SOVIET ACTIVITIES IN THE ARCTIC AND ANTARCTIC (6)
Document Type:
Collection:
Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):
CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Release Decision:
RIPPUB
Original Classification:
U
Document Page Count:
14
Document Creation Date:
December 22, 2016
Document Release Date:
July 15, 2011
Sequence Number:
109
Case Number:
Publication Date:
October 26, 1956
Content Type:
REPORT
File:
Attachment | Size |
---|---|
![]() | 1.07 MB |
Body:
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15 :CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
~ Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
SOVIET ACTIVITIES IN TAE ARCTIC AND Ah'PARCTIC (6)
[Comment: Soviet Activities in the Arctic and Antarctic is a bi- '
monthly report presenting information extracted from Soviet newspapers,
periodicals, end books. This report includes information published up
to 4 September 1956.
The report covers all Soviet activities in the Arctic and Antarctic
with the exception of commercial shipping, which appears in the Summery
aeries T_ransportatlon, Communications Electric Power end Construction
in the USSR
All temperatures in this report are given in degrees centigrade.
Numbers in parentheses refer to appended sources.
This is the final issue of Soviet Activities in the Arctic and Ant-
arctic. It will be replaced by the bimonthly report Activities in the
Arctic and Antarctic, which will deal with the same sub,Ject matter es
the current report but will include information on all nations operating
within the polar regions.)
Drift Stations
G. Silin, meteorologist at Severnyy Polyus-5, reported in August that the
station geophysicist and astronomer L. Zhigalov had completed 680 series of abso-
lute observations on elements of the earth's magnetism. Zhigalov is taking part
in his first polar expedition, having completed formal studies at Leningrad State
University ,Just last year.
On 9 August, Silin reported the coordinates of Severnyy Polyus-5 to be 83-54 N
and 73-39 E and ocean depths to be averaging 3,400 meters. (1)
On 7 July Severnyy Polyus-4 was ,Just 12-13 kilometers from the geographic
pole. The stationa's latest observed latitude at this time was 8
9-53-06 N. (2j
Observations made at Severnyy polyus-3 in 1954 and 1955 indicate that polar
sea ice moves, on the average, et one fiftieth the speed of the wind, end drift
direction is 30 degrees to the right of wind direction.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Air temperatures during the drift xere as Polloxs:
Year and Month
Mean Monthl
y
Maximum
1954
April
-19.6
-7.0
:.fay
-1~ .3
-3.0
June
_2,0
+1.8
July
-0.4
+1.3
August
-1.5
+1.0
September
-9.5
+0.0
October
-14.2
-0.2
November
-27.5
-7.4
December
_30.4
-11.9
1955
January
-33,7
-20.0
February
-3f~,g
-14.4
March
-29.1
-8.5
-29,0
-21.0
-11.0
-2.9
-9.4
-32.5
-30.9
-38.4
-46.1
-45.9
-46.0
-45.5
A year's cycle of aerological observations vas completed for the first time
in the Central Arctic by the staff of Severnyy Polyus-3. Radiosondes were launched
twice a dey which gathered dots on air temperature, pressure, end humidity at dif-
ferent altitudes.
These observations permitted the staff to study the structure of the atmos-
phere end processes in the lower stratosphere during the passage of various air
masses over the Central Arctic. During the winter period, a permanent, sharp tem-
perature inversion was found in the lower layer of the troposphere, sometimes oc-
cupying the layer up to 3,000 meters, with eir temperatures Sn the upper part of
this layer 15-20 degrees warmer than the temperature at the ice. It was established
also that the lower limit of the Gr.rA+?~,,,,e,.e s....L ._ __, _. _ _
-,~~~ w=~? e. witn the intrusion of a warm air mesa Prom
the Atlantic or Pacific into the cent.rAl e,.,.r~,. ?~.. ~_________
may vary from year to year and season to season-dew-~? goy ? wi cne stratospnere
the atmosphere. , Pending on cyclonic activity in
'"~~...-+.(:~5.'h-..a y.~.s=r".aes .Y~'- _..'L~~:v... ~.~~. ~-'~ ~..~,3- ,ss;~ ?m;+ ~, fm~:va uw...6..;..'a-,.,?_..ow4ar~i -~~:-a~:as '.-~u~~,-....i.-? ,.~z-~ar,.~,,.rv~ .>_..:_-,-~~t..s~?~!
