Matochkin Strait: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Strait between the Severny and Yuzhny Islands of Novaya Zemlya}} | {{Short description|Strait between the Severny and Yuzhny Islands of Novaya Zemlya}} | ||
[[File:Matochkin Strait.svg|thumb|Map of the [[Novaya Zemlya]] with Matochkin Strait | [[File:Matochkin Strait.svg|thumb|Map of the [[Novaya Zemlya]] with Matochkin Strait]] | ||
'''Matochkin Strait''' or '''Matochkin Shar''' ({{langx|ru|Ма́точкин Шар}}) is a narrow waterway separating [[Severny Island|Severny]] and [[Yuzhny Island]]s | '''Matochkin Strait''' or '''Matochkin Shar''' ({{langx|ru|Ма́точкин Шар}}) is a narrow waterway separating [[Severny Island|Severny]] and [[Yuzhny Island]] on Russia's [[Novaya Zemlya]] archipelago. It links the [[Barents Sea]] on the west to the [[Kara Sea]] on the east in the [[Arctic Circle]]. It is under ice cover for most of the year and is navigable only for a short time. It is located in a region of strategic importance, and the surrounding region was a major nuclear test site during the [[Cold War]]. | ||
== Geography == | == Geography == | ||
Matochkin is a narrow [[strait]] separating [[Severny Island|Severny]] and [[Yuzhny Island]]s | Matochkin is a narrow [[strait]] separating [[Severny Island|Severny]] and [[Yuzhny Island|Yuzhny]] islands on Russia's [[Novaya Zemlya]] archipelago. Located north of the Russian mainland, in the northeastern Europe, it links the [[Barents Sea]] on the west to the [[Kara Sea]] on the east in the [[Arctic Circle]].<ref name="Info">{{cite web|url=https://islandstudies.com/files/2016/11/Novaya-Zemlya.pdf|title=Novaya Zelmya|work=Island Studies|access-date=1 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marinespecies.org/Pycnobase/aphia.php?p=specdetails&id=1106&tid=134700|title=Matochkin Strait|work=Marine Species|access-date=1 June 2025}}</ref> It is one of the largest [[Sound (geography)|sounds]] in the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Lisitzin |first=Alexander P. |title=Sea-Ice and Iceberg Sedimentation in the Ocean: Recent and Past |page=449 |doi=10.1017/S0954102003221726}}</ref> It is part of Russia's exclusive economic zone in the Arctic.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.marineregions.org/gazetteer.php?p=details&id=17723|title=Matochkin|work=Marine regions|access-date=1 June 2025}}</ref> | ||
Surveys have documented diverse [[gastropod]] [[molluscs]] in the region.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://nauchkor.ru/pubs/diversity-of-shell-bearing-gastropods-along-the-western-coast-of-the-arctic-archipelago-novaya-zemlya-an-evaluation-of-modern-and-historical-data-5d920d387966e1054fc02297|title=Diversity of shell-bearing gastropods along Novaya Zemlya coast|journal=Polar Biology|date=2019|volume=42|issue=9|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> Studies also indicate the presence of various [[benthos]] community structures in the ecosystem.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0001437018060140|title=Benthic Fauna of Blagopoluchiya Bay (Novaya Zemlya)|journal=Oceanology|date=2018|volume=56|issue=6|author=Udalov|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0001437022020114|title=Macro- and Meiobenthos Changes in Blagopoluchiya Bay|journal=Oceanology|date=2022|volume=62|issue=4|author=Lepikhina|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> A 2021 study has indicated that the benthic communities continue to thrive in the region despite the fragility of the environment due to multiple nuclear tests.<ref>{{cite journal | Surveys have documented diverse [[gastropod]] [[molluscs]] in the region.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://nauchkor.ru/pubs/diversity-of-shell-bearing-gastropods-along-the-western-coast-of-the-arctic-archipelago-novaya-zemlya-an-evaluation-of-modern-and-historical-data-5d920d387966e1054fc02297|title=Diversity of shell-bearing gastropods along Novaya Zemlya coast|journal=Polar Biology|date=2019|volume=42|issue=9|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> Studies also indicate the presence of various [[benthos]] community structures in the ecosystem.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0001437018060140|title=Benthic Fauna of Blagopoluchiya Bay (Novaya Zemlya)|journal=Oceanology|date=2018|volume=56|issue=6|author=Udalov|doi=10.1134/S0001437018060140 |access-date=17 June 2025|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S0001437022020114|title=Macro- and Meiobenthos Changes in Blagopoluchiya Bay|journal=Oceanology|date=2022|volume=62|issue=4|author=Lepikhina|doi=10.1134/S0001437022020114 |access-date=17 June 2025|url-access=subscription}}</ref> A 2021 study has indicated that the benthic communities continue to thrive in the region despite the fragility of the environment due to multiple nuclear tests.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Patterns of Benthic Communities in Arctic Fjords|journal=Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution|date=2021|volume=9|doi=10.3389/fevo.2021.777006 |doi-access=free }}</ref> | ||
== Navigation == | == Navigation == | ||
The strait remains frozen for most of the year. Ice begins to form in late October, and it becomes completely frozen in mid-November. The western part of the strait begins to clear in May, once warm water from the west breaks the ice caps. It becomes clearer in June, while the eastern part becomes clear of ice in July. It is navigable from July to October, while the navigation is limited to midsize ships during the ice-free months.