also worth visiting Cape Norway, where Nansen F. and Johansen carried out joint research work for 7 long months; to honor the memory of the scientist G. Ya. Sedov, whose image became the prototype of the main character in the creation of the novel “Two Captains” by Kaverin. The pristine expanses of the Arctic and the originality of the landscapes are presented to its guests by Franz Josef Land. Photos taken in this area invariably amaze with their uniqueness and beauty. Glaciers resembling lunar craters, combined with colorful carpets of mosses and bright poppy flowers, create an amazing, indescribable atmosphere of harmony. An indispensable component of the Arctic landscape are also the thousands of bird colonies and walrus rookeries that fill the coastal horizon of the Franz Josef Land archipelago. Photos in the lap of polar nature will allow you to capture a unique moment in life and keep it in your memory for many years.
Day 10-11
In the Barents Sea. It's time to return to Murmansk. On the way back, the captain will invite travelers to dinner in his apartment. There passengers will be able to relax in interesting company and listen to entertaining real stories about service on an icebreaker from a primary source.
What is included in the total tour price
- Travel on board the icebreaker "50 Let Pobeda".
- Planned group excursions. This includes all shore trips, historical site visits and other helicopter activities.
- Excursions on zodiacs (by decision of the expedition leader due to deteriorating weather conditions may be canceled).
- A program of lectures prepared by famous naturalists and specialists of the region.
- Four meals a day (including fresh baked goods for an afternoon snack); coffee and light snacks throughout the day; drinking water.
- Rubber boots for rent during the cruise.
- Information materials for reference and an expedition diary with photographs on DVD.
- Postal fees and technical costs.
- Special jacket for expedition.
- Medical insurance against accidents on board the ship.
The Russian Arctic archipelago of Franz Josef Land lies east of Spitsbergen and northwest of the Novaya Zemlya Islands, far above the Arctic Circle and less than a thousand kilometers from the North Pole. Almost all of the 196 islands of the archipelago are located north of 80° N. w. The duration of the polar night in these places is 125 days, and the polar day is about 140.
The entire archipelago is divided into three groups. Eastern - the islands of Wilczek Land and Graham Bell - separated by the Austrian Strait. Central - many small islands, including Rudolf, Jackson, Salisbury and Hooker islands - lies between the Austrian Strait and the British Channel. Western - the largest islands of the archipelago George's Land with a height of 620 m and Alexandra Land - are separated by the British Channel.
The straits and channels with a depth of 500-600 m, separating the islands, are wide crevices made by powerful glaciers in the basalt mass. Glaciers appeared on Franz Josef Land about a million years ago, when a period of cooling began in the Northern Hemisphere.
The relief of the islands of Franz Josef Land is represented by hills that form clusters in the form of a basalt plateau and reach an average height of 400-500 m above sea level. The plateau is covered with ice domes with tongues of glaciers leading to a cliff on the seashore, where icebergs break off from the glacier. On average, the glaciers of the archipelago lose up to 3.3 km 3 of ice in the form of icebergs per year. Glaciers cover over 85% of the archipelago's surface, and the ice thickness reaches 100-500 m.
The small ice-free surface is represented by rocky “oases”, bare capes and nunataks - rocks protruding above the surface of the ice sheet. Where there is no ice, permafrost reigns, and numerous nameless lakes can be seen. There are more than a thousand lakes here, some of which are quite large: up to 2 km2 in area and up to 10 m deep. Most of the year the lakes are covered with ice.
The entire archipelago is located in a zone of typical Arctic climate. In winter, the temperature drops to -52°C, stormy winds blow continuously, and snowstorms rage. The temperature could drop even lower, but in winter the force of the frost is to a large extent mitigated by the warm waters of the current.
History of discovery
This northern archipelago was discovered completely by accident, although assumptions about its existence were made by Russian naval officer N. G. Schilling in 1865 and the famous Russian geographer P.A. Kropotkin in 1870In 1872, the ship of the Austro-Hungarian expedition of J. Payer and K. Weyprecht (researchers were looking for the Northeast Passage, the northern sea route from Atlantic Ocean in Tikhii) was covered with ice northwest of Novaya Zemlya. Drifting in the ice in a westerly direction, in August 1873, the Austrian ship found itself off the coast of unknown land. The Austrians explored the shores, mapped the archipelago and named it in honor of Franz Joseph I, the ruler of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Subsequently, the archipelago was visited by the British in 1881-1882 and 1895-1897. They examined almost the entire archipelago and became convinced that it was much larger than the Austrians thought. The famous polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen visited the islands in 1895 and proved that the archipelago does not go further to the northeast, towards the pole. This was also confirmed by the American-Norwegian expedition of 1898 at the cost of the lives of people who died during wintering.
Starting from 1901, Russian expeditions began to come here regularly, in particular the expedition of G. Ya. Sedov in 1913-1914, which wintered near Hooker Island. Sedov tried to get to the North Pole, but died and, according to one version, was buried on Rudolf Island.
In 1914, the Russian expedition of hydrographic officer I. Islyamov dropped anchor in the waters of Franz Josef Land, declared the archipelago to be Russian territory and raised the Russian flag over it.
Geographically, Franz Josef Land is notable for the fact that Cape Fligeli on Rudolf Island is the northernmost point of Russia. In addition, the archipelago is located on the edge of the continental shelf and is the northernmost landmass of Eurasia.
