Which ocean does the Laptev Sea belong to? The harsh sea of ​​the Laptevs

The Laptev Sea belongs to the group of marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean. Located between Severnaya Zemlya and New Siberian Islands. The area of ​​the reservoir is about 678 thousand square meters. km. The volume of water reaches 363 thousand cubic meters. km. The average depth is 578 meters, and the maximum corresponds to 3385 meters. The climate in these places is arctic, the salinity of the water is low, the ice cover lasts most of the year and only partially recedes in late summer and early autumn. The large Siberian river Lena flows into the reservoir.

origin of name

The sea is named after Russian explorers and cousins ​​Khariton and Dmitry Laptev. They mastered this inhospitable region in the first half of the 18th century. Before that, in the 17th and 18th centuries, the reservoir was called the Arctic, the Siberian, the Lena, or the Tatar Sea. In 1883, the well-known Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen proposed another name - the Nordenskiold Sea in honor of the Swedish geographer and geologist Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld.

This name lasted until the beginning of the 20th century, when Russian geographical society approved the modern name, and in honor of the famous Swede they named the archipelago in the Kara Sea. The official decision on this issue was made by the Soviet government in the summer of 1935.

Laptev Sea on the map

Borders of the Laptev Sea

In the west, the reservoir is limited by the archipelago Severnaya Zemlya. The northernmost point is the Arctic Cape on Komsomolets Island. The Novosibirsk Islands are considered to be the eastern border, with the northernmost point on Kotelny Island, Cape Anisii. The eastern border ends at Cape Svyatoy Nos and further west along the coast of the mainland to the Taimyr Peninsula.

Coastline

The Lena River flows into the Laptev Sea and forms a vast delta. In addition, such rivers as Yana, Khatanga, Olenyok, Anabar flow into the reservoir. The coastline is indented with a length of 1300 km. It has many bays and coves. The easternmost is the Ebellakh Bay (the bay is a bay that flows far into the land, into which, as a rule, a river flows). Further to the west are the Sellyakh Bay, Yansky Bay, Buor-Khaya Bay, Oleneksky Bay, Anabarsky Bay, Nordvik Bay, and the westernmost is Khatanga Bay.

Near southwest coast there are such islands as Maly and Bolshoi Begichev, Preobrazhensky Island, Sandy Island, Psov Island, and the Peter Islands. In total, there are several dozen islands near the coastline, and their total area is 3.8 thousand square meters. km. As a result of erosion, some islands are destroyed and disappear.

Sea bottom

More than half of the seabed is a continental shelf with a depth of no more than 60 meters. In the southern regions there are places where the depth corresponds to 25-30 meters. In the northern part of the reservoir, the bottom abruptly breaks down and the depth reaches 1 km or more. Max Depth 3385 meters was recorded in the northern part of the sea in the Nansen basin, where the average water column corresponds to 2 km.

The Laptev Sea is characterized by low temperature regimes. They range from -1.8 degrees Celsius in the north to -0.8 degrees Celsius in the southeastern part. The temperature of the middle layers of water is 1.5 degrees Celsius. At depth, the temperature regime is colder and reaches -0.8 degrees Celsius. In the summer months, the water warms up by the sun in the bays up to 8-10 degrees Celsius and up to 2-3 degrees Celsius in the open sea.

For salinity sea ​​water largely affected by ice melt and river runoff. In winter, salinity in the southern regions is 20-25 ppm, and in the north it reaches 34 ppm. In summer, respectively, it decreases by 10% and 32%.

70% of the total river runoff (515 thousand cubic km) comes from the Lena River. And the river runoff of all rivers flowing into the reservoir under consideration reaches 730 thousand cubic meters. km. Due to the melting of ice, 90% of the runoff occurs in June-September, and in January this figure is only 5%.

The tides are semidiurnal with an average amplitude of 0.5 meters. In the Khatanga Bay, they reach 2 meters. Seasonal fluctuations in the water level are 40 cm. The winds are weak, so the height of the waves usually does not exceed 1 meter. Summer in central regions In the sea there are waves 4-5 meters high, and in autumn they can reach 6 meters in height.

Climate

The Laptev Sea is remote from both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, so an arctic climate prevails. The polar night lasts 3 months a year in the south and 5 months in the north. The air temperature is below 0 degrees 11 months a year in the north and 9 months in the south. The average January temperature is -32 degrees Celsius and the minimum is -50 degrees Celsius.

In summer, the temperature in the south rises to 10 degrees Celsius. On the coast, it can rise to 24 degrees Celsius. The maximum summer temperature regime recorded in Tiksi was 32 degrees Celsius. However, in foggy weather, snow can fall in summer, and snowstorms and storms are characteristic of winter.

