1.
North Magnetic Pole
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Magnetic declination or variation is the angle on the horizontal plane between magnetic north and true north. This angle varies depending on position on the Earths surface, and changes over time. The angle between magnetic and grid meridians is called grid magnetic angle, grid variation, or grivation. ”By convention, declination is positive when magnetic north is east of true north, and negative when it is to the west. Isogonic lines are lines on the Earths surface along which the declination has the constant value. The lowercase Greek letter δ is frequently used as the symbol for magnetic declination, Magnetic declination varies both from place to place and with the passage of time. As a traveller cruises the east coast of the United States, for example, the declination at London, UK is one degree 7 minutes west, and as the country is quite small that figure is fairly good for the whole of the country. It is reducing, and scientists predict that in about 2050 it will be zero, similarly, secular changes to these flows result in slow changes to the field strength and direction at the same point on the Earth. The magnetic declination in an area may change slowly over time, possibly as little as 2–2.5 degrees every hundred years or so. For a location closer to the pole like Ivujivik, the declination may change by 1 degree every three years and this may be insignificant to most travellers, but can be important if using magnetic bearings from old charts or metes in old deeds for locating places with any precision. As an example of how variation changes over time, see the two charts of the area, below, surveyed 124 years apart. The 1884 chart shows a variation of 8 degrees,20 minutes West, the 2008 chart shows 13 degrees,15 minutes West. The instrument used to perform this measurement is known as a declinometer, the approximate position of the north celestial pole is indicated by Polaris. In the northern hemisphere, declination can therefore be determined as the difference between the magnetic bearing and a visual bearing on Polaris. Polaris currently traces a circle 0. 75° in radius around the celestial pole. At high latitudes a plumb-bob is helpful to sight Polaris against an object close to the horizon. A rough estimate of the local declination can be determined from a general isogonic chart of the world or a continent, isogonic lines are also shown on aeronautical and nautical charts. Larger-scale local maps may indicate current local declination, often with the aid of a schematic diagram, unless the area depicted is very small, declination may vary measurably over the extent of the map, so the data may be referred to a specific location on the map. The current rate and direction of change may also be shown, the same diagram may show the angle of grid north, which may differ from true north
2.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
3.
Map projection
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A map projection is a systematic transformation of the latitudes and longitudes of locations on the surface of a sphere or an ellipsoid into locations on a plane. Map projections are necessary for creating maps, all map projections distort the surface in some fashion. There is no limit to the number of map projections. More generally, the surfaces of bodies can be mapped even if they are too irregular to be modeled well with a sphere or ellipsoid. Even more generally, projections are the subject of several mathematical fields, including differential geometry. However, map projection refers specifically to a cartographic projection and these useful traits of maps motivate the development of map projections. However, Carl Friedrich Gausss Theorema Egregium proved that a spheres surface cannot be represented on a plane without distortion, the same applies to other reference surfaces used as models for the Earth. Since any map projection is a representation of one of surfaces on a plane. Every distinct map projection distorts in a distinct way, the study of map projections is the characterization of these distortions. Projection is not limited to perspective projections, such as those resulting from casting a shadow on a screen, rather, any mathematical function transforming coordinates from the curved surface to the plane is a projection. Few projections in actual use are perspective, for simplicity, most of this article assumes that the surface to be mapped is that of a sphere. In reality, the Earth and other celestial bodies are generally better modeled as oblate spheroids. These other surfaces can be mapped as well, therefore, more generally, a map projection is any method of flattening a continuous curved surface onto a plane. Many properties can be measured on the Earths surface independent of its geography, some of these properties are, Area Shape Direction Bearing Distance Scale Map projections can be constructed to preserve at least one of these properties, though only in a limited way for most. Each projection preserves or compromises or approximates basic metric properties in different ways, the purpose of the map determines which projection should form the base for the map. Because many purposes exist for maps, a diversity of projections have been created to suit those purposes, another consideration in the configuration of a projection is its compatibility with data sets to be used on the map. Data sets are geographic information, their collection depends on the datum of the Earth. Different datums assign slightly different coordinates to the location, so in large scale maps, such as those from national mapping systems
4.
Sea ice
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Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less dense water, it floats on the oceans surface. Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth’s surface and about 12% of the world’s oceans. Much of the sea ice is enclosed within the polar ice packs in the Earths polar regions, the Arctic ice pack of the Arctic Ocean. Polar packs undergo a significant yearly cycling in surface extent, a natural process upon which depends the Arctic ecology, due to the action of winds, currents and temperature fluctuations, sea ice is very dynamic, leading to a wide variety of ice types and features. Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs, which are chunks of ice shelves or glaciers that calve into the ocean, depending on location, sea ice expanses may also incorporate icebergs. Sea ice does not simply grow and melt, during its lifespan, it is very dynamic. Due to the action of winds, currents, water temperature. Sea ice is classified according to whether or not it is able to drift, Sea ice can be classified according to whether or not it is attached to the shoreline. If attached, it is called landfast ice, or more often, alternatively, and unlike fast ice, drift ice occurs further offshore in very wide areas, and encompasses ice that is free to move with currents and winds. The physical boundary between fast ice and drift ice is the fast ice boundary, the drift ice zone may be further divided into a shear zone, a marginal ice zone and a central pack. Drift ice consists of floes, individual pieces of sea ice 20 metres or more across, the term pack ice is used either as a synonym to drift ice, or to designate drift ice zone in which the floes are densely packed. The overall sea ice cover is termed the ice canopy from the perspective of submarine navigation, another classification used by scientists to describe sea ice is based on age, that is, on its development stages. These stages are, new ice, nilas, young ice, first-year, new ice is a general term used for recently frozen sea water that does not yet make up solid ice. It may consist of ice, slush, or shuga. Other terms, such as ice and pancake ice, are used for ice crystal accumulations under the action of wind. Nilas designates a sea ice crust up to 10 centimetres in thickness and it bends without breaking around waves and swells. Nilas can be subdivided into dark nilas – up to 5 centimetres in thickness and very dark
5.
Northern Hemisphere
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The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earths North pole. Due to the Earths axial tilt, winter in the Northern Hemisphere lasts from the December solstice to the March Equinox, the dates vary each year due to the difference between the calendar year and the astronomical year. Its surface is 60. 7% water, compared with 80. 9% water in the case of the Southern Hemisphere, the Arctic is the region north of the Arctic Circle. Its climate is characterized by cold winters and cool summers, precipitation mostly comes in the form of snow. The Arctic experiences some days in summer when the Sun never sets, the duration of these phases varies from one day for locations right on the Arctic Circle to several months near the North Pole, which is the middle of the Northern Hemisphere. Between the Arctic Circle and the Tropic of Cancer lies the Northern Temperate Zone, the changes in these regions between summer and winter are generally mild, rather than extreme hot or cold. However, a temperate climate can have very unpredictable weather, tropical regions are generally hot all year round and tend to experience a rainy season during the summer months, and a dry season during the winter months. In the Northern Hemisphere, objects moving across or above the surface of the Earth tend to turn to the right because of the coriolis effect, as a result, large-scale horizontal flows of air or water tend to form clockwise-turning gyres. These are best seen in circulation patterns in the North Atlantic. For the same reason, flows of air down toward the surface of the Earth tend to spread across the surface in a clockwise pattern. Thus, clockwise air circulation is characteristic of high pressure weather cells in the Northern Hemisphere, conversely, air rising from the northern surface of the Earth tends to draw air toward it in a counterclockwise pattern. Hurricanes and tropical storms spin counter-clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, the shadow of a sundial moves clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere. When viewed from the Northern Hemisphere, the Moon appears inverted compared to a view from the Southern Hemisphere, the North Pole faces away from the galactic center of the Milky Way. The Northern Hemisphere is home to approximately 6.57 billion people which is around 90% of the total human population of 7.3 billion people
6.
Earth's rotation
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Earths rotation is the rotation of the planet Earth around its own axis. The Earth rotates from the west towards east, as viewed from North Star or polestar Polaris, the Earth turns counter-clockwise. The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earths axis of rotation meets its surface and this point is distinct from the Earths North Magnetic Pole. The South Pole is the point where the Earths axis of rotation intersects its surface. The Earth rotates once in about 24 hours with respect to the sun, Earths rotation is slowing slightly with time, thus, a day was shorter in the past. This is due to the effects the Moon has on Earths rotation. Atomic clocks show that a modern-day is longer by about 1.7 milliseconds than a century ago, analysis of historical astronomical records shows a slowing trend of 2.3 milliseconds per century since the 8th century BCE. Among the ancient Greeks, several of the Pythagorean school believed in the rotation of the rather than the apparent diurnal rotation of the heavens. Perhaps the first was Philolaus, though his system was complicated, in the third century BCE, Aristarchus of Samos suggested the suns central place. However, Aristotle in the fourth century criticized the ideas of Philolaus as being based on rather than observation. He established the idea of a sphere of fixed stars that rotated about the earth and this was accepted by most of those who came after, in particular Claudius Ptolemy, who thought the earth would be devastated by gales if it rotated. In the 10th century, some Muslim astronomers accepted that the Earth rotates around its axis, treatises were written to discuss its possibility, either as refutations or expressing doubts about Ptolemys arguments against it. At the Maragha and Samarkand observatories, the Earths rotation was discussed by Tusi and Qushji, in medieval Europe, Thomas Aquinas accepted Aristotles view and so, reluctantly, did John Buridan and Nicole Oresme in the fourteenth century. Not until Nicolaus Copernicus in 1543 adopted a heliocentric world system did the earths rotation begin to be established, Copernicus pointed out that if the movement of the earth is violent, then the movement of the stars must be very much more so. He acknowledged the contribution of the Pythagoreans and pointed to examples of relative motion, for Copernicus this was the first step in establishing the simpler pattern of planets circling a central sun. Tycho Brahe, who produced accurate observations on which Kepler based his laws, in 1600, William Gilbert strongly supported the earths rotation in his treatise on the earths magnetism and thereby influenced many of his contemporaries. Those like Gilbert who did not openly support or reject the motion of the earth about the sun are often called semi-Copernicans, however, the contributions of Kepler, Galileo and Newton gathered support for the theory of the rotation of the Earth. The earths rotation implies that the bulges and the poles are flattened
7.
