MOSCOW, August 23. /TASS Correspondent Irina Skalina/. I have been happy to visit more than 30 islands of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago in recent years, and, positively, every island is unlike another. Scientists still argue about the number of islands in the archipelago. The islands, known to researchers, remain understudied due to the complicated logistics and weather conditions - though the archipelago was discovered some 150 years ago. Thus, scientists and explorers still expect many discoveries to come.
Tantalizing Arctic
Franz Josef Land is about the size of a small European country like Montenegro. The archipelago's map contains names in many languages: first and last names, cities and towns of absolutely different states. In the late 19th century, chances to get to the Arctic were similar to today's chances of getting to the space. It was a great honor to explore the Arctic, and many countries sought to send scientific expeditions there. In the 1860s and 1870s, Austria-Hungary, the Habsburg Monarchy's successor, reached the high latitudes. The country had developed a program for Arctic exploration.
- August Peterman (a German cartographer and geographer - TASS) led the process. By the 1870s, he was just a guru, a very authoritative specialist," says Evgeny Yermolov, head of the preservation of historical and cultural heritage department at the Russian Arctic National Park, which includes Franz Josef Land. - Peterman supported the so-called open polar sea theory. That is, in the north explorers need to pass the ice barrier encircling the Arctic, and further on everything is open, and it is possible to reach the North Pole, or perhaps to discover an unknown land, or to move along the Northeast Passage.
The first two reconnaissance expeditions to test Peterman's theory were German. The Germany yacht in 1868 attempted sailing to Greenland, but after a failure the vessel headed for Spitsbergen's north, unsuccessfully though. The second expedition, onboard the Germany steamer and the Hansa sailboat, also made an attempt to break through the Greenland Sea ice. The expedition did not succeed, and the Hansa got squeezed in the ice. The Austrians continued efforts, and, in 1871, a reconnaissance expedition on the Isbjorn in the Barents Sea took advantage of favorable conditions, and that direction was eyed as preferable.
In 1872, an Austro-Hungarian expedition on the Admiral Tegetthofff ship built for this purpose headed for the Arctic. The expedition had two leaders. The naval commander was Karl Weiprecht, an officer, Captain of the Austrian Navy, and the other leader - Julius Payer, a cartographer, an experienced mountaineer who had made maps of the Alps and had already visited Greenland - was responsible for the coastal part. The trip's significant funding came from Count Johann Wilczek (Johann Nepomuk Wilczek - a Count, an Austrian scientist, a major philanthropist, collector, traveler, polar explorer) - his name has been given to many locations on Franz Josef Land. The polar explorers were well equipped, ready for wintering and, by the way, did not set out to reach the North Pole, considering it just another location on the map. Preparations were top thorough, even a food depot on Novaya Zemlya.
Incidental discovery
Despite the previous year's optimistic results, the ice situation was surprisingly difficult, and already in August, 1872, the Admiral Tegetthoff ship was ice trapped, and a tedious drift began. They drifted for a year, until when on August 30, 1873, through the thick fog they could spot some rocky mountains. They travelers named that cape after the ship, Tegetthoff, which had been named after Wilhelm von Tegetthoff - an Austrian admiral, the winner of the Italian fleet at Lissa in 1866. The discovered land was named in honor of the Austrian emperor - Franz Josef Land.
Cape Tegetthoff remains a most picturesque place on the archipelago. Franz Josef Land is well known for specific lines of its rocks. The image is printed on stickers, T-shirts and other souvenirs that tourists can buy at the national park. Back in the harsh August of 1873, the discoverers could admire that beauty only from afar.
- There was a section of ice-free sea between the field where they were drifting and the shore. That is, it was impossible to walk on the ice to the shore, Evgeny Yermolov said. - The fog was thick, they were drifting fast, got carried away to the west, and eventually they lost sight of the cape.
It was only on November 1, 1873, that the discoverers could set foot on the newly discovered archipelago. They were happy beyond words. The island where they went ashore was named the Wilczek Island in honor of the key investor. Being true scientists, they were not just admiring. They immediately assessed the geological structure of the rocks, checked for traces of deer and arctic foxes, though none were found, and that surprised them greatly. "The discovered land did not have any life," Julius Payer wrote in the Austrian Polar Expedition article. Otto Krisch, the expedition's mechanic, was buried on the Wilczek Island. His grave with a cross and a plaque have remained to this day.