Although the sea is weak, but shipping is developed, and Tiksi is the main seaport. In the 30s of the last century, the Main Directorate of the Northern Sea Routes was created, which was in charge of the ships cruising the Laptev Sea. The ships moved in a caravan behind the icebreaker. They transported timber, furs, and various building materials. Today, the northern route is used to deliver goods to the northern regions of Russia.

Ecology

The reservoir under consideration is considered slightly polluted. The negative impact is exerted by enterprises located on the banks of the Lena, Anabar, Yana rivers. It is from them that phenols, zinc, copper get into sea water. The administrative center of Tiksi also contributes to the pollution. A source of pollution is also rotting wood that enters the sea as a result of timber rafting. All this causes a high concentration of phenol.

Between the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and the Taimyr Peninsula in the west and the New Siberian Islands in the east lies a sea that bears the name of the Russian navigators, the Laptev brothers. Its western border runs along the eastern shores of the Severnaya Zemlya Islands from the Arctic Cape (Komsomolets Island), through the Strait of the Red Army along the eastern shore of the island. October Revolution to m. Anuchin, through the Shokalsky Strait to m. Sandy on about. Bolshevik and along its eastern shore to Cape Vaigach, then along the eastern border of the Vilkitsky Strait and further along the mainland coast to the top of the Khatanga Bay. The northern boundary of the sea runs from the Arctic Cape to the point of intersection of the meridian of the northern tip of the island. Kotelny (cape Anisiy) with the edge of the continental shallow (79 ° N, 139 ° E), the eastern border - from this point along the meridian to about. Kotelny, further along its western coast, through the Sannikov Strait, along western shores islands Bolshoi and Maly Lyakhovsky and along the western border of the Dmitry Laptev Strait to Cape Svyatoy Nos. The southern boundary of the sea runs along the mainland coast from this cape to the top of the Khatanga Bay.

The Laptev Sea belongs to the type of continental marginal seas. Its area is 662 thousand km 2, volume - 353 thousand km 3, average depth - 533 m, maximum depth - 3385 m.

There are several dozens of islands in the Laptev Sea, most of which are located in the western part of the sea. The largest islands are Komsomolskaya Pravda, Vilkitsky and Thaddeus. Among the single islands, Starokadomsky, Maly Taimyr, Bolshoy Begichev, Peschany, Stolbovoy and Belkovsky stand out for their size. Many small islands are located in river deltas.

The coasts of the sea are quite strongly indented and form bays, bays, bays, peninsulas and capes of various shapes and sizes. The eastern shores of the islands of Severnaya Zemlya and the Taimyr Peninsula are significantly dissected. To the east of it, the coastline forms several large bays (Khatanga, Anabarsky, Oleneksky, Yansky), bays (Kozhevnikova, Nordvik, Tiksi), bays (Buor-Khaya, Vankina) and peninsulas (Khara-Tumus, Nordvik). The western coast of the New Siberian Islands is much less indented.

By their nature, the coasts of the sea are quite diverse. There are both abrasion and accumulative ones, and there are also ice shores. Sometimes they come to the water low mountains, most of the coast is low-lying.

Climate

The Laptev Sea is one of the most severe Arctic seas. Its climate, generally maritime polar, also has signs of continentality, which is most clearly manifested in the relatively large annual fluctuations in air temperature.

In the cold season, the sea is located mainly in the area of ​​high atmospheric pressure - the Siberian anticyclone. In autumn, unstable winds gradually acquire a southerly direction and intensify to storms. Cyclones pass less often, cloudiness decreases.

In winter, the Laptev Sea is affected by three large baric systems. Above the southeastern part lies a spur of the Siberian anticyclone, the center of which is near Yansky Bay. The crest of the polar maximum extends from the north. In the western part of the sea, the influence of the Icelandic low is sometimes observed. In accordance with such baric conditions, southern and southwestern winds with an average speed of about 8 m/s prevail in this season. By the end of winter, their speed decreases, calms are often observed. The air becomes very cold. The air temperature over the sea generally decreases from northwest to southeast in January and in the area of ​​Tiksi Bay it is -26 - 29°. Calm and slightly cloudy winter weather is sometimes interrupted by cyclones passing somewhat south of the sea. They cause strong cold northern winds and snowstorms that last only a few days.

