Bennett Island is an island in the De Long Islands group in the East Siberian Sea, in the northeastern part of the New Siberian Islands, Russia. It covers an area of 156.2 km², and reaches the height is up to 426 meters. Administratively it is part of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). Named after James Gordon Bennett (Jr.).
Bennett Island is part of the De Long Islands group, which are
located in the northeastern part of the New Siberian Islands in the East
Siberian Sea. The area of the island is 156.25 km², making it the
largest island in the group. The island is 30 km long and 10 km wide.
Cape Emma is located in the southwest of the island, Cape Sofia and the
Chernyshev Peninsula are located in the southeast, Pavel-Köppen Bay
stretches from the southeast to the northeast, Cape and Emmeline
Peninsula are located in the northeast, and Cape Nadezhda is located in
the north.
There are four glaciers on the island with a total
area of 65.87 km², which is 42.2% of the island's area. They are located
mainly on high basalt plateaus bounded by steep ledge-like slopes. The
largest of them is the Toll glacier with an area of 55.5 km². It is
located in the central part of the island, the maximum height is 384
meters above sea level, the thickness is 160-170 meters. The Maly
Glacier covers an area of 4.04 km² on a basalt plateau 140-160 meters
high. The height of the glacier reaches up to 200-210 meters, the
thickness is 40-50 meters. In the western part of the island there are
two glaciers: De Longa West and East. The area of the first is 1.17 km²,
it occupies a plateau with a height of 360-380 meters, it is an almost
regular cone. It is the highest point of the island, its height is 426
meters. The area of the second glacier is 5.16 km², lies on a
plateau-like surface 240-300 meters high, has a complex shape due to the
relief of the bedrock surface. Its summit platform reaches 330-340
meters, where the glacier has a maximum thickness of about 40 meters.
Bennet Island is composed of layers of sedimentary and volcanic rocks of the Early Paleozoic, Late Cretaceous, Pliocene and Quaternary geological periods. The oldest rocks exposed on Bennett Island are moderately inclined marine sedimentary rocks of Cambrian and Ordovician age. Thus, in the geological section of Bennett Island, the Cambrian-Ordovician part has a flysch structure without obvious admixtures of volcanic material. They consist of a mudstone sequence approximately 500 m thick with a small amount of siltstone and limestone containing Middle Cambrian trilobites and Ordovician mudstone, siltstone and quartz sandstone 1000 to 1200 m thick, also containing graptolites. These Paleozoic rocks are overlain by Late Cretaceous coal-bearing mudstones and quartzite-like sandstones, as well as basaltic lavas and tuffs with lenses of tuffaceous mudstones. The Late Cretaceous sequences are overlain by Pliocene to Quaternary basalt lavas. The latest Quaternary volcanic rocks form small volcanic cones.
Until the 80s of the last century, modern volcanic activity on the
island was not given attention. In 1983, a plume of unknown origin was
found on satellite imagery, extending northwestward from the island.
Subsequent analysis of the images from 1973 to 1986 indicated the
cyclicity of their appearance and, for this reason, their most likely
meteorological nature, which is similar to Karman's vortex streets. A
total of 152 such events were recorded, one of the last of March 12,
2008 was studied separately. This plume was larger than expected due to
meteorological causes. Its length was 1,000 km, its volume exceeded
250,000 km³, and its height, equal to 3 km, was higher than the relief
of Bennett Island. Aerosols, carbon dioxide and sulfates were found in
its composition in large quantities - common components of volcanic and
hydrothermal eruptions.
The duration of the events of Bennett
plume formations can reach several days. The volume of solid material
ejected during such events can reach 0.36 km³, which corresponds to
small volcanic eruptions. Subsequent comparison of bathymetric data on
the bottom topography around the island showed significant differences
from the topography of the 20th century, with the appearance of new
cone-shaped shoals that correspond well to the sites of releases.
Analysis of samples of marine sediments near the island testifies to the
modern impact of hydrothermal solutions, since the cone formations with
ferromanganese composition contain the mineral todorokite, which is
common only for sediments from hot springs. Thus, modern activity with
the formation of gas-steam plumes occurs in a relatively
high-temperature environment of the current hydrothermal system and is
more likely to be related to hydrothermal eruptions, rather than
volcanic ones. By analogy with ordinary geysers, the frequency of
eruptions is determined by the time it takes for the aforementioned
hydrothermal system to restore water supplies and to warm it up before
the next eruption.
It is assumed that one of these volcanic cones
could be observed by the De Long expedition. Such volcanic formations
are usually quickly destroyed by ocean waves or sea ice and do not
remain on the surface for a long time.
In summer, the average monthly temperature is positive. The warmest month is June with an average monthly temperature of 1.2°C.
The island is inhabited by the Siberian eider, sandpiper, glaucous guillemot, thick-billed murre, fulmar, arctic fox, polar bear and walrus subspecies Odobenus rosmarus laptevi. Of these, the Siberian eider and the polar bear are listed in the International Red Book, and Odobenus rosmarus laptevi in the Red Book of Russia.
