Drifting research station “North Pole-35”

On September 21^st research vessel of AARI Roshydromet - "Akademik Fedorov " finished the unloading of the equipment and supply for the drifting research station “ North Pole-35” ". Total cargo weight is 343.9 tons.

At 5 p.m. at the position 81⁰3 N and 103⁰,5 E on the station "North Pole-35" the flag of Russian Federation was raised. At 10 p.m. first meteorological report was transmitted. Life support system of the station is ready, first set of fit to live and laboratory complex is made. «NP-35» was placed on the ice field to the north-east from Severnaya Zemlya archipelago at the position 81⁰3 N and 103⁰5 E. Operation was carried out with the help of the nuclear ice breaker «Rossiya».

Staff of the drifting station “North Pole-35” consists of Штат 21 persons, 7 of whom are the members of the accomplished drift “AARI Ice camp”. Aleksey Visnevskiy was assigned to be the head of the station. “NP-35” also includes the specialists in the fields of oceanology, meteorology, geophysics, aerology, hydrochemistry, hydrography.

Wide complex of investigations is planned to be carried out on the drifting station. For its realization supplementary oceanographic and geophysical equipment was purchased. Besides standard meteorological observations the aerological complexes is supposed to be set to provide daily atmosphere sensing twice a day. It is planned to use the equipment to investigate the gas exchange (carbonic gas, methane) at the boarder ocean-sea ice- atmosphere. Observations of the total ozone content in the atmosphere are of a great interest as well as obtaining the vertical profiles of such a gas concentrations with the usage of balloon. These observations are provided by the only foreign participant of the station, German geophysist Urgen Grasser from AWI (Potsdam branch).

For the first time in the practice of observations of the drifting ice on “NP-35” the deep sea echo-sounder of high magnification to determine sediment stratification down to 200 meters beneath bottom surface.

In the central part of the Arctic Ocean various automatic measurement complexes are set, transmitting information on the ocean conditions, sea ice cover and atmosphere to the data centers. Among them – ice oceanographic profilers, buoys to measure mass balance of the drifting ice, autonomous meteorological buoys and others. Main part of these devices was provided by the foreign partners under the program of the International Polar Year 2007-08 «Complex investigations of the central Arctic Ocean » from USA, France and Germany.