The Northeast Passage A Guide to the Seas and Wildlife Islands of Arctic Siberia

About this book

This is a revised second edition of The Northeast Passage. The seas and islands of the Siberian Arctic are a serious challenge to the navigator, but powerful icebreakers have opened the way to the Northeast Passage, a region which is home for a world-beating range of superb animals. Polar bears and walrus are common, some of the world's rarest birds are everyday sightings, some of the seabirds breed here in uncountable numbers. The islands are largely unexplored and scenically magnificent, a magnet for expedition vessels and adventurous tourists. Icebreaker technology and retreating ice have opened the Russian Arctic to a potential increase of maritime traffic between the Atlantic and Pacific. This is a region largely unexplored, with spectacular icescapes and glaciated islands rich in wildlife. There are great concentrations of seabirds, more polar bears, more walrus, than anywhere on the planet. There are landings where some of the rarest birds in the world are almost commonplace. A magnificent wilderness inviting adventurous travel.

Contents

Introduction 7
Opening the Passage 9
The Passage Today 21
Barents Sea 21
Franz Josef Land 22
Novaya Zemlya 47
Kara Sea 58
Severnaya Zemlya 66
Laptev Sea 74
New Siberian Islands 76
East Siberian Sea 81
De Long Islands 81
Chukchi Sea 96
Wrangel Island 97
Bering Strait 114
Appendices 127
Plants 127
Birds 130
Mammals 134
Selected References 137
Picture Credits 138
Acknowledgements 139
Index 140

Customer Reviews

Biography

Tony Soper is a naturalist with an infectious enthusiasm for seagoing birds, seals and whales. After a first career as a wildlife film maker for the BBC's Natural History Unit he now travels the world in search of wilderness islands and their wildlife. Long regarded in Britain as 'Mr Birdwatch', his fourteen books include monographs on Owls and Penguins; his back-garden Bird Table Book is an international best-seller and his field guides to the Arctic and the Antarctic are in every polar travellers baggage. He has presented many television films for BBC and National Geographic. But in a parallel career he was one of the pioneers of expedition cruising, with over forty years of experience running small vessels on birding cruises as well as lecturing on everything from seaside tripper-boats to the largest and grandest cruise ships. He is an enthusiastic diver and small-boat sailor. He holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Plymouth and is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. His wife Hilary is a geographer and painter; they have two sons, one a seagoing expedition leader, the other a BBC producer