Happy Tycoon

Wolsteinholm Fjord, where the Thule Air Force Base is located, is the entrance to Smith Strait. We passed there in the early hours of yesterday, but the Wolsteinholm Fjord is too far away from our route, and we cannot see it. ’” Brian’s look suggested he was a little tipsy.

In fact, there is an Arctic research base that has existed for a long time. It used to be an Inuit settlement called Ulanmark, and the Inuit lived there for hundreds of years. Later, the Danish explorer Kru De Rasmussen made it a trading center and forward base when he conducted five scientific expeditions to the Arctic between 1912 and 1924.

After World War II, a joint Danish weather station was set up in the region. During the Cold War, the U.S. military began to see the Arctic region as a front line against the Soviet Union. During World War II, the Allies had already established weather stations in Greenland and Canada, but during the Cold War, the United States wanted to An air base is needed to intercept bombers from the northeast to the United States, and also to serve as a refueling point for long-range bombers in the United States, and Ulan Mark is just in the middle of Moscow and New York, so the U.S. government aimed at it here.

At that time, the secret project to build an air force base here was code-named 'Blue Jay'. In July 1951, a fleet of 120 containers, 12,000 people and 300,000 tons of goods arrived at North Star Bay, and construction began immediately in Thule Air Force Base. And all the Inuit living in Ulanmark were removed, and then the builders spent two years building a huge air force base there, which was Thule Air Force Base. At that time, the United States The 821st Air Force Regiment is based there, also known as Base 821st.

Brian drank another glass of wine, shook his head and continued: In 1961, the US military established the 12th Space Early Warning Squadron, which was called the 12th Missile Early Warning Squadron at that time, and this squadron was also stationed at Thule Air Force Base. At that time Thule Air Force Base was successively commanded by Northeast Air Force Command, Air Defense Command and Strategic Air Force Command. It was not until 1983 that Air Force Space Command took over Thule Air Force Base. In 1992, the 12th Missile Early Warning Squadron was reorganized. The 12th Space Warning Squadron. I served there in 2007 and served there for four years.”

Yang Jing asked curiously: It must be boring to serve there, right?

Brian smiled and shook his head, How can it be boring? If it is boring to serve there now, that's for sure. After all, there are only about 200 American soldiers serving there now, but when I was serving, there were still some soldiers there. There are more than 2,000 people. It is said that there were more than 10,000 people at the Thule Air Force Base. How can it be boring?

As Brian said, he stretched out his hand and drew a circle, You have never been there. Although it is located 1207 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, the scenery there is also very spectacular. It is the only place on earth where three active The place where the glaciers merge together, and Thule is also the northernmost port in the world, where the deep-water pier is enough for the Blue Whale to dock. Also, there is a 3,000-meter-long runway, which only goes to and from Thule Air Force Base every year There are more than 3,000 flights. The Thule Air Force Base can be said to be the most important military base of the US government in the Arctic region! Serving there is actually not boring at all.”

Grid asked curiously: Then is there anything strange there? For example, what are you doing there? Or is there any high-tech radar in that base?

Brian shook his head with a smile and said: I'm sorry boss, I can't explain to you the things you asked about. Although I have retired for seven years, I still have to abide by some confidentiality regulations. I don't want to just say something He was hunted down by the U.S. government all his life for saying things he shouldn’t have said.”

Carl Morris looked at Grid with a disappointed expression, and said with a smile: Madam, you don't need to be disappointed. Let alone you, even those of us who spend all day with Brian, he never told us Over some sensitive stuff in that damn base.

Grid shrugged his shoulders and said, Well, I shouldn't ask about this, I'm just too curious.

Because of the sudden blizzard, everyone except the crew on duty had another lively dinner at noon.

In this kind of boring voyage, it is very necessary to have a dinner from time to time, which will help relieve some negative emotions caused by passengers or crew members due to the boring voyage.

But what surprised Yang Jing and the others was that the blizzard came and went very quickly. After everyone had eaten and drank enough at noon, they suddenly discovered that the sun was seen outside again at some unknown time.

Pushing open the hatch and going out, people discovered that the snowstorm had stopped, and a black cloud was faintly visible in the sky pressing towards the southeast. And in the sky now, although there are still many clouds, they are not as dark and scary as before. The sun also showed its head playfully, trying to contribute its own heat to this sea area.