As a legacy from ancient times, when the islands were warm and ferns grew here 200 million years ago, brown coal remained among the clay shales and sandstones of the archipelago at Cape Flora, which was used by polar explorers in their wintering grounds. However, due to the harsh natural conditions There is no industrial activity on the islands.
In Soviet times, research stations operated here, there were stationary stations for radio engineering air defense forces, and even a separate detachment that served the ice airfield. Currently, the territory and facilities are abandoned; one observatory named after Ernst Krenkel operates on Hayes Island, and the islands themselves are visited only by individual tourist groups.
Flora and fauna
This land has a unique position and nature, formed at a distance from the mainland, and a natural reserve of federal significance “Franz Josef Land” with an area of 4.2 million hectares has been created here. The reserve serves the purpose of preserving the unique landscapes of the archipelago, as well as protecting the breeding areas of polar bears, marine mammals and mass nesting areas of birds. Among the especially valuable natural objects are the Cape Bryce paleovolcano (Ziegler Island), non-freezing lakes, and Atlantic walrus rookeries.The flora of the archipelago is poor in species, vegetation covers no more than 5-10% of the surface. Mosses and lichens predominate here - bright and multi-colored. Although rare, arctic flowers are also found: polar poppy, saxifrage, and buttercups.
The polar bear constantly lives on the archipelago; the arctic fox comes here much less often. But the waters surrounding the archipelago have become home to mammals: seals, bearded seals, harp seals, walruses, narwhals and beluga whales. Birds have chosen these places because no one is stopping them from breeding here.
There are 26 species of birds on the archipelago, the most numerous being guillemot, guillemot, ivory gull, and glaucous gull. Birds form gigantic bird colonies: in total, more than 5 million seabirds nest on the islands. The largest bird colony within the archipelago, the Rubini Rock, numbers approximately 55 thousand individuals. Thick-billed guillemots, kittiwakes, little auks, glaucous guillemots, and common guillemots nest here. On the southern islands of the archipelago you can find arctic foxes that live under bird colonies.
On Franz Josef Land, many historical attractions have been preserved in the form of the remains of wintering camps of expeditions that used the archipelago as a springboard to reach the North Pole. Memorable places are marked with plaques, crosses and stone obelisks. At Cape Flora, a ship's cabin from 1894 has been preserved, which was used by participants in many polar expeditions.
One of the most amazing and mysterious in the archipelago is Champ Island. There are many stone balls of almost ideal shape scattered across the entire surface of the island, ranging in size from a few centimeters to several meters. Such balls are found in other areas of the world, but such large and round ones cannot be found anywhere else. There is no definite answer to the question of their origin, although the balls are undoubtedly created by nature itself.
general information
Large islands: Wilczek Land, Graham Bell, George Land.
Distance: 900 km from the North Pole, 1220 km from the mainland.
Origin: tectonic.
Largest lakes: Cosmic, Ice, Shallow, Northern, Utinoe, Shirshova.
Numbers
Area: 16,134 km2.An archipelago of 196 islands.
Length: 375 km from west to east, 234 km from south to north.
Total area of glaciation: 13.7 thousand km 2.
Highest point: Mount Wiener Stadt (Forbes Glacier. 620 m).
Climate and weather
Arctic.Average January temperature:-24°C.
Average temperature in July: down to -1.4°C.
Average annual precipitation: 200 mm on coasts, up to 500 mm on ice domes.
Wind speed: up to 40 m/s.
Attractions
■ Cape Wings (Rudolph Island).■ Nature reserve federal significance "Franz Josef Land".
■ Stone balls of Champ Island.
■ Ernst Krenkel Geophysical Polar Observatory (Hays Island).
■ Bird markets (Tikhaya Bay, Hooker Island, Rubini Rock).
■ House "Eira" (Bell Island, site of 1914 V.I. Albanov).
■ Walrus rookeries (Nordbrook Island, Stolichki Islands, Apollonov Islands).
■ Sedov Glacier (Hooker Island).
■ Fridtjof Nansen's Hut (Jackson Island, 1895-1896).
■ Wooden structure of the Wellman expedition of 1898-1899. (Alger Island).
■ Polar station “Tikhaya Bay” 1929-1957. (Hooker Island).
■ Ship's cabin in 1894 (Cape Flora, Kuchieva Island).
Curious facts
■ The total volume of ice in the Franz Josef Land archipelago is 2500 km 3, which contains up to 2250 billion tons of pure fresh water, which is more than in Lake Baikal.■ Tourists are taken to Franz Josef Land in summer time, on icebreakers, and they get to the shore aboard a helicopter. At the same time, all tourists are required to wear bright yellow-orange jackets so that people do not get lost among the ice.
■ Cape Fliegeli on Rudolf Island is named after the Austrian cartographer August von Fliegeli; was discovered on April 12, 1874 by the Austrian polar expedition on the ship "Tegetthof" under the leadership of J. Payer and K. Weyprecht.
■ The most powerful glaciation can be traced in the southeast and east of each island and the entire Franz Josef Land archipelago. Ice forms only at the tops of ice domes. The glaciers of the archipelago are steadily shrinking. If the rate of glacier reduction continues, all glaciation on Franz Josef Land will disappear within 300 years.
■ Geophysical Polar Observatory named after Ernst Krenkel (formerly called “Druzhnaya”) on Hayes Island in the Franz Josef Land archipelago - the only observatory in Russia in the region of the geomagnetic polar cap.