South Pole
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The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earths axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth, situated on the continent of Antarctica, it is the site of the United States Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station, which was established in 1956 and has been permanently staffed since that year. The Geographic South Pole should not be confused with the South Magnetic Pole, the South Pole is at the center of the Southern Hemisphere. For most purposes, the Geographic South Pole is defined as the point of the two points where the Earths axis of rotation intersects its surface. However, the Earths axis of rotation is actually subject to very small wobbles, the geographic coordinates of the South Pole are usually given simply as 90°S, since its longitude is geometrically undefined and irrelevant. When a longitude is desired, it may be given as 0°, at the South Pole, all directions face north. For this reason, directions at the Pole are given relative to grid north, along tight latitude circles, clockwise is east, and counterclockwise is west, opposite to the North Pole. The Geographic South Pole is located on the continent of Antarctica. It sits atop a featureless, barren, windswept and icy plateau at an altitude of 2,835 metres above sea level, and is located about 1,300 km from the nearest open sea at Bay of Whales. The ice is estimated to be about 2,700 metres thick at the Pole, the polar ice sheet is moving at a rate of roughly 10 metres per year in a direction between 37° and 40° west of grid north, down towards the Weddell Sea. Therefore, the position of the station and other artificial features relative to the geographic pole gradually shift over time. The Geographic South Pole is marked by a stake in the ice alongside a small sign, these are repositioned each year in a ceremony on New Years Day to compensate for the movement of the ice. The sign records the respective dates that Roald Amundsen and Robert F. Scott reached the Pole, followed by a quotation from each man. A new marker stake is designed and fabricated each year by staff at the site, the Ceremonial South Pole is an area set aside for photo opportunities at the South Pole Station. It is located around 180 metres from the Geographic South Pole, Amundsens Tent, The tent was erected by the Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen on its arrival on 14 December 1911. It is currently buried beneath the snow and ice in the vicinity of the Pole and it has been designated a Historic Site or Monument, following a proposal by Norway to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. In 1820, several expeditions claimed to have been the first to have sighted Antarctica, with the very first being the Russian expedition led by Faddey Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev. The first landing was probably just over a year later when American Captain John Davis, the basic geography of the Antarctic coastline was not understood until the mid-to-late 19th century
8.
Latitude
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In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north–south position of a point on the Earths surface. Latitude is an angle which ranges from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the poles, lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the location of features on the surface of the Earth. Without qualification the term latitude should be taken to be the latitude as defined in the following sections. Also defined are six auxiliary latitudes which are used in special applications, there is a separate article on the History of latitude measurements. Two levels of abstraction are employed in the definition of latitude and longitude, in the first step the physical surface is modelled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oceans and its continuation under the land masses. The second step is to approximate the geoid by a mathematically simpler reference surface, the simplest choice for the reference surface is a sphere, but the geoid is more accurately modelled by an ellipsoid. The definitions of latitude and longitude on such surfaces are detailed in the following sections. Lines of constant latitude and longitude together constitute a graticule on the reference surface, latitude and longitude together with some specification of height constitute a geographic coordinate system as defined in the specification of the ISO19111 standard. This is of importance in accurate applications, such as a Global Positioning System, but in common usage, where high accuracy is not required. In English texts the latitude angle, defined below, is denoted by the Greek lower-case letter phi. It is measured in degrees, minutes and seconds or decimal degrees, the precise measurement of latitude requires an understanding of the gravitational field of the Earth, either to set up theodolites or to determine GPS satellite orbits. The study of the figure of the Earth together with its field is the science of geodesy. These topics are not discussed in this article and this article relates to coordinate systems for the Earth, it may be extended to cover the Moon, planets and other celestial objects by a simple change of nomenclature. The primary reference points are the poles where the axis of rotation of the Earth intersects the reference surface, the plane through the centre of the Earth and perpendicular to the rotation axis intersects the surface at a great circle called the Equator. Planes parallel to the plane intersect the surface in circles of constant latitude. The Equator has a latitude of 0°, the North Pole has a latitude of 90° North, the latitude of an arbitrary point is the angle between the equatorial plane and the radius to that point. The latitude, as defined in this way for the sphere, is termed the spherical latitude
9.
Antarctica
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It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14,000,000 square kilometres, it is the fifth-largest continent, for comparison, Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia. About 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km in thickness, Antarctica, on average, is the coldest, driest, and windiest continent, and has the highest average elevation of all the continents. Antarctica is a desert, with precipitation of only 200 mm along the coast. The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89.2 °C, though the average for the quarter is −63 °C. Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae, bacteria, fungi, plants, protista, vegetation, where it occurs, is tundra. The continent, however, remained neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment, lack of easily accessible resources. In 1895, the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians, Antarctica is a de facto condominium, governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status. Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959, and thirty-eight have signed it since then, the treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining, prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal, supports scientific research, and protects the continents ecozone. Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations, the name Antarctica is the romanised version of the Greek compound word ἀνταρκτική, feminine of ἀνταρκτικός, meaning opposite to the Arctic, opposite to the north. Aristotle wrote in his book Meteorology about an Antarctic region in c.350 B. C, marinus of Tyre reportedly used the name in his unpreserved world map from the 2nd century A. D. Before acquiring its present geographical connotations, the term was used for locations that could be defined as opposite to the north. For example, the short-lived French colony established in Brazil in the 16th century was called France Antarctique, the first formal use of the name Antarctica as a continental name in the 1890s is attributed to the Scottish cartographer John George Bartholomew. Antarctica has no population and there is no evidence that it was seen by humans until the 19th century. Explorer Matthew Flinders, in particular, has credited with popularising the transfer of the name Terra Australis to Australia. Cook came within about 120 km of the Antarctic coast before retreating in the face of ice in January 1773. The first confirmed sighting of Antarctica can be narrowed down to the crews of ships captained by three individuals, according to various organisations, ships captained by three men sighted Antarctica or its ice shelf in 1820, von Bellingshausen, Edward Bransfield, and Nathaniel Palmer
10.
Arctic Ocean
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The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the worlds five major oceans. Alternatively, the Arctic Ocean can be seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing World Ocean, located mostly in the Arctic north polar region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere, the Arctic Ocean is almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America. It is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter, the summer shrinking of the ice has been quoted at 50%. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center uses satellite data to provide a record of Arctic sea ice cover. The Arctic may become ice free for the first time in human history within a few years or by 2040, for much of European history, the north polar regions remained largely unexplored and their geography conjectural. He was probably describing loose sea ice known today as growlers or bergy bits, his Thule was probably Norway, early cartographers were unsure whether to draw the region around the North Pole as land or water. The makers of navigational charts, more conservative than some of the more fanciful cartographers, tended to leave the region blank and this lack of knowledge of what lay north of the shifting barrier of ice gave rise to a number of conjectures. In England and other European nations, the myth of an Open Polar Sea was persistent, john Barrow, longtime Second Secretary of the British Admiralty, promoted exploration of the region from 1818 to 1845 in search of this. In the United States in the 1850s and 1860s, the explorers Elisha Kane, even quite late in the century, the eminent authority Matthew Fontaine Maury included a description of the Open Polar Sea in his textbook The Physical Geography of the Sea. Nevertheless, as all the explorers who travelled closer and closer to the reported, the polar ice cap is quite thick. Fridtjof Nansen was the first to make a crossing of the Arctic Ocean. The first surface crossing of the ocean was led by Wally Herbert in 1969, in a dog sled expedition from Alaska to Svalbard, with air support. The first nautical transit of the pole was made in 1958 by the submarine USS Nautilus. Since 1937, Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations have extensively monitored the Arctic Ocean, scientific settlements were established on the drift ice and carried thousands of kilometres by ice floes. In World War II, the European region of the Arctic Ocean was heavily contested, the Arctic Ocean occupies a roughly circular basin and covers an area of about 14,056,000 km2, almost the size of Antarctica. The coastline is 45,390 km long and it is surrounded by the land masses of Eurasia, North America, Greenland, and by several islands. It is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Bering Strait and to the Atlantic Ocean through the Greenland Sea, countries bordering the Arctic Ocean are, Russia, Norway, Iceland, Greenland, Canada and the United States. There are several ports and harbours around the Arctic Ocean In Alaska, in Canada, ships may anchor at Churchill in Manitoba, Nanisivik in Nunavut, Tuktoyaktuk or Inuvik in the Northwest territories
11.
Soviet Union
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The Soviet Union, officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a socialist state in Eurasia that existed from 1922 to 1991. It was nominally a union of national republics, but its government. The Soviet Union had its roots in the October Revolution of 1917 and this established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and started the Russian Civil War between the revolutionary Reds and the counter-revolutionary Whites. In 1922, the communists were victorious, forming the Soviet Union with the unification of the Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian, following Lenins death in 1924, a collective leadership and a brief power struggle, Joseph Stalin came to power in the mid-1920s. Stalin suppressed all opposition to his rule, committed the state ideology to Marxism–Leninism. As a result, the country underwent a period of rapid industrialization and collectivization which laid the foundation for its victory in World War II and postwar dominance of Eastern Europe. Shortly before World War II, Stalin signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact agreeing to non-aggression with Nazi Germany, in June 1941, the Germans invaded the Soviet Union, opening the largest and bloodiest theater of war in history. Soviet war casualties accounted for the highest proportion of the conflict in the effort of acquiring the upper hand over Axis forces at battles such as Stalingrad. Soviet forces eventually captured Berlin in 1945, the territory overtaken by the Red Army became satellite states of the Eastern Bloc. The Cold War emerged by 1947 as the Soviet bloc confronted the Western states that united in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in 1949. Following Stalins death in 1953, a period of political and economic liberalization, known as de-Stalinization and Khrushchevs Thaw, the country developed rapidly, as millions of peasants were moved into industrialized cities. The USSR took a lead in the Space Race with Sputnik 1, the first ever satellite, and Vostok 1. In the 1970s, there was a brief détente of relations with the United States, the war drained economic resources and was matched by an escalation of American military aid to Mujahideen fighters. In the mid-1980s, the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, sought to reform and liberalize the economy through his policies of glasnost. The goal was to preserve the Communist Party while reversing the economic stagnation, the Cold War ended during his tenure, and in 1989 Soviet satellite countries in Eastern Europe overthrew their respective communist regimes. This led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements inside the USSR as well, in August 1991, a coup détat was attempted by Communist Party hardliners. It failed, with Russian President Boris Yeltsin playing a role in facing down the coup. On 25 December 1991, Gorbachev resigned and the twelve constituent republics emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as independent post-Soviet states
12.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
13.