Although the sky cleared, the temperature became very low. Yang Jing looked at the outdoor thermometer. In this short period of three hours, the temperature dropped from about ten degrees above zero to seventeen below zero. Spend

The climate in the polar regions is like this, because the rising thermal air flow of the entire northern hemisphere will cool down in the Arctic region, and then carry a huge amount of cold to the warmer regions at low latitudes, supplementing the air that rises with the warmer regions due to rising temperatures. So In the polar regions, you can often encounter such sudden snowstorms. Don’t worry, it’s summer after all, as long as you pay attention to this kind of snowstorm, it won’t cause any catastrophic consequences.” Standing in the cockpit, Andri explained the snowstorm to Yang Jing in a low voice.

Yang Jing smiled wryly and said, With you here, I don't worry about any disastrous consequences, I just worry about the speed.

Now the speed of the Blue Whale is the safest 3 knots, which is more than five kilometers per hour. It is more than 500 kilometers, and if it continues at this speed, it will take at least four more days.

Andre smiled and said: Don't worry, this temperature cannot be maintained for a long time. You have never been to the polar regions, so you may not understand some things. I go to the South Pole or the North Pole twice a year, so I have no doubts. This kind of polar climate is quite familiar. Don't worry, it will take less than a day for this cold snap to pass, and the temperature will rise immediately. And I observed it just now, and the cooling of this cold snap is not that violent. It is not uncommon for the temperature to drop forty degrees within a few hours. This is less than thirty degrees, which is a normal drop in temperature. Don't worry.

Well, since Andre said so, Yang Jing can only choose to believe it. Although this guy has only taken over as the captain of the Blue Whale, he is an old seaman after all, and he has much more experience in this area than himself.

Things were exactly as Andre judged. After nine o'clock in the evening, Yang Jing felt that the wind direction had changed.

The north wind, which was like a knife just now, has quietly turned into a southwest wind after raging for more than ten hours, and the outdoor temperature has risen from minus 17 degrees at noon to minus 6 degrees.

The most important thing is that the icing situation on the sea surface has not aggravated much, and the current Blue Whale has increased its speed to seven knots again.

Time passed so quietly, and two days later, when the Blue Whale drilled out of the northernmost section of the Smith Strait, which was only about 20 kilometers wide, the front suddenly became clear.

The Arctic Ocean is here! Captain Andre said with a trace of excitement in his tone. Although the eyes are still white, compared to the narrow strait, this kind of wideness can undoubtedly make people more excited.

Is this the Arctic Ocean? Grid asked Captain Andre.

That's right, the real Arctic Ocean is ahead. But the temperature of the sea water is still a bit low. If we wait until August, the ice here will melt and shatter to expose the sea water.

So fast? Yang Jing was also a little surprised, The ice layer here is about half a meter thick now? Can this half-meter-thick ice layer be melted in more than 20 days?

No, it's not completely melted. Captain Andre shook his head with a smile, Don't forget that we are at sea now, and the sea water under the ice layer is always moving. When the thickness of the ice layer is less than 20 centimeters , there is a high possibility of breaking under the strong fluctuations of sea water. Once these ice sheets break, the melting rate will accelerate.

Yang Jing nodded to express his understanding.

Andre walked to the chart room, looked at the charts and said, Let's go, we have entered the Arctic Ocean now, so we should visit the northernmost human settlement.

The northernmost settlement? Ge Ge was stunned for a moment, and then excitedly said as if thinking of something: Captain Andre, you mean Alert?

Captain Andre snapped his fingers and said with a smile, That's right, it's the northernmost human settlement on this planet.

Yang Jing asked Grid in a low voice, Is that what Alert is famous?

Grid nodded and said: Of course it is famous. This is the northernmost permanent residence in the world. It is located at 82 degrees 28 minutes north latitude, only more than 800 kilometers away from the North Pole.

Yang Jing patted his forehead and exclaimed, There are still people living in such a northern place?

It's not a permanent settlement either. Alert is just a permanent settlement, but most of the people who live there are temporary. More than ten years ago, there were five permanent settlers there, but Since 2011, no one has settled there permanently, but there are people there every year, there is a weather station there, there is also a military forward base and an airstrip, so there are still a few people there every year Persevere on duty.

Andre praised: Mr. Yang, I have to say that your fiancée knows a lot about this. She is right. Alert is the northernmost settlement on the coast of the Arctic Ocean. We scientific expedition personnel came to the Arctic before. Whenever I pass by here, I usually go to meet and have a meal with the guards there. It’s really not easy for them.”