In July 1879, De Long sailed in the direction of
Chukotka on the USS Jeannette with a crew of 32 in order to track
down the Nordenskjold Swedish polar expedition, which was considered
missing on the Vega. Making a stopover in Alaska, De Long in August
1879 passed the Bering Strait and went to Chukotka. Here he learned
that the Nordenskjold expedition, after wintering, continued their
research and decided to sail to the North Pole. A few days later, on
September 5, 1879, not far from the Herald Island in the Arctic
Ocean, "Jeannette" freezes into the ice and soon leaks. Drifting on
an ice-bound ship, De Long discovered the islands named after him
(the De Long Islands) in the East Siberian Sea in 1881. Bennett
Island was named by De Long after one of the main sponsors of his
expedition, James Gordon Bennett Jr. The northwest headland of the
island was named by De Long Cape Emma after his wife. Three months
later, De Long, trying to get out of the islands to the mainland,
died in the Lena River area
After the discovery, Bennett's
Island was identified by many scientists with the hypothetical
Sannikov Land.
The next researcher who became interested in
the New Siberian Islands and Bennett Island in particular was Eduard
Vasilyevich Toll, a Russian geologist and Arctic explorer. In 1899,
he began organizing an expedition, the purpose of which was to study
the sea currents in the Kara and East Siberian Seas of the Arctic
Ocean, explore the already known and search for new islands in this
part of the Arctic, including the "big continent" ("Arctida",
Sannikov Land), in whose existence Toll believed. On June 21, 1900,
the schooner Zarya, which Fridtjof Nansen recommended to Toll as a
vessel similar to the famous Fram, weighed anchor in St. Petersburg
with 20 crew members on board. The expedition brought significant
results, the areas of the Taimyr Peninsula and the New Siberian
Islands were explored. In May 1902, preparations began for a luge
and boat trip to Bennett's Island in order to study the geological
structure of the island. Finally, on July 5, 1902, Toll left Zarya
accompanied by the astronomer Friedrich Seeberg and the animal
traders Vasily Gorokhov (Yakutsk. Omuk) and Nikolai Dyakonov
(according to other sources - Protodyakonov, Evenk. Bagylai
Chichakh). The Zarya was planned to arrive at Bennett's Island two
months later. On July 13, E. Toll's party in dog sleds reached Cape
Vysoky on the island of New Siberia. On August 3, they reached
Bennett Island in canoes. Due to the severe ice conditions, the
Zarya was unable to approach Bennett's Island at the appointed time
and received serious damage, which made further navigation
impossible. In September 1902, the captain of the schooner,
Lieutenant Mathisen, was forced to take the ship to Tiksi Bay and
run aground. It is believed that Toll made the decision to
independently move towards the continent, however, no further traces
of the group were found.
In January 1903, the Academy of Sciences organized an expedition
to search for Toll's group. The expedition took place from May 5 to
December 7, 1903. Initially, they thought to send the icebreaker
"Ermak" to search, but in the end 17 people were sent on 12 sledges,
harnessed by 160 dogs. Lieutenant Alexander Kolchak was appointed
head of the search expedition. The trip to Bennett Island took three
months and was extremely difficult. On August 4, 1903, reaching
Bennett's Island, the expedition discovered traces of Toll and his
companions: the expedition's documents, collections, geodetic
instruments and a diary were found. It turned out that Toll arrived
on the island in the summer of 1902 and headed south with only 2-3
weeks of provisions. It became clear that Toll's expedition had
died. The return journey lasted about four months, on December 7,
1902, Kolchak's expedition arrived on the mainland. In 1909, based
on the materials of the expeditions, Kolchak published the monograph
“The Ice of the Kara and Siberian Seas”.
In 1914-1915 Boris
Vilkitsky, a Russian hydrographer, geodesist, explorer of the
Arctic, made the first through voyage along the Northern Sea Route
from Vladivostok to Arkhangelsk to Bennett Island.
The Soviet
zoologist S.M.Uspensky discovered traces of the presence of
primitive people on Bennett Island.
In 1956, the Arctic
Institute conducted a physical and geographical expedition on the
island, which, in particular, proved the absence of a reduction in
the dome of the De Long glacier.
In June 1971, the atomic
icebreaker Lenin and the diesel icebreaker Vladivostok passed by
Bennett Island, crossing the Arctic Ocean for the first time from
west to east.
In 1987, the AARI expedition worked on the
island for six months. Head - SR Verkulich, participants: AG
Krusanov, PV Reikhet, MA Anisimov The expedition established the
presence of four glaciers on the island, conducted paleogeographic
and glaciological studies, and discovered the nature of the
"volcanic" plume. Installed the USSR's first memorial cross to A.V.
Kolchak on the southern coast of the island, in the area of the
outlet glacier.
In August 2003, a monument was erected on
Bennett's Island - a 5-meter cross and a memorial plaque in honor of
the centenary of Kolchak's rescue expedition.
In September
2015, a geographic party landed on Bennett's Island to carry out
hydrographic work. The anti-terrorist group of the Marines of the
Northern Fleet from Sputnik was involved in the defense of the
geographical party.
The island is mentioned in
the novel by the French writer Jules Verne - "The Ice Sphinx" (fr.
Le Sphinx des glaces)
Finally, on the right side of the side,
land appears - an islet with a circle of one league, which is named
after Bennett, together with the captain of the owner of the
schooner Jane. The islet is located at 82 ° 50 'South latitude and
42 ° 20' West longitude, Arthur Pym notes in his diary. I urge
geographers not to put these fantastic coordinates on the maps of
the Antarctic seas!