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Observations made oa solar heat at high latitudes indicate that melting of
snow'and ice in the spring-summer period results mainly from direct solar radio=
tioa. Previous observations on radiation balance in more southerly latitudes led
to the belief that the magnitude of radiation balance decreased with an increase
in latitude. Direct observationo at Severnyy Polyus-3 near the Pole, hoi+ever, in-
dicated that this hypothesis xas applicable only up to the 75th parallel. In
higher latitudes, the magnitude of the heat balance increased. Observations at
Severnyy Polyus-3 shored the heat balance in 1954 end 1955 to be positive, amount-
ing to 8 large calories per square centimeter.
Studies on geology of the ocean bottom were carried out by means of bottom
sediment collections and depth measurements. Ordinarily, bottom cores were taken
2-3 times a month, but during periods whe^ depths were changing sharply, they were
taken 4-5 times a month. All together, 34 cares xere obtained. Since the station
crossed the range lmeni Lomonosov near the North Pole, soundings made there pro-
duced a more detailed picture of the outline of this range, and in addition two
spurs xere discovered lying 2,580 meters and 2,720 meters below the surface of the
ocean. The slope of these spurs appeared to be less severe then the slope of the
primary range.
Bottom studies shored that in the deep xa*,er depressions lying along the range
imeni Lomonosov, the bottom ues clay silt, while on the range itself the bottom was
sand silt.
Water temperatures recorded at the station xere as folloxs: (3)
Station In Pacific Stetlon in Atlantic
De ression p
(88-44N, 205-56E) (89 33Nre~s55~48E)
2 Aug_~4-- 29 nug 54
Temperature Sa linity Temperature Salinity
Depth (meters) (dr;~rees) (Pzr mill) 3egrees r mill
5 -1.54 3.67 -1.60 30.44
to -1.55 30.67 -1.61 30.44
25 -1.56 30.73 -1.60 30.46
50 -1.63 31.44 -1,58 31.99
60 -1.53 31..97 -1.54 32.20
100 -1,42 32.77 -1.40 33.23
150 -1=39 34.10 -0.97 34.28
200 -0.60 34.51 -0.28 34.61
300 +0.28 34.76 t 0.93 34.87
400 +0.50 34.86 +0.86 34.88
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
STAT
Station in Pacific
Depression
Station in Atlantic
Depression
(88-44N, 205-56E)
(A9-33N, 255-48E)
2 Aug
54 ~
29 Aug 54
Depth (meters)
Temperature
(degrees)
Salinity
er mill
Temperature
de rees)
Salinity
r mill
500
+0.54
34.87
+0.57
34.89
750
+0.12
34.88
-0.03
34.88
1,000
-0.07
34.88
-0.32
34.90
1,500
-0.34
34.93
-o.5i+
34.91
2,000
-0.40
34.94
-0.72
34.92
2,500
-0.40
34.94
-0.78
34.92
3,000
-0.37
34.94
-0.79
34.93
3,500
-0.34
34.94
-0.72
34.93
3,900
-0.30
34.94
--
--
4,000
--
--
-0.63
34.95
4,120
--
--
-0.64
34.95
Expedition to Northern Pacific and Bering Sea
For almost 7 months (from the end of April to the beginning of November 1955),
an expedition of the Institute of Oceanology, Academy of Sciences USSR, working
with the Pacific Ocean Scientific Research Institute of Marine Fish Economy and
Oceanography and representatives of many other scientific organizations, operated
in the Bering Sea and waters around the Kurile Islands.
The program of the expedition, with hydrologists, geologists, meteorologists,
and zoologists participating, included complex studies on the biology ,.nd distribu-
tion of Cetacea in the southwestern part of the Sea of Okhotsk, the waters around
the Kurile Islands, and the central part of the Bering Sea; hydrologic survey and
research on plankton distribution in these areas; the distribution of the far east-
ern dolphin in Kurile Island waters; and the biology of the sea lion (Eumetopias
,jubsta).