At the beginning of the warm season, the destruction of atmospheric pressure regions begins. The baric situation is generally similar to the winter one, but somewhat more blurred, so the spring winds are very unstable in direction. In addition to the south, north winds sometimes blow. The winds are usually gusty but not strong. The air temperature is steadily rising. Cloudy, rather cold weather prevails. In summer, the Siberian maximum is absent, and the polar maximum appears rather weakly. To the south of the sea, the pressure is somewhat lower; above the sea itself, it is slightly higher. As a result, northern winds blow most often at a speed of 3-4 m/s. strong winds(with velocities greater than 20 m/s) are not observed in summer. Average monthly temperature air in August is the maximum of the year, in the central part of the sea the temperature is 1-5 °. On the coast, in closed bays, the air sometimes (albeit very rarely) warms up quite significantly (up to 32.7 ° in Tiksi). Summer is characterized by increased cyclonic activity. At this time over southern part the seas are cyclones, which are filled here. Then cloudy weather sets in over the sea with continuous drizzling rain. At the end of August, the Siberian pressure maximum begins to form, which marks the transition to autumn.

Thus, the Laptev Sea is under the influence of the Siberian anticyclone for most of the year. This causes a relatively weak cyclonic activity and mainly light winds having a monsoon character.

Prolonged and strong cooling with a calm wind regime of winter is the most important climatic feature of the sea. Another very important factor in the formation of the natural appearance of the Laptev Sea is the continental runoff. Many small and several major rivers. The largest of them - Lena - annually brings an average of about 515 km 3 of water, Khatanga - over 100, Yana - more than 30, Olenyok - about 35 and Anabar - about 20 km 3. All other rivers provide about 20 km 3 of water per year. The total annual runoff to the sea is about 720 km3, which is 30% of the total runoff to all Arctic seas. However, the distribution of runoff is very uneven in time and space. About 90% of the annual flow falls on the summer months (June-September), of which about 35-40% of the annual flow falls in August, while in January it barely reaches 5%. This character of the distribution of runoff during the year is explained by the fact that the rivers flowing into the Laptev Sea are fed by snow, and the vast majority of their waters enter the southeastern part of the sea (the Lena alone provides 70% of the total coastal runoff). Depending on the amount of water brought by the rivers and the hydrometeorological situation, river waters spread to the northeast, reaching the northern tip of about. Kotelny, then far to the east, leaving through the straits to the East Siberian Sea. A large continental runoff leads to freshening of waters in vast expanses of the sea, especially in its southern and eastern parts.

Water temperature and salinity

The Laptev Sea (like the Kara Sea) is dominated by surface arctic waters. In zones of strong influence of coastal runoff, as a result of the mixing of river and surface Arctic waters, water with a relatively high temperature and low salinity is formed. At the boundary of their division (horizon 5-7 m), large salinity and density gradients are created. In the north, in a deep trough, warm Atlantic waters are common over the surface Arctic water, but their temperature is somewhat lower than in the troughs. Kara Sea. They penetrate here 2.5 - 3 years after they start their journey near Svalbard. In the deeper (compared to the Kara) Laptev Sea, the horizons from 800-1000 m to the bottom are occupied by cold near-bottom Arctic water with a temperature of –0.4-0.9° and almost uniform (34.90-34.95‰) salinity.

For most of the year, the water temperature is close to freezing and drops rapidly after the summer maximum. In winter, the surface water temperature varies from –0.8° (near Mostakh Island) to –1.7° (near Cape Chelyuskin), which is associated with differences in salinity in these areas.

In the first spring months, the ice melts, so the water temperature remains almost the same as in winter. Only in coastal areas(especially in the estuarine areas), which are cleared of ice earlier than others, the water temperature is somewhat higher than in the central regions. It generally decreases from south to north and from east to west. During the summer, the surface of the sea warms up noticeably. In August, in the south (Buor-Khaya Bay), the water temperature on the surface can reach 10 and even 14 °, in the central regions it is 3 - 5 °, at the northern tip of about. Boiler 0.8 ° and at Cape Chelyuskin 1 °. In general, the western part of the sea, where the cold waters of the Arctic basin come, is characterized by a lower (2 - 3 °) water temperature than the eastern, where the bulk of warm river waters are concentrated, and the surface temperature here can reach 6 - 8 °.

The temperature of the water decreases rapidly with depth. In winter, in areas with depths up to 50 - 60 m, the water temperature is the same from the surface to the bottom. In the coastal zone it is -1-1.2°, and in the open sea about -1.6°. IN northern regions on the horizons of 50-60 m, the water temperature rises by 0.1-0.2 ° due to the inflow of other waters.

In the north, in the region of a deep trench, negative temperatures are observed from the surface to 100 m. Below, it begins to rise (up to 0.6-0.8 °) to about 300 m and then slowly decreases towards the bottom. High temperatures (above zero) in the 100-300 m layer are associated with the penetration of warm Atlantic waters into the Laptev Sea from the Central Arctic Basin.

