The Northern Front ( Russian : Северный фронт ) was a front of the Red Army during the Second World War .
94-805: The Northern Front was created on June 24, 1941 from the Leningrad Military District . Its primary goal was the defense of the Kola Peninsula and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland . On August 23, 1941, the Front's forces were divided into the Karelian Front and the Leningrad Front . Lieutenant General Markian M. Popov commanded the Front for the three months of its existence. The Front's major force structure
188-729: A decision confirmed in June 2023 by Deputy Chief of the General Staff Yevgeny Burdinsky . On December 17, 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to recreate the Leningrad Military District as a reaction to Finland joining NATO . The district was formally reconstituted on 26 February 2024 by a Presidential Decree No.141, transferring the Northern Fleet under its command. Colonel General Aleksandr Lapin took over as
282-672: A half months later the Front was dissolved back into the District headquarters. On June 9, 1940, directive 02622ss/ov was given to the District by Semyon Timoshenko to be ready by June 12 to (a) capture the vessels of the Estonian , Latvian and Lithuanian Navy in their bases and/or at sea; (b) Capture the Estonian and Latvian commercial fleet and all other vessels; (c) Prepare for an invasion and landing in Tallinn and Paldiski ; (d) Close
376-532: A modest set of corps units and the 5189th BKhVT in Vologda. The 77th Guards Coastal Defence Division was then reorganised as a separate coastal defence brigade by 1 December 1994. In 1989 V.I. Feskov et al. reported that the 71st MRD became the 5186th VKhVT, the 115th Guards became a storage base, and the Motor Rifle Division at Chernaya Rechka (the 37th, it was apparent later) was reduced to become
470-747: A number of continental shelves , including the Canadian Arctic shelf, underlying the Canadian Arctic Archipelago , and the Russian continental shelf , which is sometimes called the "Arctic Shelf" because it is larger. The Russian continental shelf consists of three separate, smaller shelves: the Barents Shelf, Chukchi Sea Shelf and Siberian Shelf . Of these three, the Siberian Shelf is the largest such shelf in
564-716: Is Molloy Hole in the Fram Strait , at about 5,550 m (18,210 ft). The two major basins are further subdivided by ridges into the Canada Basin (between Beaufort Shelf of North America and the Alpha Ridge ), Makarov Basin (between the Alpha and Lomonosov Ridges), Amundsen Basin (between Lomonosov and Gakkel ridges), and Nansen Basin (between the Gakkel Ridge and the continental shelf that includes
658-716: Is a military district of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation . The district was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1968. In 2010, it was merged with the Moscow Military District , the Northern Fleet and the Baltic Fleet to form the new Western Military District . In December 2022, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu proposed to reestablish it along with the Moscow Military District ,
752-414: Is a section referred to as the sub-surface layer. It is a product of Atlantic water that enters through canyons and is subjected to intense mixing on the Siberian Shelf. As it is entrained, it cools and acts a heat shield for the surface layer on account of weak mixing between layers. However, over the past couple of decades a combination of the warming and the shoaling of Atlantic water are leading to
846-791: Is also seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing world ocean . The Arctic Ocean includes the North Pole region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere and extends south to about 60°N . The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by Eurasia and North America, and the borders follow topographic features: the Bering Strait on the Pacific side and the Greenland Scotland Ridge on the Atlantic side. It
940-477: Is cloudy year-round, with mean cloud cover ranging from 60% in winter to over 80% in summer. The temperature of the surface water of the Arctic Ocean is fairly constant at approximately −1.8 °C (28.8 °F), near the freezing point of seawater . The density of sea water, in contrast to fresh water, increases as it nears the freezing point and thus it tends to sink. It is generally necessary that
1034-509: Is contained in a polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges. Winters are characterized by the polar night , extreme cold, frequent low-level temperature inversions, and stable weather conditions. Cyclones are only common on the Atlantic side. Summers are characterized by continuous daylight ( midnight sun ), and air temperatures can rise slightly above 0 °C (32 °F). Cyclones are more frequent in summer and may bring rain or snow. It
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#17328022036831128-451: Is mostly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter . The Arctic Ocean's surface temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans, due to low evaporation , heavy fresh water inflow from rivers and streams, and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities. The summer shrinking of
