Kotelny Island

Kotelny Island
Map of the New Siberian Islands
Waters	Arctic Ocean
Archipelago	Anjou Islands ( New Siberian Islands )
Geographical location	75 ° 25 '  N , 141 ° 0'  E Coordinates: 75 ° 25 '  N , 141 ° 0'  E
surface	11,665 km² (together with Faddejewski Island and Bungeland: 23,165 km²)
Highest elevation	Malakatyn Tas 374  m
Residents	uninhabited

The Kotelny Island ( Russian Остров Котельный , Ostrow Kotelny ; Yakut Олгуйдаах арыы , Olguidaach aryy ) is the largest of the New Siberian Islands in the Russian Arctic . With an area of ​​around 23,200 km², although largely unknown, it is one of the 50 largest islands on earth. Administratively, the island belongs to the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) .

history

The Soviet Union and, after its dissolution in 1991, the Russian Federation had established and maintained polar stations on the island and, from 1949, the Temp airfield, 535 km from Tiksi . However, these were abandoned in 1993. In September 2013, a Russian fleet led by the battle cruiser Piotr Veliki , the flagship of the Northern Fleet , arrived off the island with an escort of three nuclear icebreakers . Several large landing and transport ships as well as tankers were supposed to ensure that both the base and the airfield can be put back into operation.

The New Siberian archipelago had been uninhabited for 20 years, but climate change changed its strategic importance. Russia hopes that the reopening of the base will provide better control of the shipping routes through the Arctic waters, which were previously considered almost impassable. These are now navigable during the summer months and save many merchant ships considerable time compared to the passage through the Suez Canal . In addition, mineral resources are suspected both on the seabed and on the islands.

geography

Of this, the actual Kotelny Island accounts for 11,665 km² and the neighboring Faddejewski Island 5,300 km². With this it has grown together over the millennia through sand flushing, so that there is now a 6,200 km² land bridge between the two islands - known as Bungeland ( Земля Бунге ). Bungeland, which is only 8 m at its highest point, is flooded in phases, separating the main island and Faddejewski.

The highest point on the island is Malakatyn-Tas at 374 m on Kotelny. The longest river is the Balyktach with 205 km .

fauna and Flora

Various mosses , lichens and grass species can be found on the island . Arctic foxes populate the islands and there are traces of extinct animals such as mammoths .

Discovery story

The Russian trader Ivan Lyachow was probably the first European to have entered Kotelny in the early 18th century in search of mammoth bones and ivory . The discovery of Faddeevsky Island goes back to Jakow Sannikow , who discovered the new country in 1805 and who worked with Kotelny in 1808–1810 Mathias von Hedenström explored and mapped. The German-Baltic doctor and researcher Hermann von Walter , who died in the Imperial Russian polar expedition led by Eduard von Tolls in 1902, is buried on the island . Walter's remains were reburied on July 29, 2011 in a solemn ceremony in the presence of government members of the Sakha Republic , the Estonian ambassador to Russia and relatives of Hermann von Walter.

climate

The climate on Kotelny Island is polar. The annual average temperature is −14.3 ° C, the warmest month is July with around 2.5 ° C, the coldest is February with −29.8 ° C. The annual rainfall is 131 mm and is almost evenly distributed over the year, with a slight maximum in July and August.

Kotelny Island
Climate diagram
J F. M. A. M. J J A. S. O N D.     6th   -28 -33     6th   -28 -33     8th   -26 -31     8th   -19 -25     11   -8th -12     16   1 -2     30th   4th 1     24   3 0     18th   -1 -4     14th   -11 -15     8th   -21 -26     7th   -26 -30 Temperature in ° C ,  precipitation in mm Source: wetterkontor.de

Monthly average temperatures and rainfall for Kotelny Island Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Max. Temperature ( ° C ) −28.2 −28.3 −26.2 −18.8 −7.8 0.8 4.3 3.2 −1.0 −10.5 −20.9 −25.5 O −13.2 Min. Temperature (° C) −32.8 −32.9 −30.9 −24.5 −11.9 −1.8 0.8 0.2 −3.5 −14.8 −25.5 −29.9 O −17.2 Precipitation ( mm ) 6th 6th 8th 8th 11 16 30th 24 18th 14th 8th 7th Σ 156 Hours of sunshine ( h / d ) 0.0 0.1 4.4 9.7 6.6 5.7 5.0 4.2 1.4 0.4 0.0 0.0 O 3.1 Rainy days ( d ) 2 2 2 2 3 5 7th 7th 6th 4th 2 1 Σ 43 Humidity ( % ) 87 89 88 89 88 91 91 92 90 88 88 87 O 89 Source: wetterkontor.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Coordinates airfield temp
2. ↑ Russia's military returns to the Arctic RIA Novosti, September 16, 2013 (German). Retrieved September 16, 2013.
3. ^ William James Mills: Exploring Polar Frontiers - A Historical Encyclopedia . tape 2 . ABC-CLIO, 2003, ISBN 1-57607-422-6 , pp. 454 (English, limited preview in Google Book search).
4. ↑ Julia Watschina: Операция «Доктор Вальтер» . In: Komsomolskaya Pravda on August 23, 2011, accessed on September 14, 2019 (Russian).