■ Austria-Hungary, which fought on the side of Germany in the First World War, was too busy with problems in Europe and did not protest against the declaration of Franz Josef Land as Russian territory.
■ Freshwater Lake Cosmic on Hayes Island received its name on October 22, 1957, in connection with the first launch of weather rockets from the surface of the lake.
■ From the 1930s to the mid-1990s. The Franz Josef Land archipelago was a closed territory on which military installations of defense significance were located.
■ According to some reports, during the Second World War, in the western part of the island of Alexandra Land there was a German weather station and a base for laying and refueling submarines.
■ According to various sources, up to one million empty barrels of fuel and lubricants have accumulated on the islands of the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the removal of which may take at least eight years.
■ Since there are so many birds on the islands, they often get caught in helicopter blades. In this case, tourists have to return to the icebreaker using a boat.
■ In the late 1970s. Hydrographers of the Ministry navy Found on the island of Lamont in Franz Josef Land a letter from one of the leaders of the Austro-Hungarian expedition of 1873-1874. Karl Weyprecht. The letter, wrapped in wax paper and foil, lay in a wooden cylinder for more than a hundred years. It reported on the plight of the expedition. Kept in the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic in St. Petersburg.
■ In 1929, an expedition on the icebreaking steamer “Sedov” under the leadership of O.Yu. Schmidt, the future head of the Main Northern Sea Route and an academician, planted a Soviet flag made of iron on Hooker Island and declared the islands to be the territory of the USSR.
The Franz Josef Land archipelago is a group of islands located in the high latitude Arctic - where permafrost prevails and the average annual temperature is −12 °C.
The Archipelago is located approximately a thousand kilometers from the North Pole.
Most of Franz Josef Land is covered by glaciers.
Although, one should not confuse FJL with the North Pole. In summer, temperatures here can still reach +12 °C and the snow usually melts in July.
During this period, the ground is exposed, which in just a couple of weeks is covered with mosses and lichens, as well as flowering polar poppies, saxifrage, polar willow and other unpretentious plants.
There are not that many birds here, but they are there. These are little auks, guillemots, guillemots, kittiwakes, white gulls, glaucous gulls, terns, skuas, eiders, geese, etc.
Animals include polar bear and arctic fox. By the way, did you know that the polar bear is a marine mammal and even the Latin name for the polar bear is Ursus maritimus, which translates as “sea bear”? In the sea there are also seals, bearded seals, harp seals, walruses, narwhals and beluga whales.
- a region included in a small area natural area, known as the polar desert zone. You can read about the Arctic desert here.
People have never lived in the FJL for obvious reasons - there is no firewood, no berries, no mushrooms, no deer that can be domesticated, or other animals that can be hunted. There is simply nothing to feed and keep warm here. Even driftwood (logs brought by the sea) does not burn here, unlike driftwood on the coast. This happens, apparently, because wet firewood simply does not have time to dry, so it all year round completely “soaked” in ice.
However, in the twentieth century, during the development of the Arctic, weather stations and military camps were built on Franz Josef Land, so it turned out that with the assistance of civilization it was possible to live here. True, all this costs a lot of money, given the high cost of delivering food, fuel and building materials.
HISTORY OF THE EMERGENCE OF FRANZ JOSEPH LAND (GEOLOGICAL HISTORY)
In pre-Paleozoic times on the site of the modern Barents Sea there was a huge continent, extending west to the coast of Greenland. During the Paleozoic period, powerful
mountain-building movements, after which most of the current Barents Sea began to represent a continent with difficult mountainous terrain.
However, erosion and denudation processes gradually cut off mountainous terrain mainland, turned it into a flat country,which in Upper Devonian time was captured by the waters of the sea.
At the beginning of the Permian time it began to happen raising the bottom marine geosynclinal basins and their shallowing. Later, mountain-building movements appeared, accompanied by vigorous volcanic activity. Mountain-forming processes were powerful mountain ranges Novaya Zemlya, Urals, Kanin and parts of Spitsbergen. The rise of the shelf is accompanied by volcanic eruptions (basalt covers of Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land). According to Fridtjof Nansen, on the site of the Barents Sea in Tertiary times there was a mountainous country, elevated 500 m above modern sea level.
In Quaternary time there was placement of powerful ice sheets. During the maximum phase of glaciation, under the influence of glacial load, the islands and adjacent areas of the seabed sank by 300-400 m. In late and post-glacial times, loss of ice sheets and complex fluctuations coastline seas. The process of raising the coastline of the Barents Sea continues today. The rate of general uplift of the archipelago over the past 7000 years is 1-5 mm/year.
By the way, on Franz Josef Land you can still find pieces of petrified trees, as well as deer antlers, which suggests that once upon a time a variety of flora and fauna could have actively grown and lived here.
Reindeer lived on Franz Josef Land in the Middle Holocene (8-2.5 thousand years ago). It follows that in the Middle Holocene the climate of the archipelago was warmer and the vegetation richer than at present.
The end of the "time of the deer" can be precisely dated. Deer antlers are not found below the 5-meter level. Consequently, climate deterioration, a major advance of glaciers and the extinction of deer on the islands of the archipelago occurred when its shores were 5 m lower, i.e. about 2.5 thousand years ago.
