"Solitude Island" redirects here. For the island in Greenland, see Ensomheden. For the island known as 'Isla Soledad' in Spanish, see East Falkland.
Uyedineniya Island (also Uedinenia, Russian: Остров Уединения; Norwegian: Ensomheden) is an island located in the central part of the Kara Sea, roughly midway between Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya. Its latitude is 77° 29' N and its longitude 82° 30' E. It is often labelled as Einsamkeit Island (from the German Insel der Einsamkeit) as well as Lonely Island or Solitude Island in English maps.[1]
The island is barren and icy throughout the winter months, but some tundra vegetation grows on it in the summer. Its length is 18.5 kilometres (11.5 miles) and its total area is 20 square kilometres (8 square miles). Compared to other Arctic islands it is flat and low-lying, with some swamps and small lakes and a long spit of land on its NE side. Its highest point is only about 30 metres (98 feet).[2]
Owing to its extreme northerly location the weather is bleak and severe and the sea surrounding Uedineniya is covered with pack ice in the winter. Ice floes are commonly found even in the summer.
The nearest landmasses are the Izvestiy TSIK Islands, located about 150 km to the south-southeast, while the distance to mainland Siberia to the south-southeast some 280 kilometres (174 miles) and to the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya straight west about 340 kilometres (211 miles).
The island was discovered on 26 August 1878 by Norwegian explorer Captain Edvard Holm Johannesen from Tromsø. He named the island Ensomheden—"solitude" in Norwegian—due to its desolate appearance and isolated location in the Arctic.[4]
Soviet polar explorer Professor Vladimir Yulyevich Vize advanced the hypothesis that there was an extensive shallow area and perhaps more undiscovered islands near Uyedinenya.[5] This was based on certain observations made by polar explorers:
The discovery of that solitary island called Einsamkeit, by Captain Johannesen... is of the greatest importance and significance, as indicating the presence of land hitherto unknown in that direction. Although it received the name it now bears from Captain Johannesen, a name signifying "lonely" or "solitary," it seems exceedingly unlikely that it will prove to be so isolated as is supposed... which would lead to the assumption that it might be the southern termination of a chain of islands eastward of Franz-Josef Land.
During his expedition to Franz Josef Land on ice-breaking steamer "Malygin" in 1931, Vize hoped to carry out oceanographic work in the Northern part of the Kara Sea, but his research was cut short by thick sea ice. Later expeditions and satellite pictures demonstrated that there were no other islands in the vicinity of Uedineniya.
A cervical vertebra of a plesiosaur (Plesiosaurus latispinus) was discovered on the island during an expedition in the 1930s. It was studied by Soviet paleontologist A. N. Ryabinin.[6]
At the time of World War II, there was a small polar observatory on Uyedineniya built by the Soviet government. On September 8, 1942, the German submarine U-251 (Lt. Captain Timm) surfaced close to the island and destroyed the weather station's small building and its garrison by firing grenades against those targets. This was one of the last actions of the Kriegsmarine under Operation Wunderland.[7]
Since May 1993, Uyedineniya has been a part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve in Russia intended to preserve the habitat of the polar bears, pinnipeds (namely, walruses and seals), and the many kinds of birds that live on the island.
The polar observatory, which had been rebuilt during the Cold War time, was abandoned in 1996.[8] Presently there is no human habitation in Uyedineniya.
Climateedit
Uyedineniya Island has a harsh Arctic climate, mean temperatures never rise above freezing.
^Nicholas II Land, Bulletin of the American Geographical Society Vol. 46, No. 2 (1914), pp. 117-120
^"Ostrov Uyedineniya". Mapcarta. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
^Nicholas II Land, Bulletin of the American Geographical Society Vol. 46, No. 2 (1914), pp. 117-120
^Nordenskiöld, Adolf Erik (1881). The voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe: with a historical review of previous journeys along the north coast of the Old world. London: Macmillan and Co. p. 335 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
^On the hypothesis that there were more islands near Einsamkeit Island 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
^A.N. Ryabinin, On new discoveries of Plesiosauria in the Soviet Arctic and of a centrum of a cervical vertebra of Plesiosaurus latispinus Owen from the Lonely island in the Kara sea (Russia); Problems of the Arctic AARI, Leningrad; 1939
^L. Peillard, Geschichte des U-Bootkrieges 1939−1945. 1970.
