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History
Russian Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition
(1910-1915)
The Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition represented
a sustained and impressive effort by the Imperial Russian Navy
to explore, survey, and chart the Northern Sea Route with a
view to developing it as a commercial route. The expedition
was provided with two specially built icebreaking research vessels,
Tamyr and Vaygach. The two ships made a brief
sortie through Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea in the fall
of 1910. Thereafter, for the following three years, they pushed
steadily farther west along the arctic coast of Siberia, sounding,
surveying, and pursuing scientific work as they went. They returned
each year to Vladivostok for the winter. In 1914 they were ordered
to attempt the through-passage to Arkhangel'sk (in part because
of the anticipated need for icebreakers in the White Sea in
the event of the outbreak of war). Both icebreakers became beset
in the eastern part of the Kara Sea and both suffered some damage
from ice pressures, but having survived an enforced wintering
they reached Arkhangel'sk safely in the fall of 1915. Apart
from the impressive volume of scientific data which it accumulated,
the major attainments of the expedition were the first Russian
landing on Wrangel Island (in 1911), and the discovery (in 1913)
of the archipelago of Severnaya Zemyla (originally named Nikolay
II Land).
Unfortunately, 1912 was also a very tragic year for Russian
explorers when unbroken consolidated ice blocked the way in
the Kara Sea and three expeditions failed: Sedov's on the vessel
St. Foka, Brusilov's on St. Anna, and Rusanov's
on Hercules. Georgy Sedov intended to reach Frantz
Josef Land on ship, leave a depot over there, and sledge to
the pole. Due to the heavy ice the vessel could only reach Novaya
Zemlya the first summer and wintered in Franz Josef Land. In
February 1914 Sedov headed to the Pole with two sailors and
three sledges, but he fell ill and died on Rudolf Island.
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| Portrait of Georgy Sedov. Image courtesy Ecoshelf. |
Schooner St. Foka in the Barents Sea ice. Image courtesy Ecoshelf. |
Georgy Brusilov attempted to navigate the Northeast Passage
on a schooner, was trapped in the Kara Sea, and drifted northward
for more than two years reaching latitude 83°17 N. Eleven men
left the vessel and started across the ice to Frantz Josef Land,
but only two arrived three months later. The survivors brought
the ship log of St. Anna, the map of her drift, and
daily meteorological records, but the destiny of those who stayed
onboard remains unknown. In the same year the expedition of
Vladimir Rusanov was lost in the Kara Sea. The prolonged absence
of those three expeditions stirred public attention, and a few
small rescue expeditions were launced, including Nagursky's
five air flights over the sea and ice from a base on Novaya
Zemlya.
Reference:
Kuksin, I.Y., The Arctic Ocean Hydrographic Expedition 1910-1915,
English translation from Geografiya I prirodnyye resursy, 1,
147-152, 1991.
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