In summer, the upper layer 10-15 m thick warms up well and has a temperature of 8-10° in the south-eastern part and 3-4° in the central regions. Deeper than these horizons, the temperature drops sharply and reaches -1.4-1.5° at the horizon of 25 m. These or similar values ​​remain until the very bottom. In the western part of the sea, where warming is less, such sharp differences in temperature are not observed.

Salinity in the Laptev Sea is very heterogeneous: in summer it varies from 1 to almost 31‰, but in surface layer desalinated waters with a salinity of 20-30‰ predominate, and its distribution is very complex. In general, it increases from the southeast to the northwest and north.

In winter, with minimal river runoff and intense ice formation, salinity increases. At the same time (as in summer) in the west, it is higher (near Cape Chelyuskin - 34‰ than in the east (near Kotelny Island - 25‰). This high salinity lasts for quite a long time, only in June, with the beginning of ice melting, does it begin to decrease .

In summer, the southeastern part of the sea is the most desalinated. In the Buor-Khaya Bay, salinity drops to 5‰ and lower; to the west of the Lyakhovsky Islands, it rises (10-15‰). More saline waters (30 - 32‰) spread in the west of the sea. They are located somewhat north of the line about. Petra - m. Anisy. Thus, desalinated water exits to the north in the eastern part of the sea, and saline waters descend to the south in the western part of the sea.

Salinity increases with depth, but there are seasonal differences in its distribution. In winter, in shallow water, it increases from the surface to horizons of 10-15 m, and below and to the bottom it remains almost unchanged. At great depths, salinity noticeably increases not from the surface itself, but from the underlying horizons. The spring vertical distribution of salinity begins with the time of intensive melting of snow and ice. At this time, salinity rapidly decreases in the surface layer and retains winter values ​​at the lower horizons.

In summer, in the zone of distribution of river waters, the upper layer (5 - 10 m) is very desalinated, below there is a very sharp increase in salinity. In a layer from 10 to 25 m, the salinity gradient in some places reaches 20‰ per 1 m. In the northern part of the sea, salinity increases relatively quickly from the surface to 50 m, hence, up to 300 m, salinity increases more slowly (in the range from 29 to 33 - 34‰) deeper, it hardly changes.

In autumn, in the southern regions, the summer jump in salinity is gradually eroded.

In the Laptev Sea, the density distribution is more related to salinity than to temperature. This is explained by the large range of salinity and the weak effect of low water temperature on the density.

Density increases from southeast to northwest. In winter and autumn, the water is denser than in summer and spring. In winter and early spring, the density is almost the same from the surface to the bottom. In summer, large salinity and temperature gradients at 10-15 m horizons also determine a sharp drop in density. In autumn, due to the cooling and salinization of surface waters, their density increases.

Density stratification of waters is clearly seen from late spring to early autumn. It is most pronounced in the southeastern and central regions of the sea and near the ice edge.

Port in the Arctic

Bottom relief

The bottom of the Laptev Sea is an almost undissected plain, gently descending to the north. Several gutters, low hills and cans stand out here. A wide but short chute is located opposite the Lena delta, a funnel-shaped chute is located near the Oleneksky Bay, a narrow and long chute leaves from about. Stolbovoy to the north. In the eastern part of the sea, the Semenovskaya and Vasilievskaya banks rise. Half of the entire area of ​​the sea is occupied by depths up to 50 m, and to the south of 76 ° N. they do not exceed 25 m. The northern part of the sea is much deeper. At a depth of 100 m, the bottom drops sharply. The appearance of the sea is formed mainly by the waters of the southern part with depths of 25-100 m.

Bottom relief and currents of the Laptev Sea

currents

Wind mixing in the ice-free spaces of the sea is poorly developed due to relatively weak winds in the warm season and the large ice cover of the sea. During spring and summer, the wind mixes only the uppermost layers up to 5-7 m thick in the east and up to 10 m thick in the western part of the sea.

Strong autumn-winter cooling and intense ice formation cause active development of convective mixing. Due to the relatively high degree of water homogeneity and early ice formation, density mixing penetrates most deeply (up to 90-100 m horizons) in the north of the sea. In the central part, convection reaches the bottom (40-50 m) by the beginning of winter, and in the southern part, due to large vertical salinity gradients, even at shallow (up to 25 m) depths, it spreads to the bottom only by the end of winter.

In general, the sea is characterized by the usual cyclonic circulation. The coastal current, moving along the coast of the mainland from west to east, deviates to the north and northwest near the eastern shores and, in the form of the New Siberian Current, goes beyond the sea, connecting with the Transarctic Current of the Central Arctic Basin. From it, at the northern tip of Severnaya Zemlya, the East Taimyr current branches off to the south, which moves south along the eastern shores of Severnaya Zemlya and the Taimyr Peninsula and closes the cyclonic ring. A small part of the waters of the coastal flow goes through the Dmitry Laptev and Sannikov straits into the East Siberian Sea.