1222-677: Is predominantly cyclonic on the Eurasian side and anticyclonic in the Canadian Basin . Water enters from both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans and can be divided into three unique water masses. The deepest water mass is called Arctic Bottom Water and begins around 900 m (3,000 ft) depth. It is composed of the densest water in the World Ocean and has two main sources: Arctic shelf water and Greenland Sea Deep Water. Water in
1316-495: Is the highest volumetric inflow to the Arctic Ocean, equalling about 10 times that of the Pacific inflow, and it creates the Arctic Ocean Boundary Current. It flows slowly, at about 0.02 m/s. Atlantic Water has the same salinity as Arctic Bottom Water but is much warmer (up to 3 °C [37 °F]). In fact, this water mass is actually warmer than the surface water and remains submerged only due to
1410-559: Is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions . It spans an area of approximately 14,060,000 km (5,430,000 sq mi) and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea . It has also been described as an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean . It
1504-719: The 19th Rifle Corps at Leningrad with the 4th Turkestan and 20th Rifle Divisions . The 19th Rifle Corps also included the Separate Karelian Rifle Brigade and Separate Murmansk Rifle Regiment. Markian Popov was appointed District Commander in 1939. Its main purpose was the defence of the Kola Peninsula and the northern shores of the Gulf of Finland. On the right flank it bordered with the Arkhangelsk Military District , on
1598-609: The 200th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade ). In terms of air forces, after the collapse of the Soviet Union the 76th Army of the Soviet Air Forces and the 6th Air Army of the Soviet Air Defence Forces , were left operating in the district. The two forces were merged as the 6th Army of VVS and PVO in 1998. The 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade at Kamenka was deployed for operations during
1692-577: The 23rd Army , the 1st Mechanised Corps (-), 177th Rifle Division , 191st Rifle Division , 8th Rifle Division , the 21st, 22nd, 25th, 29th Fortified Regions, Air Forces (six aviation divisions, including the 1st, 2nd, 5th, 39th, 41st, and 55th ), and other formations and units. Two days after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, on 24 June 1941, the District was reorganised as the Northern Front , and two months later, on 23 August 1941, it
1786-558: The 37th Motor Rifle Division (a mobilisation division, the double of the 63 MRTD) at Chernaya Rechka ; and the 63rd Guards Training Motor Rifle Division, and the 76th Guards Airborne Division , under district control. At Garbolovo ([60 20 14N, 30 29 55E]) there was the 36th Air Assault Brigade (effectively an airmobile brigade), which had been activated in autumn 1979. By 1990 the district included 60,000 servicemen, 822 tanks, 2,000 armored fighting vehicles, 1,100 guns, mortars and MLRS systems, and 100 helicopters. The composition of
1880-489: The 4th Guards Rifle Corps with three divisions, was transferred to the Baltic Military District on 27 January 1956. By 1946 the 2nd Guards Artillery Division had arrived at Pushkin , which would be its headquarters for nearly the next fifty years. The 13th Air Army was the district air force component and was redesignated as the 76th Air Army in 1949. General-Colonel of Aviation Fyodor Polynin
1974-581: The 54th Motor Rifle Division and other units were sent to the Far East. In 1967 the 44th Army Corps was moved to the Transbaikal Military District and established its headquarters at Ulan Ude . New units were formed to replace them, with the 26th Army Corps headquarters replacing the 44th, and a reshuffling of units to replace the 279th Regiment: the 221st Guards Motor Rifle Regiment of the 77th Guards Motor Rifle Division replaced
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#17328022036832068-608: The Cretaceous period, the Canadian Basin opened, and tectonic activity due to the assembly of Alaska caused hydrocarbons to migrate toward what is now Prudhoe Bay. At the same time, sediments shed off the rising Canadian Rockies built out the large Mackenzie Delta. The rifting apart of the supercontinent Pangea , beginning in the Triassic period, opened the early Atlantic Ocean. Rifting then extended northward, opening
2162-614: The Eurasian Basin , which is 4,000–4,500 m (13,100–14,800 ft) deep, and the Amerasian Basin (sometimes called the North American or Hyperborean Basin), which is about 4,000 m (13,000 ft) deep. The bathymetry of the ocean bottom is marked by fault block ridges, abyssal plains , ocean deeps , and basins. The average depth of the Arctic Ocean is 1,038 m (3,406 ft). The deepest point
2256-655: The Franz Josef Land ). The crystalline basement rocks of mountains around the Arctic Ocean were recrystallized or formed during the Ellesmerian orogeny, the regional phase of the larger Caledonian orogeny in the Paleozoic Era. Regional subsidence in the Jurassic and Triassic periods led to significant sediment deposition, creating many of the reservoirs for current day oil and gas deposits. During