The Ministry of Fishing Industry USSR put two small, 680-ton-displacement sail-
motor schooners at the disposal of the expedition. One of them, the Krylatka, oper-
ated in the waters around the Kurile islands and in the southwestern part of the Sea
of Okhotsk, while the second ship, the Nerpa, worked in the Bering Sea and at the
end of the season in Kurile waters also.
During the time of the expedition, the ships covered about 31,500 kilometers
altogether. Research was carried out not only at sea, but also at shore bases
where whaling ships deliver whales for dismemberment and proscessing. On islands
organized for collecting data on the morphology, feeding, and reproduction of whales
encountered in nearby waters. In addition, 45 landings were made on almost all the
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
c
ceeded into the Pacific. cean, after which the ship pro-
In the Pacific, the ship sailed along the southern side of the Aleutians as
far as 180 E, and then revrt?anA ...,..,.~., .._., __~_ .
It should be noted that this was the first time complex research had been
carried out in the central part of the Bering Sea.
After taking on fuel and fresh water is Bukhta Provideniya, the Nerpe crossed
the Bering Sea from north to south, repeating some of the stations obtained earlier
for purposes of verification.
In Proliv Blizhniy, a series of observations was carried out on the interchange
of waters between the Bering Sea sad the Pacifi
0
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
r
h
~ e e Bering Sea. Moving to the north of the
Aleutians ea far ae 170 W, the Nerpe stopped each 30 miles to take water tempera'
ture and salinity measurements, to collect plankton samples, and to do other work.
After reaching 170 W, the ship turned north about 100 miles and then set its course
to the west. Moving further north each time, it subsequently crossed the entire
Bering Sea three times more from the Koryakskiy Bereg to the 170th parallel (See
chart below.)
The expeditionary ship Nerpe began hydrologic surveying, plankton gathering,
and observations of marine animals from Mys Afrika, rounded the Komandorakiye
Ostrova to the north and ente
d t
Voyage of the Expeditionary Ship
Nerpe in the Bering Sea, 1955?
(Pointe Indicate Stations)
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release
The group arrived et the Kolyma and began work under difficult conditions,
due particularly to the scarcity of transport. The detachment had at its dis-
posal only one 5-80 tractor and two dog teams. Under difficult meteorological
conditions, with temperatures as low as 38 degrees belox zero, the party lived
on the ice by the xeek in ordinary canvas tents while performing difficult work
in observing ocean depths from the ice.
Exploring one section of the sea or another, they moved 20-30 kilometers
a day on foot. Difficulties xere compounded by the absence of
marks throughout the area studied, a distance of about 100 kilometers,candnWark
cannot be carried out without these. Working in low air temperatures end dur-
in8 purgae and snowstorms, engineer-hydrographer B. Vul'fovlch, technician-
hYdroBrapher A. Zboynov, worker V. Khryakov, and others built geodetic b
marks and froze them in the
c
, gafonov, and B.
There were certain other factors xhich inhibited the xork of the expedition
also, and one of these in particular should be noted. Although the 2u'drographic
expedition has completed basic xork on the seas of the Soviet Arctic over a per_
iod of many years and the material so gathered has gone into charts and sailing
directions, the detachments of the expedition still lack mechanical transport
(tractors, cross-country vehicles, helicopters), (5)
Automatic Drift Stations for Arctic Use
Yu. Alekseyev has been highly successful in designing an automatic drift
station for use in the Arctic area,
Working with other members of the new technology laboratory of the Arctic
Institute, Alekseyev developed the automatic installation currently in use
knoxn
originalldesign xithca^ adaptersxhich mainteins~ittinsa8verticleapositionoregard-
less of the unevenness of the surface cn xhich it is placed.
The equipment is delivered by aircraft to the Arctic Basin, where it is set
uP on the ice. Left alone, the installation begins to send radio bearings on a
definite schedule end on a fixed frequency.
