From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Uninhabited island in Russian Arctic
Severny Island
(
Russian
:
Се?верный о?стров
,
romanized
:
Severnyy ostrov
,
lit.
'Northern Island') is a Russian
Arctic island
. It is the northern island of the
Novaya Zemlya
archipelago.
It was historically called Lutke Land after
Friedrich Benjamin von Lutke
, who explored it. It lies approximately 400 km north of the
Russian
mainland. It has an area of 48,904 square kilometres (18,882 sq mi), making it the
30th-largest island in the world
[1]
and the 3rd-largest
uninhabited island
in the world. It is part of
Russian Arctic National Park
.
[2]
Geography
[
edit
]
Severny Island is separated from
Yuzhny Island
(
Southern
) by the narrow
Matochkin Strait
. Forty percent of the island is covered by the
Severny Island ice cap
, which is the largest glacier by area and by volume in Europe (if counted as part of it).
[3]
Severny Island is known for its numerous
glaciers
.
[4]
Cape Flissingsky
is the easternmost point of Severny Island.
Climate
[
edit
]
Severny Island has a cold
tundra climate
(
Koppen climate classification
ET
), with average temperatures barely reaching the freezing mark in the warmest months. The temperature varies from ?5 to ?37 °C (23 to ?35 °F) in winter to ?9 to 5 °C (16 to 41 °F) in summer.
Climate data for Severny Island
|
Month
|
Jan
|
Feb
|
Mar
|
Apr
|
May
|
Jun
|
Jul
|
Aug
|
Sep
|
Oct
|
Nov
|
Dec
|
Year
|
Mean maximum °C (°F)
|
?7
(19)
|
?7
(19)
|
?6
(21)
|
?4
(25)
|
?1
(30)
|
3
(37)
|
5
(41)
|
4
(39)
|
1
(34)
|
?1
(30)
|
?4
(25)
|
?5
(23)
|
5
(41)
|
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
|
?19
(?2)
|
?18
(0)
|
?15
(5)
|
?12
(10)
|
?6
(21)
|
?2
(28)
|
0
(32)
|
?1
(30)
|
?3
(27)
|
?8
(18)
|
?13
(9)
|
?17
(1)
|
?9
(15)
|
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
|
?26
(?15)
|
?25
(?13)
|
?23
(?9)
|
?19
(?2)
|
?10
(14)
|
?5
(23)
|
?2
(28)
|
?4
(25)
|
?6
(21)
|
?13
(9)
|
?20
(?4)
|
?24
(?11)
|
?15
(6)
|
Mean minimum °C (°F)
|
?37
(?35)
|
?36
(?33)
|
?34
(?29)
|
?29
(?20)
|
?18
(0)
|
?9
(16)
|
?6
(21)
|
?8
(18)
|
?12
(10)
|
?22
(?8)
|
?30
(?22)
|
?35
(?31)
|
?37
(?35)
|
Average
precipitation
mm (inches)
|
24
(0.9)
|
28
(1.1)
|
31
(1.2)
|
33
(1.3)
|
33
(1.3)
|
38
(1.5)
|
44
(1.7)
|
47
(1.9)
|
62
(2.4)
|
64
(2.5)
|
42
(1.7)
|
32
(1.3)
|
478
(18.8)
|
Average precipitation days
(≥ 0.1 mm)
|
11.1
|
11.1
|
13.4
|
14.7
|
14.8
|
13.8
|
12.9
|
14.2
|
18.8
|
20.1
|
15.6
|
14.3
|
174.8
|
Average snowy days
|
11.1
|
11.1
|
13.4
|
14.6
|
14.7
|
12.1
|
7.5
|
8.6
|
15.9
|
19.8
|
15.5
|
14.3
|
158.6
|
Source:
Meteoblue
[5]
|
Ice cap and glaciers
[
edit
]
Unlike Yuzhny Island, Severny has an inner
ice cap
with numerous
glaciers
, most of which have their terminus on the eastern or western shore of the island.
[6]
History
[
edit
]
The cape of
Sukhoy Nos
, located at the southern end of the island, was used for nuclear weapons testing between 1958 and 1961. The
Tsar Bomba
hydrogen bomb test on October 30, 1961 destroyed all buildings in the village of Severny (both wooden and brick).
[7]
The village was located 55 kilometres (34 miles) from ground zero within the Sukhoy Nos test range. Tsar Bomba was the most powerful nuclear weapon detonated and was the most powerful anthropogenic explosion in human history. It had a yield of 50
megatons
of TNT, scaled down from its maximum 100 megaton design yield.
[8]
Severny is now the site of a
Russian Army
base and has a
harbor
.
There is a meteorological station at
Cape Zhelaniya
, Severny's northernmost cape.
[9]
Gallery
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Romanenko, F.; Shilovtseva, O. (1995).
Russian-Soviet polar stations and their role in the Arctic Seas exploration
.
- ^
"Territories - Russian Arctic National Park"
.
www.rus-arc.ru
. Retrieved
8 October
2017
.
- ^
Zeeberg, J. J. "Climate and Glacial History of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago".
Russian Arctic
: 82?84.
- ^
Staalesen, Atle.
"Børge Ousland heads for Novaya Zemlya"
. BarentsObserver
. Retrieved
24 September
2016
.
- ^
Meteoblue
,
Climate & weather data for Severny Island
.
www.meteoblue.com
- ^
J. J. Zeeberg,
Climate and Glacial History of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago, Russian Arctic
.
- ^
"Big Ivan, The Tsar Bomba ('King of Bombs')"
.
nuclearweaponarchive.org
. Nuclear Weapon Archive
. Retrieved
13 April
2016
.
- ^
Khalturin, Vitaly I.; Rautian, Tatyana G.; Richards, Paul G.; Leith, William S. (2005).
"A Review of Nuclear Testing by the Soviet Union at Novaya Zemlya, 1955?1990"
(PDF)
.
Science and Global Security
.
1
(13): 1?42.
Bibcode
:
2005S&GS...13....1K
.
doi
:
10.1080/08929880590961862
.
S2CID
122069080
. Retrieved
24 September
2016
.
- ^
Zeeberg, Jaap Jan; Floore, Pieter (2005).
Into the Ice Sea: Barents' Wintering on Novaya Zemlya: A Renaissance Voyage of Discovery
. Netherlands: JaapJan Zeeberg and Rijksmuseum.
ISBN
9789051707878
. Retrieved
24 September
2016
.
|
---|
100,000 km
2
(38,610 sq mi) and greater
| | |
---|
20,000?99,999 km
2
(7,722?38,610 sq mi)
| |
---|