2350-415: The Gulf of Riga and blockade the coasts of Estonia and Latvia in Gulf of Finland and Baltic Sea ; (e) Prevent an evacuation of the Estonian and Latvian governments, military forces and assets; (f) Provide naval support for an invasion towards Rakvere ; (g) Prevent the Estonian and Latvian airplanes flying either to Finland or Sweden. On 22 June 1941 the District comprised the 7th Army , the 14th Army ,
2444-584: The Independence I and Independence II cultures of northeastern Canada and Greenland ( c. 2400–1800 BC and c. 800–1 BC ); and the Groswater of Labrador and Nunavik . The Dorset culture spread across Arctic North America between 500 BC and AD 1500. The Dorset were the last major Paleo-Eskimo culture in the Arctic before the migration east from present-day Alaska of
2538-794: The Nenets Autonomous District . Additionally, the command contains most of Russia's islands in the Arctic Ocean , including those located in federal subjects not within the district. It lies in the Northwestern Federal District . Military units of the internal troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs , the FSB Border Service of Russia , as well as units of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other ministries and departments of
2632-670: The Northwest Passage , to " Cathay " ( China ) caused water to win out, and by 1723 mapmakers such as Johann Homann featured an extensive "Oceanus Septentrionalis" at the northern edge of their charts. The few expeditions to penetrate much beyond the Arctic Circle in that era added only small islands, such as Novaya Zemlya (11th century) and Spitzbergen (1596), though, since these were often surrounded by pack-ice , their northern limits were not so clear. The makers of navigational charts , more conservative than some of
2726-593: The Second Chechen War , in which, along with other Russian Ground Forces units, its personnel was reported to have behaved badly at times. A 22-year-old woman in Ingushetia was shot by drunken soldiers from the brigade scavenging for alcohol. The deployment of a tank battalion of the brigade was apparently halted when it was discovered that soldiers had been selling the explosive from their tanks' reactive armour . The second fully operational brigade in
2820-643: The Thule people , ancestors of the modern Inuit . The Thule Tradition lasted from about 200 BC to AD 1600, arising around the Bering Strait and later encompassing almost the entire Arctic region of North America. The Thule people were the ancestors of the Inuit, who now live in Alaska, Northwest Territories , Nunavut , Nunavik (northern Quebec), Labrador and Greenland. For much of European history ,
2914-601: The 23rd on the Karelian Isthmus . The 10th Guards Army was reduced to the 4th Guards Rifle Corps in April 1948, and that of the 23rd Army disbanded as a result of the postwar demobilization. The district was thus left with the 4th Guards Rifle Corps, the 30th Guards Rifle Corps , the 2nd Guards Tank Division , and the 1st and 2nd Machine Gun Artillery Divisions. Control of forces in the Estonian SSR, which included
Northern Front (Soviet Union) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3008-407: The 26th Army Corps at Arkhangelsk , formed in 1967, with the 69th ( Vologda ) and 77th Guards Motor Rifle Divisions ( Arkhangelsk ), the 258th Independent Helicopter Squadron at Luostari/Pechenga airfield near Luostari , and other smaller units; the 30th Guards Leningrad Red Banner Army Corps at Vyborg , with the 45th Guards Motor Rifle Division , the 64th Guards Motor Rifle Division , and
3102-493: The 279th in the 54th Motor Rifle Division. In turn the new 481st Motor Rifle Regiment was formed to complete the 77th Guards. During the 1970s and 1980s the 6th Combined Arms Army and the 30th Guards and 26th Army Corps were based in the territory of the district. General, later Marshal, Sergei Sokolov assumed command in 1965. Marshal Sokolov later became the Minister of Defence in 1984. On 22 February 1968, in conjunction with
3196-596: The 30th Guards Army Corps was used to create the mobilization 37th Motor Rifle Division. In 1962 the troops of the district participated in Operation Anadyr , the Soviet military deployment to Cuba that resulted in the Cuban Missile Crisis . As a result of tensions with China in the late 1960s, the headquarters of the 44th Army Corps , 2nd Guards Tank Division, the 279th Motor Rifle Regiment of
3290-559: The 30th Guards Army Corps. Also in 1994 the 5186th VkHVT at Petrozavodsk was seemingly upgraded into the 30th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade. In early December 1997, President Boris Yeltsin said in Sweden that Russia would make unilateral reductions to forces in the northwest, which included the Leningrad Military District. He promised that land and naval units would be reduced by 40 per cent by January 1999. In May 1999, when Russian defense minister Marshal Igor Sergeyev confirmed that
