TheScott Hansen Islands (Russian:Острова Скотт-Гансена,Ostrova Skott-Gansena) is a group of three small islands covered with tundra vegetation in theKara Sea, about 20 km from the tip of theMikhailov Peninsula in the coast ofSiberia. In many maps these islands appear with the nameScott-Gansen Islands, derived from the Russian spelling.
The Scott-Hansen group belongs to theKrasnoyarsk Krai administrative division ofRussia. It is part of theGreat Arctic State Nature Reserve, the largest nature reserve of Russia. The westernmost island, at about 3 km, is larger than the other two. The islands are named as a group; individual islands do not have names in common maps. The sea surrounding the islands is covered with pack ice with somepolynias in winter, and there are many ice floes even in summer.
This archipelago is named after Sigurd Scott-Hansen (1868-1937), a Norwegian naval lieutenant, who was in charge of the astronomical and meteorological observations duringFridtjof Nansen's 1893 polar expedition on theFram. Sigurd Scott-Hansen was born inLeith, Scotland where his father, Andreas Hansen, was the parish priest at theNorwegian Sailors' Church. Scott-Hansen grew up inKristiania (now Oslo), Norway and made his career in theRoyal Norwegian Navy. In 1889 he became 2nd lieutenant, in 1892 1st lieutenant, in 1898 captain and in 1910 he was appointed commander.[1]
Between 1893 and 1896, he joined inThe First Fram Expedition under the leadership ofFridtjof Nansen. He was in charge of the meteorological, astronomical and magnetic data.[2][3]
Scott-Hansen retired from naval service in 1931, and later aided with the interior restoration ofFram. He died in 1939, the year after the Fram Museum opened at Bygdøynes in Oslo.[4]
75°19′N86°15′E / 75.317°N 86.250°E /75.317; 86.250
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