Despite the harsh conditions, the polar explorers undertook three so-called excursions, to explore the archipelago's central and eastern parts. For example, they made it to Franz Josef Land's northernmost island and named it the Rudolf Island in honor of the Crown Prince. It is the northernmost island of the archipelago, as well as of Eurasia and Russia.
We can say that the Weiprecht and Payer expedition ended successfully. Right, they did have to flee the ship, but they were able to reach Novaya Zemlya by boats. Payer commented on this: "96 days after they had left the ship, they found the Nicholas Russian schooner in the Bay of Dunen-Vai (Captain F. Voronin) - where we were received with that warm cordiality that distinguishes the Russian people." Captain Fyodor Voronin brought the archipelago's discoverers to Vardo.
- Initially, Payer assumed that Franz Josef Land was something like Spitsbergen: that is, several large islands. That's why he named them lands. In his opinion, on the west there was one big Land, and another one in the east - Wilczek Land. And what separated them was the Austrian Strait. Well, perhaps a few more small islands - they were also given names, for example, the Hall Island, on which Cape Tegetthofff is located, - the expert said adding the discoverers had done a great job, marking in every detail every location they could reach and explore. Payer's experience as a cartographer and mountaineer was truly valuable. He could climb peaks, observe the territory to make maps later on - in the stateroom.
Claims for territory
The archipelago's discoverers erected the Austrian flag there, but did not claim any special rights to the territory. After World War I, the countries that emerged after Austria-Hungary's collapse did not claim the Arctic islands. Arctic explorers have been the Dutch, Norwegians, British, Americans, Italians, and Russians. Later on, the archipelago was eyed as a base for conquering the North Pole: here we can name Walter Wellman, Duke of Abruzzi, Anthony Fiala, Georgy Sedov. Nansen got to Franz Josef Land after trying to reach the pole. The islands were discovered, explored and mapped.
And yet, the land, even so remote, could not remain nobody's. A circle of those claiming it has formed gradually - the Russians, who began exploring the Arctic back in the 11th century, the Norwegians, Italians and even Germans. In 1926, the USSR declared as its territory the entire sector from the North Pole to its western and eastern borders. In the east, the Americans organized a colony on the Wrangel Island, while Franz Josef Land remained without a certain status, and that issue had to be addressed.
- Interestingly, one of the reasons for interest in the Arctic was possible projects of transarctic flights, - the historian continued. - It was when people could realize it would be much shorter to fly from, say, Amsterdam to Yokohama via the Arctic, not along the geographic parallel. German aeronaut Walter Bruns came to the Soviet Union with a proposal to organize a transarctic air route. And then, it occurred to the Soviet Union: the Germans will come, will build mooring masts for airships, will start flying back and forwards, will learn our secrets. Plus, the airspace could bring revenues…
Year 1929 came, and the USSR organized the first polar station on Franz Josef Land, ahead of the Norwegians. The Norwegian businesses back then sent a letter to the USSR explaining that Norway does not have significant resources, and the loss the archipelago, rich in marine animals, affects the country's economy.
- There was less politics, and more pragmatism - so to say, let's agree we could also hunt on Franz Josef Land. No answer ever followed.
Names on archipelago map
The Soviet country attempted to rename Franz Josef Land. An idea was to call the archipelago Lomonosov Land, since the great scientist had admitted undiscovered islands in the Arctic. In the 1920s, the USSR Academy of Sciences initiated to name the archipelago after Fridtjof Nansen, since he had done a lot of good for the young Soviet republic. However, the foreign affairs authority objected to it.
A different situation was with newly-discovered Severnaya Zemlya, which at first was named Nicholas II Land, later on - Lenin Land, and only afterwards it was given a "neutral" name. By that time, the name Franz Josef Land had become popular in all countries, hence the solution was to leave it at it was.
More or less accurate mapping of Franz Josef Land's islands appeared closer to the 1960s after the 10th hydrographic expedition. Its participants examined the archipelago off airplanes, boats and even using dog sleds.
Nowadays, satellite images come in handy. However, even now nobody can say for sure how many islands the Franz Josef Land Archipelago has.