3384-587: The 3807th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment. The 36th Landing-Assault Brigade was under district control until June 1990, when it was transferred to the Soviet Airborne Troops . Becoming part of the Russian Airborne Troops as the country dissolved, it was active until February 1997. In 1990 the 63rd Guards became the 56th Guards District Training Centre . In 1993 the 5189th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment
3478-665: The 50th anniversary of the Soviet Army and for its successes in combat and in political training, the District was awarded the Order of Lenin . On 3 June 1968 the District was placed on alert. The Norwegian Army raised its alert levels in response. Within a couple of days the mobilized forces in the Leningrad region reached 11,000 soldiers, 4,000 naval infantry, 210 tanks, 500 troop transports, 265 self-propelled cannons, 1,300 logistics transports, 50 helicopters and 20 Antonov An-12 transport aircraft , all of which were staged in
3572-409: The 54th Guards MRD, reduced in size to a brigade and then which became a storage base, and the 64th Guards, reduced to a storage base). Left in their place were a number of weapons and equipment storage sites, and two motor rifle brigades (between January 1997 and June 1998 the 45th Guards MRD was reduced in size to become the 138th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade , and the 131st was reduced in size to become
3666-677: The Arctic Ocean as mafic oceanic crust material erupted out of a branch of Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The Amerasia Basin may have opened first, with the Chukchi Borderland moved along to the northeast by transform faults. Additional spreading helped to create the "triple-junction" of the Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge in the Late Cretaceous epoch . Throughout the Cenozoic Era, the subduction of the Pacific plate,
3760-617: The Arctic Ocean has a uniquely complex system of water flow. It resembles some hydrological features of the Mediterranean Sea , referring to its deep waters having only limited communication through the Fram Strait with the Atlantic Basin , "where the circulation is dominated by thermohaline forcing". The Arctic Ocean has a total volume of 18.07 × 10 km , equal to about 1.3% of the World Ocean. Mean surface circulation
3854-403: The Arctic Ocean. Much of the Arctic ice pack is also covered in snow for about 10 months of the year. The maximum snow cover is in March or April—about 20–50 cm (7.9–19.7 in) over the frozen ocean. The climate of the Arctic region has varied significantly during the Earth's history. During the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum 55 million years ago, when the global climate underwent
Northern Front (Soviet Union) - Misplaced Pages Continue
3948-402: The Arctic Ocean: Different authorities put various marginal seas in either the Arctic Ocean or the Atlantic Ocean, including: Hudson Bay , Baffin Bay , the Norwegian Sea , and Hudson Strait . The main islands and archipelagos in the Arctic Ocean are, from the prime meridian west: There are several ports and harbours on the Arctic Ocean. The ocean's Arctic shelf comprises
4042-408: The Canadian Archipelago. As noted, the process of ice formation and movement is a key driver in Arctic Ocean circulation and the formation of water masses. With this dependence, the Arctic Ocean experiences variations due to seasonal changes in sea ice cover. Sea ice movement is the result of wind forcing, which is related to a number of meteorological conditions that the Arctic experiences throughout
4136-435: The District's composition as the Republic of Karelia , the Komi Republic , Arkhangelsk , Vologda , Leningrad , Murmansk , Novgorod , and Pskov oblasts, Saint Petersburg , and the Nenets Autonomous Okrug . The district headquarters is now in the General Staff Building on Palace Square in Saint Petersburg . General Lieutenant Nikolai Bogdanovsky , commanded the district, between March 2009 and September 2010. On
4230-408: The European region of the Arctic Ocean was heavily contested : the Allied commitment to resupply the Soviet Union via its northern ports was opposed by German naval and air forces. Since 1954 commercial airlines have flown over the Arctic Ocean (see Polar route ). The Arctic Ocean occupies a roughly circular basin and covers an area of about 14,056,000 km (5,427,000 sq mi), almost
4324-410: The Fram Strait is what allows for both inflow and outflow on the Atlantic side of the Arctic Ocean. Because of this, it is influenced by the Coriolis force , which concentrates outflow to the East Greenland Current on the western side and inflow to the Norwegian Current on the eastern side. Pacific water also exits along the west coast of Greenland and the Hudson Strait (1–2 Sv), providing nutrients to
4418-439: The Leningrad Military District once more. In March 2024, Shoigu announced that another new district's army corps (44th Army Corps, which is already in action in Kharkiv Oblast ), would be formed through the year. The reforms also include reinforcement of the 11th Army Corps and 14th Army Corps into armies. All of the new or reinforced formations will be based within the Leningrad Military District. On 2 September, 2024, it
