MSGID: 1:317/3 630272c2   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   August 21, 2022 - Franz Josef Land   
      
      Franz Josef Land   
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      Sitting at the northern-most tip of Russia and only 600 miles (970 km)   
      away from the North Pole, the archipelago known as Franz Josef Land   
      remains coated in ice year-round. With such a northerly location,   
      frigid temperatures are the norm. In summer, the average high is just   
      35˚F (2˚C) and it plummets to about -8˚F (-22˚C) in winter. The steady   
      freeze helps maintain the presence of glaciers, which cover roughly 85   
      percent of islands.   
      
      Despite the harsh climate, life finds a way to flourish. Vegetation   
      includes lichens, mosses, and Arctic flowering plants. Polar bears   
      thrive on land, while sea birds such as guillemots, kittiwakes, and   
      little auks breed in abundance on the cliffs. Atlantic walrus, bowhead   
      whales, shark, seals, and even tiny copepods and phytoplankton live in   
      the waters around and between the islands.   
      
      Franz Josef Land was included in the Russian Arctic National Park in   
      2016, due to its pristine nature and biodiversity. Given that the ice   
      on and around Franz Josef Land depends on frigid temperatures   
      year-round, and island life depends on ice, the nature of these islands   
      is at particular risk in a warming climate, despite preservation   
      provided by classification as a park. A study published in June 2022 in   
      the journal Scientific Reports found the Northern Barents Sea to be an   
      exceptional warming hot spot, with warming rates up to twice as high as   
      previously estimated. The study states, “The regional warming rate for   
      the Northern Barents Sea region is exceptional and corresponds to 2 to   
      2.5 times the Arctic warming averages and 5 to 7 times the global   
      warming averages."   
      
      On August 17, 2022, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer   
      (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of   
      the northern section of Franz Josef Land. The islands remain covered   
      with glaciers, but sea ice is scarce around and between most of the   
      islands. Scant ice floats to the east of the islands while copious   
      broken ice covers the Barents Sea north the of the archipelago.   
      
      Image Facts   
      Satellite:  Aqua   
      Date Acquired: 8/17/2022   
      Resolutions:  1km (140.5 KB),  500m (407.2 KB),  250m (749.4   
      KB)   
      Bands Used: 1,4,3   
      Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC   
      
      
      
   https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2022-08-21   
       
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