Drifting ice station
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Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations are research stations built on the ice of the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean. They are important contributors to exploration of the Arctic, the stations are named North Pole, followed by an ordinal number, North Pole-1. NP drift stations carry out the program of complex year-round research in the fields of oceanology, ice studies, meteorology, aerology, geophysics, hydrochemistry, hydrophysics, magnetic, ionosphere, ice and other observations are also carried out there. Regular measurements of the ice flow coordinates provide the data on the direction, the modern NP drifting ice station resembles a small settlement with housing for polar explorers and special buildings for the scientific equipment. Usually an NP station begins operations in April and continues for two or three years until the ice reaches the Greenland Sea. Since 1937 some 800 people were drifting at NP stations. There are two groups of NP stations, stations, drifting on the ice, NP-1 through NP-5, NP-7 through NP-17, NP-20, NP-21 stations, drifting on ice islands, NP-6, NP-18, NP-19. All NP stations are organized by the Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, an idea to use the drift ice for the exploration of nature in the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean belongs to Fridtjof Nansen, who fulfilled it on Fram between 1893 and 1896. North Pole-1 was established on May 21,1937 some 20 km from the North Pole by the expedition into the high latitudes Sever-1, NP-1 operated for 9 months, during which the ice floe travelled 2,850 kilometres. Since 1954 Soviet NP stations worked continuously, with one to three stations operating simultaneously each year. The total distance drifted between 1937 and 1973 was over 80,000 kilometres, North Pole-22 is particularly notable for its record drift, lasting nine years. On June 28,1972 the ice floe with North Pole-19 passed over the North Pole for the first time ever, the last Soviet NP station, North Pole-31, was closed in July 1991. In the post-Soviet era, Russian exploration of the Arctic by drifting ice stations was suspended for twelve years, the year 2003 was notable for Russias return into the Arctic. As of 2006, three NP stations had carried out scientific measurements and research since then, NP-32 through NP-34, the latter was closed on May 25,2006. NP-35 started operations on September 21,2007 at the point 81°26′N 103°30′E,22 scientists, led by A. A. Visnevsky are working on the ice floe. Establishment of the station was the stage of the Arktika 2007 expedition. The ice has since shrunk significantly, however, and the station is now being abandoned ahead of schedule. P
14.
Barneo
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Camp Barneo is a private Russian temporary ice base, established annually since 2002 on an ice floe relatively close to the North Pole, used largely for tourist excursion purposes. The first Ice Camp Barneo was established in 2002, since that time, the camp has been rebuilt from scratch every year because of the constantly drifting Arctic ice. For example, in 2007 Ice Camp Barneo was located at about 89°31. 5′N 30°27′W, however, northerly winds caused the Ice Camp to drift towards the southeast at a speed of 0.8 kilometres per hour. The ice camp works under the patronage of the Russian Geographical Society, Ice Camp Barneo should not be confused with the sequential Soviet/Russian North Pole drifting ice stations established by the Russian Academy of Sciences Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. From 2002 to 2017, the starting and final point of all expeditions to Barneo has been Longyearbyen, the town has necessary facilities including an airport, hotels of different levels, restaurants, a post office, a bank, and a supermarket. In 2016, following military exercises by Chechen paratroopers on Barneo, Norway enacted a flight embargo, as a result, the 2017 event was expected to take place with a base in Russia. However in March 2017 an expedition tour operator was taking bookings for 2017 and 2018 with flights operating out of Longyearbyen
15.
Climate change in the Arctic
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The effects of global warming in the Arctic include rising temperatures, loss of sea ice, and melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Potential methane release from the region, especially through the thawing of permafrost, because of the amplified response of the Arctic to global warming, it is often seen as a leading indicator of global warming. The melting of Greenlands ice sheet is linked to polar amplification, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warming in the Arctic, as indicated by daily maximum and minimum temperatures, has been as great as in any other part of the world. The period of 1995-2005 was the warmest decade in the Arctic since at least the 17th century, some regions within the Arctic have warmed even more rapidly, with Alaska and western Canadas temperature rising by 3 to 4 °C. This warming has caused not only by the rise in greenhouse gas concentration. The authors conclude that anthropogenic increases in greenhouse gases have led to unprecedented regional warmth, the poles of the Earth are more sensitive to any change in the planets climate than the rest of the planet. In the face of ongoing global warming, the poles are warming faster than lower latitudes, the primary cause of this phenomenon is ice-albedo feedback, whereby melting ice uncovers darker land or ocean beneath, which then absorbs more sunlight, causing more heating. The loss of the Arctic sea ice may represent a point in global warming, when runaway climate change starts. Sea ice is currently in decline in area, extent, and volume and may cease to exist sometime during the 21st century. Sea ice area refers to the area covered by ice, whereas sea ice extent is the area of ocean with at least 15% sea ice. Reliable measurement of sea ice edges began with the era in the late 1970s. Before this time, sea ice area and extent were monitored less precisely by a combination of ships, buoys, the data show a long-term negative trend in recent years, attributed to global warming, although there is also a considerable amount of variation from year to year. Some of this variation may be related to such as the arctic oscillation. The Arctic sea ice September minimum extent reached new lows in 2002,2005,2007. The 2007 melt season let to a minimum 39% below the 1979-2000 average, and for the first time in human memory, the dramatic 2007 melting surprised and concerned scientists. From 2008 to 2011, Arctic sea ice minimum extent was higher than 2007, in 2012 however, the 2007 record low was broken in late August with 3 weeks still left in the melt season. The rate of the decline in entire ice coverage is accelerating. From 1979–1996, the average per decade decline in entire ice coverage was a 2. 2% decline in ice extent, for the decade ending 2008, these values have risen to 10. 1% and 10. 7%, respectively
16.
Mir (submersible)
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Mir is a self-propelled Deep Submergence Vehicle. The project was developed by the USSR Academy of Sciences along with Design Bureau Lazurith. Later two vehicles were ordered from Finland, the Mir 1 and Mir 2, delivered in 1987, were designed and built by the Finnish company Rauma-Repolas Oceanics subsidiary. The project was carried out under the supervision of constructors and engineers of the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, the vessels are designed to be used for scientific research. They might also be used to assist in rescue operations. The carrier and command centre of both Mir submersibles is the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh, the two Mir units are operated by the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Mir submersibles can dive to a depth of 6,000 metres. Traditionally, the sphere of a deep sea submersible is manufactured of titanium plates that are welded together. On Mir, the sphere is made of a maraging steel alloy that has ten percent better strength/weight ratio than titanium. This alloy contains about 30% cobalt and smaller amounts of nickel, chrome, two hemispheres were made by casting and machining, and then bolted together, thus avoiding welded joints. The resulting construction is close to the density of water, thus making it easier to move in different depths, additional buoyancy is provided by 8 cubic metres of syntactic foam. Unlike other Deep Submergence Vehicles that use iron ballast to reach the ocean floor, the Mir submersibles are 7.8 m long,3.6 m wide,3.0 m high, and weighs 18,600 kg. The personnel spheres walls are 5 cm thick, and the diameter of the working area is 2.1 m. Three viewports are provided, the port is 20 cm diameter. Power is provided by NiCad batteries of 100 kWh capacity, electric motors drive hydraulic pumps to actuate hydraulic manipulators and 3 propulsors. The aft hydraulic propulsor is rated at 9 kW and 2 side propulsors are rated at 2.5 kW each, maximum underwater speed is 5 knots. Longitudinal trim is controlled using 2 spherical water ballast tanks, fore, water can be forced out of these tanks as required by using compressed air. VHF radio is used to communication with the surface
17.
Arktika 2007
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As well as dropping a titanium tube containing the Russian flag, the submersibles collected specimens of Arctic flora and fauna and apparently recorded video of the dives. The North Pole-35 manned drifting ice station was established, the ships had two Mi-8 helicopters and geological probe devices, and Il-18 aircraft with gravimetric devices. The base ship Akademik Fedorov left Saint Petersburg on July 10,2007 for the expedition, after five hours, the Akademik Fedorov began drifting in the Barents Sea because an electric motor controlling its propellor failed. The Russia,20 hours ahead by that time, turned to help, nine hours later the crew of Akademik Fedorov repaired the motor and the ship continued its voyage, staying close to the Russia. On July 27 The icebreaker landed a group of biologists on the Kheysa island. On July 29 the Akademik Fedorov approached a large ice-hole, surrounded by ice at 82°29′N 64°28′E,47 miles north of Franz Josef Land. There, the submersibles, each with one person on board, Anatoly Sagalevich took the MIR-1 down at 9,36 Moscow Time and Yevgeny Chernyaev followed at the controls of MIR-2 at 10,00. At 10,32 MIR-1 reached the seabed at a depth of 1,311 metres, descents were carried out on August 2,2007 in both MIR Deep Submergence Vehicles. The MIR-1s crew consisted of pilot Anatoly Sagalevich, Russian polar explorer Arthur Chilingarov, the MIR-2s crew comprised pilot Yevgeny Chernyaev of Russia, Australian adventurer Mike McDowell, and Swede Frederik Paulsen Jr. head of Ferring Pharmaceuticals). MIR-1 began its dive at 9,28 Moscow Time and at 12,08 reached the seabed 4,261 metres below the North Pole, MIR-2 began its dive at 9,47 and at 12,35 reached the seabed 4,302 metres down. At 12,35 the bathyscaphes were 500 metres apart and MIR-1 moved near MIR-2, at 13,46 both submersibles began to ascend, with MIR-1 surfacing at 18,08 and MIR-2 at 19,15. On the seabed,4,261 metres below the Polar ice, MIR-1 planted a 1-metre tall titanium Russian flag and it also left a time capsule, containing a message for future generations and a flag of the pro-President Vladimir Putin United Russia party. Soil and water samples of the seabed were taken during the mission, the same images were rebroadcast by Reuters, which mistook them as actual footage of part of the expedition. The agency, the reported, had admitted, it had “mistakenly identified this file footage as originating from the Arctic. This footage was taken during the search for the Titanic and copyright is held by Rossiya, on its way back to Franz Josef Land to collect marine biologists, the Akademik Fedorov on August 4 met the French Tara expedition. The ships MI-8 helicopter landed near the yacht, which had been drifting for eleven months, the French expedition had 9 tonnes of food and was growing its own — ‘. salad. is what we have grown. most. Corn salad grows very well’, even at those latitudes ‘, Akademik Fedorov then sailed towards the Ice Base, a group of nine polar explorers led by A. A. Ornithology research was conducted on Severnaya Zemlya islands
18.
USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
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USS Nautilus was the worlds first operational nuclear-powered submarine. The vessel was the first submarine to complete a submerged transit of the North Pole on 3 August 1958, in operation, she revealed a number of limitations in her design and construction. This information was used to improve subsequent submarines, Nautilus was decommissioned in 1980 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1982. The submarine has been preserved as a ship in Groton, Connecticut. On 12 December 1951 the US Department of the Navy announced that the submarine would be called Nautilus, the boat carried the hull number SSN-571. The Nautilus benefited from the GUPPY improvements to the American Gato-, Balao-, nautiluss keel was laid at General Dynamics Electric Boat Division in Groton, Connecticut by Harry S. Truman on 14 June 1952. She was christened on 21 January 1954 and launched into the Thames River, nuclear power had the crucial advantage in submarine propulsion because it is a zero-emission process that consumes no air. This design is the basis for all of the US nuclear-powered submarine and surface combat ships. The first actual prototype was constructed and tested by the Argonne National Laboratory in 1953 at the S1W facility, part of the National Reactor Testing Station in Idaho. Nautilus ships patch was designed by The Walt Disney Company, and her wardroom currently displays a set of made of zirconium. Following her commissioning, Nautilus remained dockside for further construction and testing, at 11 a. m. on 17 January 1955 she put to sea for the first time and signaled her historic message, Underway on nuclear power. On 10 May, she headed south for shakedown, submerged throughout, she traveled 1,100 nautical miles from New London to San Juan, Puerto Rico and covered 1,200 nautical miles in less than ninety hours. At the time, this was the longest submerged cruise by a submarine, from 1955 to 1957, Nautilus continued to be used to investigate the effects of increased submerged speeds and endurance. The improvements rendered the progress made in anti-submarine warfare during World War II virtually obsolete, on 4 February 1957, Nautilus logged her 60, 000th nautical mile, matching the endurance of her namesake, the fictional Nautilus described in Jules Vernes novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. Nautilus returned to New London, Connecticut, on 21 July and she arrived back at New London on 28 October, underwent upkeep, and then conducted coastal operations until the spring. On 25 April 1958, Nautilus was underway again for the West Coast, now commanded by Commander William R. Anderson, USN. Stopping at San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle, she began her history-making polar transit, operation Sunshine, on 19 June she entered the Chukchi Sea, but was turned back by deep drift ice in those shallow waters. On 28 June she arrived at Pearl Harbor to await better ice conditions, by 23 July 1958 her wait was over, and she set a course northward
19.
Kaffeklubben Island
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Kaffeklubben Island or Coffee Club Island is a small island lying off the northern tip of Greenland. It may contain the northernmost point of land on Earth, Kaffeklubben Island is found at 83°39′45″N 30°36′50″W and is 713.5 kilometres from the geographic North Pole. It is placed north of the Frederick E. Hyde Fjord, about 37 kilometres east of Cape Morris Jesup and west of Cape Bridgman, Kaffeklubben Island is approximately 0.7 kilometres in length, and about 300 metres across at its widest point. The highest point is about 30 metres above sea level, the first recorded sighting of the island was made by the United States explorer Robert Peary in 1900, however, Kaffeklubben was not visited until 1921. It was then, when the Danish explorer Lauge Koch set foot on the island, in 1969 a Canadian team calculated that its northernmost tip lies 750 metres farther north than Cape Morris Jesup, thus claiming its record as the most northerly point on land. Despite the harsh environment, vegetation grows on Kaffeklubben island – not only various mosses, liverworts, and lichens, list of islands of Greenland ATOW1996, also claimed as the most northerly land area. 83-42, another potentially northernmost point of land
20.
Greenland
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Greenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Danish Realm between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for more than a millennium. The majority of its residents are Inuit, whose ancestors began migrating from the Canadian mainland in the 13th century, Greenland is the worlds largest island. Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica. With a population of about 56,480, it is the least densely populated country in the world, the Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland, connecting the various cities and settlements. Greenland has been inhabited off and on for at least the last 4,500 years by Arctic peoples whose forebears migrated there from what is now Canada, Norsemen settled the uninhabited southern part of Greenland beginning in the 10th century, and Inuit peoples arrived in the 13th century. The Norse colonies disappeared in the late 15th century, soon after their demise, beginning in 1499, the Portuguese briefly explored and claimed the island, naming it Terra do Lavrador. In the early 18th century, Scandinavian explorers reached Greenland again, to strengthen trading and power, Denmark-Norway affirmed sovereignty over the island. Greenland was settled by Vikings more than a thousand years ago, Vikings set sail from Greenland and Iceland, discovering North America nearly 500 years before Columbus reached Caribbean islands. Though under continuous influence of Norway and Norwegians, Greenland was not formally under the Norwegian crown until 1262, the Kingdom of Norway was extensive and a military power until the mid-14th century. Thus, the two kingdoms resources were directed at creating Copenhagen, Norway became the weaker part and lost sovereignty over Greenland in 1814 when the union was dissolved. Greenland became a Danish colony in 1814, and was made a part of the Danish Realm in 1953 under the Constitution of Denmark, in 1973, Greenland joined the European Economic Community with Denmark. However, in a referendum in 1982, a majority of the population voted for Greenland to withdraw from the EEC which was effected in 1985, Greenland contains the worlds largest and most northernly national park, Northeast Greenland National Park. Greenland is divided into four municipalities - Sermersooq, Kujalleq, Qaasuitsup and it also retains control of monetary policy, providing an initial annual subsidy of DKK3.4 billion, which is planned to diminish gradually over time. Greenland expects to grow its economy based on increased income from the extraction of natural resources, the capital, Nuuk, held the 2016 Arctic Winter Games. At 70%, Greenland has one of the highest shares of renewable energy in the world, the early Viking settlers named the island as Greenland. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter, along with his extended family and his thralls, he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding an area and settling there, he named it Grœnland
21.
Alert, Nunavut
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Alert, in the Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut, Canada, is the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world, at latitude 82°3005 north,817 kilometres from the North Pole. The entire population of Baffin, Unorganized, the Statistics Canada name for Qikiqtaaluk, is located here, as of the 2016 census the population was reported as 62, an increase of 1, 140% over the 2011 census. It takes its name from HMS Alert, which wintered 10 km east of the present station, off what is now Cape Sheridan, Alert is named after HMS Alert, a British ship which wintered about 10 km away in 1875–76. The ships captain, George Nares, and his crew were the first recorded people to reach the end of Ellesmere Island. Shortly after the end of World War II, Charles J. Hubbard began to rouse interest in the United States and Canada for the establishment of a network of Arctic stations. His plan, in perspective, envisaged the establishment of two main stations, one in Greenland and the other within the Archipelago, which could be reached by sea supply. These main stations would serve as advance bases from which a number of smaller stations would be established by air. It was recognized that action would depend on international co-operation since the land masses involved were under Canadian. The weather station was established in 1950, and the station in 1958. Nine crew members of a Royal Canadian Air Force Lancaster died in a crash while making an airdrop of supplies to the station in 1950. Charles Hubbard, USWB Chief of Polar Operations Project, was among the passengers on board the ill-fated Lancaster crash and was among those buried at Alert. Boxtop 22, a C-130 Hercules flying as part of Operation Boxtop, of the 18 aboard, four died in the crash, while the pilot died during the 32 hours that it took search and rescue teams to reach the crash site under blizzard conditions. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reported in April 2006 that the costs for the station had risen. As a result of the costs the Canadian Forces proposed cutbacks to support jobs by using private contractors. Also in April 2006, the Roly McLenahan Torch, used to light the flame in Whitehorse, Yukon for the 2007 Canada Games, passed through Alert. In August 2006, then Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, the Olympic Torch passed through Alert on 9 November 2009 en route to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On 19 and 20 January 2015, Governor General and Commander-In-Chief David Johnston flew into Alert on a C-17 Globemaster transport from CFB Trenton and he toured Alert, received an overview of its operations, met with civilian and military personnel and presided over a change-of-command. Alert is located 12 km west of Cape Sheridan, the tip of Ellesmere Island
22.
Qikiqtaaluk Region
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The Qikiqtaaluk Region, Qikiqtani Region or Baffin Region is the easternmost administrative region of Nunavut, Canada. Qikiqtaaluk is the traditional Inuktitut name for Baffin Island, although the Qikiqtaaluk Region is the most commonly used name in official contexts, several notable public organisations, including Statistics Canada prefer the older term Baffin Region. With a population of 18,988 and an area of 989,879.35 km2 it is the largest and most populated of the three regions, the regional seat, and territorial capital, is Iqaluit. The Qikiqtaaluk Region spans the northernmost, easternmost, and southernmost areas of Nunavut, before 1999, the Qikiqtaaluk Region existed under slightly different boundaries as the Baffin Region, District of Keewatin, Northwest Territories. Canada claims Hans Island as part of Qikiqtaaluk, while Denmark considers it to be part of the Greenlandic municipality of Qaasuitsup, all of Qikiqtaaluks thirteen communities are located on tidal water and just under half of its residents live in Nunavuts capital and only city, Iqaluit. The majority of the rest live in twelve hamlets—Arctic Bay, Cape Dorset, Clyde River, Grise Fiord, Hall Beach, Igloolik, Kimmirut, Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet, Qikiqtarjuaq, Resolute, alert and Eureka are part of the Baffin, Unorganized areas in Qikiqtaaluk. Formerly there was a town at Nanisivik. However, it and the Nanisivik Mine closed in 2002, with Nanisivik Airport closing in 2010, like the majority of Canadas Inuit communities, the regions traditional country food includes seal, Arctic char, walrus, polar bear and caribou-which are abundant. Iqaluit has the Astro Hill Complex, the Nunatta Sunakkutaangit Museum and the Legislative Building of Nunavut, according to anthropologists and historians, the Inuit are the descendants of the Thule people who displaced the Dorset culture. By 1300 the Inuit had trade routes with more southern cultures, about 1910 Europeans markets increased their interest in white fox pelts. The distribution and mobility of Inuit changed as the expanded their traditional hunting and fishing routes to participate in the fox fur trade. Traditional food staples—such as seal and caribou—were not always found in the regions as white fox. The Hudsons Bay Company—which was chartered in 1670—had been opening fur trading posts throughout Inuit, by 1910, the HBC was restructured into a lands sales department, retail and fur trade. The HBC dominated the fur trade under minimal supervision from the Canadian government, by 1922 most of imported goods acquired by Inuit were from the HBC. Between 1950 and 1975 thirteen northern communities were relocated, in the 1950s and 1960s the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and others in authority undertook the widespread killing of sled dogs. Canada 2016 Census Population,18,988 Population change, +12. 1% Private dwellings,6,556 Area,989,879.35 km2 Density,0
23.