4512-419: The Lomonosov Ridge, which appears to be continental crust separated from the Barents-Kara Shelf in the Paleocene and then starved of sediment. It may contain up to 10 billion barrels of oil. The Gakkel Ridge rift is also poorly understand and may extend into the Laptev Sea. In large parts of the Arctic Ocean, the top layer (about 50 m [160 ft]) is of lower salinity and lower temperature than
4606-444: The North American polar region goes back at least 17,000–50,000 years, during the Wisconsin glaciation . At this time, falling sea levels allowed people to move across the Bering land bridge that joined Siberia to northwestern North America (Alaska), leading to the Settlement of the Americas . Early Paleo-Eskimo groups included the Pre-Dorset ( c. 3200–850 BC ); the Saqqaq culture of Greenland (2500–800 BC);
4700-432: The Northern Front included the following subunits: 7th PVO Fighter Aviation Corps (later the 2nd PVO Guards Fighter Aviation Corps ) commanded by Colonel Stepan Pavlovich Danilov was responsible for air cover over Leningrad, using basing on 10 primary and 15 reserve air fields, and included Leningrad Military District The Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District ( Russian : Ленингра́дский вое́нный о́круг )
4794-498: The Petchenga-Murmansk area near Norway. On the evening of 7 June, the Norwegian Garnisonen i Sør-Varanger garrison heard the noise of powerful engines coming from the manoeuvres along the entire Soviet front of the Norwegian-Soviet border. Actual observations were not possible over the border in the dark. On that same night the GSV commanding officer ordered all GSV reserve forces to report to their emergency muster locations. The Soviet demonstration of strength lasted until 10 June, when
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#17328022036834888-435: The Russian Federation performing tasks on the territory of the district are under its operational subordination. The district was founded in 1864 as the Petersburg Military District in the Russian Empire during the military district reform of that year. After World War I began Saint Petersburg was renamed Petrograd and the district also changed its name to the Petrograd Military District. The Leningrad Military District
4982-408: The Soviet forces stood down. In 1979, Scott and Scott reported the headquarters address as Leningrad, L-13, Pod'ezdnoy Per., Dom 4. In 1988 the district's forces were reported as consisting of the 6th Army ( Petrozavodsk ) with the 54th ( Alakurtti ), 111th ( Sortavala ) and 131st Motor Rifle Divisions , plus three zero-strength mobilisation divisions at Petrozavodsk, Alakurtti, and Nagornyy;
5076-435: The abolition of the district General Bogdansky became Deputy Commander of the Russian Ground Forces . Order of Lenin Leningrad Military District in 2010: In 2024, after the Russian invasion of Ukraine the district was reestablished. Since the middle of January 2024, the Northern Fleet lost its status as a military-administrative unit in line with a military district, and the territory it administered became part of
5170-608: The average winter value of 15,600,000 km (6,023,200 sq mi). The seasonal variations are about 7,000,000 km (2,702,700 sq mi), with the maximum in April and minimum in September. The sea ice is affected by wind and ocean currents, which can move and rotate very large areas of ice. Zones of compression also arise, where the ice piles up to form pack ice. Icebergs occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island , and icebergs are formed from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada. Icebergs are not sea ice but may become embedded in
5264-441: The collision of India with Eurasia, and the continued opening of the North Atlantic created new hydrocarbon traps. The seafloor began spreading from the Gakkel Ridge in the Paleocene Epoch and the Eocene Epoch, causing the Lomonosov Ridge to move farther from land and subside. Because of sea ice and remote conditions, the geology of the Arctic Ocean is still poorly explored. The Arctic Coring Expedition drilling shed some light on
5358-400: The cuts had taken place, Sergeyev said that the personnel of the Leningrad Military District had been drawn down by 52 per cent. In terms of formations, the series of disbandments left the district almost unrecognisable. The 6th Army ’s staff at Petrozavodsk , the staff of the 30th Guards Army Corps at Vyborg, and all the motor rifle divisions previously in the district disbanded (including
5452-466: The district, the 200th Motor Rifle Brigade descends from the World War II -era 45th Rifle Division , which later became the 131st Motor Rifle Division. In 2006–07, the 35th Base for Storage of Weapons & Equipment, the former 54th Motor Rifle Division at Alakurtti , was disbanded. The Russian Airborne Troops ' 76th Air Assault Division was also based within the district's boundaries, at Pskov . Presidential Decree 900 dated July 27, 1998 gave
5546-437: The explorers who travelled closer and closer to the pole reported, the polar ice cap is quite thick and persists year-round. Fridtjof Nansen was the first to make a nautical crossing of the Arctic Ocean, in the Fram Expedition from 1893 to 1896. The first surface crossing of the ocean was led by Wally Herbert in 1969, in a dog sled expedition from Alaska to Svalbard , with air support. The first nautical transit of
