Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations

Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations are research stations built on the ice of the high latitudes of the Arctic Ocean. They are important contributors to exploration of the Arctic. The stations are named North Pole (NP; Russian: Северный полюс, translit. Severny polyus, СП), followed by an ordinal number: "North Pole-1,"... etc.

"NP" drift stations carry out the program of complex year-round research in the fields of oceanology, ice studies, meteorology, aerology, geophysics, hydrochemistry, hydrophysics, and marine biology. On average, an "NP" station is the host for 600 to 650 ocean depth measurements, 3500 to 3900 complex meteorology measurements, 1200 to 1300 temperature measurements and sea water probes for chemical analysis, 600 to 650 research balloon launches. Magnetic, ionosphere, ice and other observations are also carried out there. Regular measurements of the ice flow coordinates provide the data on the direction and speed of its drift.

The modern "NP" drifting ice station resembles a small settlement with housing for polar explorers and special buildings for the scientific equipment. Usually an "NP" station begins operations in April and continues for two or three years until the ice floe reaches the Greenland Sea. Polar explorers are substituted yearly. Since 1937 some 800 people were drifting at "NP" stations.

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Wikipedia