- I don't think anybody knows, - Evgeny said looking at the map. - There is, so to say, a commonly agreed number of 192 islands. On the other hand, we already know that the Northbrook Island has split into two: West and East. The Litrov Peninsula has become an island, has melted away Cape Mesyatsev, which had been an island before and now it has disappeared for good. It's all very dynamic. There is a certain number of large islands that can be registered, and, well, various odds.
Tourists, studies and climatic model
In many ways, the archipelago is still poorly studied. Here is a recent example. On July 24, 2023, the Mikhail Somov scientific expedition vessel ran aground in the Austrian Channel between Wilczek Land and the Komsomol Islands. The map shows the depth is 20 meters, but in reality it turned out to be six.
The islands' outlines are changing every year. Waves reshape sandy shores, and ice-free periods are getting longer. Glaciers are retreating literally as we watch them, and whatever was thoroughly explored in the 1950s no longer remains true.
- The Sedov glacier has "walked" a kilometer away or so since the polar station appeared in Tikhaya Bay, - Yermolov said, giving an example. - Retreating glaciers can be seen with the naked eye.
The Arctic Floating University contributes to studies of Franz Josef Land. The University is involved in research, and it is also a chance for students to see the Arctic and start working there.
- My first time to Franz Josef Land was in 2012, as a third-year student, - said Anna Trofimova, who is the Arctic Floating University's deputy leader for scientific work. - I come back again and again. Franz Josef Land is located in the Arctic region - a most rapidly changing place on our planet due to the global warming. By studying and understanding this territory we can develop strategies and measures to protect the vulnerable ecosystems and species that may be threatened in the future.
The cold climate preserves the Arctic exploration monuments. Such as the Nansen log on Cape Norway, which still remains where Nansen and Johansen have laid it, and it is very popular with tourists. Though COVID has affected the Arctic tourism, the National Park is looking forward to welcoming tourists.
- It was better with tourists, because the vessels that carried tourists offered to us chances, first of all, to work in remote territories, to develop our strongholds, field bases on the archipelago, - said Vadim Zakharin, senior state inspector, head of the National Park's protection department. - Nowadays, we, unfortunately, do not have a chance to go, stay, work and leave on the last tourist steamer, as we used to do in previous years. As for the anthropogenic load, the routes had been well prepared and worked well. We have minimized any possible harm to the soil cover or, for example, to nesting birds.
Ilya Mordvintsev, a leading researcher at the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution (the Russian Academy of Sciences), has been researching polar bears for many years. His group comes to Franz Josef Land practically every year - in spring, when the females with cubs come out from their dens.
The scientists are conducting research on the archipelago's westernmost island - the Alexandra Land. It is one of the largest and the most populated island on Franz Josef Land. It hosts a border post, the Northern Fleet's base, and the Russian Arctic National Park's year-round base. As for polar bears, the island is their maternity hospital, where bears arrange snow dens and produce the next generation.
- As for the human presence on the Alexandra Land, our years-long monitoring of the dens distribution suggests that the females still continue to use this island for lying in dens and breeding offspring. The number of dens varies from year to year, but the reasons most likely are not in excessive noises that interfere with the bear. The population variations are more related to climatic conditions. Results of genetic studies show that, bears born on Franz Josef Land, return there. Ongoing observations of polar bears on the archipelago are very important, this is one of the key territories for those animals," the researcher said, stressing that female bears avoid humans though do not flee the island.
The Arctic Floating University has been working on Franz Josef Land for more than ten years. Specialists in various fields are dreaming to join expeditions: geologists, botanists, microbiologists, climatologists, ecologists, and others. The Arctic Floating University expedition leader Alexander Saburov said every expedition collects huge amounts of materials and promotes the science.
- It is the country's northernmost point, and the studies by scientists, the academic community emphasize Russia's presence in this region. On the other hand, it is an absolutely unique place, unique ecological systems. Take, for example, bird rookeries on Franz Josef Land. They are among the largest in the Arctic. These are real oases of life, the object of interest not only for ornithologists, but also for microbiologists and botanists. Franz Josef Land is a place to which people want to return. From the aspect of student education, this is a very powerful emotional factor that attracts students to sciences and pushes them to devote lives to research in the polar regions," he expedition leader said.
Another expedition has finished, and Franz Josef Land continues to wait for its next discoverers, since it still has surprises to offer: new views, new stories and even new islands.