The current velocities in this circulation are small (2 cm/s). Depending on the large-scale baric situation, the center of cyclonic circulation can shift from the middle of the northern part of the sea towards Severnaya Zemlya. Accordingly, there are branches from the main streams. Tidal currents are superimposed on constant currents.

In the Laptev Sea, tides are well expressed, everywhere having an irregular semidiurnal character. A tidal wave enters from the north from the Central Arctic Basin, damping and deforming as it moves south. The magnitude of the tide is usually small, mostly about 0.5 m. Only in the Khatanga Bay, the range of tidal level fluctuations exceeds 2 m in syzygy. This is due to the well-known funnel effect observed, for example, in the Bay of Fundy. The tidal wave that came to the Khatanga Bay (“funnel”) grows in size and spreads almost 500 km up the river. Khatanga. This is one of the cases of deep penetration of the tidal wave up the river. However, the phenomenon of boron in Khatanga is not observed. In other rivers flowing into the Laptev Sea, the tide almost does not set. It attenuates very close to the mouths, as the tidal wave is extinguished in the deltas of these rivers.

In addition to tidal fluctuations in the Laptev Sea, seasonal and surge fluctuations in the level are observed. seasonal changes levels are generally negligible. Most of all, they are expressed in the southeastern part of the sea, in areas close to the mouths of the rivers, where the range of fluctuations reaches 40 cm. The minimum level is observed in winter, the maximum - in summer.

Surge fluctuations in the level are observed everywhere and at any time of the year, but they are most significant in the southeastern part. Surges and surges cause the largest decreases and increases in the level in the Laptev Sea. The range of fluctuations in the level of surge and surge reaches 1-2 m, and sometimes reaches 2.5 m (Tiksi Bay). Most often, surges and surges are observed in autumn with strong and stable winds. In general, northerly winds cause surge, and southern winds cause surge, but depending on the configuration of the coast, surge-surge level fluctuations in each specific area create winds of certain directions. Thus, in the southeastern part of the sea, the most effective surge winds include western and northwestern ones.

On average, waves of 2-4 points prevail in the Laptev Sea with wave heights of about 1 m. In summer (July - August) in the western and central parts seas, storms of 5-7 points occasionally develop, during which the wave height reaches 4-5 m. Autumn is the most stormy time of the year, when maximum high waves(up to 6 m). However, even in this season, waves with a height of about 4 m predominate, which is determined by the fetch length and depths.

ice coverage

Most of the year (from October to May) the Laptev Sea is covered with ice. Ice formation begins at the end of September and takes place simultaneously throughout the sea. In winter, in its shallow eastern part, extensive fast ice up to 2 m thick is developed. The boundary of fast ice distribution is a depth of approximately 25 m, which in this area of ​​the sea is several hundred kilometers away from the coast. The area of ​​landfast ice is approximately 30% of the area of ​​the entire sea. In the western and northwestern parts of the sea, fast ice is small, and in some winters it is completely absent. To the north of the landfast zone there are drifting ice.

With the almost constant removal of ice from the sea to the north in winter, behind the fast ice, significant areas of polynyas and young ice. The width of this zone varies from tens to several hundreds of kilometers. Its individual sections are called the East Severozemelskaya, Taimyr, Lena and Novosibirsk polynyas. The last two at the beginning of the warm season reach enormous sizes (thousands of km 2). The melting of ice begins in June - July, and by August, significant areas of the sea are freed from ice. In summer, the ice edge often changes its position under the influence of winds and currents. West Side The seas are generally more arctic than the eastern one. From the north, along the eastern coast of Taimyr, the oceanic Taimyr ice mass descends into the sea, in which heavy multi-year ice. It stably persists until new ice formation, depending on the prevailing winds, moving either north or south. The local Yansky ice massif, formed by landfast ice, usually melts “in place” by the second half of August or is partially carried away to the north beyond the sea.

Economic importance

Due to harsh natural conditions, the biological productivity of the Laptev Sea is low, and life in its waters is generally poor in quantity and quality. 37 species of fish live here. In very small quantities they catch vendace, omul, and partly whitefish.

The sea has a harsh climate with temperatures below 0 °C for more than nine months of the year, low salinity, sparse flora and fauna, and low population along the coast. Most of the time, with the exception of August and September, it is under ice.

There are several dozen islands in the Laptev Sea, many of which contain well-preserved remains of mammoths.