The extinction of deer and the major advance of glaciers on the archipelago coincides with the movement of the forest zone to the south and the revival of the tundra zone along north coast Russia, as well as with the departure of thermophilic fauna from the coastal waters of Spitsbergen.
HISTORY OF THE DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF FRANZ JOSEPH LAND
Theoretical discovery of Franz Josef Land
The first thoughts about the need to explore the northern territories appeared in the 18th century. Mikhail Lomonosov in his work entitled " Short description different travels around northern seas and an indication of the possible passage of the Siberian Ocean to the East India,” assumed to find islands east of Spitsbergen.
At the end of the sixties of the nineteenth century, the famous Russian meteorologist A.I. Voeikov raised the question of organizing a large expedition to explore the Russian polar seas. This idea was warmly supported by the famous geographer and revolutionary, anarchist theorist Prince P.A. Kropotkin. Various considerations, but mainly observations of the ice of the Barents Sea, led Kropotkin to the conclusion that “between Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya there is not yet open land, which extends to the north beyond Spitsbergen and holds the ice behind it... The possible existence of such an archipelago was indicated by the Russian naval officer Baron Schilling in his excellent but little-known report on currents in the Arctic Ocean.”. In 1870, Kropotkin drew up a project for the expedition. However, the tsarist government refused funds, and the expedition did not take place.
Practical discovery of Franz Josef Land
Franz Josef Land was discovered by the Austro-Hungarian expedition of Julius Payer and Karl Weyprecht, and was explored by everyone - the British, the Scots, and the Americans... But we still got it.
In the photo are Julius Payer and Karl Weyprecht. By the way, what kind of fur coat does one of them have? Not from the Red Book polar bear?)
In 1901, the archipelago was explored by the first Russian expedition on the icebreaker Ermak under the command of Vice Admiral Makarov. It is alleged that it was during this period that the Russian flag was first raised on the islands of the archipelago.
In 1914, in search of G. Ya. Sedov, Ishak Islyamov visited the archipelago. He declared ZFI Russian territory and raised the Russian flag over it.
Some sources (even in the same notorious Wikipedia) write that it was Islyamov who declared ZFI as Russian territory. Although, Makarov had already raised the flag before him, so it seems that it was Makarov who was the first to claim Russia’s rights to Franz Josef Land?
Why such a wayfarer arose - I don’t know, but for the sake of fairness I will note both facts - and you decide for yourself who was first.
Islyamov, reporting the acquisition of a new territory for the country, proposed to immediately rename it from Franz Joseph Land to Romanov Land, but the proposal was stuck in the bureaucratic jungle. And there, first one empire went down into history, and immediately after it another. Iskhak Islyamov became a member of the Helsingfors Muslim Executive Committee of the Army, Navy and Workers, then fought as part of the White Army, emigrated, and headed the hydrographic part of the Russian naval base in Constantinople.
In 1926, the USSR Central Executive Committee adopted a decree according to which all Arctic islands adjacent to the land borders of the state were declared Soviet territory. Three years later, in the summer of 1929, Otto Schmidt, during a polar expedition on the icebreaking steamer Georgiy Sedov, hoisted the Soviet flag on the archipelago.
In 1929, the Soviet government decided to establish a research station to enhance scientific work in the Arctic. Then in the bay Quiet island Hooker, the first Soviet research station opened. In 1931, the archipelago was declared a territory of the Soviet Union, and from that time the exploration of the North Pole by Soviet researchers began. Since then, the archipelago has been visited annually by Soviet polar expeditions.
The Soviet government was going to change the name of Franz Joseph as politically inconvenient and rename the archipelago in honor of the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen or the Russian anarchist Kropotkin, but the decision was never understood.
In addition to scientists, military personnel have settled heavily in the FJL. In 1936, the first air force base THE USSR. And then off we went... However, in the 90s of the twentieth century, due to well-known economic and political reasons, the military left the archipelago, leaving only the Nagurskoye border post, located on the island of Alexandra Land, to function.
The town of the border line department of military unit 9794, which includes the northernmost airport and the border post, is still in operation. Not long ago, an excellent two-story building was built there with all the amenities: central heating, sewerage, cold and hot water, satellite TV. There is a “winter garden” inside the complex, although the plants and trees there are artificial. The border guards call this garden the “Atrium”. There is always a blue sky with cumulus clouds, a children's playground, a fountain, benches, billiards, an aquarium with live fish, a cinema hall, and table tennis.
Only officers and warrant officers serve in Nagurskoye. A third of the border guards live at the outpost with their wives. They fly here from Vorkuta and Arkhangelsk. Dense fogs, low clouds, precipitation and strong winds - this is the weather in Alexandra Land all year round. There were cases of unsuccessful landings, but an amazing thing: in the entire history, not a single person on the island died.
Although, there were victims on other islands. For example, on Graham Bell, where from the 50s to the 90s of the twentieth century there was a unique ice airfield, there were plane crashes with casualties a couple of times.
And finally, near the airfield lies AN-12 No. 11994, but no information about him could be found.
On one of the forums I found information that it was just an unsuccessful landing - the plane landed on the runway too early. But there were no casualties - everything ended well.
If we talk about casualties, then I suspect that the main danger on the Franz Josef Land Archipelago arises from polar bears.
Although, on the other hand, given the huge number of bears in the Polar Region, there were not many deaths due to them. It is believed that Franz Josef Land is a maternity hospital for polar bears, so it can be assumed that the servicemen encountered predators constantly. This means that the percentage of accidents is actually not high at all.