<ref name="CIA">{{cite report|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T01018A000200070001-5.pdf|title=Novaya Zelmya|work=CIA Archives|access-date=17 June 2025|date=January 1958}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/9/1508/xml|title=The Spatiotemporal Pattern Evolution Characteristics of Ship Traffic on the Arctic Northeast Passage Based on AIS Data|work=MDPI Journal Marine Sciences|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> A 2024 report indicates that strait remains ice-bound seasonally restricting maritime transit in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://etc.bellona.org/2024/09/05/monthly-highlights-from-the-russian-arctic-july-2024/|title=Russian Arctic shipping trends July 2024|work=Bellona Environmental News|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> | The strait remains frozen for most of the year. Ice begins to form in late October, and it becomes completely frozen in mid-November. The western part of the strait begins to clear in May, once warm water from the west breaks the ice caps. It becomes clearer in June, while the eastern part becomes clear of ice in July. It is navigable from July to October, while the navigation is limited to midsize ships during the ice-free months.<ref name="CIA">{{cite report|url=https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP79T01018A000200070001-5.pdf|title=Novaya Zelmya|work=CIA Archives|access-date=17 June 2025|date=January 1958}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/9/1508/xml|title=The Spatiotemporal Pattern Evolution Characteristics of Ship Traffic on the Arctic Northeast Passage Based on AIS Data|work=MDPI Journal Marine Sciences|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> A 2024 report indicates that strait remains ice-bound seasonally restricting maritime transit in the region.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://etc.bellona.org/2024/09/05/monthly-highlights-from-the-russian-arctic-july-2024/|title=Russian Arctic shipping trends July 2024|work=Bellona Environmental News|date=5 September 2024 |access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref> | ||
== History == | == History == | ||
The | The first-recorded navigation of this sound was done by the [[Dutch people|Dutch]] [[explorer]] [[Willem Barentsz]] in 1596. It is, however, believed that [[Pomor]] traders and hunters know of this region well before this Western explorer came to this area. However, the name of the sound came later, possibly in the 1700s, when a recorded local person endured hunting in the area. | ||
The sound is located in a strategic region, and during the [[Cold War]], the surrounding region became a major [[nuclear test]] site.<ref name="CIA"/> Nearly 40 nuclear tests were conducted here from 1961 to 1990 including the [[Tsar Bomba]], the largest-ever test conducted. While it was abandoned in the 1990s, the [[Russian government]] started to reactivate the test site in the 2000s to conduct subcritical hydronuclear experiments.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/russia/weafacl/othernuc/novayaze.htm |title=Russia: Central Test Site, Novaya Zemlya |date=30 July 2003 |publisher=Nuclear Threat Initiative |access-date=1 June 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061029023406/http://www.nti.org/db/nisprofs/russia/weafacl/othernuc/novayaze.htm |archive-date=29 October 2006 }}</ref> | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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[[Category:Fjords of Russia]] | [[Category:Fjords of Russia]] | ||
[[Category:Bodies of water of the Barents Sea]] | [[Category:Bodies of water of the Barents Sea]] | ||
[[Category:Bodies of water of Arkhangelsk Oblast]] | [[Category:Bodies of water of Arkhangelsk Oblast]] | ||
[[Category:Novaya Zemlya]] | [[Category:Novaya Zemlya]] | ||
[[Category:Straits of the Arctic Ocean]] | [[Category:Straits of the Arctic Ocean]] | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Straits of the Kara Sea]] | ||
[[Category:Soviet nuclear test sites]] | |||
Latest revision as of 22:00, 16 December 2025
Matochkin Strait or Matochkin Shar (Template:Langx) is a narrow waterway separating Severny and Yuzhny Island on Russia's Novaya Zemlya archipelago. It links the Barents Sea on the west to the Kara Sea on the east in the Arctic Circle. It is under ice cover for most of the year and is navigable only for a short time. It is located in a region of strategic importance, and the surrounding region was a major nuclear test site during the Cold War.
Geography
Matochkin is a narrow strait separating Severny and Yuzhny islands on Russia's Novaya Zemlya archipelago. Located north of the Russian mainland, in the northeastern Europe, it links the Barents Sea on the west to the Kara Sea on the east in the Arctic Circle.[1][2] It is one of the largest sounds in the world.[3] It is part of Russia's exclusive economic zone in the Arctic.[4]
Surveys have documented diverse gastropod molluscs in the region.[5] Studies also indicate the presence of various benthos community structures in the ecosystem.[6][7] A 2021 study has indicated that the benthic communities continue to thrive in the region despite the fragility of the environment due to multiple nuclear tests.[8]
The strait remains frozen for most of the year. Ice begins to form in late October, and it becomes completely frozen in mid-November. The western part of the strait begins to clear in May, once warm water from the west breaks the ice caps. It becomes clearer in June, while the eastern part becomes clear of ice in July. It is navigable from July to October, while the navigation is limited to midsize ships during the ice-free months.[9][10] A 2024 report indicates that strait remains ice-bound seasonally restricting maritime transit in the region.[11]
History
The first-recorded navigation of this sound was done by the Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz in 1596. It is, however, believed that Pomor traders and hunters know of this region well before this Western explorer came to this area. However, the name of the sound came later, possibly in the 1700s, when a recorded local person endured hunting in the area.
The sound is located in a strategic region, and during the Cold War, the surrounding region became a major nuclear test site.[9] Nearly 40 nuclear tests were conducted here from 1961 to 1990 including the Tsar Bomba, the largest-ever test conducted. While it was abandoned in the 1990s, the Russian government started to reactivate the test site in the 2000s to conduct subcritical hydronuclear experiments.[12]
See also
References
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