The main human activities in this area are mining and navigation along the Northern Sea Route; fishing and hunting are practiced but have no commercial value. The largest village and port is Tiksi.

Length and boundaries

In the north. A line connecting Cape Molotov and the northern tip of Kotelny Island.

At the same time, according to IBCAO (), the northern boundary of the sea (between the islands of Komsomolets and Kotelny) passes through the intersection point of the meridian of the northern tip of about. Boiler house with the edge of the continental shelf ( ).

Physical location

The surface area of ​​the sea is 672,000 km².

The largest river flowing into the Laptev Sea (and the second largest of the Arctic rivers after the Yenisei) is the Lena with its large delta. Rivers also flow into the sea: Khatanga, Anabar, Olenyok, Yana.

Bottom relief

Depths up to 50 m prevail, the greatest depth is 3385 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. More than half of the sea (53%) is a flat continental shelf with an average depth of less than or slightly more than 50 meters, in addition, bottom areas south of the 76th parallel are at a depth of less than 25 meters. In the northern part of the sea, the bottom abruptly breaks off to the ocean floor with depths of the order of one kilometer (22% of the sea area). In shallow areas, the bottom is covered with sand and silt mixed with pebbles and boulders. Near the banks, river precipitation accumulates at a high rate, up to 20-25 centimeters per year. At great depths, the bottom is covered with silt.

The continental slope is cut by the Sadko trough, passing in the north into the Nansen Basin with depths of over 2 kilometers, the maximum depth of the Laptev Sea is also noted here - 3385 meters ( ).

Climate

Hydrological regime

The sea is characterized by low water temperature. In winter, under the ice, the water temperature ranges from -0.8 ° C in the southeastern part to -1.8 ° C. Above a depth of 100 meters, the entire layer of water has negative temperatures (up to -1.8 ° C). In summer, in ice-free areas of the sea, the uppermost layer of water can warm up to 4-6 ° C, in bays up to 8-10 ° C, but remains close to 0 ° C under ice.

In the deep-water zone of the sea at a depth of 250-300 meters there are relatively warm waters(up to 1.5 °C). It takes them 2.5-3 years to reach the Laptev Sea from their place of origin in the Svalbard region. Below this layer, the water temperature again becomes negative until the very bottom, where it is about −0.8 °C.

Seasonal fluctuations in sea level are relatively small - sea levels rise by 40 cm in summer near river deltas and fall in winter. Surge fluctuations in sea level are significant - up to 2 meters, and in the bays reach 2.5 meters. Observed throughout the year, but more often in autumn, with the advent of strong winds permanent direction. In general, sea levels rise with north winds and fall with south winds.

Due to relatively light winds and shallow depths, the Laptev Sea is relatively calm, with waves usually within 1 meter. In July-August, waves up to 4-5 m high can be observed in the open sea, and in autumn they can reach 6 meters.

ice cover

The frosty winters of the Arctic cause significant formation of sea ice, which covers the sea for almost the entire year. The development of ice is also facilitated by the shallowness of the sea and the low salinity of its surface waters. As a result, the Laptev Sea is the largest source of Arctic sea ice. With an average outflow of 483,000 km² per year (for the period 1979-1995), it produces more sea ice than the Kara, Barents and East Siberian seas combined. During this period, the annual outflow varied between 251,000 km² in 1984-85 and 732,000 km² in 1988-89. The sea exports significant amounts of ice for nine months: from October to June.

Ice formation begins in September in the north and in October in the south. Hundreds of kilometers from the shore deep into the sea, fast ice is formed with a thickness of up to 2 meters or more. This coastal ice thus covers about 30% of the sea area. Under the action of relatively warm southerly winds, ice drifts northward to form polynyas, some of which extend hundreds of kilometers. In areas not occupied by fast ice, floating ice is observed, and icebergs are observed on the northwestern margin of the sea. From the northern edge of the fast ice to the drifting ice, there is the so-called Great Siberian Polynya, which persists annually.

The ice cover begins to melt in late May - early June, forming fragmented ice agglomerates, mainly in the east of the sea.

The intensity of ice formation varies greatly from year to year, from an ice-free sea to a completely ice-covered sea.

Flora and fauna

Flora and fauna are scarce due to the harsh climate. The vegetation of the sea is represented mainly by diatoms, of which there are more than 100 species. For comparison, green, blue-green algae and flagellates - about 10 species of each. The total concentration of phytoplankton is 0.2 mg/l. Also in the sea there are about 30 species of zooplankton with a total concentration of 0.467 mg/l. The flora of the coast consists mainly of mosses, lichens, and several species of flowering plants including the polar poppy, saxifrage, grit, and small populations of polar and creeping willows. Vascular plants are rare and are represented mainly by saxifrage and saxifrage. Non-vascular, on the contrary, are very diverse: mosses of the genera Ditrichum, Dicranum, Pogonatum, Sanionia, Bryum, Orthothecium And Tortula, as well as lichens of the genera Cetraria, Thamnolia, Cornicularia, Lecidea, Ochrolechia And Parmelia.