Well, again, if people died at the Polar Field, it was solely because of their own stupidity and negligence. Everything is the same as everywhere else. Here's an example story:
Although, enough about the sad things. There are also many good things in Franz Josef Land. And few tourists have the opportunity to verify this.
FRANZ JOSEPH LAND IN OUR TIMES - PHOTOS, DESCRIPTIONS, MAPS
FJL is the northernmost territory of Russia, located approximately nine hundred kilometers from the North Pole. Administratively, the archipelago belongs to Arkhangelsk region. Frankz Josef Land coordinates: 80.666667, 54.833333.
Wikipedia says that FJL consists of 192 islands. But it turns out that there were still certain doubts about this, and the 192nd island has not yet been officially “registered” and does not have a separate name.
The letter was transmitted through the Russian Embassy in Norway to the Russian Foreign Ministry, and from there the order was sent toDirectorate of Navigation and Oceanography of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation - to figure out how many islands there actually are in the archipelago.
At the same time, after public statements about the “appearance of a new island in Russia,” deputies of the Arkhangelsk Regional Assembly named the island after the famous polar captain Yuri Kuchiev. And under this name it already appears on Wikipedia, although the decision of the regional assembly on this issue is not legitimate. So now all that remains is to complete the discovery - to officially recognize and name the new geographical objects, which will have to be done by the Office of Navigation and Oceanography and the Commission on Geographical Names. On Hayes Island, Vladimir Sanin wrote one of his most famous books, “Don’t Say Goodbye to the Arctic.”
Gallya Island, Cape Tegethoff
Also famous are the cliffs at the tip of the island, which rise out of the sea itself.
Vilcek Island
Another island associated with the tragic events of the expedition of the discoverers of the archipelago is Vilcek Island. On the high island there is the grave of one of the expedition members on the ship Admiral Tegethoff, Otto Krisch, who was a mechanic on the ship and died in 1873 from scurvy.
Champa Island, Cape Trieste
On Cape Trieste there are unique stone formations of a perfectly round shape - spherulites, or concretions. Marcasite nodules are found everywhere on the cape, and their sizes range from a few centimeters to several meters in diameter.
The word “concretions” comes from the Latin concretio – “accretion”. These are nodules, rounded mineral formations in sedimentary rocks. Its composition is sandstone. At the very center of the concretion is an organic core, around which loose material of continental origin has accumulated.
Strait of Negri
Apollonov and Stolichka Islands
These islands do not stand out in appearance, and even on nautical charts usually indicated only more large island– The capital, but, as often happens, all the most interesting things are on the island nearby, very small and inconspicuous. In this case, it is Apollo Island. The island is famous for the fact that it is home to one of the largest rookeries of Atlantic walruses, listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation.
Hooker Island
On Hooker Island there is an abandoned Soviet polar station "Tikhaya". The station was opened in 1929 and closed in 1959, but at that time it was the largest Arctic research station in the USSR. Until today, the station has retained its appearance– you can see with your own eyes how polar explorers lived in those days.
Rubini Rock
The largest bird market, where more than 50 thousand birds nest. Among them are kittiwakes, guillemots, guillemots, glaucous guillemots and little auks. Guillemots nest directly on ledges. They do not build nests, but lay eggs on bare stone surfaces. Kittiwake gulls build nests from grasses, lichens and other vegetation, holding it together with their own droppings.
Alger Island
Wilczek Land, Cape Heller
The island contains the remains of the Fort McKinley winter quarters and the grave of Bernt Bentsen, who was unable to survive the winter of 1898-99. He was part of Walter Wellman's expedition, the main goal of which was to conquer the North Pole. The main camp of the expedition was located at Cape Tegetthoff on the island of Hall. A temporary food warehouse was organized at Cape Geller. It was built from large flat stones and covered with the skins of killed walruses and bears. The temperature inside it in winter remained below 10 degrees. In January 1899, Bernt Bentsen died. However, he was buried only in the spring. Before his death, he asked not to bury him until spring, as he feared that his body would become easy prey for arctic foxes and polar bears.
Rudolf Island, Cape Fligeli
Most northern cape archipelago Franz Josef Land - the extreme island point Russian Federation and Eurasia.
Rudolf Island, Teplitz Bay
In Teplitz Bay there is an abandoned meteorological station, which was built in 1931–1932. This was the second station on the archipelago and it operated until 1995.
Jackson Island
Jackson Island and Cape Norway are famous for the fact that Fridtjof Nansen and Jamar Johansen spent the winter here (1895–96). They were returning after an attempt to conquer the North Pole, as they thought, to Spitsbergen, but they came to Franz Josef Land. They had time to prepare for winter. They shot walruses and polar bears and built a dwelling in which they spent the winter, mostly lying down in one sleeping bag. On Christmas Day they turned their shirts inside out, and on New Year Nansen told Johansen that after everything they had been through together, he could just call him Fridtjof, and not Mr. Nansen, and shook his hand. But they remained on “you”. There is a memorial sign on the cape and the remains of a winter hut.
Northbrook Island, Cape Flora
A distinctive feature of the Franz Josef Land archipelago is the presence of a large number historical places– the remains of wintering camps of expeditions that planned to use the archipelago as a launching pad to reach the North Pole, and some expeditions arrived at the archipelago after unsuccessful attempts conquer the top of the planet. Almost all expeditions to Franz Josef Land stopped at Cape Flora of Northbrook Island.
