Happy Tycoon

"The Wolstanholm Fjord, where the Tulle Air Force Base is located, is the entrance to the Smith Strait. We passed there early in the morning yesterday, but the Wolstanholm Fjord is too far from our course and we cannot see there. ." Bryan's look indicated that he was already a little bit drunk.

"In fact, there is an Arctic expedition base that has existed for a long time. It used to be an Inuit settlement called Ulanmark, where the Inuit lived for hundreds of years. Later, the Danish explorer Kru During his five scientific expeditions to the Arctic between 1912 and 1924, de Rasmussen turned it into a trading center and forward base."

"After World War II, a joint Danish weather station was established in the region. During the Cold War, the U.S. military began to regard the Arctic region as a frontline to the Soviet Union. During World War II, the allies had established weather stations in Greenland and Canada, but during the Cold War, the United States wanted An air base was required to intercept bombers from the northeast to the United States, and as a refueling point for the United States’ long-range bombers. Ulan Mark happened to be located in the midway zone between Moscow and New York, so the U.S. government aimed at the target. Here."

"At that time, the secret project code for building an air force base here was code-named'Lanjie'. In July 1951, a fleet of 120 containers, 12,000 people and 300,000 tons of cargo arrived at Beixing Bay, and construction began immediately. Air Force Base. All the Inuit living in Ulanmark were moved away, and then the builders spent two years building a huge air force base there. This is the Thule Air Force Base. At that time, the United States The Air Force’s 821st Regiment is stationed there, which is also known as the 821st base."

Bryan drank a glass of wine again, shook his head and continued: "In 1961, the U.S. Army established the 12th Space Early Warning Squadron, which was then called the 12th Missile Early Warning Squadron. This squadron was also stationed at Thule Air Force Base at that time. Thule Air Force Base was once 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 Warning Squadron was reorganized. It’s the 12th Space Early Warning Squadron. I served there in 2007, and I have served there for a total of four years."

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

Brian smiled and shook his head, "How could it be boring? If it is boring to serve there now, that's for sure. After all, there are only two hundred American soldiers serving there, but when I was serving, there were still There are more than two thousand people. It is said that when the number of people at the Tule Air Force Base was the highest, it used to be as high as more than 10,000. How could 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 one on earth with three active The place where glaciers merge together, and Tulle is the northernmost port in the world, where the deep-water pier is enough for the Blue Whale to dock. Also, there is a three-kilometer runway, which only travels to and from Tulle Air Force Base every year. There are more than 3,000 flights in the United States. Thule Air Force Base can be said to be the most important military base of the U.S. government in the Arctic! It’s not boring at all to serve there."

Grid asked curiously: "Are there any strange things there? For example, what are you doing there? Or is there any high-tech radar in the base?"

Brian smiled and shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, the boss, I can't explain to you the things you consulted. Although I have retired for seven years, I still have to abide by some confidentiality regulations. I don't want to say something. Things that shouldn't be said were hunted down by the US government for a lifetime."

Carl Morris looked at Grid with a disappointed look, and said with a smile: "Boss, you don't really need to be disappointed. Let alone you, even those of us who spend time with Brian, he never told us Some sensitive things in that **** base."

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

Because of this sudden blizzard, everyone except the crew on duty at noon once again had a lively dinner.

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

But what surprised Yang Jing and the others was that the blizzard came quickly and went very quickly. After everyone ate and drank at noon, they suddenly realized that they didn't know when they saw the sun again.

Pushing open the hatch and going out, people realized that the blizzard had stopped, and a black cloud was vaguely visible in the sky pressing toward the southeast. And in the sky now, although there are still a lot of clouds, it is not as black and scary as just now, and the sun also shows its head playfully, working hard to contribute its own heat to this sea area.

Although the sky was clearing, the temperature became very low. Yang Jing checked 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 polar climate is like this, because the rising warm air in the entire northern hemisphere will cool down in the Arctic region, and then carry a huge amount of cold to the warmer regions of low latitudes, supplementing the air that rises with the warmer regions as the temperature rises. So. In the polar regions, you can often encounter such sudden snowstorms. Don’t worry, it’s summer after all. This type of snowstorm will not cause any catastrophic consequences as long as you pay attention to it.” Standing in the cockpit, Andri explained the blizzard to Yang Jing in a low voice.

Yang Jing smiled bitterly: "With you, I don't worry about the catastrophic consequences, I just worry about this speed."

The Blue Whale’s speed is now the safest 3 knots, which is more than five kilometers an hour. This speed is about the same as the normal walking speed. And from here to the Cape Columbia, the northernmost tip of Ellesmere Island. It's more than 500 kilometers, and if you go down at this speed, it will take at least four days.

Andre smiled and said: "Don't worry, this temperature cannot be maintained for a long time. You have not been to the polar region, so you may not understand some situations. I go to the South Pole or the North Pole twice a year, so I am right This kind of polar climate is relatively well understood. Don’t worry, the temperature will rise immediately after the cold snap has passed. I also observed that the cold snap is not so violent, if it catches up with the violent one. It’s not uncommon for the temperature to drop by forty degrees within a few hours. It’s less than 30 degrees, which is a normal cooling. Don’t worry.”

Well, since Andre says so, Yang Jing can only choose to believe it. Although it didn't take long for this guy to take over as the captain of the Blue Whale, he is an old seaman after all, and he has much more experience in this aspect than himself.

As expected, things were as Andre had judged. At around nine o'clock in the evening, Yang Jing actually felt the wind direction changed.

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

The most important thing is that the icing on the sea hasn't increased much, and the current Blue Whale has once again increased its speed to seven knots.

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

"The Arctic Ocean is here!" Captain Andre's tone was filled with excitement. Although it is still white, compared to the narrow strait, this wideness can undoubtedly make people more exciting.

"This is the Arctic Ocean?" Grid asked Captain Andre.

"Yes, there is the real Arctic Ocean ahead. But the sea temperature is still a bit low now. If it waits until August, the ice here will melt and break and expose the sea."

"So fast?" Yang Jing was also a little surprised, "Now the thickness of the ice layer here is almost half a meter, right? This half-meter-thick ice layer can be melted in more than 20 days?"

"No, it's not completely melted." Captain Andre smiled and shook his head. "Don't forget that we are at sea now. 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 that it will break under the strong wave of sea water. Once these ice layers break, the melting rate will increase."

Yang Jing nodded to express understanding.

Andrei walked to the chart room, compared the chart and said, "Let's go, we are now in the Arctic Ocean, then we should visit the northernmost settlement of mankind."

"The northernmost settlement?" Grid stunned, and then said excitedly as if thinking of something: "Captain Andre, do you mean Alert?"

Captain Andre snapped his fingers and smiled: "Yes~www.readwn.com~ is the northernmost settlement of humans on this planet."

Yang Jing asked Grid in a low voice, "Is Alert 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 and is 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. Alert is only a permanent settlement, but most of the people who live there are temporary residents. There were five permanent settlers there more than ten years ago, but Since 2011, no one has settled there permanently, but there are people there every year, there is a weather station there, a military forward base and an airstrip, so there are still a few people there every year Stay 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. Those of us who came to the Arctic before came to the Arctic. When I pass by here, I usually go over to meet and have a meal with the people on duty there. It’s really not easy for them.”