39 species of fish have been recorded in the sea, for the most part typical of brackish water environments. The main ones are various types of graylings and whitefishes, such as muksun, whitefish, and omul. Sardine, Bering Sea omul, polar smelt, saffron cod, polar cod, flounder, arctic char and nelma are also common.

Mammals are permanent residents here: walrus, sea hare, seal, harp seal, hoofed lemming, arctic fox, reindeer, wolf, stoat, polar hare and polar bear. Seasonal migrations to the coast (for flying) are made by the white whale. The walruses of the Laptev Sea are sometimes classified as a separate subspecies. Odobenus rosmarus laptevi, however, this issue remains controversial.

Several dozen species of birds live here. Some of them are sedentary and live here permanently, such as snow bunting, sea sandpiper, polar owl and black goose. While others roam the polar regions or migrate from the south, creating large colonies on the islands and the coast of the mainland. The latter include the auk, kittiwake, common guillemot, ivory gull, murre, charadriiformes, and arctic gull. Also found are skuas, terns, fulmar, glaucous gull, rosy gull, long-tailed duck, eiders, loons and ptarmigan.

In 1985, the Ust-Lena Reserve was organized in the delta of the Lena River. In 1993, all the islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago were also included in its buffer zone. The territory of the reserve is 14,330 km². It contains numerous species of plants (402 species of vascular plants), fish (32 species), birds (109 species) and mammals (33 species), many of which are listed in the Red Books of the USSR and Russia.

History and development

The coast of the Laptev Sea has long been inhabited by aboriginal tribes of northern Siberia such as the Yukagirs and Chuvans. The traditional occupations of these tribes were fishing, hunting, nomadic reindeer herding, and hunting for wild deer. Starting from the 2nd century, the gradual assimilation of the Yukaghirs by Evens and Evenks began, and from the 9th century by much more numerous Yakuts, and later by Koryaks and Chukchis. Many of these tribes moved north from the territories of Lake Baikal, avoiding clashes with the Mongols. All of these tribes practiced shamanism, but the languages ​​were different. In the XVII-XIX centuries, the number of Yukaghirs decreased due to epidemics and civil strife.

Development by Russians

Russians began to explore the coast of the Laptev Sea and nearby islands around the 17th century, rafting down the Siberian rivers. Many early expeditions appear to have been undocumented, as evidenced by graves found on the islands by their official discoverers. In 1629, the Siberian Cossacks sailed through the entire Lena in boats and reached its delta. They left a record that the river flows into the sea. In 1633, another group reached the delta of the Olenyok River. In the same year, the Russian pioneers Ivan Rebrov and Ilya Perfilyev sailed by sea on the cochs from the mouth of the river. Lena to the river. Yana, where they set up a prison. In 1636, Rebrov set off from the mouth of the Yana and reached the mouth of the river. Indigirka, thus passing from the Laptev Sea to the East Siberian Sea.

At the head of the Lena-Kolyma detachment, Dmitry Laptev (who replaced P. Lassineus, who died during the winter in 1736), on the Irkutsk boat described the sea coast from the Lena delta to the strait into the East Siberian Sea, later named after him.

A detailed mapping of the coast of the Laptev Sea and the New Siberian Islands was carried out by Peter Anzhu, who in 1821-1823 covered about 14,000 km across this territory on sledges and boats, in search of Sannikov Land and thus demonstrating that large-scale coastal exploration can be carried out without ships. The Anzhu Islands (the northern part of the New Siberian Islands) were named in his honor. In 1875, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was the first to sail across the entire Laptev Sea on the steamship Vega.

In 1892-1894 and again in 1900-1902, Baron Eduard Toll explored the Laptev Sea on two separate expeditions. He conducted geological and geographical research on the ship "Zarya" on behalf of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. During his second expedition, Toll went missing somewhere on the New Siberian Islands under unclear circumstances. He managed to note large, economically significant accumulations of perfectly preserved mammoth bone on the beaches, in reservoirs, river terraces and riverbeds of the New Siberian Islands. More recent scientific studies have shown that these clusters formed over a period of about 200,000 years.

Name etymology

Historical names: Tatar, Lena (on the maps of the XVI-XVII centuries), Siberian, Arctic (XVIII-XIX centuries). In 1883, the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen named the sea after Nordenskjöld.