Polar motion
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Polar motion of the Earth is the motion of the Earths rotational axis relative to its crust. This is measured with respect to a frame in which the solid Earth is fixed. This variation is only a few meters, polar motion is defined relative to a conventionally defined reference axis, the CIO, being the poles average location over the year 1900. The mean displacement far exceeds the magnitude of the wobbles, the latter are determined based on the International Terrestrial Reference System, which follows the polar motion. e. The slow rise of land that was formerly burdened with ice sheets or glaciers, the drift is roughly along the 80th meridian west. However, since about year 2000, the pole has found new direction of drift and this dramatic eastward shift in drift direction is attributed to the global scale mass transport between the oceans and the continents. Major earthquakes cause abrupt polar motion by altering the distribution of the Earths solid mass. These shifts, however, are small in magnitude relative to the long-term core/mantle. In the absence of external torques, the vector of the angular momentum M of a system remains constant and is directed toward a fixed point in space. In the case of the Earth, it is almost identical with its axis of rotation, the vector of the figure axis F of the system wobbles around M. This motion is called Eulers free nutation, for a rigid Earth which is an oblate spheroid to a good approximation, the figure axis F is its geometric axis defined by the geographic north and south pole. It is identical with the axis of its moment of inertia. The observed angle between M and F is a few hundred milliarcseconds which gives rise to a displacement of several meters between the figure axis of the Earth and its angular momentum. This is the polar motion. This observed free nutation is called Chandler wobble, there exist, in addition, polar motions with smaller periods of the order of decades. Finally, a secular polar drift of about 0, the annual variation was discovered by Karl Friedrich Küstner in 1885 by exact measurements of the variation of the latitude of stars, while S. C. Chandler found the free nutation in 1891. Both periods superpose, giving rise to a frequency with a period of about 5 to 8 years. They are also called nutations, except for the slowest, which is the precession of the equinoxes, polar motion is observed routinely by very-long-baseline interferometry, lunar laser ranging and satellite laser ranging
24.
Leonhard Euler
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He also introduced much of the modern mathematical terminology and notation, particularly for mathematical analysis, such as the notion of a mathematical function. He is also known for his work in mechanics, fluid dynamics, optics, astronomy, Euler was one of the most eminent mathematicians of the 18th century, and is held to be one of the greatest in history. He is also considered to be the most prolific mathematician of all time. His collected works fill 60 to 80 quarto volumes, more than anybody in the field and he spent most of his adult life in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and in Berlin, then the capital of Prussia. A statement attributed to Pierre-Simon Laplace expresses Eulers influence on mathematics, Read Euler, read Euler, Leonhard Euler was born on 15 April 1707, in Basel, Switzerland to Paul III Euler, a pastor of the Reformed Church, and Marguerite née Brucker, a pastors daughter. He had two sisters, Anna Maria and Maria Magdalena, and a younger brother Johann Heinrich. Soon after the birth of Leonhard, the Eulers moved from Basel to the town of Riehen, Paul Euler was a friend of the Bernoulli family, Johann Bernoulli was then regarded as Europes foremost mathematician, and would eventually be the most important influence on young Leonhard. Eulers formal education started in Basel, where he was sent to live with his maternal grandmother. In 1720, aged thirteen, he enrolled at the University of Basel, during that time, he was receiving Saturday afternoon lessons from Johann Bernoulli, who quickly discovered his new pupils incredible talent for mathematics. In 1726, Euler completed a dissertation on the propagation of sound with the title De Sono, at that time, he was unsuccessfully attempting to obtain a position at the University of Basel. In 1727, he first entered the Paris Academy Prize Problem competition, Pierre Bouguer, who became known as the father of naval architecture, won and Euler took second place. Euler later won this annual prize twelve times, around this time Johann Bernoullis two sons, Daniel and Nicolaus, were working at the Imperial Russian Academy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg. In November 1726 Euler eagerly accepted the offer, but delayed making the trip to Saint Petersburg while he applied for a physics professorship at the University of Basel. Euler arrived in Saint Petersburg on 17 May 1727 and he was promoted from his junior post in the medical department of the academy to a position in the mathematics department. He lodged with Daniel Bernoulli with whom he worked in close collaboration. Euler mastered Russian and settled life in Saint Petersburg. He also took on a job as a medic in the Russian Navy. The Academy at Saint Petersburg, established by Peter the Great, was intended to improve education in Russia, as a result, it was made especially attractive to foreign scholars like Euler
25.
Orography
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Orography is the study of the topographic relief of mountains, and can more broadly include hills, and any part of a regions elevated terrain. Orography falls within the discipline of geomorphology. Mountain ranges and elevated land masses have a impact on global climate. In scientific models, such as general models, orography defines the lower boundary of the model over land. When a rivers tributaries or settlements by the river are listed in orographic sequence and this method of listing tributaries is similar to the Strahler Stream Order, where the headwater tributaries are listed as category 1. Orographic precipitation, also known as relief precipitation, is generated by a forced upward movement of air upon encountering a physiographic upland. This lifting can be caused by two mechanisms, The upward deflection of large scale horizontal flow by the orography, the anabatic or upward vertical propagation of moist air up an orographic slope caused by daytime heating of the mountain barrier surface. Upon ascent, the air that is being lifted will expand, if enough water vapor condenses into cloud droplets, these droplets may become large enough to fall to the ground as precipitation. Drier air is left on the descending, generally warming, leeward side where a shadow is formed. Terrain-induced precipitation is a factor for meteorologists as they forecast the local weather. Orography can play a role in the type, amount, intensity. Researchers have discovered that barrier width, slope steepness and updraft speed are major contributors for the optimal amount, computer model simulations for these factors showed that narrow barriers and steeper slopes produced stronger updraft speeds which, in turn, enhanced orographic precipitation. Leeward coastal areas are especially dry—less than 20 in per year at Waikiki—and the tops of moderately high uplands are especially wet—about 475 in per year at Waialeale on Kauai. This is particularly noticeable between Manchester and Leeds where Leeds receives less due to a rain shadow of 12 miles from the Pennines. Coverage Orographic lift Map of the Orography of Europe from Euratlas. com
26.
Plate tectonics
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The theoretical model builds on the concept of continental drift developed during the first few decades of the 20th century. The geoscientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor spreading was validated in the late 1950s, the lithosphere, which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet, is broken up into tectonic plates. The Earths lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates, where the plates meet, their relative motion determines the type of boundary, convergent, divergent, or transform. Earthquakes, volcanic activity, mountain-building, and oceanic trench formation occur along plate boundaries. The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually, tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere, each topped by its own kind of crust. Along convergent boundaries, subduction carries plates into the mantle, the material lost is balanced by the formation of new crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading. In this way, the surface of the lithosphere remains the same. This prediction of plate tectonics is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle, earlier theories, since disproven, proposed gradual shrinking or gradual expansion of the globe. Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earths lithosphere has greater strength than the underlying asthenosphere. Lateral density variations in the result in convection. Plate movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the motion of the seafloor away from the ridge and drag, with downward suction. Another explanation lies in the different forces generated by forces of the Sun. The relative importance of each of these factors and their relationship to other is unclear. The outer layers of the Earth are divided into the lithosphere and asthenosphere and this is based on differences in mechanical properties and in the method for the transfer of heat. Mechanically, the lithosphere is cooler and more rigid, while the asthenosphere is hotter, in terms of heat transfer, the lithosphere loses heat by conduction, whereas the asthenosphere also transfers heat by convection and has a nearly adiabatic temperature gradient. The key principle of plate tectonics is that the lithosphere exists as separate and distinct tectonic plates, Plate motions range up to a typical 10–40 mm/year, to about 160 mm/year. The driving mechanism behind this movement is described below, tectonic lithosphere plates consist of lithospheric mantle overlain by either or both of two types of crustal material, oceanic crust and continental crust. Average oceanic lithosphere is typically 100 km thick, its thickness is a function of its age, as passes, it conductively cools
27.
Isostasy
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Isostasy is the state of gravitational equilibrium between Earths crust and mantle such that the crust floats at an elevation that depends on its thickness and density. This concept is invoked to explain how different topographic heights can exist at Earths surface, when a certain area of Earths crust reaches the state of isostasy, it is said to be in isostatic equilibrium. Isostasy does not upset equilibrium but instead restores it and it is generally accepted that Earth is a dynamic system that responds to loads in many different ways. However, isostasy provides an important view of the processes that are happening in areas that are experiencing vertical movement. In the simplest example, isostasy is the principle of buoyancy wherein an object immersed in a fluid is buoyed with a equal to the weight of the displaced fluid. The general term isostasy was coined in the year 1889 by the American geologist Clarence Dutton, the Vening Meinesz, or flexural isostasy model – where the lithosphere acts as an elastic plate and its inherent rigidity distributes local topographic loads over a broad region by bending. Airy and Pratt isostasy are statements of buoyancy, whereas flexural isostasy is a statement of buoyancy when deflecting a sheet of finite elastic strength. The basis of the model is Pascals law, and particularly its consequence that, within a fluid in static equilibrium, in other words, h1⋅ρ1 = h2⋅ρ2 = h3⋅ρ3 =. This hypothesis was suggested to explain how large topographic loads such as seamounts could be compensated by regional rather than local displacement of the lithosphere. When large amounts of sediment are deposited on a particular region, similarly, when large amounts of material are eroded away from a region, the land may rise to compensate. Therefore, as a range is eroded, the range rebounds upwards to be eroded further. An analogy may be made with an iceberg—it always floats with a proportion of its mass below the surface of the water. If more ice is added to the top of the iceberg, if a layer of ice is somehow sliced off the top of the iceberg, the remaining iceberg will rise. Similarly, Earths lithosphere floats in the asthenosphere, when continents collide, the continental crust may thicken at their edges in the collision. If this happens, much of the thickened crust may move downwards rather than up as with the iceberg analogy, the idea of continental collisions building mountains up is therefore rather a simplification. Instead, the crust thickens and the part of the thickened crust may become a mountain range. However, some continental collisions are far more complex than this, the formation of ice sheets can cause Earths surface to sink. Conversely, isostatic rebound is observed in areas once covered by ice sheets that have now melted, such as around the Baltic Sea
28.
