Severnaya Zemlya but currently there are no human inhabitants in Severnaya Zemlya except for the Prima Polar Station near Cape Baranov. The largest glacier in the Russian Federation, the Academy of Sciences Glacier, is located in Severnaya Zemlya. The archipelago is notable as well in connection with the ongoing multiyear Arctic sea ice decline. Until recently, ice joined the islands to Eurasia, even at its smallest extent during the late summer melt season, blocking the Northeast Passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific. By the late summer of 2012, however, the permanent ice had reached a record low extent and open water
Sukhoy Nos Sukhoy Nos Sukhoy Nos, also Sukhoi Nos () is a cape on Severny, the northern island of the archipelago Novaya Zemlya, belonging to Arkhangelsk Oblast of the Russian Federation, projecting into the Barents Sea. The site lies near the southwestern corner of the island, very close to the Matochkin Strait, which separates Severny from Yuzhny, the southern island of the archipelago. The cape is composed of black and reddish shale. Underwater sandbars are located off of the cape's northern shore. Numerous birds nest on the steep cliffs, particularly loons. It was known for being a site of nuclear testing for