Arctic Basin

This unique group of authors from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg, Russia, have all achieved individual doctoral theses on various aspects of Arctic and Antarctic research. Ivan Frolov, whose speciality is oceanography, has completed a study of Arctic Ice Cover, researching ice distribution in the seas of the Russian Arctic and has authored 70 scientific papers.§Zalman Gudkovich's main area of research remains ice motion in the Arctic Ocean and seas of the Siberian Shelf, and he has contributed to 150 scientific publications and proceedings. Vladimir Radionov, whose international research projects have included a joint US/Russian Arctic atlas and a major Arctic climatology project, is the co-author of some 60 scientific related publications. Alexander Shirochkov has participated in three winter long Antarctic expeditions and is now head of the Ionospheric Research Laboratory of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. He has more than 100 scientific papers to his name and has contributed to several collective scientific books. Leonid Timokhov also worked on the joint US/Russian Arctic Atlas and the Arctic Climatology project and is the author and co-author of some 120 scientific publications and proceedings. This extremely experienced group of researchers and authors are ideally suited to write this book.The authors describe in The Russian North Pole Drifting Stations for the first time the history of establishing drifting stations in the Arctic Basin since 1937. They set out the main aims and goals of the observations made and outline the methods of organizing the drifting stations, gear and equipment for life support and scientific observations at the North Pole drifting stations and during the airborne high-latitudinal expeditions.§The main scientific results and the analysis of data obtained during metereological, oceanographic, ice and geophysical observations are presented and the book contains illustrations, maps and tables that can be used by a wide range of specialists investigating the nature of the Arctic region.§An analysis of the contribution of the data collected at the drifting stations, the process of envionmental research in the Arctic Basin and the plans for future use of drifting stations is provided, with special emphasis on the forthcoming International Polar Year 2007-2008