Where does the Baltic Sea flow into which ocean. Baltic Sea: salinity, depth, coordinates, description. History of the Baltic Sea from the Ice Age

Salinity of waters oceans, is the main feature that distinguishes them from the waters of the land.

In oceanology, deer sea water defined as the total amount of solids in grams (all substances dissolved in water, not just salts) dissolved in 1 kg of sea water, provided that all halogens are replaced by an equivalent amount of chlorine, all carbonates are converted to oxides, organic matter is burned. Salinity measured in "‰" ("ppm").

The average salinity of the world's oceans is 35 ‰. , that is, in 1 kg of sea water, an average of 35 grams of various substances are dissolved. The standard is a water sample taken in Bay of Biscay, with salinity close to 35 ‰. It is used to calibrate instruments.

The salinity of sea waters is of ancient origin; salts entered the ocean water simultaneously with the emergence of the oceans themselves. During the formation of the earth's crust, which occurred at high temperatures, various substances were released from the earth into the atmosphere in the form of gases. The subsequent cooling of the earth's crust caused heavy rains. They took those substances with them and filled huge pits on the surface of the earth.

The salinity of the ocean waters is not the same everywhere. Salinity is influenced by the following processes:

1.Evaporation of water.

2. Formation of ice.

3. Precipitation.

4.River water runoff.

5. Melting ice.

At the same time, evaporation and ice formation contribute to an increase in salinity, while precipitation, river water runoff, and melting ice lower it.

The influence of biochemical processes on salinity is negligible.

Water mixing (diffusion) and advection of salts by currents are also involved in the formation of salinity. The salinity of deep and near-bottom waters is determined exclusively by these 2 processes, since there are no internal sources and sinks of salts at depths and at the bottom of the ocean.

The main role in the change in salinity belongs to evaporation and precipitation. Therefore salinity surface layers, as well as temperature, depends on climatic conditions associated with geographical location seas.

The Red Sea is the saltiest sea in the world's oceans. Its salinity reaches 42 ‰. This is due to its location in tropical latitudes. There is very little atmospheric precipitation here, the evaporation of water from strong heating by the sun is very large. The water evaporates from the sea, but the salt remains. Not a single river flows into the Red Sea, and the only source of replenishment of the water balance is the flow of water from Gulf of Aden. Approximately 1,000 cubic meters of gas is brought into the sea through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the year. km of water is more than is taken out of it. According to calculations, it takes 15 years for the complete exchange of the waters of the Red Sea.

The water in the Red Sea is evenly mixed throughout the year. In winter, surface waters cool down, become denser and sink down, and rise up warm waters from depth. In summer, water evaporates from the surface of the sea, and the rest becomes more salty, heavy and sinks down. Less salty water rises in its place. Therefore, the Red Sea is the same in temperature and salinity throughout its volume.

Hot brine troughs have also been found in the Red Sea. Currently, more than 20 such depressions are known. The depressions are heated from below by the internal heat of the Earth. The brines in the depressions do not merge with the surrounding water, but are clearly distinguished from it and look like muddy ground covered with ripples, or like swirling fog. The content of many metals, including precious ones, in the brines of the Red Sea is hundreds and thousands of times higher than in ordinary sea water.

The absence of river runoff and rain streams, and hence dirt from land, ensures the transparency of the Red Sea water and the constancy of its salinity.

In the Baltic Sea, water forms layers of different salinity. Average salinity Baltic Sea not higher than 1%o, and its surface waters -5-8°/oo. This is due to the fact that this sea is located in climate zone, where there is less evaporation, but drops out more precipitation. IN coastal areas for salinity big influence renders river runoff, and in the polar regions - the processes of formation and melting of ice. When water freezes and sea ice builds up, part of the salts drain into the water and salinity increases; when melting sea ​​ice and icebergs it decreases Fresh water enters the Baltic Sea from 250 rivers, while salt water enters only from the narrow Danish straits. As a result, salinity is highest in
Southwest of the Baltic, and decreases as you move to the east. However, the overall picture can be disturbed by currents.