Receiving these signals, observers at shore stations can establish the co-
ordinates of the beacons with sufficient accuracy for plotting their position
(withi^ one-half degree), and since these plottings are made continuously, the
movement of the beacons and therefore of ice in the central polar basin can be
traced.
were made b -
e. In the final stages of the work, contributions
A. Zbo Y Z? Lipovka, B. Vul'fovSch, A. Koetromin, V. Vinogradov, V. Luk-yanov,
Semenovnov, B? Stogov, A. Buldakov, V, Koatyk, A. Vlasov M A
any time desired, ~- -~~~? "'' zne liaRMS may be called by a shore station at
Having received a call, the installation transmits its call
letters, followed by the information recorded b
y Its meteorological instruments:
barometric pressure, air temperature, and xfnd ,~t..e.,..__ __.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
One of these beacons was delivered to the Arctic for the first time in the
spring of 1952 by plekaeyev and Felieov aboard an aircraft piloted by V. Perov.
It was set up on an Ice floe in the Taymyr Ice Mass, 250 miles northeast of Mys
Chelyuskin. Fundamentally, this beacon operated very well.
Shortly after this
the s
,
cope of experimentation was expanded, and several
such workhethiscwas not ecompletedtwithoutslossese 1^ the Arctic Basin. Like all
down and disappeared without a trace, while others operated and continue toroper-
ate satisfactorily. One of the beacons, For example, vas set up oa 8 May 1955
to the northwest of the Novosibirskiye Ostrova, and it continues to operate with
no maintenance. Alekseyev beacons have operated for many months without diffi-
culty in the Kara, Taymyr, and Ayon ice masses and in the Central Arctic.
Work is continuing on perfecting and improving the DAiULS. Zt is planned,
for example, to equip the installation to transmit information on humidity of
the air and even hydrological information -- sea water temperature, speed and
direction of currents, and possibly even soundings in the drift area, The level
of contemporary electronics development should permit the early attainment of
these aims.
Navigational conditions were extremely difficult this year in the arctic
seas. July vas unusually cold, and along the entire northern coast of Asia
steady northerly winds were observed, although easterly and southerly winds usu-
ally prevail during this time of the year.
In the opinion of specialists, the change in wind direction resulted from
synoptic processes unusual for the Arctic.
Ordinarily, a high-pressure area is located over the pole of relative in-
accessibility during June and July, bringing relatively warm easterly and south-
easterly winds to the Soviet arctic seas. This year, however, a low-pressure
area was observed, bringing northerly and northwesterly winds. Under the InfLu-
ence of these winds, a massive displacement of pack ice to the south occurred
and ice thinned out Sn the central pert of the Arctic Basin. This is easily
verified by the movement of the drift stations and the radio beacons. Severnyy
Polyus-6 began its drift Sn the spring at the ']5th parallel, north of Ostrow
Vrangelya. From April to the beginning of June, it drifted about 200 miles to
the northwest, then in June and July it returned to its original location.
Severnyy polyus-5 moved along the drift track of the C -~1~ Sedov, reaching
~-50 N, then it too turned to the south and is now located at the 84th parallel,
less than 150 miles from Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa.
Arctic,1evashalso unususler Thepstetion~aloceted in the Canadian sector of the
land or Greenland, but it turned suddenly andereturnedhtodthe Sovletesectorl(the
eastern hemisphere).
Drift action of the Alekseyev beacons was similar. The beacon set in the
Ayon Ice Mass drifted more than 200 miles through the ProLiv Longs, passing from
the East Siberian Sea to the Chukchee Sea and moving almost 2 degrees of latitude
hadtbeenofollouing thecdriftnof the Frami(northveste~loperated since spring 1955
mid-June 1956 it also began to move south from the 84th) since play 1955, but in
Gated south of the 81st parallel. (6) Parallel and is now 1a-
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Oceanographic Expedition in Arctic
The diesel-electric ship Obis now in the high latitudes of the Arctic
Ocean carrying out an oceanographic expedition of the Arctic Scientific Re-
search Institute. The expedition also includes workers from the Zoological
Institute and Microbiological Institute of the Academy of Sciences USSR, and
the State Astronomical Institute Smeni P. K. Shternberg.
