Collaborator in the project until spring 2022

NAME AND OWNER

Beliy Island Research Station is owned and managed by the Government of the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, Russian Federation.

LOCATION

The Station is situated on the Beliy Island, Yamal-Nenets autonomous district, Russian Federation (73°03’88.2”N, 69°57’05.6”E). Beliy Island is a relatively large island in the Kara Sea. It is separated from the Yamal Peninsula by the Malygina Strait, an 8 to 10 km wide sound which is frozen most of the year. The Island area is near 1900 km2, the altitude is up to 12 m.

BIODIVERSITYBiological diversity. The many and varied forms of life on Earth (collectively known as biota). As well as diversity of species (species diversity), there is also diversity within populations of a... More AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT

The Station is situated in an area with continuous permafrostPermafrost is frozen ground that remains at or below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) for two or more years. It forms in regions where the mean annual temperature is... More. The surface of the Beliy Island is covered by tundraA type of ecosystem in which tree growth is limited by low temperatures. The origin of the word is from from the Kildin Sami word t?ndâr, meaning "uplands" or "treeless mountain tract". In the northern... More, but some dwarf shrubs also grow on the territory of island. There are lots of lakes on the island. The north and east coasts are low and sandy, the west and south – contain cliffs of up to 6 m in height. Grasses, mosses and ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More cotton are abundant in summer, but there are no trees at all. Polar bears, ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More foxes, morses and seals are the main inhabitants of the island. One can meet wild reindeers and lemmings on the Island. Birds are also very numerous and various: geese and ducks, waders, buntings, etc.

HISTORY AND FACILITIES

Beliy Island Research Station is going to be established in July, 2014 with the support of the Government of the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district. It’s a new station, it’s just the beginning of its activity, that’s why the station hasn’t got the history, but it has a huge potential and it is ready for operating. As there is no any pronounced relief on the island surface which could definitely falsify the received data as on other observatories and the level of local anthropogenicCaused by, or due to, human activities. For example, anthropogenic climate change.Caused by, or due to, human activities. For example, anthropogenic climate change.... More pollution is minimum the unique characteristic of future station is a possibility to represent the received data. Organizing simultaneous special meteorological and permafrostPermafrost is frozen ground that remains at or below zero degrees Celsius (32 degrees Fahrenheit) for two or more years. It forms in regions where the mean annual temperature is... More observations together with other hydrometeorological observatories and centers (settlement of Tiksi, Samoylovsky island and others) could significantly enable the level of knowledge about global atmosphere  processes and processes of cryospherePlaces on earth where water is in its solid form, frozen into ice or snow. This includes polar regions but also high altitude areas (high mountains). In a region's winter,... More evolution in the areas of ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More Ocean and the coastal and inland regions of  the Eastern part of European ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More, West Siberian and Central Siberian ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More and also let to identify the specific characteristics of changes taking place across the region. Moreover, the division of the Russian Center for ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More Development will operate within the Station.

GENERAL RESEARCH AND DATABASE

Proposed activities of the Station include the following: all-year standard meteorological and aerologic observations, regular air sampling and analysis on ?O2 and CH4 concentration, snow sampling for identification of chemical composition of precipitation, complex monitoring of contemporary conditions and pollution of environment, influence study of natural-climatic factors of the ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More on people’s health and also experimental works aimed to examine the processes of interaction of geological substrate with atmosphere, hydrological and ice studies. Received data of above projects will contribute to the development of existing international networks of the ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More climate changeAccording to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate change is change in the climate of the whole Earth or a region of the Earth that is believed... More monitoring. The results of works can be used for the scientific evidence, forward planning of economically effective and ecologically safe industrial (including maritime) activity and also for issues resolving of hydrometeorological ensuring the shipping on the Northern Sea Route.

HUMAN DIMENSION

The Yamal-Nenets autonomous district is one of the largest constituents of the Russian Federation, a stably and dynamically developing region. The administrative center is Salekhard, the city located on the Arctic CircleA line of latitude currently at 66° 33? 44? (66.5622°) north of the Equator. It is the southern limit of the region of the Earth that experiences the 'midnight sun'.... More. The Yamal-Nenets autonomous district is located in the ArcticDefinitions of the Arctic vary according to environmental, geographical, political, cultural and scientific perspectives. Some scientists define the Arctic as areas having a high latitude, long winters, short, cool summers,... More zone of the West Siberian Plain, in the center of Russia’s Far North. It has an area of 769 250 square kilometers, or several times as much as an average West-European country. The district population amounted to 536 558 people. The population density is 0,7 people per one square kilometer, urban population relative to total population – 85,0%. Yamal-Nenets autonomous district is one of the most multi-ethnic regions of the Russian Federation. Representatives of 112 ethnic groups and nationalities live in the district. Over 40 thousand people living there are representatives of small indigenousBelonging to a certain place. Indigenous people are distinct ethnic groups that have historic connections to people who lived in a territory prior to the area being colonized or coming... More peoples of the North. More than 15 thousand of them live a nomadic way of life.

ACCESS

Beliy Island Research Station can be reached by helicopter from Salekhard via Sabetta (flight takes 5 hours). In winter it’s possible to get there by trucks and snowmobiles.