Novaya Zemlya

Nova Zemlya (Russian: Новая Земля Nóvaya Zemlyá 'New Earth') is an archipelago located in the Arctic of Russia, consisting of two large islands separated by the Matochkin Strait and a series of smaller islands. The two main islands are called Severny Island (meaning "northern island") and Yuzhny Island ("southern island"). Its total area is 90,650 km².

History

Nova Zemlya had been known to the Russians since the 11th century, when hunters from Novgorod visited the area. For Europeans Westerners, the search for the Northern Sea Route in the 16th century led to its exploration. Western European was that of Hugh Willoughby in 1553, who encountered Russian ships of the established game trade. The Dutch explorer Willem Barents reached the west coast of Novaya Zemlya in 1594, and on a subsequent expedition in 1596 rounded the tip north and wintered on the northeast coast (Barents died during the expedition and may have been buried on North Island). During a later voyage by Fyodor Lütke in 1821–24, the west coast was charted. Henry Hudson was another explorer who passed through Novaya Zemlya in search of the Northeast Passage.

The island was systematically surveyed by Pyotr Pákhtusov and Avgust Tsivolko in the early 1830s. The first permanent settlement was established in 1870 at Málye Karmakuly, which served as the capital of Novaya Zemlya until 1924. Later, the center administrative office was transferred to Belushya Gubá and in 1935 to Lágernoe, but later returned to Belushya Gubá.

A small number of Nenets were resettled to Novaya Zemlya in the 1870s in an attempt by Russia to keep the Norwegians out. The population, then 298 individuals, withdrew to the mainland in 1957 before nuclear testing began.

In 1943, during World War II, Novaya Zemlya briefly served as a secret seaplane base for the Kriegsmarine to provide German surveillance of Allied ships en route to Siberia. The seaplane base was established by the ships U-255 and U-711, which were operating along the northern coast of Russia as part of the 13. Unterseebootsflottille. Seaplane sorties were flown in August and September 1943.

Nuclear tests in Novaya Zemlya

On September 17, 1954, the Novaya Zemlya Test Site was created. The USSR installed a nuclear missile test facility there. From 1955 to 1990, 224 nuclear tests were carried out. This is where the most powerful hydrogen bomb ever made, the Tsar Bomba (Tsar Bomba), was tested. The light energy was so powerful that it could be seen even at a distance of 1,000 km, under cloudy skies. The shock wave was powerful enough to shatter thick glass even more than 900 km from the explosion, and was recorded on three separate occasions around the Earth. The mushroom cloud produced by the explosion rose to an altitude of 64,000 meters before leveling off. The thermal energy was so great that it could have caused third degree burns to a person within 100 km of the explosion.

Demographics

Its total population is 2,777 (2002 census), of whom 2,622 reside in Belushya Guba, an urban settlement that is the administrative center of Novaya Zemlya District. The islands have just over 150 Samoyed aboriginal inhabitants.

Geography

The archipelago forms the northernmost border of Europe in the Arctic Ocean. It is also the eastern border of the Barents Sea and the western one of the Kara Sea. In the latter are the mouths of two of the most important Siberian rivers, the Ob and the Yeniséi, which influences the humid climate of the islands.

The almost uninhabited archipelago consists mainly of two large islands (called North and South) and some smaller islands. The approximate maximum length between the extreme points of both islands is almost 900 km, and they are located at a distance of 470 and 1175 km respectively from the Arctic Circle. The main islands are:

• Séverny Island or North, it is between the 73rd and the 77th North latitude. With its 48 904 km2 it is the fourth largest island in Europe and the 30th in the world and reaches the 1590 m high in its north end. It is fully covered with ice (glaciers).

• Yuzhny Island or South Island, it is between 71o and 73o north latitude. It is with its 33 275 km2 the sixth largest island in Europe and the 40th in the world and reaches 1342 m. Compared to the North Island, it has glaciers only at its highest altitudes and the rest are tundra areas.

• Mezhdusharski Island, the third island by size, although much smaller than the previous one (742 km2). It is located on the western edge of Yuzhny Island.

The two largest islands are relatively mountainous, as they constitute the last foothills of the Ural Mountains. They contain important deposits of zinc, copper, and tin.

Climate

The climate is influenced by the Kara Sea and the currents of the rivers that flow into it. In general, it has long winters with polar temperatures, snow storms and constant rainfall. The western coast of Novaya Zemlya is snow-free for only a few weeks in summer.

Average climate parameters of New Zembla (1991-2020)
Month	Ene.	Feb.	Mar.	Open up.	May.	Jun.	Jul.	Ago.	Sep.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.	Annual
Temp. max. abs. (°C)	2.6	1.7	2.4	7.8	17.6	22.2	28.3	23.8	16.5	9.7	4.5	2.5	28.3
Average temperature (°C)	-9.9	-10.3	-8.6	-5.2	-0.7	5.3	10.4	9.1	6.0	0.5	-3.9	-6.8	-1.2
Average temperature (°C)	-12.8	-13.2	-11.4	-8.1	-2.9	3.1	7.7	7.0	4.4	-1.2	-6.1	-9.4	-3.6
Temp. medium (°C)	-15.7	-16.1	-14.2	-10.8	-4.9	1.4	5.6	5.2	2.8	-3.1	-8.4	-12.1	-5.9
Temp. min. abs. (°C)	-36.0	-37.4	-40.0	-29.9	-25.9	-9.6	-2.8	-1.7	-9.9	-21.1	-29.1	-36.2	-40.0
Total precipitation (mm)	23	22	20	18	15	22	36	32	36	33	23	25	305
Days of rain (≥ 1 mm)	1	1	1	1	3	10	15	17	19	9	3	2	82
Days of snowfall (≥ 1 mm)	18	18	19	17	17	10	1	1	6	17	19	20	163
Hours of sun	0	25	107	215	189	173	229	143	73	40	3	0	1197
Relative humidity (%)	78	77	77	76	78	81	83	83	85	82	79	78	79.8
Source #1: Погода и климат
Source No. 2: NOAA (sun only, 1961-1990)

Economy and research

Fishing and hunting of prized fur animals (polar fox, polar wolf and polar bear) play an important role in the economy of the aboriginal populations of the archipelago.

There are mines where coal and copper are extracted, the construction sector generates work and also the positions of state employees, geologists, geographers, meteorologists and other people who work the observation and research posts that on these islands has Russia.

There are several research stations on the islands where meteorological and geophysical phenomena are studied, especially those related to wind and sea currents, the Earth's magnetic field and the northern lights.