On this voyage, the Ob' is under the command of Captain Nikolay Fedorovich
Inyushkin, who was aboard the Lena on its voyage to the Antarctic. Ris present
crew includes the following men vho also made the trip tc the Antarctic last
year: N. Sviridov, chief mate; B. Chirkov, chief electrical engineer; V. Kaynov~
second assistant engineer; A. E7ezgovorov, chief radioman; P. Tsvetkov, boatswain;
and N. Afim'in, seaman.
Other participants in the expedition, including expedition chief L. Balak-
shin, geographer Ys. Gakkel', biologist P. Gavrilov, and hydrochemist Ye. Bely-
sheva, have taken part in many similar trips to the north.
The scientific part of the expedition is under the direction of Ya. Gakkel'.
One of the basic tasks of this scientific group is the study of water and heat ex-
change between the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific oceans. Connected with this prob-
lem is the question of atmospheric processes end ice cover in the Arctic Ocean,
which affect Europe and Asia and consequently the Northern Sea Route. For this
question, observations are being made in the northern part of the Greenland Sea.
The work program this year includes research to the north of Spitsbergen sad
Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa, where the varm Spitsbergen and the cold East Greenland cur-
rents will be studied, in addition to research on relief and geological structure
of the ocean bottom in the area of the so-called Nansen threshold.
The program of the Ob' includes removal of a group of polar vorkers from the
drift station Severnyy Polyus-5 for return to the mainland.
After leaving Leningrad, the Ob' stopped in Stockholm, where Swedish scien-
tists, Walter Schytt and Erik Eriksson, and a Norwegian, Joergen Shumacher, ,joined
the expedition.
The first hydrologic traverse was completed along the 78th parallel of lati-
tude. Despite the ice moving down from the north, the ship crossed the entire
Greenland Sea along this parallel.
A group of eynoptocista under the direction of Rogozin have provided the ex-
pedition with regular veather forecasts.
Zn late August, the ship vas proceeding to the unstudied northvestern part
of the Greenland Sea. On the night of 28 August, the Ob' vas connected by radio-
telephone with the Antarctic station Mirnyy, p 30-minute conversation was held,
though the two points were 20,000 kilometers apart. (7)
The Ob' is carrying a large group of students from the Aigher Marine Engineer-
versitv~oandmthP uv~~^mMakaFov, the geographic school of the Leningrad State Uni-
The expedition will return to the USSR in October. (8)
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Workers of the low-temperature laboratory at the Arctic Institute use test
chambers and a large test basin to carry out their ice research,' The test basin
is kept frozen and small ship models are placed in it to study icebreaker oper-
ation. Studies on the ice itself are also carried out there.
The laboratory is directed by Doctor of Geographic Sciences I. S.
skiy and Engr A. A, yakovlev. Workers at the laboratory extend their work in
the teat basin to the Arctic itself. laboratory workers I, Peshchan-
Yakovlev, yu. D, Nazlntsev, and N. V. Chere G? Petrov, G. N.
Polyue-4, studying the thermal re ~AOV are now working at Severnyy
questions. (g) Bime and structure oP the ice cover and other
Geophysical Expedition Departs for Arctic
The first group of an expedition from the Main Geophysical Observator
A? I. Voyeykov departed for Severnyy polyus-4 from Moscow on 6 Jul
under the direction of Prof D. L. Ls Y imenY
with some new a ui Ykhtman, the expedition has been p~ogideded
water pyranometers~fortmeasuring radiationvinothe iceiandninuthe waterlbelownaad
special installations with photo-registers which will permit automatic tempera_
ture determinations at various levels. (10
The group flew north in polar Aviation aircraft SSSR N-443 with a crew com-
posed of N. Samusev, pilot; A. Strel'tsov, copilot; G. Mal' an
Glybin, flight engineer; and A, Vorob'yev, radioaan,
Y ,navigator; A,
In addition to carrying the expedition members, the plane delivered cargo
waYbofhLeningr d, pArk~hangelnskSeandnOstrov Diksonrea(li;g the Arctic Basin by .