Salty waters, falling into the Baltic Sea, sink to the bottom, forming a highly saline layer there. At depths of 70-80 meters, the salt content increases dramatically. This jump is called a halocline. A halocline occurs where the movements of the water mass caused by storms cease to reach.
Dead organic matter constantly sinks to the bottom of the sea. About once every 15 years, such large masses of water enter the Baltic Sea from the North Sea that stagnant water is pushed aside. The stagnant waters pushed into the northern and deepest parts of the Baltic gradually mix with the surrounding water there. At the beginning of the movement of stagnant waters, an increase in the salinity of the waters of the Baltic Sea occurs.

The Baltic Sea washes nine countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Russia, Poland, Germany, Finland, Sweden and Denmark.

Coastline sea ​​8.000 km. , and the area of ​​the sea is 415.000 sq. km.

It is believed that the sea was formed 14,000 years ago, but in the modern outline of the boundaries there are 4,000 years.

The sea has four bays, the largest Bothnian(washes Sweden and Finland), Finnish(washes Finland, Russia and Estonia), Riga(washes Estonia and Latvia) and freshwater Curonian(washes Russia and Lithuania).

Baltic Seaaccording to its location it belongs to the Atlantic Ocean, and according to the classification of the seas - to the Mediterranean inland seas. It is surrounded on all sides by land, and only through the narrow and shallow straits of Øresund, the Great Belt and the Small Belt is connected to North Sea and then the Atlantic.

The area of ​​the Baltic Sea is 386 thousand square kilometers. It is relatively shallow (depths from 40 to 100 meters predominate), and greatest depth is 459 meters (Landsort depression north of the island of Gotland). Due to the influx of a large amount of river water and poor water exchange with the ocean, the Baltic Sea has low salinity: a liter of water contains from 4 to 11 grams of salts (the waters of the World Ocean contain up to 35 grams of salts).

The coastline of the Baltic Sea is indented by numerous bays. These include the Curonian and Kaliningrad bays - shallow lagoons separated from the sea by narrow spits. They are connected to the sea by straits only 300-400 meters wide.

The Curonian Lagoon has total area 1,6 square kilometers. Of these, 1.3 thousand square kilometers belong to Kaliningrad region. The bay is shallow - its average depth is about four meters, and the largest, southeast of the village of Rybachy, is six meters.

The volume of water masses of the bay exceeds six cubic kilometers, but river water three and a half times more comes here every year. Water is brought into the sea through a narrow strait near Klaipeda. A large inflow of water determines a higher water level than in the sea in the Curonian Lagoon - the average excess is fifteen centimeters. The flow of water in the strait is directed from the bay to the sea, and sea ​​water almost never enters the bay. Therefore, it is freshwater, except for the northernmost part.

Coast of the Baltic Sea

The Kaliningrad seashore is an integral part of the "Golden Frame" of Europe. It stretches for almost 150 km and includes the coast of the Sambian Peninsula, parts of the Vistula and Curonian sandbars. The latter, with their dune landscape and great length (about 100 km), are unique natural formations of the Baltic Sea.

Within the Kaliningrad region is Northern part Vistula Spit 25 km long and South part curonian spit 49 km long. The indigenous shores of the Sambian Peninsula account for 74 km. The total length of the sea coast is 148 km. Its formation took place earlier and is taking place now under the influence of storm waves, coastal currents and wind. It is directly related to the history of the development of the Baltic Sea, which appeared as a modern body of water only in the late glacial period.

The Sambian Peninsula is formed by an elevated ledge of Cenozoic rocks, overlain by glacial deposits, and therefore, on the seashore, it is bordered by coastal ledges. The height of the coastal ledges reaches 50-61 m at Cape Taran, gradually decreasing to 5-7 m as it approaches the marginal areas of the peninsula and the city of Baltiysk in the south and the city of Zelenogradsk in the east, where the Cenozoic rocks are much or partially cut off by the glacier. The coastline of the peninsula is poorly dissected, which is explained by the peculiarities geological structure coast. Capes separating gentle bays are usually associated with outcrops of boulder moraine loams in the coastal ledge (Capes Taran, Obzorny, Bakalinsky, Kupalny, Gvardeisky). The concavities of the coast correspond to the areas of distribution of easily eroded sandy-clayey water-glacial deposits (bush Pokrovskaya, Yantarnenskaya, Donskaya, Filinskaya, Svetlogorskaya, Pionerskaya).