The island was discovered by Benjamin Lee-Smith's expedition in 1880. His second expedition of 1881–1182 wintered here. Wintering was forced. Lee-Smith originally planned to spend the winter on Bell Island. In 1894, Briton Frederick Jackson built the first settlement on Cape Flora, Elmwood. The remains of the expedition's buildings can still be seen today.
In 1896, the historic meeting of Fridtjof Nansen and Frederick Jackson took place at Cape Flora. On June 17, two people approached the cape. No one was waiting for them or meeting them, and they themselves did not expect to meet anyone here. These were the famous polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen and his companion Frederik Jamar Johansen. They were covered from head to toe with soot and dirt, and they had two kayaks and sleds with them. For three years, on the Fram ship, specially built for navigation in ice and wintering, Nansen and his 12 companions planned to conquer the North Pole.
In 1893, the Fram froze into the islands north of the New Siberian Islands archipelago. The ship passed much further south. After two years in the ice, the Fram reached its northernmost geographical location. 700 kilometers from the North Pole, Nansen and Johansen left the ship and set off to conquer the Pole on dog sleds and kayaks. On April 8, they reached a record latitude of 86 degrees 14 minutes north and were forced to turn south towards the Franz Josef Land archipelago. After wintering on Jackson Island at Cape Norway, they moved south and reached Cape Flora, where they met Jackson's expedition. This meeting actually saved their lives. At one time, Nansen did not take Frederick Jackson with him on the Fram, because he believed that the North Pole should be conquered by the Norwegians. Jackson was from Great Britain.
Geographical position
Franz Josef Land- 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.
The archipelago consists of 192 islands. total area 16,134 km². It is divided into 3 parts: the eastern part, separated from the others by the Austrian Strait, with the large islands of Wilczek Land (2.0 thousand km²), Graham Bell (1.7 thousand km²); the central one - between the Austrian Strait and the British Channel, where the largest group of islands is located, and the western one - to the west of the British Channel, which includes the largest island of the entire archipelago - George's Land (2.9 thousand km²).
The surface of most of the islands of the Franz Josef Land archipelago is plateau-like. Average heights reach 400-490 m (the highest point of the archipelago is 620 m).
The coast west of Cape Fligeli on Rudolf Island is the northernmost point of Russia and Franz Josef Land. Cape Mary Harmsworth is the westernmost point of the archipelago, Lamont Island is the southernmost, and Cape Olney on Graham Bell Island is the easternmost.
How to get there
Since Franz Josef Land is an uninhabited area, there is no established transport communication not with him. Since the times of the Soviet Union, there have been several airports on the islands, serving primarily military purposes. But they are currently mothballed, like most Arctic airports.
Expeditions and tourist cruises to Franz Josef Land are carried out on icebreakers starting from Murmansk. At the same time, covering the distance from the edge of the continent to the first southern islands archipelago can take more than a day.
Climate
The climate on Franz Josef Land is typically arctic. It's always frosty and cold here. However, summer is still different from winter. In June, the maximum temperature is set on Hayes Island and reaches +1.6 °C. At the same time, average summer temperatures converge at −1.2 °C. January is characterized by a temperature of −24 °C, but sometimes there are much more severe frosts. Winds in the archipelago can reach speeds of up to 40 m/s.
Video
Population
There is no permanent population. The temporary population consists of scientists at research stations, FSB border guards and military personnel of the air defense unit carrying out missile defense of Russia from the northern direction.
On Hayes Island in 2005, according to press reports, the world's northernmost post office, Arkhangelsk 163100, was opened, which was supposed to work for 1 hour, from 10 to 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. As of September 2013, under the index 163100 there is a post office “Arkhangelsk - o. Hayes Franz Josef Land”, which is open from 10 to 11 o’clock on Wednesdays.
Nature
Flora and fauna. 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).
Most of the islands are covered with glaciers; in places free from them there are many lakes, most years covered in ice. Permafrost.
Lakes.
Many lakes still do not have names; the following have acquired their own designations: Kosmicheskoe, Ledyanoe, Melkoe, Severnoe, Utinoe, Shirshova.
Glaciers.The study of glaciation on the archipelago began especially intensively with the beginning of the International Geophysical Year. As a result of two years of field work, the participants of this Russian expedition of the USSR Academy of Sciences received the first summary of the glaciology of the territory, which was published in the collective monograph “Glaciation of Franz Josef Land” (authors M. G. Grosvald et al., 1973). It contained characteristics of the morphology of glacial complexes, glacial climate, ice formation zones, temperature regime, structures and tectonics of glaciers. Domestic glaciologist M. G. Grovald and his colleagues were the first to make an important conclusion that glaciation in the FJL is decreasing: over the past 30 years, the archipelago has lost an average of 3.3 km³ of ice per year. Before these works, the world scientific community was of the opinion that glaciation in the FJL was stationary, or even growing.
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.
After a year's break on Franz Josef Land - the northernmost archipelago of Russia and Eurasia - work will resume to eliminate accumulated environmental damage. This is the official name for cleaning up the Arctic. The islands became a pilot for this project. It was here in 2010 that Vladimir Putin announced the need to carry out a “general cleaning” in the Arctic.
