The Russian Navy discovered five new islands in the Arctic

The hydrologists of the Northern Fleet of Russia confirmed that five new islands had been discovered during their expedition to the Franz Josef Land archipelago.

An icy corner of the Franz Josef Land archipelago.(Photo: TASS)

TASS news agency quoted a statement from the Northern Fleet's communications office on August 27 announcing: 'The islands have an area of ​​900 to 54,500 ^m2 .' The Franz Josef Land Islands currently have 191 icy-covered islands, with a total area of ​​up to 16,000 square kilometers.

The Northern Fleet's expert group is believed to have used Earth remote sensing data. From 2015-2018, experts discovered at least 30 new islands, headlands and bays. Information obtained through topographic surveys will be checked a second time and then officially added to the map as well as positioning documents and instructions.

Northern Fleet experts are responsible for rebuilding topographic graphics and writing descriptions for new islands.

The expedition moved 3,218km through the Barents and Karra Seas, conducting research on Pakhtusov Island, Vise Bay and Blagopoluchiye Bay. The expedition also explored the southern coast of Hooker Island and made several observations on the ice there.