^Images of the abandoned weather station 2003-11-28 at the Wayback Machine
Sverdrup Expedition investigations on Uyedinenya Island
January 01, 1970
uyedineniya, island, solitude, island, redirects, here, island, greenland, ensomheden, island, known, isla, soledad, spanish, east, falkland, also, uedinenia, russian, Остров, Уединения, norwegian, ensomheden, island, located, central, part, kara, roughly, mid. Solitude Island redirects here For the island in Greenland see Ensomheden For the island known as Isla Soledad in Spanish see East Falkland Uyedineniya Island also Uedinenia Russian Ostrov Uedineniya Norwegian Ensomheden is an island located in the central part of the Kara Sea roughly midway between Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya Its latitude is 77 29 N and its longitude 82 30 E It is often labelled as Einsamkeit Island from the German Insel der Einsamkeit as well as Lonely Island or Solitude Island in English maps 1 UyedineniyaLonely IslandUedineniyaMap of UyedineniyaUyedineniyaUyedineniya in Krasnoyarsk Krai RussiaGeographyLocationKara Sea Arctic OceanCoordinates77 29 N 82 30 E 77 483 N 82 500 E 77 483 82 500Area20 km2 7 7 sq mi Length11 5 km 7 15 mi Width5 2 km 3 23 mi Highest elevation30 m 100 ft AdministrationRussiaFederal districtSiberian Federal DistrictFederal subjectKrasnoyarsk KraiDemographicsPopulation0 uninhabited Pop density0 km2 0 sq mi Contents 1 Geography 2 History 3 Climate 4 See also 5 Notes 5 1 References 5 2 Sources 6 External linksGeography editThe island is barren and icy throughout the winter months but some tundra vegetation grows on it in the summer Its length is 18 5 kilometres 11 5 miles and its total area is 20 square kilometres 8 square miles Compared to other Arctic islands it is flat and low lying with some swamps and small lakes and a long spit of land on its NE side Its highest point is only about 30 metres 98 feet 2 Owing to its extreme northerly location the weather is bleak and severe and the sea surrounding Uedineniya is covered with pack ice in the winter Ice floes are commonly found even in the summer The nearest landmasses are the Izvestiy TSIK Islands located about 150 km to the south southeast while the distance to mainland Siberia to the south southeast some 280 kilometres 174 miles and to the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya straight west about 340 kilometres 211 miles Uyedineniya belongs to the Krasnoyarsk Krai administrative division of the Russian Federation nbsp Partly surveyed Emperor Nicholas II Land 3 in a 1915 map of the Russian Empire and Uedineniya as the only island west of it nbsp Location in the Kara Sea History editThe island was discovered on 26 August 1878 by Norwegian explorer Captain Edvard Holm Johannesen from Tromso He named the island Ensomheden solitude in Norwegian due to its desolate appearance and isolated location in the Arctic 4 Soviet polar explorer Professor Vladimir Yulyevich Vize advanced the hypothesis that there was an extensive shallow area and perhaps more undiscovered islands near Uyedinenya 5 This was based on certain observations made by polar explorers The discovery of that solitary island called Einsamkeit by Captain Johannesen is of the greatest importance and significance as indicating the presence of land hitherto unknown in that direction Although it received the name it now bears from Captain Johannesen a name signifying lonely or solitary it seems exceedingly unlikely that it will prove to be so isolated as is supposed which would lead to the assumption that it might be the southern termination of a chain of islands eastward of Franz Josef Land During his expedition to Franz Josef Land on ice breaking steamer Malygin in 1931 Vize hoped to carry out oceanographic work in the Northern part of the Kara Sea but his research was cut short by thick sea ice Later expeditions and satellite pictures demonstrated that there were no other islands in the vicinity of Uedineniya A cervical vertebra of a plesiosaur Plesiosaurus latispinus was discovered on the island during an expedition in the 1930s It was studied by Soviet paleontologist A N Ryabinin 6 At the time of World War II there was a small polar observatory on Uyedineniya built by the Soviet government On September 8 1942 the German submarine U 251 Lt Captain Timm surfaced close to the island and destroyed the weather station s small building and its garrison by firing grenades against those targets This was one of the last actions of the Kriegsmarine under Operation Wunderland 7 Since May 1993 Uyedineniya has been a part of the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve the largest nature reserve in Russia intended to preserve the habitat of the polar bears pinnipeds namely walruses and seals and the many kinds of birds that live on the island The polar observatory which had been rebuilt during the Cold War time was abandoned in 1996 8 Presently there is no human habitation in Uyedineniya Climate editUyedineniya Island has a harsh Arctic climate mean temperatures never rise above freezing Climate data for Uyedineniya Island Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Daily mean C F 26 7 16 1 26 6 15 9 25 5 13 9 19 4 2 9 10 1 13 8 1 6 29 1 0 7 33 3 0 1 32 2 2 2 28 0 10 4 13 3 19 9 3 8 23 2 9 8 13 7 7 3 Average precipitation mm inches 11 7 0 46 11 0 0 43 11 6 0 46 7 1 0 28 10 2 0 40 14 8 0 58 28 8 1 13 28 6 1 13 23 6 0 93 20 0 0 79 12 6 0 50 13 2 0 52 194 2 7 65 Average precipitation days 1 0 mm 3 9 3 6 3 6 2 1 2 4 4 1 6 1 7 3 6 8 5 9 4 4 5 6 55 8 Mean monthly sunshine hours 0 5 140 272 178 127 161 87 31 14 0 0 1 015 Source NOAA 9 See also editList of islands of Russia List of research stations in the ArcticNotes editReferences edit Nicholas II Land Bulletin of the American Geographical Society Vol 46 No 2 1914 pp 117 120 Ostrov Uyedineniya Mapcarta Retrieved 9 November 2016 Nicholas II Land Bulletin of the American Geographical Society Vol 46 No 2 1914 pp 117 120 Nordenskiold Adolf Erik 1881 The voyage of the Vega round Asia and Europe with a historical review of previous journeys along the north coast of the Old world London Macmillan and Co p 335 via Biodiversity Heritage Library On the hypothesis that there were more islands near Einsamkeit Island Archived 2007 09 28 at the Wayback Machine A N Ryabinin On new discoveries of Plesiosauria in the Soviet Arctic and of a centrum of a cervical vertebra of Plesiosaurus latispinus Owen from the Lonely island in the Kara sea Russia Problems of the Arctic AARI Leningrad 1939 L Peillard Geschichte des U Bootkrieges 1939 1945 1970 Images of the abandoned weather station Archived 2003 11 28 at the Wayback Machine Ujedinenija Island Climate Normals 1961 1990 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Retrieved September 29 2016 Sources edit Rudolf Samoylovich Exploration of the Polar Part of U S S R in 1934 and the Sedov expedition Albert Hastings Markham Arctic Exploration 1895 External links editHamradio Sverdrup Expedition investigations on Uyedinenya Island Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Uyedineniya Island amp oldid 1053292942, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