Garbage on four Eiffel towers
A geoecological survey of Franz Josef Land in 2011–12 was carried out by several specialized institutes and organizations. It was necessary to identify the most problematic areas. Six islands have been declared an environmental disaster area: Alexandra Land, Hooker Island, Hayes Island, Rudolph Island, Hoffman Island and Graham Bell Island. Somewhere the military was based, others were polar stations. Rusty fuel barrels have become a symbol of Arctic waste. They also represented the greatest danger.
Work began on Alexandra Land. Now the westernmost island of the archipelago has been practically cleared, there are no fields of barrels here anymore, and technical soil reclamation has been carried out. The situation on Graham Bell turned out to be the most difficult. This is the most east island, where in Soviet times an air defense station, a Long-Range Aviation regiment and the world's northernmost ice airfield were located.
“Due to climate change, a large number of barrels of oil products ended up in the water. They were stored along the coastline. If oil products had entered the ocean, the slick would have moved towards Spitsbergen. In 2013, we prevented an environmental disaster on Graham Bell,” - says the first director national park"Russian Arctic" Roman Ershov.
Not every year does ice conditions allow a ship to even approach Graham Bell, let alone unload. Nevertheless, over the five years of Arctic cleanup, more than 40 thousand tons of waste were removed from the islands: scrap metal, barrels, household and industrial waste, remains of buildings and equipment. In terms of mass, this is four Eiffel towers along with the foundation. After the garbage is removed, the top layer of soil is also cleaned. 270 hectares have already been reclaimed - the area is approximately 380 football fields.
“In 2017, it is planned to reduce the negative impact on the environment on the territory of the Russian Arctic National Park in a volume of at least 8 thousand tons,” says acting director of the park Alexander Kirilov about plans for the upcoming season. “Simultaneously with cleaning the territory of four of the islands of the Franz Josef Land archipelago: Alexandra Land, Hayes Land, Graham Bell Land, Hooker Land and, possibly, Hoffmann Island - a geo-ecological survey will be carried out at the sites of future work. This is necessary in order to assess the situation - where what is left - and clarify the further plan actions."
The park is convinced that cleanup should continue until the environmental damage on the polar islands is completely eliminated.
Wreckage of Il-14 and the world's northernmost kindergarten
There is a balance to be struck between cleaning and what needs to be preserved. In 2014, Yuri Rutkauskas supervised the progress of work on Hayes Island as a state inspector of the national park. “Our responsibilities were to accept work from the organization involved in cleaning up the island from previous human activity, as well as to comply with environmental legislation during the work. (...) At the final stage of the cleanup, workers walked around and manually collected the remains of human activity.” He complains that quite a lot of interesting finds - old equipment, equipment - went under the knife of an excavator.
An Il-14 plane, which crashed here in February 1981, was left on the island. The plane was landing in the dark and landed to the left of the runway, landing in deep snow. At the same time, the additional fuel tank, which was located in the cabin, came off. Two passengers died. The aircraft remained on the island.
Some of the artifacts are now used for exhibitions in the national park, for example, an M-100 rocket with a parachute and a launch control. This Soviet two-stage, unguided, solid-propellant weather rocket with a lift altitude of 100 km was used for atmospheric sounding.
Since 1957, on Hayes Island there was not just a weather station, but an observatory, which in 1972 began to bear the name of the famous polar radio operator Ernst Krenkel. High-altitude sounding occupied a special place in the scientific program. Since October 1957, rockets have been launched into near space. The program was discontinued in the early 90s. In its heyday, up to 200 people lived on Hayes Island, there was the world's northernmost kindergarten, and the village consisted of up to 40 houses.
The station was closed in 2001 after a fire and resumed operations in 2004. “Currently, four people work at the station. They carry out standard observations: meteorological, marine coastal hydrological, aerological. As for high-altitude sounding of the atmosphere, it is planned to resume, but it is unknown when,” says the head of the department of the state observation network of the Federal State Budgetary Institution about the current situation. Northern UGMS" (Northern Administration for Hydrometeorology and Monitoring environment. - Approx. TASS) Vasily Shevchenko.
According to him, data from Hayes Island is important for weather forecasting, since there are no more stations in this region, including automatic ones. And there are no plans to install the latter yet.
Dog Street and Aircraft Hangar of the Museum Island
The polar station "Tikhaya Bay", opened on August 30, 1929 on Hooker Island, became the first permanent settlement on Franz Josef Land. It is interesting that in 1929, Soviet and Norwegian expeditions were sent to the archipelago almost simultaneously. The latter was hampered by difficult ice conditions. Tikhaya Bay - iconic place. Georgy Sedov named it that way; here he spent the winter of 1913–14, and from here he went on his last desperate trip to the North Pole.
The station operated actively until 1957, but was closed due to the creation of a new one on Hayes Island. It turned out to be more favorable for meteorological research. There is a whole village left in Tikhaya Bay: not only residential buildings, workshops, laboratories, but also a whole street of dog kennels. Even the bowls were preserved. By 2011, when Franz Josef Land began working national park"Russian Arctic", the buildings were abandoned, clogged with snow and ice. On Hooker Island, during the cleanup work, it was decided to leave the entire station complex. And create an open-air museum.