International Astronomical Union
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The International Astronomical Union is an international association of professional astronomers, at the PhD level and beyond, active in professional research and education in astronomy. Among other activities, it acts as the recognized authority for assigning designations to celestial bodies. The IAU is a member of the International Council for Science and its main objective is to promote and safeguard the science of astronomy in all its aspects through international cooperation. The IAU maintains friendly relations with organizations that include amateur astronomers in their membership, the IAU has its head office on the second floor of the Institut dAstrophysique de Paris in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. The IAU is also responsible for the system of astronomical telegrams which are produced and distributed on its behalf by the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams, the Minor Planet Center also operates under the IAU, and is a clearinghouse for all non-planetary or non-moon bodies in the Solar System. The Working Group for Meteor Shower Nomenclature and the Meteor Data Center coordinate the nomenclature of meteor showers, the IAU was founded on July 28,1919, at the Constitutive Assembly of the International Research Council held in Brussels, Belgium. The 7 initial member states were Belgium, Canada, France, Great Britain, Greece, Japan, the first executive committee consisted of Benjamin Baillaud, Alfred Fowler, and four vice presidents, William Campbell, Frank Dyson, Georges Lecointe, and Annibale Riccò. Thirty-two Commissions were appointed at the Brussels meeting and focused on topics ranging from relativity to minor planets, the reports of these 32 Commissions formed the main substance of the first General Assembly, which took place in Rome, Italy, May 2–10,1922. By the end of the first General Assembly, ten nations had joined the Union. Although the Union was officially formed eight months after the end of World War I, the first 50 years of the Unions history are well documented. Subsequent history is recorded in the form of reminiscences of past IAU Presidents, twelve of the fourteen past General Secretaries in the period 1964-2006 contributed their recollections of the Unions history in IAU Information Bulletin No.100. Six past IAU Presidents in the period 1976–2003 also contributed their recollections in IAU Information Bulletin No.104, the IAU includes a total of 12,664 individual members who are professional astronomers from 96 countries worldwide. 83% of all members are male, while 17% are female, among them the unions current president. Membership also includes 79 national members, professional astronomical communities representing their countrys affiliation with the IAU, the sovereign body of the IAU is its General Assembly, which comprises all members. The Assembly determines IAU policy, approves the Statutes and By-Laws of the Union, the right to vote on matters brought before the Assembly varies according to the type of business under discussion. On budget matters, votes are weighted according to the subscription levels of the national members. A second category vote requires a turnout of at least two-thirds of national members in order to be valid, an absolute majority is sufficient for approval in any vote, except for Statute revision which requires a two-thirds majority. An equality of votes is resolved by the vote of the President of the Union, since 1922, the IAU General Assembly meets every three years, with the exception of the period between 1938 and 1948, due to World War II
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Arctic exploration
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Arctic exploration is the physical exploration of the Arctic region of the Earth. It refers to the period during which mankind has explored the region north of the Arctic Circle. Dangerous oceans and poor weather conditions often fetter explorers attempting to reach polar regions and journeying through these perils by sight, boat, sailing past the Pillars of Hercules, he reached Brittany and even Cornwall, eventually circumnavigating the British Isles. From the local population, he heard news of the land of Thule. After six days of sailing, he reached land at the edge of a sea, and described what is believed to be the aurora. While no one knows exactly how far Pytheas sailed, he may have crossed the Arctic Circle, nevertheless, his tales were regarded as fantasy by later Greek and Roman authorities, such as the geographer Strabo. It was impossible, according to their perception of the world, the first Viking to sight Iceland was Gardar Svavarsson, who went off course due to harsh conditions when sailing from Norway to the Faroe Islands. This quickly led to a wave of colonization, not all the settlers were successful however in the attempts to reach the island. In the 10th century, Gunnbjörn Ulfsson got lost in a storm and his report spurred Erik the Red, an outlawed chieftain, to establish a settlement there in 985. While they flourished initially, these settlements eventually foundered due to changing climatic conditions and they are believed to have survived until around 1450. Greenlands early settlers sailed westward, in search of better pasturage, modern scholars debate the precise location of the new lands of Vinland, Markland, and Helluland that they discovered. The Scandinavian peoples also pushed north into their own peninsula by land. As early as 880, the Viking Ohthere of Hålogaland rounded the Scandinavian Peninsula and sailed to the Kola Peninsula and they also explored north by boat, discovering the Northern Sea Route, as well as penetrating to the trans-Ural areas of northern Siberia. They then founded the settlement of Mangazeya east of the Yamal Peninsula in the early 16th century, in 1648 the Cossack Semyon Dezhnyov opened the now famous Bering Strait between America and Asia. Russian settlers and traders on the coasts of the White Sea, by the 17th century they established a continuous sea route from Arkhangelsk as far east as the mouth of Yenisey. This route, known as Mangazeya seaway, after its eastern terminus, Exploration above the Arctic Circle in the Renaissance was driven by the rediscovery of Classical learning and the national quests for commercial expansion. This exploration was hampered by limits in maritime technology of the age, lack of food supplies. A seminal event in Arctic exploration occurred in 1409, when Ptolemys Geographia was translated into Latin, navigators were better able to chart their positions, and the European race to China, sparked by interest in the writings of Marco Polo, commenced
30.
Farthest North
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Farthest North describes the most northerly latitude reached by explorers before the conquest of the North Pole rendered the expression obsolete. The northern polar regions are more accessible than those of the south, as continental land masses extend to high latitudes. A Dutch expedition led by Willem Barentz reached 79°49’ N on 16 June 1596 to register the first recorded Farthest North, in 1607 Henry Hudson probably reached Hakluyts Headland, but could not proceed further as ice lay packed along Spitsbergens north coast. In 1612 an explorer from Hull, Thomas Marmaduke, claimed to have reached 82°N, none of these claims have any basis in fact, with the second claim, made by Joris Carolus, impossible knowing ice conditions that season, although Marmaduke did at least reach Gråhuken. English whalers reached Svalbards Nordkapp in or before 1622, as shown on the Muscovy Companys Map, the Seven Islands, north of Nordaustlandet, were first marked on a Dutch map of 1663, but were allegedly reached by a ship of Enkhuizen as early as 1618. In 1707 the Dutch whaler Cornelis Cornelisz Giles rounded the northernmost point of Nordaustlandet in Svalbard, in 1806 the Resolution of Whitby, under William Scoresby, Sr. was said to have sailed north of the Seven Islands and reached 81°50 N. One of the first expeditions with the purpose of reaching the North Pole was that of William Edward Parry in 1827, who reached 82°45′ N. Albert Hastings Markham, a member of the British Arctic Expedition of 1875-76 was the one to get closer to the pole 48 years later. Adolphus Greelys Lady Franklin Bay Expedition bested Markham by a few miles, in 1895, Norwegians Fridtjof Nansen and Fredrik Hjalmar Johansen reached latitude 86°14′ N. Two American explorers claimed to reach the North Pole in 1908 and 1909, cooks claim was soon judged to be fraudulent, and Peary was credited as the discoverer of the North Pole for much of the 20th century. In recent decades, however, Pearys claim has become the subject of controversy, with Pearys claim accepted at the time, overland expeditions to the North Pole came to an end. Roald Amundsen of Norway redirected his planned Arctic expedition and instead aimed for the South Pole, which he achieved in 1911. In 1931 an expedition, led by Hubert Wilkins and Lincoln Ellsworth and partly financed by William Randolph Hearst, the Nautilus was modified for under ice operations by submarine designer Simon Lake so it could detect openings in the ice pack and surface to recharge her batteries. While the expedition was a failure, the Nautilus did reach a latitude of 82 degrees north - the farthest north a vessel had ever been, in accordance with the lease agreement, the Nautilus was scuttled after the expedition to prevent her reuse as a warship. On 9 May 1926, Richard Evelyn Byrd attempted to fly over the North Pole in an airplane and he was widely credited with achieving this, but his claim subsequently became subject to doubt. The first man definitely to set foot on the Pole was the Russian Alexander Kuznetsov, on 3 August 1958 the United States submarine USS Nautilus was the first to sail under the ice pack to reach the North Pole. On 17 March 1959 the United States submarine Skate became the first submarine to surface at the North Pole, in 1968–69 the British explorer Wally Herbert became the first person to indubitably reach the Pole on foot, having sledged from Alaska. His expedition was supported by air drops, Arctic exploration List of Arctic expeditions Farthest South Fleming, Fergus
31.