5640-420: The fall of 1944 helped seize Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania . The Front was reorganized under the Leningrad District into a peacetime status on 9 July 1945. Marshal Leonid Govorov took command shortly afterwards. The reestablished district was responsible for the Estonian SSR, Leningrad, Pskov, and Novgorod Oblasts. Initially the district controlled two combined arms armies: the 10th Guards in Estonia and
5734-440: The formation of Atlantic Deep Water. The overturning of this water plays a key role in global circulation and the moderation of climate. In the depth range of 150–900 m (490–2,950 ft) is a water mass referred to as Atlantic Water. Inflow from the North Atlantic Current enters through the Fram Strait, cooling and sinking to form the deepest layer of the halocline, where it circles the Arctic Basin counter-clockwise. This
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#17328022036835828-461: The former Baltic Military District . Since 1992 many formations and units of the District have participated in local conflicts and peace-keeping missions, especially in the North Caucasus . The 111th Motor Rifle Division (still part of 6th Army) was active until 1994, and then seemingly became the 20th Independent MR Bde, which became a VKhVT between January 1997 and June 1998. As the 20th Independent Motor Rifle Brigade it shifted formations into
5922-456: The ice has been quoted at 50%. The US National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) uses satellite data to provide a daily record of Arctic sea ice cover and the rate of melting compared to an average period and specific past years, showing a continuous decline in sea ice extent. In September 2012, the Arctic ice extent reached a new record minimum. Compared to the average extent (1979–2000), the sea ice had diminished by 49%. Human habitation in
6016-497: The increasing influence of Atlantic water heat in melting sea ice in the eastern Arctic. The most recent estimates, for 2016–2018, indicate the oceanic heat flux to the surface has now overtaken the atmospheric flux in the eastern Eurasian Basin. Over the same period the weakening halocline stratification has coincided with increasing upper ocean currents thought to be associated with declining sea ice, indicate increasing mixing in this region. In contrast direct measurements of mixing in
6110-416: The left — with the Baltic MD. Among the defensive works started in the 1930s to protect the frontiers was the Karelian Fortified Region . The Winter War of 1939–40 with Finland prompted a close examination of the combat performance of the District's troops, and for the better control of the 7th and 13th Armies the North-Western Front was formed from the staff of the District on 7 January 1940. Three and
6204-416: The more fanciful cartographers, tended to leave the region blank, with only fragments of known coastline sketched in. This lack of knowledge of what lay north of the shifting barrier of ice gave rise to a number of conjectures. In England and other European nations, the myth of an " Open Polar Sea " was persistent. John Barrow , longtime Second Secretary of the British Admiralty , promoted exploration of
6298-448: The new district's commander on 16 May 2024. It is one of two military districts of the Russian Armed Forces , with its jurisdiction primarily within the western central region of European Russia . The Leningrad Military District contains 11 federal subjects of Russia: the Republic of Karelia , the Komi Republic , Arkhangelsk , Vologda , Kaliningrad , Leningrad , Murmansk , Novgorod and Pskov oblasts , Saint Petersburg , and
6392-448: The north polar regions remained largely unexplored and their geography conjectural. Pytheas of Massilia recorded an account of a journey northward in 325 BC, to a land he called " Eschate Thule ", where the Sun only set for three hours each day and the water was replaced by a congealed substance "on which one can neither walk nor sail". He was probably describing loose sea ice known today as " growlers " or "bergy bits"; his "Thule"
6486-400: The north pole was made in 1958 by the submarine USS Nautilus , and the first surface nautical transit occurred in 1977 by the icebreaker NS Arktika . Since 1937, Soviet and Russian manned drifting ice stations have extensively monitored the Arctic Ocean. Scientific settlements were established on the drift ice and carried thousands of kilometres by ice floes . In World War II ,
6580-471: The pack ice. Icebergs pose a hazard to ships, of which the Titanic is one of the most famous. The ocean is virtually icelocked from October to June, and the superstructure of ships are subject to icing from October to May. Before the advent of modern icebreakers, ships sailing the Arctic Ocean risked being trapped or crushed by sea ice (although the Baychimo drifted through the Arctic Ocean untended for decades despite these hazards). The Arctic Ocean
