During 1950 – 1991 Soviet Union organized field investigations in the Central Arctic Basin. The data, obtained from the drifting stations “North Pole 2 – 31” together with information of few US drifting stations (e.g. T-3) had been used as background for creation of the joint Russian-US Atlases of Meteorology, Sea Ice and Ocean in the Arctic Basin.

At the same time the observations performed on the drifting stations “SHEBA” (1997-1998) and “North Pole 32” (2003-2004) revealed significant changes of climate in the Arctic Basin. The positive anomalies of daily mean air surface temperature and more often strong temperature and air pressure changes, as well as frequencies of storm winds and snow precipitation had been observed. By the way, during ˛Fram˛ drift in summer 1895 air temperature exceeded frizzing point only three times. In 1950s-1980s, following to observations on the “North Pole” stations, the mean value of days with positive temperature was 6 per year. On “North Pole-32”, drifted northern to ”Fram” route the number of such days exceeded 26. On the same station more days with precipitation had been observed (more than 20 days each month from June to September). The amount of precipitation in June exceeded multy-year mean 5 times, in June-September – more than 2 times, in November – in 3.2 times.

Deployment of new drifting station to the north of Novosibirskie Islands with prognostic drift during 2 years through the North Pole to Fram Strait will give possibility to obtain using new generation of instruments the qualitative new information about the state and physical processes in atmosphere, sea ice and ocean.

In presentation the scientific program, logistic problems, and preliminary results of first months of observations will be described together with some suggestions about possible joint investigations on the new drifting station.