Gerardus Mercator
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Gerardus Mercator was a 16th-century German-Netherlandish cartographer, geographer and cosmographer. Mercator was one of the founders of the Netherlandish school of cartography and is considered as the most notable representative of the school in its golden age. He chose the word as a commemoration of a King Atlas of Mauretania whom he considered to be the first great geographer and this King Atlas was a son of the Titan Atlas but the two myths very quickly coalesced. A large part of Mercators income came from the sales of his terrestrial and celestial globes, for sixty years they were considered to be the finest in the world, and they were sold in such great numbers that there are many surviving examples. This was a substantial enterprise involving making the spheres, printing the gores, building substantial stands and he was also renowned for his scientific instruments, particularly his astrolabes and astronomical rings used to study the geometry of astronomy and astrology. Mercator wrote on geography, philosophy, chronology and theology, all of the wall maps were engraved with copious text on the region concerned. As an example the famous map of 1569 is inscribed with over 5000 words in fifteen legends. His table of chronology ran to some 400 pages fixing the dates of earthly dynasties, major political and military events, volcanic eruptions and he also wrote on the gospels and the old testament. Mercator was a devout Christian born into a Catholic family at a time when Martin Luthers Protestantism was gaining ground and he never declared himself as a Lutheran but he was clearly sympathetic and he was accused of heresy. He spent six months in prison but he emerged unscathed and this period of persecution is probably the major factor in his move from Catholic Leuven to a more tolerant Duisburg where he lived for the last thirty years of his life. Gerardus Mercator was born Geert De Kremer, the child of Hubert De Kremer. Their home town was Gangelt in the Duchy of Jülich but, at the time of the birth, Hubert was a poor artisan, a shoemaker by trade, but Gisbert, a priest, was a man of some importance in the community. Their stay in Rupelmonde was brief and within six months returned to Gangelt. Six years later, in 1518, the Kremers moved back to Rupelmonde, possibly motivated by the conditions in Gangelt—famine, plague. Today, many Belgians and Germans still claim Mercator as their own, despite the lack of any evidence pertaining to the birthplace and background of his father, Hubert. Most modern scholars adopt a position, hesitating to assign a nationality to Mercator. After Huberts death in 1526, Gisbert became Mercators guardian, hoping that Mercator might follow him into the priesthood, he sent the 15 year old Geert to the famous school of the Brethren of the Common Life at s-Hertogenbosch in the Duchy of Brabant. Mercator would follow similar precepts later in life—with problematic outcomes, the Brethren were renowned for their scriptorum and here Mercator may have encountered the italic script which he employed in his later work
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Polynya
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A polynya /pəˈlɪnjə/ is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as term for an area of unfrozen sea within the ice pack. It is a loanword from Russian, полынья Russian pronunciation, which refers to an ice hole. In past decades, for example, some polynyas, such as the Weddell Polynya, have lasted over multiple winters and this reduces ice production and may stop it altogether. Latent heat polynya, is formed through the action of wind or ocean currents which act to drive ice away from a fixed boundary, such as a coastline, fast ice. The polynya forms initially by the first year pack ice being driven away from the coast and this new ice is then also herded downwind toward the first year pack ice. When it reaches the ice the new ice is consolidated onto the pack ice. The latent heat polynya is the water region between the coast and the ice pack. Latent heat polynyas are regions of ice production and therefore are possible sites of dense water production in both polar regions. The high ice production rates within these polynyas leads to an amount of brine rejection into the surface waters. This salty water then sinks and mixes to possibly form new water masses and it is an open question as to whether the polynyas of the Arctic can produce enough dense water to form a major portion of the dense water required to drive the thermohaline circulation. Some polynyas, such as the North Water Polynya between Canada and Greenland occur seasonally at the time and place each year. Because animals can adapt their strategies to this regularity, these types of polynyas are of special ecological research significance. In winter, marine mammals such as walruses, narwhals and belugas that do not migrate south, polar bears are known to be able to swim as far as 65 kilometres across open waters of a polynya. The presence of polynyas in McMurdo Sound in the Antarctic provides an area where penguins can feed. When submarines of the U. S. Navy made expeditions to the North Pole in the 1950s and 60s, there was a significant concern about surfacing through the thick pack ice of the Arctic Ocean. In 1962, both the USS Skate and USS Seadragon surfaced within the same, large polynya near the North Pole, lead North Water Polynya Weddell Polynya International North Water Polynya Study Polynya north of Alaska at NASA Earth Observatory
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Open Polar Sea
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The Open Polar Sea was a hypothesized ice-free ocean surrounding the North Pole. The theory that the polar region might be a practical sea route goes back to at least the 16th century when it was suggested by Robert Thorne. Explorers William Barents and Henry Hudson also believed in the Open Polar Sea, for a time, the theory was put aside due to the practical experience of navigators who encountered impenetrable ice as they went north. But the idea was revived again in the century by theoretical geographers such as Matthew F. Maury. It was believed that once a ship broke through the regions of ice that had stopped previous explorers. Since there is perpetual sun during the Arctic summer, it would all the ice. Russian explorers found large areas of water north of Spitzbergen. Extrapolation of temperature readings taken in subpolar regions indicated that the region of greatest cold would be at about 80° north instead of at the pole, migration patterns of certain animals seemed to suggest that the polar region was a hospitable place for them to live. The Open Polar Sea theory was debunked gradually by the failure of the expeditions in the 1810s through the 1880s to navigate the polar sea. Reports of open water by earlier explorers, such as Elisha Kent Kane and Isaac Israel Hayes, support faded when George W. De Long sailed USS Jeannette into the Bering Strait hoping to find an open gateway to the North Pole and was met by a sea of ice. After a long drift, pack ice crushed the Jeannette and her survivors returned home with first hand accounts of an ice-covered polar sea, other explorers such as British explorer George Nares confirmed this. By the time Fridtjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup drifted through the ice pack in Fram in 1893–1895. Although the North Pole itself could potentially remain ice-covered in winter, northwest Passage Superseded scientific theories Russell Potter, The Open Polar Sea, Encyclopedia of the Arctic Michael Robinson, The Coldest Crucible, Arctic Exploration and American Culture. S. S. J. K. Wright, The Open Polar Sea, Human Nature in Geography
34.
William Parry (explorer)
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His 1819 voyage through the Parry Channel was probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Passage. In 1827 he attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole, Parry was born in Bath, the son of Dr. Caleb Hillier Parry and Sarah Rigby. He was educated at King Edwards School, Bath, from 1813–1817 he served on the North American station. In 1818 he received command of the brig Alexander in the Arctic expedition under Captain John Ross and this expedition followed the coast of Baffin Bay without making any new discoveries. Parry and many thought that Ross was wrong to turn back after entering Lancaster Sound at the north end of Baffin Island. Partly as a result Parry was given command of a new expedition in the HMS Hecla accompanied by the slower HMS Griper under Matthew Liddon, others on the expedition were Edward Sabine, science officer and Frederick William Beechy. For protection from ice the ships were clad with 3-inch oak, had plates on their bows. They also carried food in tin cans, an invention so new that there were as yet no can openers, instead of taking Rosss easy route anti-clockwise around Baffin Bay he headed straight for Lancaster Sound. Fighting his way through ice he reached clear water on 28 July and he passed Rosss farthest west and kept going. Blocked by heavy ice, they went south for more than 100 miles into Prince Regent Inlet before turning back, continuing west they passed 110°W which entitled them to a £5,000 award offered by Parliament. Finally blocked by ice they turned back to a place Parry called Winter Harbour on the shore of Melville Island. Cutting their way through new ice the ships reached anchorage on 26 September, here they were frozen in for the next 10 months. There were three months of total darkness and in the new year the temperature reached −54 °F, the men were kept busy with regular exercise while the officers put on plays and produced a newspaper. The first case of scurvy was reported in January and by March fourteen men were on the sick list, there was some excitement in early March when the first melt water appeared, but by the end of the month the ice was still 6 feet thick. In June Parry led a group of men dragging a wooden cart to the shore of the island which he named Hecla. It was the first of August before the ships were able to out of the harbor. They got as far west as 113°46W before turning back and it was too late in the season and new ice was already beginning to form. They reached England in October 1820 having lost only one man,1819 was unusually ice-free and no ship was able to travel so far west until Edward Belchers expedition in 1850
35.
Polaris expedition
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The Polaris expedition was led by the American Charles Francis Hall, who intended it to be the first expedition to reach the North Pole. Sponsored by the United States government, it was one of the first serious attempts at the Pole, after that of British naval officer William Edward Parry, the expedition failed at its main objective, having been troubled throughout by insubordination, incompetence, and poor leadership. Under Halls command, the Polaris departed from New York City in June 1871, by October, the men were wintering on the shore of northern Greenland, making preparations for the trip to the Pole. Hall returned to the ship from an exploratory sledging journey, before he died, he accused members of the crew of poisoning him. An exhumation of his body in 1968 revealed that he had ingested a large quantity of arsenic in the last two weeks of his life, the expeditions notable achievement was reaching 82°29N latitude by ship, a record at the time. On the way southward, nineteen members of the expedition became separated from the ship, the damaged Polaris was run aground and wrecked near Etah, Greenland, in October 1872. The remaining men were able to survive the winter, and were rescued the following summer, a naval board of inquiry investigated Halls death, but no charges were ever laid. In 1827, William Edward Parry led a British Royal Navy expedition with the aim to be the first men to reach the North Pole, Hall had no special academic background or sailing experience, but he was a voracious reader with an obsession for the Arctic. After John Franklins 1845 expedition was lost, Halls focus was directed toward the Arctic and he was able to launch two expeditions in search of Franklin and his crew, one in 1860–63, and a second in 1864–69. These experiences established him as a seasoned Arctic explorer, and gave him valuable contacts among the Inuit people, the renown he gained eventually allowed him to convince the United States government to fund his third expedition, an attempt on the North Pole. In 1870, a bill was introduced in the Senate called the Arctic Resolution and he secured the U. S. Navy tugboat Periwinkle, a 387-ton screw-propelled steamer. At the Washington Navy Yard the ship was fitted as a topsail schooner. She was prepared for Arctic service by the addition of oak timber all over her hull. A new engine was added, and one of the boilers was retrofitted to burn seal or whale oil, the ship was also outfitted with four whaleboats,20 feet long and 4 feet wide, and a flat-bottomed scow. During his previous Arctic expeditions, Hall came to admire the Inuit umiak, food packed on board consisted of tinned ham, salted beef, bread and sailors biscuit. The men intended to supplement their diet with fresh muskox, seal and polar bear, in the spring of 1871, U. S. President Ulysses S. Grant had named Hall as overall commander of the expedition, and he was being referred to as Captain. Though Hall had abundant Arctic experience, he had no sailing experience, in selecting the officers and seamen, Hall relied heavily on whalers with experience in the Arctic. This was markedly different from the expeditions of the British Admiralty
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Charles Francis Hall
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Charles Francis Hall was an American Arctic explorer. Little is known of Halls early life and he was born in the state of Vermont, but while he was still a child his family moved to Rochester, New Hampshire, where, as a boy, he was apprenticed to a blacksmith. In the 1840s he married and drifted westward, arriving in Cincinnati, Ohio, there he went into business making seals and engraving plates, and later began to publish two small newspapers, The Cincinnati Occasional and The Daily Press. He got as far as Baffin Island, where the George Henry was forced to winter over, the Inuit told Hall of surviving relics from Martin Frobishers mining venture at Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island. Hall soon travelled there to see them first-hand, drawing upon the assistance of his newly found Inuit guides Ebierbing. Hall also learned what he interpreted as evidence that members of Franklins lost expedition might still be alive. On his return to New York, Hall arranged for Harper Brothers to publish his account of the expedition Arctic Researches and it was edited by a British mariner and writer William Parker Snow, who was also obsessed with the fate of Franklin. The two men fell out, and amongst other things Parker Snow later claimed Hall had used his ideas for the search for Franklin without giving him due credit. During 1863 Hall planned an expedition to seek more clues on the fate of Franklin. Finally, in July 1864 a very much smaller expedition departed in the whaler Monticello, during this second expedition to King William Island, he found remains and artifacts from the Franklin expedition, and made more inquiries about their fate from natives living there. Hall eventually realized that the stories of survivors had become garbled and unreliable and he also became disillusioned with the Inuit by the discovery that the remnants of Franklins expedition had deliberately been left to starve. He failed to consider that it would have impossible for the local population to support such a large group of supernumeraries. Halls third expedition was of a different character. He received a grant of $50,000 from the U. S. Congress to command an expedition to the North Pole in the ship Polaris. The party of 25 also included Halls old friend Budington as sailing master, George Tyson as navigator, and Dr. Emil Bessels, the expedition was troubled from the start as the party split into rival factions. Halls authority over the expedition was resented by a portion of the party. Polaris sailed into Thank God Harbor on September 10,1871 and that fall, upon returning to the ship from a sledging expedition with an Inuit guide, Hall suddenly fell ill after drinking a cup of coffee. He collapsed in what was described as a fit, for the next week he suffered from vomiting and delirium, then seemed to improve for a few days
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Royal Navy
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The Royal Navy is the United Kingdoms naval warfare force. Although warships were used by the English kings from the medieval period. The modern Royal Navy traces its origins to the early 16th century, from the middle decades of the 17th century and through the 18th century, the Royal Navy vied with the Dutch Navy and later with the French Navy for maritime supremacy. From the mid 18th century it was the worlds most powerful navy until surpassed by the United States Navy during the Second World War. The Royal Navy played a key part in establishing the British Empire as the world power during the 19th. Due to this historical prominence, it is common, even among non-Britons, following World War I, the Royal Navy was significantly reduced in size, although at the onset of the Second World War it was still the worlds largest. By the end of the war, however, the United States Navy had emerged as the worlds largest, during the Cold War, the Royal Navy transformed into a primarily anti-submarine force, hunting for Soviet submarines, mostly active in the GIUK gap. The Royal Navy is part of Her Majestys Naval Service, which includes the Royal Marines. The professional head of the Naval Service is the First Sea Lord, the Defence Council delegates management of the Naval Service to the Admiralty Board, chaired by the Secretary of State for Defence. The strength of the fleet of the Kingdom of England was an important element in the power in the 10th century. English naval power declined as a result of the Norman conquest. Medieval fleets, in England as elsewhere, were almost entirely composed of merchant ships enlisted into service in time of war. Englands naval organisation was haphazard and the mobilisation of fleets when war broke out was slow, early in the war French plans for an invasion of England failed when Edward III of England destroyed the French fleet in the Battle of Sluys in 1340. Major fighting was confined to French soil and Englands naval capabilities sufficed to transport armies and supplies safely to their continental destinations. Such raids halted finally only with the occupation of northern France by Henry V. Henry VII deserves a large share of credit in the establishment of a standing navy and he embarked on a program of building ships larger than heretofore. He also invested in dockyards, and commissioned the oldest surviving dry dock in 1495 at Portsmouth, a standing Navy Royal, with its own secretariat, dockyards and a permanent core of purpose-built warships, emerged during the reign of Henry VIII. Under Elizabeth I England became involved in a war with Spain, the new regimes introduction of Navigation Acts, providing that all merchant shipping to and from England or her colonies should be carried out by English ships, led to war with the Dutch Republic. In the early stages of this First Anglo-Dutch War, the superiority of the large, heavily armed English ships was offset by superior Dutch tactical organisation and the fighting was inconclusive
38.