6674-414: The region from 1818 to 1845 in search of this. In the United States in the 1850s and 1860s, the explorers Elisha Kane and Isaac Israel Hayes both claimed to have seen part of this elusive body of water. Even quite late in the century, the eminent authority Matthew Fontaine Maury included a description of the Open Polar Sea in his textbook The Physical Geography of the Sea (1883). Nevertheless, as all
6768-520: The rest. It remains relatively stable because the salinity effect on density is bigger than the temperature effect. It is fed by the freshwater input of the big Siberian and Canadian rivers ( Ob , Yenisei , Lena , Mackenzie ), the water of which quasi floats on the saltier, denser, deeper ocean water. Between this lower salinity layer and the bulk of the ocean lies the so-called halocline , in which both salinity and temperature rise with increasing depth. Because of its relative isolation from other oceans,
6862-663: The role of salinity in density. When water reaches the basin, it is pushed by strong winds into a large circular current called the Beaufort Gyre . Water in the Beaufort Gyre is far less saline than that of the Chukchi Sea due to inflow from large Canadian and Siberian rivers. The final defined water mass in the Arctic Ocean is called Arctic Surface Water and is found in the depth range of 150–200 m (490–660 ft). The most important feature of this water mass
6956-462: The sea that sink over the continental shelf into the western Arctic Ocean and create a halocline. This water is met by Greenland Sea Deep Water, which forms during the passage of winter storms. As temperatures cool dramatically in the winter, ice forms, and intense vertical convection allows the water to become dense enough to sink below the warm saline water below. Arctic Bottom Water is critically important because of its outflow, which contributes to
7050-467: The shelf region that begins as inflow from the Pacific passes through the narrow Bering Strait at an average rate of 0.8 Sverdrups and reaches the Chukchi Sea . During the winter, cold Alaskan winds blow over the Chukchi Sea, freezing the surface water and pushing this newly formed ice out to the Pacific. The speed of the ice drift is roughly 1–4 cm/s. This process leaves dense, salty waters in
7144-411: The size of Antarctica . The coastline is 45,390 km (28,200 mi) long. It is the only ocean smaller than Russia , which has a land area of 16,377,742 km (6,323,482 sq mi). The Arctic Ocean is surrounded by the land masses of Eurasia (Russia and Norway), North America ( Canada and the U.S. state of Alaska), Greenland, and Iceland . Note: Some parts of the areas listed in
7238-478: The summer months. There is also evidence that the drift is associated with the phase of the Arctic Oscillation and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation . Much of the Arctic Ocean is covered by sea ice that varies in extent and thickness seasonally. The mean extent of the Arctic sea ice has been continuously decreasing in the last decades, declining at a rate of currently 12.85% per decade since 1980 from
7332-664: The summer, the SLP contrast is smaller, producing weaker winds. A final example of seasonal pressure system movement is the low pressure system that exists over the Nordic and Barents Seas. It is an extension of the Icelandic Low , which creates cyclonic ocean circulation in this area. The low shifts to centre over the North Pole in the summer. These variations in the Arctic all contribute to ice drift reaching its weakest point during
7426-696: The table are located in the Atlantic Ocean . Other consists of Gulfs , Straits , Channels and other parts without specific names and excludes Exclusive Economic Zones . The Arctic Ocean is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Bering Strait and to the Atlantic Ocean through the Greenland Sea and Labrador Sea . (The Iceland Sea is sometimes considered part of the Greenland Sea, and sometimes separate.) The largest seas in
7520-415: The troops of the district was as follows: In December 1989, the 77th Guards Motorized Rifle Division Moscow-Chernigov was transformed into a coastal defense division of the same name, and the 69th Sevsk Motorized Rifle Division in Vologda was transformed into the 5189th Base for Storage of Weapons and Equipment (Russian acronym VKhVT). Accordingly, in 1991, the 26th ("Arkhangelsk") Army Corps had more than
7614-475: The upper 100–150 m (330–490 ft) of ocean water cools to the freezing point for sea ice to form. In the winter, the relatively warm ocean water exerts a moderating influence, even when covered by ice. This is one reason why the Arctic does not experience the extreme temperatures seen on the Antarctic continent . There is considerable seasonal variation in how much pack ice of the Arctic ice pack covers
7708-493: The western Arctic indicate the Atlantic water heat remains isolated at intermediate depths even under the 'perfect storm' conditions of the Great Arctic Cyclone of 2012 . Waters originating in the Pacific and Atlantic both exit through the Fram Strait between Greenland and Svalbard Island, which is about 2,700 m (8,900 ft) deep and 350 km (220 mi) wide. This outflow is about 9 Sv. The width of
