ARKHANGELSK, July 25. /TASS/. The Arctic Floating University's expedition onboard the Mikhail Somov research/survey vessel reached the route's northernmost destination - the Heiss Island of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, the expedition team's leader Ludmila Drachkova told TASS on Monday.

"We are at the Heiss Island now," she said. "We are not sailing further to the north, too much ice, it's all over."

The expedition conducted studies on the Heiss Island and on the Wilczek Land in Franz Josef Land's south. "We are just back from the Wilczek. A scenic island, space views," the expedition's member Yury Rutkauskas said. "On the Heiss, the weather was sunny, though the wind was very strong."

After dropping cargo on the Dikson Island, the vessel was supposed to head for Cape Sterligov on the Taymyr Peninsula, and then for the Uyedineniya and the Izvestiya TsIK Islands. However, the ice in that part of the Kara Sea was solid, and the Mikhail Somov would've been unable to sail through it. Thus, the expedition's route changed towards Cape Zhelaniya on Novaya Zemlya's north, and from there - to Franz Josef Land.

The expedition team features 17 specialists from ten scientific and educational institutions of Arkhangelsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Syktyvkar and Perm.

About Floating University

The Arctic Floating University is a joint project of the Northern Arctic Federal University (NAFU) and the Northern Branch for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. The expeditions continue since 2012. The project's partners and sponsors are the Ministry for Development of the Far East and Arctic, VTB, Novatek, Norilsk Nickel, the Arkhangelsk Region's government, and the Russian Geographical Society.