The Arctic Ocean is a harsh and cold ocean, completely lying in the Northern Hemisphere. It occupies only 4% of the world's oceans, but washes the shores of several states, such as:
- Denmark.
- Norway.
- Iceland.
- Canada.
- USA.
- Russia.
Let's take a closer look at the seas of the Arctic Ocean washing Russia. Their list is quite extensive, and interesting information can be found about each.
Some legal information
The waters of the coldest ocean, located in the northern latitudes of our planet, do not have a clear legal status. All adjacent countries, except Iceland, apply for separate water sectors. This greatly complicates the development of the ocean floor, since there are no agreements on rights to the territory.
The seas fall under sectoral delimitation. This means that the map is conditionally divided into triangles, the vertices of which are the North Pole, and the east and west are the borders of the states.
But the UN Convention establishes other rules of demarcation, according to which the borders are determined not only by the extreme coastal points, but also by the length of the shelf.
The characteristic of the seas. Arctic Ocean
The total area of the seas of the most severe ocean is more than 10 million square meters. km This is approximately 70% of the entire territory. Here, however, scientists carried ocean straits and bays. The seas of the Arctic Ocean, the list of which we give below, are divided into marginal and inland.
A common feature is the shallow seas. The fact is that the ocean located in the northern part of the board is the smallest of all existing. It has a harsh climate and gusty winds with fogs and heavy rainfall year-round. Floating ice creates difficulties for navigation even at a time when the seas are considered passable. The farther from the coast, the thicker the ice fields, and shipping requires the accompaniment of powerful icebreakers.
Despite all the difficulties, most of the year for these harsh waters is considered shipping. Caravans of ships move endlessly along the Northern Sea Route, since here is the shortest road from the western to eastern borders of the Russian Federation.
Seas of the Arctic Ocean
The list of reservoirs belonging to the ocean basin located at the North Pole consists of ten seas, six of which wash the coast of the Russian Federation. The largest in area is Barentsovo, which is located in the western part of the Eurasian continent. But the Greenland Sea is recognized as the deepest , the depth of which reaches about 5500 m.
The Norwegian Sea is considered to be the warmest of all northern water bodies, since its warm current prevents the freezing of waters even in winter. The temperature is at least 2 degrees of heat in winter and about 8-12 in summer.
What do we know the seas of the Arctic Ocean? The list of northern, harsh reservoirs of the planet will be as follows:
- Norwegian Washes the coast of Iceland and the Scandinavian Peninsula.
- Greenlandic. Located between the east coast of Greenland and the western border of Iceland.
- Barents. Sea located in the western part of Russia.
- White. Northern coast of Europe.
- East Siberian. Washes the coast of Russia, located among the Novosibirsk and Wrangel Islands.
- Kara. The eastern border of the sea runs along the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago, while the western border borders the coastline of a large number of islands, including Novaya Zemlya.
- Baffin. It runs along the western border of the island of Greenland, and on the other hand washes the shores of the Canadian Arctic archipelago.
- Laptev. Washes the shores of Taimyr, the Novosibirsk islands and the Northern Earth.
- Beaufort. The coastline of the North American continent, from Cape Barrow to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
- Chukchi. Washes the shores of two continents: Eurasia and North America.
Six cold seas of Russia
The Arctic Ocean, whose seas are washed by the Russian coast, was once called Hyperborean. There were many more names, and only in 1935 the government of the then Soviet Union recognized the current name. But it is worth noting that the name “Arctic Ocean”, which is recognized by the London Geographical Society, is written on many foreign maps.
Consider the seas of the Arctic Ocean. The list of Russia consists of six names of marine bodies of water, each of which we will study separately.
Only one of them (White) is attributed to inland waters, and the other five to mainland-marginal.
Barencevo sea
Location - the westernmost part of the Arctic seas. This is the marginal sea on the North European shelf. Among the Russian seas, the Barents is the largest. A significant difference from other reservoirs in this region is year-round shipping. Most of the Barents Sea does not freeze.
Its depth is from 200 to 600 m. Numerous bays make it possible to equip convenient ports protected from strong winds.
The commercial significance of the Barents Sea is very tangible for Russia. It is home to sea bass, cod fish, haddock, halibut flounder and herring.
Chukchi Sea
The location is the northeastern outskirts of Asia and the northwest of North America. The area is relatively small - about 600 thousand square meters. km Depth - from 71 to 257 m. The climate can be attributed to severe, since the warmest temperature in summer is about +7 ° C.
Fisheries and slaughter of sea animals are poorly developed. Transportation is carried out, mainly in transit, through Pevek.
White Sea
Location - Northern Europe. The area is only 90 thousand square meters. km Depth - from 100 to 330 m. Climate is gradually moving from oceanic to continental. The weather is cool and unstable.
Sea salinity is about 24-30 ppm. This is due to the fact that several fresh rivers flow into its waters.
The White Sea has a seasonal ice cover. Ice is 90% floating. The fauna of the sea is very diverse. Beluga whales, seals, walruses, seals and many birds live here. Laminaria (seaweed), White Sea herring and cod are mined in industrial volumes.
Laptevih sea
The area of this sea is approximately 650 thousand square meters. km For the seas of this region, the depth is quite large - an average of 520 m.
It is considered the most severe, since winters are very frosty, and the waters are ice-bound all year round. Winter lasts almost 10 months. Frost during this period can be -55 ° C. In summer, the temperature is slightly above zero.
Sea East Siberian
Location - beyond the Arctic Circle. Area - approximately 915 thousand square meters. km The difference in depth is from 54 to 915 m.
The climate is arctic. Winters are clear, with frosts up to -30 ° C. In summer, wet snow often falls. In winter, the sea fetters ice.
Flora is represented by whitefish species of fish. In addition, the inhabitants are polar bears, seals and walruses.
The sea is navigable.
Kara Sea
Area - more than 880 thousand square meters. km This allows the sea to be included in the list of the largest in Russia. Depth - from 110 to 600 m.
The climate is polar marine. In winter, frosts can reach -50 ° C, but in summer the air warms up to +20 ° C.
Many islands formed in the Kara Sea , and its coast is indented by bays. The salinity of the water is influenced by the inflow of large freshwater rivers.
The animal world is represented by several species of fish - this is flounder, saffron cod, char. Mammals - hare, seal, beluga, walrus. The islands are abundantly populated by birds.
The seas of the Arctic Ocean (the list of which we cited in this article) have recently suffered from human activities. This is because a large number of minerals are mined in the North. In this regard, Russia is faced with the question of preventing pollution of the seas washing its shores.