Ice Surve and Escort Fli hts
An IL-12 aircraft piloted by I. C. Bakhtinov Left N,oscow for the Arctic on
15'June. This was the first of s group of aircraft assigned the task of doing
ice survey in the Kara Sea end then proceeding to the western Arctic to aid the
first ship convoys sailing ^long the Northern Sea Route from west to east, (~)
Arctic Institute Lov-Tam rature Lsborator
Arctic Tour Com leted b Soviet Children
~~+~? ?rne children sailed throw-hythe+White,eBarentstoand
Kara seas and visited Arkhangelsk, Khabarovo. AmAormg . ..
and Ostrov Dtk~..., ,.,~ ~.
ANTARCTIC
Antarctic which will?leaveethe US Rtthistfall.foT?agnew`Soviet expedition to the
istration nP rr,e n......
- ?+++ oea xoute, aeny institutes ofYthe AcademymofnSciences
USSR, the Central Aerological Observatory, the r .,+,.e, ..
and menu othu? ..,,. __~ . ,.. _--
STAT
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
The continental component of this expedition will be under the direction
of A. F. Treahnikov. (14)
Activities at Mirnyv and Pionerakave
In accordance with decisions of the Scientific Council on Antarctic Research
of the Academy of Sciences USSR, supplementary research has already 'begun at
Mirnyy with the dispatch of four parties from the base camp. In early August,
these parties began observations from four temporary stations built on a line
perpendicular tc the shore and following the 93d meridian, on which Mirnyy is
located.
The first of these stations was set up on the ice plateau, P5 kilometers
from Mirnyy at en altitude of 600 meters above sea level. This station was
manned by meteorologist V. Babarykin and aerial photographer N. Malyutin.
The second station was organized on the plateau slso,-but at a distance of
10 kilometers from Mirnyy at an elevation of 400 meters. Observations were made
at this base by aerial navigator V. Tulin and helicopter commander N. Shoain.
The third station was set up on fast ice of the Davis Sea, 14 kilometers
from shore. Magnitologist M. Pogrebnikov, radioman A. Che1'shev, end Izv~sti~
correspondent 0. Stroganov lived In a portable but at this camp.
The fourth station was built on the coast, 5 kilometers to the west of
Mirnyy, almost at the very edge of the ice barrier. Geologist P. Voronov and
helicopter commander I. Inozemtsev were stationed at this camp to make studies
on coastal winds in the area. (1)
All of these stations, with the exception of the one on the ice of Davis
Sea, were reported to have ceased operations by the end of August. Additional
research by parties operating out of Mirnyy included studies made on the Haswell
Islands by geologist Yoronov and Ye. Korotkevich (director of the geography-
gealogy detachment) and two flights made to the Banger oasis lying 370 kilome-
ters east of Mirnyy. During the tractor push into the interior which established
Pionerekaye, aerologists V. Babarykin and A. Shchekin carried out extensive studies
on the upper atmospheric layers.
Basic research has continued at Mirnyy at the various well-equipped scientific
units. These include a first-class aerometeorological station housed in a but and
two open areas, the main one of which is located 140 meters from the hut. Meteor-
ologists relay information from this area to the but by telephone.
Special self-recording instruments installed at the station register all
changes in pressure, temperature, and humidity, speed and dir:::t:on of winds, and
heat reaching the earth's surface directly from the sun and from the atmosphere.
Reflected heat and over-all heat balance are also measured.
A Surazhskiy anemograph has been set up at the observatory and records on
film the slightest change in wind speed, the mean wind speed, and the intensity
of all gusts. The instruments of this installation are located on a meet at var-
ious heights, making it possible to measure wind speed and air temperature through-
out the 10-meter air layer ed~acent to the earth's surface.
Workers at the station also gather data on clouds. Directing a beam of light
vertically upward by means of a special projector, a light spot can be thrown on
low clouds, and with the aid of a goniometer the height of these clouds can be de-
termined.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
STATtt:-.:
!td.