Along the coast of the Sambian Peninsula, with the exception of its individual sections, there is a beach, the width of which varies from 5-7 m within the ledges of the coast and capes to 40-50 m - in bays and concavities. In front of the coastal protection walls on Cape Taran, near the village. Lesnoye beach is practically absent as a result of the wave breaking effect. A sharp expansion of the beach (up to 150 m) is noted in those areas where it is artificially replenished with loose material.

On the capes, where the coast is deep and the waves easily reach the coastal cliffs, the beaches are composed of boulder-pebble material. In the concavities of the coast and bays, where the coast is shallow and protected from the onslaught of waves by a wide beach, their structure is dominated by sand accumulations with an admixture of pebbles and gravel in the waterfront zone. The thickness of beach deposits ranges from 0 to 2.4 m.

History of the Baltic Sea

As the Baltic lowland was freed from ice, the formation of the Baltic Sea began. Hypsometry features of underwater terraces located at different depths of the sea, as well as spore-pollen analysis of vegetation growing along the shores of the Baltic Lake, and then the sea, made it possible to establish several stages in its development.

Following the melting of the glacier, the entire Baltic depression was occupied by the vast fresh Baltic glacial lake, which lasted about 4 thousand years; 10 thousand years ago, the lake through the Danish straits connected with the basin of the Atlantic Ocean and as a result of transgression, the Yoldian Sea arose, which existed for about 500 years.

In the future, communication with the ocean is broken due to a drop in its level and the possible rise of Fennoscandia. During the period that took place 9500 - 8000 years ago, the freshwater lake Ancylus appeared. The filling of Lake Ancylus and the rise in the ocean level led to the erosion of the Danish Straits and the connection of the lake with the North Sea. As a result of the transgression that began, the Litorin Sea arose, which existed in the period of about 3.5 thousand - 4.5 thousand years ago. The next stage in the development of the basin is the Limnea Sea, the level of which gradually dropped, approaching modern sea Mia. The current sea level lies 6 m below the Littorina Sea, which has led to the swamping of the coastal lowland around the Baltic Sea.

At present, the level of the World Ocean, and hence the seas included in its basin, is rising at a rate of 1.5 mm per year, or 1.5 m per millennium. In combination with the tectonic lowering of the coast of the region at a rate of about 1-2 mm per year, the total level rise is 2.5 - 3.5 m per millennium. This means that on the territory of the Kaliningrad region, the coasts are in a transgressive regime, i.e. the sea comes to land.

In general, the Holocene is subdivided into five climatochronological phases: preboreal, boreal, Atlantic, subboreal, and subatlantic. This scheme was developed at the beginning of the 20th century. Scandinavian scientists on the basis of palynological studies of peat deposits in Scandinavia. It is widely used for the stratification of marine sediments of the postglacial Baltic Sea and adjacent territories, including the Kaliningrad region.

The Baltic Sea is a marginal inland sea located on the Eurasian continent. It is part of the Atlantic Ocean and is connected to it by the narrow channels of the Eresun (Sound), the Great Belt and the Small Belt, the Kattegat and the Skagerrak. The ancient Slavs called it the Varangian Sea.

The area is 386 thousand sq. km, the average depth is 15-150 m, the maximum depth is 459 m (Landsort depression or basin).

Detailed map of the Baltic Sea in Russian with main ports and bays.

Swedish and Finnish coast of skerry type. Southern and southeast coast flat and sandy. The Baltic Sea has three large bays: Bothnian, Finnish and Riga. In the south there are shallow bays-estuaries: Kursk and Vistula.

The largest islands: Zeeland, Funen, Lolanne, Bornholm, Eland, Gotland, Sarema, Khiuma, Aland - lie in the open sea.