British Arctic Expedition
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The British Arctic Expedition of 1875-1876, led by Sir George Strong Nares, was sent by the British Admiralty to attempt to reach the North Pole via Smith Sound. Two ships, HMS Alert and HMS Discovery, sailed from Portsmouth on 29 May 1875, although the expedition failed to reach the North Pole, the coasts of Greenland and Ellesmere Island were extensively explored and large amounts of scientific data were collected. On this expedition, Nares became the first explorer to take his ships all the way north through the channel between Greenland and Ellesmere Island to the Lincoln Sea. Up to this time, it had been a theory that this route would lead to the supposed Open Polar Sea, an ice-free region surrounding the pole. A sledging party under Commander Albert Hastings Markham set a new record Farthest North of 83°20 26N, the men suffered badly from scurvy and were hampered by inappropriate clothing and equipment. Realising that his men could not survive another winter in the ice, the expedition included Petty Officer Adam Ayles, after whom both the Ayles Ice Shelf and Mount Ayles are named. Other features named after the expedition include the Markham Ice Shelf, Nares Strait and Alert, Nunavut, pelham Aldrich was a lieutenant on the expedition and commanded the Western Sledge Party to Ellesmere Island, where Cape Aldrich was named in his honour. Archives are held at Scott Polar Research Institute, University of Cambridge, the RGS and the British Arctic Expedition, 1875-76. The Geographical Journal 143, pp. 200–210, project Naming, the identification of Inuit portrayed in photographic collections at Library and Archives Canada
39.
Albert Hastings Markham
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Admiral Sir Albert Hastings Markham, KCB was a British explorer, author, and officer in the Royal Navy. In 1903 he was made Knight Commander in the Order of the Bath and he died in London, England at the age of 76. He is also remembered for designing the flag of New Zealand, Albert Markham was the fifth son of Captain John Markham, who had retired from the navy because of ill health with the rank of lieutenant. John Markhams grandfather, William Markham, had been Archbishop of York, Albert was born in Bagnères-de-Bigorre in the Hautes-Pyrénées department of France, where the family lived before moving to a farm on Guernsey. At age thirteen Albert was sent to London to live with his aunt, neighbours included the explorer Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy and novelist William Thackeray. He was educated at home and at Eastmans Royal Naval Academy, Markhams father was short of money for his education and had for some time tried to find a naval officer willing to sponsor Albert for admission to the navy. He only succeeded in doing so after Albert had passed the entry age of fourteen. His aunts son Clements Markham, who was eleven years older than Albert, had joined the navy before leaving to become a geographer and explorer. He became a friend to his cousin Albert and exerted a considerable influence on his career. When away from Clements and his wife Minna, who for much of his life he regarded as his family, Albert was often moody, irritable. He had a sense of duty as a naval officer, which compelled him to serve with a strict adherence to rules and established practices. He did not smoke, allowing that a gentleman might have an occasional cigar, but believing that cigarettes were for effeminate weaklings and he did not drink and disapproved of those who did. He found it difficult to socialise with other officers and he disliked the peacetime navy, with its endless social engagements, partying and ritual displays. Markhams family emigrated to the United States and John Markham bought a farm at La Crosse in Wisconsin, Albert visited them twice and he was unimpressed. He found the slow, the hotels disreputable, and travelling companions murderous. He was impressed by the grandeur and wildlife of the Mississippi Valley and was invited to hunt with General Mackenzie in Indian territory. Throughout his life he enjoyed hunting all manner of beasts, the only killing at which he showed disgust was the drawn-out deaths of whales, which he saw on Arctic voyages. He married Theodora Gervers in 1894, with whom he had one daughter, Markham had no great conviction for a naval career, but accepted the constraints it placed upon him in return for the opportunities it presented to further his other interests
40.
United States Navy
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The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U. S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, the U. S. Navy has the worlds largest aircraft carrier fleet, with ten in service, two in the reserve fleet, and three new carriers under construction. The service has 323,792 personnel on duty and 108,515 in the Navy Reserve. It has 274 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of October 2016, the U. S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which was established during the American Revolutionary War and was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter. It played a role in the American Civil War by blockading the Confederacy. It played the role in the World War II defeat of Imperial Japan. The 21st century U. S. Navy maintains a global presence, deploying in strength in such areas as the Western Pacific, the Mediterranean. The Navy is administratively managed by the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Navy is itself a division of the Department of Defense, which is headed by the Secretary of Defense. The Chief of Naval Operations is an admiral and the senior naval officer of the Department of the Navy. The CNO may not be the highest ranking officer in the armed forces if the Chairman or the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The mission of the Navy is to maintain, train and equip combat-ready Naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, the United States Navy is a seaborne branch of the military of the United States. The Navys three primary areas of responsibility, The preparation of naval forces necessary for the prosecution of war. The development of aircraft, weapons, tactics, technique, organization, U. S. Navy training manuals state that the mission of the U. S. Armed Forces is to prepare and conduct prompt and sustained combat operations in support of the national interest, as part of that establishment, the U. S. Navys functions comprise sea control, power projection and nuclear deterrence, in addition to sealift duties. It follows then as certain as that night succeeds the day, that without a decisive naval force we can do nothing definitive, the Navy was rooted in the colonial seafaring tradition, which produced a large community of sailors, captains, and shipbuilders. In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Massachusetts had its own Massachusetts Naval Militia, the establishment of a national navy was an issue of debate among the members of the Second Continental Congress. Supporters argued that a navy would protect shipping, defend the coast, detractors countered that challenging the British Royal Navy, then the worlds preeminent naval power, was a foolish undertaking. Commander in Chief George Washington resolved the debate when he commissioned the ocean-going schooner USS Hannah to interdict British merchant ships, and reported the captures to the Congress
41.
George W. De Long
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George Washington De Long was a United States Navy officer and explorer. He led the ill-fated Jeannette Expedition in search of the Open Polar Sea, born in New York City, he was educated at the United States Naval Academy, and graduated in 1865. In 1879, backed by James Gordon Bennett, Jr, as well as collecting scientific data and animal specimens, De Long discovered and claimed three islands for the United States in the summer of 1881. The ship became trapped in the ice pack in the Chukchi Sea northeast of Wrangel Island in September 1879 and it drifted in the ice pack in a northwesterly direction until it was crushed in the shifting ice and sank on June 12,1881 in the East Siberian Sea. De Long and his crew then traversed the ice pack to try to reach Siberia pulling three small boats. After reaching open water on September 11 they became separated and one boat, commanded by Executive Officer Charles W. Chipp, was lost, De Longs own boat reached land, but only two men sent ahead for aid survived. The third boat, under the command of Chief Engineer George W. Melville, reached the Lena delta, De Long died of starvation near Matvay Hut, Yakutia, Siberia. Melville returned a few months later and found the bodies of De Long, overall, the doomed voyage took the lives of twenty expedition members, as well as additional men lost during the search operations. De Long and five of his men are buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx, three US Navy ships have been named USS DeLong in his honor, as were the De Long Mountains in northwest Alaska. In 1890, the officers and men of the United States Navy dedicated a monument to the memory of Lieut. George Washington De Long and the crew of the USS Jeannette, George Partridge Colvocoresses designed the monument — a cross with carved icicles hanging from it that sits atop a cairn. The 24-foot -high structure is in the U. S. Naval Academy Cemetery overlooking the Severn River, Jeannette Jeannette Arctic Expedition LT Charles W. Chipp
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