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Since the composition of Antarctic air is of interest, the station gathers
air samples in special flasks twice a month for subsequent analysis in the lab-
oratory. Radiosondes are la
h
unc
ed every morning and evening, and in addition
to the information transmitted by the equipment itself, wind direction and veloc-
ity aloft ie determined by tracking the path of the radiosonde with radar.
The ionospheric station at Mirnyy is completely automatic, xith reflections
from various layers of the ionosphere appearing on a cathode tube from xhich they
are automatically photographed, The station can register the characteristics of
all air layers between 100 and 1,000 meters.
The ionospheric station is under the direction of G. Bukin.
Mirnyy also has apparatus for round-the-clock registration of earthquakes,
the installation being manned by seismologists A, Sytlnskiy and L. Polikarpov.
Magnitologist P. Sen'ko, who accompanied the tractor expedition from Mirayy
into the interior, carried out an interesting series of magnetic observations
that indicate existing charts are as much as 10 degrees in error in giving magne-
tic deviation.
Pionerskaye, the interior station which began operations o^ 27 May, is con-
tinuing to operate. Average air temperature during the station's first month of
existence was about 40 degrees below zero, and in early July an interesting tem-
tempereturefatrMirnyy waseminus 38t5edegMeesY while PataPionerskayantheJthermometer
showed minus 64 degrees. In the first half of July, the mean temperature at Pio-
nerskaye was minus 50 degrees.
On 20 August, a new absolute minimum temperature for Antarctica was recorded
at the station -- minus 66.8 degrees. The temperature was minus 6
surface. 7.7 at the snow
Several flights were msde to Fionerskeya from afirnyy during the Antarctic
winter to deliver supplies and personnel. (15) These included a flight completed
on 7 June by two IL-12 aircraft, (16)
The air detachment at Mirnyy includes the following personnel:
Pilots -- G. Sorokin, N. Polyakov, A, Kash
Navigators -- V. Tulin, M. Kir111ov
Flight engineers -- A, Zaytsev, V. Myakinkin, A, Mokhov, M. Chagln
Radiomen -- G. Patarushin, A. Chelyshev, V. Men'shikov
Helicopter pilots -- I. Inozemtsev, N. Shoals, F. Manylov, S. Osadchiy
Airfield workers -- I. Shmandln, M. Akent'yev, V. Romanav, V. Canyuahkin (15)
Film in Preparation
Vladimir Yeshurin returned to the USSR aboard the Lena with 18,000 meters of
exposed film taken in the south polar regions by him and Aleksandr Kochetkov, xho
accompanied the Ob' on its trip south. Using this footage,'the Central Studio of
Documentary Films is preparing a ma inr ~.,,.,,~.,?..~_ ~.. _ _
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1
1. Moscow, Vodnyy Transport, 9 Aug 56
2. Moscow, Vecherayaya Moskva, 7 Jul 56
3. A. F. Treshnikov and Ye. I. Tolstikov, Dreyfuyuahchiye Stantsii v
Tsentral'noy Arktike "Severnyy polyus-3" i "Severayy Polyus-4" (Drift
Stations Severnyy Polyus-3 and Severnyy polyus-4 in the Central Arctic),
Moscow, Izdat. Znaniye, 1956
4. Moscow, Vestaik Akademii Nauk SSSR, No 5, Apr 56
5. Vodnyy Transport,.? pug 56
6. Moscow, Literaturnays Gazeta, 4 Sep 56
7. Vodnyy Transport, 30 Aug 56
8. Ibid., 31 Jul 56
9? .Tbilisi, Zarya Vostoka, 7 Jul 56
10. Moscow, Komsomol'skaya Pravda, 7 Jul 56
11. Vecherayaya Moskva, 6 Jul 56
12. Ibid., 15 Jun 56
13. Zarya Vostoka, 14 Jul 56
14. Vodnyy Transport, 19 Jul. 56
15. Ibis., 28 Aug 56
16. Moscow, Pravda, 10 Jun 56
Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/07/15: CIA-RDP80-00809A000700260109-1