7802-691: The world; it holds large oil and gas reserves. The Chukchi shelf forms the border between Russian and the United States as stated in the USSR–USA Maritime Boundary Agreement . The whole area is subject to international territorial claims . The Chukchi Plateau extends from the Chukchi Sea Shelf. An underwater ridge , the Lomonosov Ridge , divides the deep sea North Polar Basin into two oceanic basins :
7896-547: The year. For example, the Beaufort High—an extension of the Siberian High system—is a pressure system that drives the anticyclonic motion of the Beaufort Gyre. During the summer, this area of high pressure is pushed out closer to its Siberian and Canadian sides. In addition, there is a sea level pressure (SLP) ridge over Greenland that drives strong northerly winds through the Fram Strait, facilitating ice export. In
7990-432: Was announced that the district's deputy commander, Valery Mumindzhanov , a Shoigu loyalist, was arrested on corruption charges as part of an apparent purge by Andrey Belousov . As of 2024 ground combat units deployed within the 11th Corps include: During its existence, the district was commanded by the following officers: Arctic Ocean Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: The Arctic Ocean
8084-602: Was based on the 7th Army , 14th Army , 23rd Armies and the Leningrad People's Opolcheniye Army . Other forces included four Rifle Corps , two Mechanized Corps , seventeen Rifle Divisions , four Tank Divisions, two Motor Rifle Divisions, eight artillery regiments of the Reserve of Highest Command, eight Aviation Divisions (including one objective air division), seven Fortified Regions , one Fortified Position, and thirteen machinegun battalions. The formations of
8178-482: Was disbanded. The fall of the Soviet Union caused much reassessment of the Russian Federation ’s military situation. During most of the 1990s, economic constraints greatly hampered military effectiveness. Several formations, such as the 25th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade , formed on 1 January 1993 from the disbanding 24th Tank Training Division at Riga , arrived in the district having been withdrawn from
8272-741: Was originally formed as the Petrograd Military District after the October Revolution of 1917 up to the beginning of the formation of the Red Army . The Petrograd District was reestablished as a part of the Red Army (RKKA) by an order of the Highest Military Council of 6 September 1918. On 1 February 1924, the Petrograd military district was renamed the Leningrad Military District when the city
8366-674: Was probably Norway , though the Faroe Islands or Shetland have also been suggested. Early cartographers were unsure whether to draw the region around the North Pole as land (as in Johannes Ruysch 's map of 1507, or Gerardus Mercator 's map of 1595) or water (as with Martin Waldseemüller 's world map of 1507). The fervent desire of European merchants for a northern passage, the Northern Sea Route or
8460-460: Was renamed Leningrad. The district included Leningrad, Pskov , Novgorod, Olonets, Cherepovets, and Murmansk Governorates and the Karelian SSR. In 1927 the governorates were merged into the new Leningrad Oblast, with the territory of the district remaining the same between the wars. By 1935 the district included the 1st Rifle Corps at Novgorod with the 16th and 56th Rifle Divisions , and
8554-720: Was split into the Leningrad and Karelian Fronts . The Front's forces efforts played a major part in resisting the German attacks during the Siege of Leningrad . By the joint efforts of troops of the Leningrad Front, Volkhov Front , and the 2nd Baltic Front during January 1944 the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive ended the siege of the city. Pressing home the attack, the forces of the Leningrad Front in summer and in
8648-430: Was subsumed into the Leningrad Military District. Accordingly, Headquarters Northern Military District became Headquarters 6th Combined Arms Army . That year, the 37th Guards Motor Rifle Division of the 30th Guards Army Corps was reorganized as the district's motor rifle training division, returning to its wartime designation as the 63rd Guards in 1964. In the late 1960s the 14th Separate Machine Gun Artillery Regiment of
8742-465: Was the first commander of the 76th Air Army. Apart from a brief period when the air army was redesignated the Air Forces of the Leningrad Military District from 1980 to 1988, the 76th Air Army would be active in the region until 1998. In Arkhangelsk, Arkhangelsk Oblast, the 44th Special Rifle Corps was activated on 22 June 1956 from HQ Arkhangelsk Military District . The 2nd Guards Tank Division
8836-594: Was transferred to the district from the Estonian SSR in 1958, based at Garbolovo and Vladimirsky Lager . In June 1957 44th Special Rifle Corps was renamed the 44th Special Army Corps. Three years later it comprised the 69th and 77th Motor Rifle Divisions. In August 1961, it was renamed the 44th Army Corps. In May 1960 the Northern Military District, controlling forces in the Karelian and Komi ASSRs, and Arkhangelsk, Murmansk and Vologda Oblasts,
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