MOSCOW, August 25 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Northern Fleet’s hydrographic survey vessel Senezh left its base to head to the islands of Novaya Zemlya from where it will aim westward, toward the Franz Josef Land archipelago to study the Arctic sea ice, a fleet representative said Monday.
“Studying the Arctic sea ice borders will be the first phase of the Northern Fleet’s expedition, aimed mainly at continuing the hydrographic research we began last year in the Franz Josef Land archipelago area – the northernmost arctic island under the sovereignty of the Russian Federation,” Capt. 1st Rank Vadim Serga said.
According to Serga, the research conducted with the use of “new technical means and methods of the oceanographic studies” will focus on the scantily explored regions, islands’ geodetic points and the correction of nautical charts.
The members of the expedition also plan to hold commemorations of the 100th anniversary of the Georgy Sedov expedition and the establishment of Russian sovereignty over the archipelago of Franz Josef Land.
The first expedition to the archipelago, consisting of the Horizon hydrographic survey vessel and the MB-56 tugboat, left in September 2013. It resulted in a number of geographic discoveries, including the confirming of the formation of a new island in the archipelago.