The average temperatures in January are -11.5⁰С in the north to -2.5⁰С in the south, in July - respectively -15⁰С and +17⁰С. The annual amount of precipitation in the north: 500-600 mm, in the south: 600-800 mm. In winter, autumn and spring, frequent fogs.

Salinity of the Baltic Sea in the central part: 6-8‰, in the Gulf of Bothnia: 2-5‰. The Gulf of Bothnia, the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga freeze every winter. In especially cold winters, the sea freezes to the south from the Liepaja city parallel for 25-50 days. Changes in the water level in bays and estuaries reach 1.5-2 meters and even more and are one of the causes of floods in St. Petersburg.

In the sea, commercial fishing of many species of fish is carried out: herring, herring, sprat, cod, flounder, salmon, eel, halibut. In addition, the Baltic Sea has a large transport value. The largest ports are in: St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Klaimeda, Kaliningrad, Gdansk, Gdynia. Szczecin, Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Stockholm, Helsinki and other cities on the coast.

Approximately 100 rivers belong to the Baltic Sea basin. Here are the largest and most important of them (from west to east): Pene, Oder, Leba, Vistula, Pregolya, Neman, Venta, Lielupe, Daugava or Western Dvina, Pärnu, Narva, Neva - the most full-flowing of the rivers flowing into the Baltic Sea, Oulujoki, Kemijoki, Tourne Elv, Ume Elv, Yungan, Yusnan and Dalelven.

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The Baltic Sea, like a real European one, washes the borders of several states at once. If earlier many principalities and empires fought for the right to own the ports located on it, today the situation in the region of the water area is calm. Nine states have access to the shores of the Baltic Sea: Russia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Finland.

The Baltic Sea can be called a typical inland sea. It is located in the northwestern part of Eurasia and connects with Atlantic Ocean in the North Sea through the Danish Straits. The size of the water area is quite large for Europe - 419,000 sq.m, despite the fact that the average depth is 51 m (the maximum figure is 470 m). The Baltic Sea is full-flowing due to the large number of rivers that flow into it - these are the world-famous Vistula, Neman, Neva and Daugava. The largest among them (bringing large quantity water in the pool) is our Neva.

As for the shores of the Baltic Sea, relative to the mainland of the planet, they stretched from the southwest to the northeast. The widest place on land is called a piece of land from St. Petersburg to Stockholm - this is almost 650 km of continuous beach.

It will be fair to note that the Baltic was far from always under the sphere of influence of Russia. These northern shores have long attracted the kings and princes of the specific feudal states. Quite often, commanders, together with armies, tried to get a tidbit of the seashore, but they could not get what they wanted. One has only to recall the bloody attempts of Tsar Ivan the Terrible and the disastrous Livonian War he started.

Luck smiled at Russia only at the beginning of the 18th century. North War, covering almost the entire northern and eastern parts of Europe, allowed Peter the Great to get his piece of the Gulf of Finland and begin the process of "Europeanization" of the Russian people.

Cities on the Baltic Sea in Russia

Today, the Baltic Sea is considered not only a strategic area, but also excellent resort for residents of the country and neighboring regions. The water here is quite cold, sometimes capricious and violent, which, however, does not deter tourists who come here every summer.

Kaliningrad

(Port terminal Kaliningrad, located in the Kaliningrad Bay)

The central city of the region, as is known, was previously called Keninsberg. Today it Big City on the sea, which managed to preserve the outlines of German prosperity, while acquiring a typical Russian appearance. Today people come here not only to the grave of the great Kant, but also to medical mineral water and sandy beaches.

Svetlogorsk and Zelenogradsk

Two typical resort towns which differ only in size. The first is larger and more touristy. A large number of hotels and restaurants for every taste, locals long adapted to the needs of guests and offer a quiet and cozy rest on the seashore.

In addition, the region has a huge number of small villages in coastal zone. Many of them trade with amber mining and offer excursions to old breweries. Today Russian shores The Baltic Sea became completely Russified and only the pointed roofs of temples and two-story houses with red tiles stretching along the coast remind of the time when the lands belonged to Europe.