This island was cleaned by hand: the station is located on a slope, like steps. The technology cannot be deployed there. The garbage was packed into bags, which were then transported by sea. As Maria Gavrilo, deputy director for scientific work of the Russian Arctic, says, the most difficult situation now is with the wooden aircraft hangar. “The whole village needs to be preserved, but the hangar is in the most critical condition. It is being cleared of ice, and it has become more vulnerable,” explains the scientist.
If there are still houses or, for example, laboratories of this type in the Russian Arctic, then the hangar is a unique structure. “It was built in 1932 under the leadership of Papanin and was intended to house a small seaplane Sh-2 or a biplane Po-2. At that time it was a large and complex structure. Its construction on Franz Josef Land was an extremely difficult task. Great luck, that the hangar has survived to this day,” says leading researcher at the national park Evgeniy Ermolov.
Archipelago-mainland
Each island of Franz Josef Land is compared by those who have been there to a separate planet. They are so diverse. Hooker Island is now visited by almost every cruise ship that comes to the archipelago. A historical site, the world's northernmost post office accessible to tourists, plus unique natural landscapes. Rock Rubini was once named after the famous opera singer. She really sings - tens of thousands of birds nest in the largest bird market on the archipelago: guillemots, kittiwakes, little auks, guillemots, fulmars and glaucous guillemots. The rock seems to be made of hexagonal basalt pencils, the protrusions of which are ideal for arranging nests. As Maria Gavrilo says, the same guillemots, for example, can return a year later to the same ledge where they nested last season. Scientists use this for research - they put loggers on the birds, which record the route of their movement. After a year or several years, the bird is caught, the device is removed and the data is decrypted. Such research will continue this year, as will monitoring of polar bears, bowhead whales and walruses.
A video camera is working at the walrus rookery of Dead Seal Island, adjacent to Hooker Island. “We hope that she survived the second year, and we will have dynamics of filling the rookery,” says Maria Gavrilo.
Observations of the white gull will continue, a bird that never flies from the Arctic and is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation. “There was, for example, a colony on Alexandra Land, consisting of two clusters of 150 birds each,” says the researcher. “So one of them was located right next to the border guards’ runway. The head of the outpost (Nagurskoe. - Approx. TASS) Maxim Nosov protected her very much.”
The scientist says that the archipelago has been unevenly studied. On the one hand, compared to other Russian polar islands, we can say that research is in good condition, “but compared to Spitsbergen, we are failing, but 50 countries have been studied there,” she notes. It is known what kind of birds and mammals live on Franz Josef Land, but there are still many discoveries to be made about those that live in the sea and invertebrates, says Gavrilo. In the late 90s, a new species of fish was found off Kuna Island - the band-bodied gymnasium, and in 2012 - a new species of bell-bellied mosquito, it was named in honor of Franz Josef Land. Many collections are being processed, for example nematodes (roundworms. - Approx. TASS) was sent for description to Bulgaria. According to preliminary data, the list of species is already larger than on Spitsbergen.
“In a number of biological groups, Franz Josef Land is ahead of Spitsbergen,” says Gavrilo, “where conditions are more favorable. Why there is such diversity needs to be explained. For now, we have more questions. Such is the archipelago-continent.”
Botanist Oleg Ezhov says that according to vascular (floral. - Approx. TASS) for plants the picture is more or less clear. There are about 50 species: various saxifrages, polar poppies, buttercups, cereals. There are those that are found on almost every island, and there are those found only on one. Like, for example, one of the types of bluegrass that is found only on Hooker Island. But mosses, lichens and fungi have been studied much less well. “About 800 species of lichens are known from Spitsbergen, less than two hundred are known from Franz Josef Land. We need to study further,” explains Yezhov. “My five-year “mushroom” trips to Franz Josef Land and the efforts of my colleagues already provide a preliminary list of mushrooms larger than those on Spitsbergen,” says Gavrilo.
Some of the collections were collected during a complex expedition, which in 2013, “Russian Arctic” was carried out jointly with the National Geographic Society of the United States (National Geographic). "Franz Josef Land is one of the wildest and beautiful places that I have seen in the world. With its polar bears, walruses, bowhead whales and huge colonies of nesting seabirds, it is pure in its pristine state,” says National Geographic staff hydrobiologist Enric Sala.
Sala is confident that Franz Josef Land has enormous potential for ecotourism, but properly regulated. "The Arctic is a fragile environment, but a well-designed tourism plan can help raise awareness of the importance of protecting such places without damaging the environment," the expert said.
As explained in the “Russian Arctic”, during the five years of existence of the specially protected natural area tourists landed on the shore, examined from board a ship, boat or helicopter only 30 - but the most iconic and beautiful - places in Franz Josef Land and the north of Novaya Zemlya. “It is possible to visit new places; this will be taken into account when zoning the Russian Arctic National Park. Among the interesting places that will most likely be available to tourists after the cleanup is completed is the polar station on Heiss Island,” explained the head of the park, Alexander Kirilov.
The park says that the number of visitors to Franz Josef Land could reach 5-7 thousand per year. Now it's about a thousand. There are several conditions. One of them is the operation of a border checkpoint on the island of Alexandra Land for various ships. For now it is operating in test mode for a specific vessel. In addition, a year-round airstrip is being put into operation at Alexandra Land. Provided that an agreement is reached on its use civil aviation, it is possible for tourists to arrive to the archipelago by air. But careful preparation is needed: arrangement ecological trails, training professional personnel to work with tourists and increasing awareness of visitors about the rules of behavior on the territory.
Irina Skalina
