1st Soviet Antarctic Expedition
Encyclopedia
The First Soviet Antarctic Expedition was led by Mikhail Somov
; his scientific deputy was V. G. Kort. The expedition lasted from 30 November 1955 to 1957 and involved 127 expedition members and 75 crew members.
Three diesel-electric
ships were used to transport the expedition. They were RV "Ob" (flagship; captain I. A. Man), RV "Lena" (captain A. I. Vetrov) and the refrigerator ship No. 7 (captain M. A. Tsygankov). The final ship was used only for transporting perishables. Ob and Lena were icebreakers 130m long and displacing 12,600 tons.
On the 30 November 1955 the first ship ("Ob") left port at Kaliningrad
.
The principal task of the expedition was to organise the main base, Mirny
, and perform limited scientific observations. Other tasks were reconnaissance of sites for the inland bases Vostok
and Sovetskaya
; and oceanography of the Indian ocean
.
Mikhail Somov
Mikhail Mikhailovich Somov was a Soviet oceanologist, polar explorer, Doctor of Geographical Sciences ....
; his scientific deputy was V. G. Kort. The expedition lasted from 30 November 1955 to 1957 and involved 127 expedition members and 75 crew members.
Three diesel-electric
Diesel-electric
Diesel-electric transmission or diesel-electric powertrain is used by a number of vehicle and ship types for providing locomotion.A diesel-electric transmission system includes a diesel engine connected to an electrical generator, creating electricity that powers electric traction motors...
ships were used to transport the expedition. They were RV "Ob" (flagship; captain I. A. Man), RV "Lena" (captain A. I. Vetrov) and the refrigerator ship No. 7 (captain M. A. Tsygankov). The final ship was used only for transporting perishables. Ob and Lena were icebreakers 130m long and displacing 12,600 tons.
On the 30 November 1955 the first ship ("Ob") left port at Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
.
The principal task of the expedition was to organise the main base, Mirny
Mirny Station
Mirny is a Russian science station in Antarctica, located on the Antarctic coast of the Davis Sea in the Australian Antarctic Territory. Named after support vessel of the Bellingshausen's expedition....
, and perform limited scientific observations. Other tasks were reconnaissance of sites for the inland bases Vostok
Vostok Station
Vostok Station was a Russian Antarctic research station. It was at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured natural temperature on Earth of −89.2 °C . Research includes ice core drilling and magnetometry...
and Sovetskaya
Sovetskaya (Antarctic Research Station)
Sovetskaya was a Soviet research station in Antarctica at . The surface elevation was initially reported to be 3,570 m; however, it was later revised to 3,662 m. Reached on 16 February 1958 by the 3rd Soviet Antarctic Expedition for International Geophysical Year research work, it closed on 3...
; and oceanography of the Indian ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
External links
- History of organization of the first Soviet/Russian Antarctic expedition 1955–57 and its international importance in the Antarctic studies by N. Kornilov (ZAO «INTAARI», St. Petersburg, Russia)]