Bely Island (also spelled as Belyy and Beliy, russian: Белый остров,
Tundra Nenets: Сэр’’ ӈо, ''Sėr’’ ŋo'') is a relatively large
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
in the
Kara Sea
The Kara Sea (russian: Ка́рское мо́ре, ''Karskoye more'') is a marginal sea, separated from the Barents Sea to the west by the Kara Strait and Novaya Zemlya, and from the Laptev Sea to the east by the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago. ...
off the tip of the
Yamal Peninsula
The Yamal Peninsula (russian: полуостров Ямал, poluostrov Yamal) is located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of northwest Siberia, Russia. It extends roughly 700 km (435 mi) and is bordered principally by the Kara ...
,
Siberia
Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
,
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
. Close to the island's northwest tip, there is the Russian Experiment Station (
Polyarnaya Stantsiya) ''Popov Station''.
Geography
Bely Island covers an area of . It is covered by tundra, but some lichens, grasses, and dwarf willow shrubs (
Salix purpurea
''Salix purpurea'', the purple willow purpleosier willow or purple osier, is a species of willow native to most of Europe and western Asia north to the British Isles, Poland, and the Baltic States.Flora Europaea''Salix purpurea''/ref>Meikle, R. D ...
) grow during the warmer seasons.
Vegetation on Bely Island
/ref>Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the two polar circles, and the most northerly of the five major circles of latitude as shown on maps of Earth. Its southern equivalent is the Antarctic Circle.
The Arctic Circle marks the southernmost latitude at w ...
, winters are long and frigid, the average annual temperature is a mere -10.6C°. In February, temperatures average -24.2C° reaching a record low of -59C°. The summers are characterized by fog, with an average temperature of +5.3C°. The area is subject to polar lows and general cyclonic activity.Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (YaNAO; russian: Яма́ло-Не́нецкий автоно́мный о́круг (ЯНАО), ; yrk, Ямалы-Ненёцие автономной ӈокрук, ) or Yamalia (russian: Ямалия) is a fed ...
which is the northern part of the Tyumen Oblast
Tyumen Oblast (russian: Тюме́нская о́бласть, ''Tyumenskaya oblast'') is a federal subject (an oblast) of Russia. It is geographically located in the Western Siberia region of Siberia, and is administratively part of the Urals ...
administrative division of Russia.
Adjacent Islands
Within Bely Island's wide eastern bay there is a long island called Bezymyannyy. Ostrov Tabango and Ostrov Tyubtsyango are located to the south of Bely Island's SE corner.
Scientific Research
Bely Island has been the site of arctic research for its remote and unsettled nature. Research stations here are used to investigate changes in the Arctic Circle due to climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
and the effects of the Russian petroleum industry, where its unaffected soil is used to measure trace elements in comparison to soil on the mainland.
See also
* List of islands of Russia
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
* List of research stations in the Arctic
References
* Satellite Views of Russian Experiment station Polyarnaya Stantsiya Belyy
External links
Photograph of polar station
{{Kara Sea Islands
Islands of Tyumen Oblast
Islands of the Kara Sea
Populated places of Arctic Russia