Antarctica is a southern and very cold continent, which causes growing interest in connection with the latest climatic changes on the planet and an increasing shortage of fresh water. This is the mainland, which attracted researchers and discoverers. The very first Soviet Mirny station laid the foundation for large-scale research of Antarctica by Soviet and Russian science. And although today there are five domestic polar stations on the mainland, the first continues to work and serve as a base and support for polar explorers.
Destination - Mirny Station (Antarctica)
On the eastern coast of Antarctica in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean, on the shore of the Davis Sea, in harsh conditions, where the average monthly temperature throughout the year is not positive, and 204 days a year the wind blows at a speed of more than 15 m / s., It is here This polar station is located. The coordinates of Mirny station are 66 ° 33′30 ″ south latitude, 93 ° 00′02 ″ east longitude. The station is located almost at the Arctic Circle, from December 10 to January 10, the sun does not set below the horizon, this is called the polar day. And instead of the polar night, there is the polar twilight for the rest of the year.
Polar station "Mirny": the history of creation
In January 1956, the Ob diesel electric ship docked at the Davis Sea. Construction and scientific work was led by Mikhail Somov, an outstanding polar explorer and the head of the first Russian wintering in Antarctica. The station was built at four outcrops of rock. All 86 crew members worked for 12 hours a day. Despite the bad weather in February, the work did not stop. Already on February 13, 1956, at the site of the Mirny station, the USSR national flag was hoisted and its grand opening took place. The station included a radio center, an observatory, research pavilions, utility and residential buildings, a medical center and auxiliary outbuildings. A total of 21 structures were built, most with central heating.
Observatory Mirny
Of all the existing on the glacial continent, this is the oldest. It is located at an altitude of 35 meters above sea level, west of the Helen Glacier. From February 1956 to the present day, meteorological and actinometric observations have been carried out here, regular launches of radiosondes have been carried out. Since its inception, this has been the main base of domestic Antarctic expeditions, where weather maps are compiled, earthquakes are recorded, and ionospheric observations are made. Only in 1971 did the Mirny station give the championship to the Molodezhnaya station, which was converted into an Antarctic meteorological center.
Airfield station "Mirny"
In 1990, the snow-ice airfield at the station became unusable due to numerous cracks. For several years, geodetic searches were conducted for a new place. Since February 2016, the station’s new airfield took the first flight. The American ski-wheeled board Basler Turbo took away from the station 61 the Russian Antarctic expedition, leaving 21 polar explorers for the winter. The importance of this event is, first of all, that air communication with the southern mainland is thousands of times cheaper than sea. And the restoration of the airfield at Mirny station expands the capabilities of researchers.
Modern scientific station in Antarctica "Mirny"
Today at the station there are 15-20 people all year round as part of the meteorological and synoptic group, whose tasks include collecting meteorological data and compiling climate maps. But not only climate studies are occupied by employees at the station. Here they monitor fish stocks in the waters of the Southern Ocean, track satellite orbits, and conduct geodetic and geophysical studies of the Earth’s magnetosphere. But the most important thing is observing the ice situation and determining the movement possibilities of research vessels in this zone.
Historical meaning
The station became the gateway to the development of Antarctica from the USSR. In the same 1956, the sledge-caterpillar trek from Mirny reached the south geomagnetic pole, where the Russian Vostok station is located today. The Mirny station today is a coastal zone with its extra-class vessels and a powerful research base. Strange as it may seem, the USSR’s access to the southern continent at the height of the Cold War led to the conclusion of an indefinite Antarctic Treaty in Washington in 1959. The agreement implied freedom of research and a ban on the militarization of the mainland, the lack of sovereignty on land by any country and a ban on weapons testing. So the Mirny station really became a peacemaker of the southern continent.
Fun facts
- And today the best protection against 80-degree frost is felt boots. Polar wintering at stations in Antarctica, this fact is confirmed by numerous photographs.
- Polar explorers never tamed penguins. Surprisingly, despite the close proximity, these birds are not tamed, although they are not afraid of humans. It is proved that they like classical music - they come closer to listen to it. But they don’t like rock.
- Travel companies of the world offer tours at the station of Antarctica. Today, the southern mainland visits for tourism purposes from 200 to 1000 daredevils per year.
- Russian citizens can obtain citizenship of Antarctica. The countries of the G8 (Russia, the USA, Canada, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Italy and France) have signed an agreement under which the program for the settlement of the southern mainland will start in 2020. The selection is tough and specific, but every inhabitant of our planet has a chance to become a citizen of Antarctica.
- There are no permanent residents on the southern mainland. In the summer, up to five thousand employees are located at 40 research stations in Antarctica, and about a thousand people remain for the winter.
The Mirny station got its name in honor of one of the two sloops, which in January 1820, under the leadership of Faddei Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev, discovered the southern mainland and were the first to reach its shores. As a symbol of continuity in the development of the harsh continent, the station today continues to fulfill its role as a stronghold and link of past discoveries and modernity and remains the curator of sea and land movements.