In the scientific monograph “The Ice of the Kara and Siberian Seas” published by the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1906 by Lieutenant A. V. Kolchak, the author, discussing the title Siberian Sea, disputed the term "Nordenskiöld Sea" "accepted by some geographers":

... Some geographers adopted the term "Nordenskiöld Sea" after Nordenskiöld's voyage on the "Vega" in 1878. that there is no sufficient reason for its adoption, t.to. the first voyage on this sea, along the same coastal route that the Vega was on, was made in 1735 and 1736. Lieutenant Pronchishchev on the dubel-boat "Yakutsk", and the second - Lieutenant Khariton Laptev on the same ship in 1739 and 1740.

Economic activity

The coast of the sea is administratively divided between the regions of the Russian Federation: the Republic of Sakha (Anabarsky, Bulunsky and Ust-Yansky uluses) in the east and the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenets region) in the west. There are few coastal villages, and they themselves are small: with a typical population of several hundred people or less. The only exception is Tiksi (5023 people as of 2013), which is the administrative center of the Bulunsky ulus. The Laptev Sea is the only Russian sea where there is not a single inhabited island with a permanent population, excluding polar stations and military installations.

Fishing and navigation

Hunting and fishing are not widespread and are concentrated mainly in river deltas. For the Khatanga Bay and the deltas of the Lena and Yana, fishery data are available from 1981 to 1991, which give figures of about 3,000 tons of fish per year. Hunting for marine mammals is practiced only by indigenous people. In particular, walrus hunting is allowed only to scientific expeditions and local tribes who need it for their existence.

Despite the freezing of the sea, navigation is the main human activity in the region and the main port is Tiksi. During Soviet times, there was a local navigation boom on the coast of the Laptev Sea, thanks to the first polar convoys that ran along the Northern Sea Route, as well as the creation in 1932 of the main department of the Northern Sea Route. The route was difficult even for icebreakers, so the icebreaker "Lenin" and its caravan of five ships were covered with ice in the Laptev Sea in September 1937, made a forced wintering and were freed from the ice by the icebreaker "Krasin" in August 1938. The main goods transported were timber, fur and building materials.

After the collapse Soviet Union navigation by northern seas fell into disrepair during the 1990s. More or less regular transportation of goods was carried out only from Murmansk to Dudinka in the west and between Vladivostok and Pevek in the east. There was practically no shipping in the ports between Dudinka and Pevek.

Currently North sea ​​route is the most important way of delivering goods to remote regions of Russia - the north Krasnoyarsk Territory, Yakutia and Chukotka. During 2010-2013, the number of satisfied applications for permission to navigate in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, including ships operating transit traffic from Europe to Far East and in South East Asia, ships serving gas fields in high latitudes, and others.

There is an operating airport in Tiksi.

Mining

Scientific activity

Pollution

Another major source of pollution is sunken and floating decomposing wood that has been in the water as a result of decades of continuous rafting. As a result, the concentration of phenols in the Laptev Sea is the highest among all Arctic water basins.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Laptev Sea

The words lined up in an unusual way, but such amazing warmth emanated from them, as if the book really spoke to me ... I heard a soft, affectionate, very tired female voice that tried to tell me its story ...
If I understood correctly, it was someone's short diary.
– My name is Esclarmonde de Pereille… I am a child of the Light, the “daughter” of Magdalene… I am Qatar. I believe in Good and in Knowledge. Like my mother, my husband, and my friends, - the story of a stranger sounded sad. – Today I live my last day on this earth… I can't believe it!.. The servants of Satan gave us two weeks. Tomorrow, at dawn, our time ends...
My throat was seized with excitement ... It was exactly what I was looking for - a real eyewitness story !!! The one who survived all the horror and pain of destruction ... Who felt the death of relatives and friends firsthand. Who was the true Qatar!..
Again, as with everything else, the Catholic Church lied shamelessly. And this, as I now understand, was done not only by Caraffa ...
Spilling mud on someone else's, hated for them faith, the clergy (most likely, on the orders of the then Pope) in secret from everyone collected any information found about this faith - the shortest manuscript, the most read book ... Everything that (killing) was easy to find so that later, secretly, as deeply as possible, study all this and, if possible, use any revelation that is understandable to them.
For everyone else, it was shamelessly announced that all this “heresy” was burned to the very last leaf, since it carried the most dangerous teachings of the Devil ...

This is where the true records of Qatar were located!!! Together with the rest of the "heretical" wealth, they shamelessly hid in the lair of the "most holy" Popes, at the same time ruthlessly destroying the owners who once wrote them.
My hatred for the Pope grew and grew stronger every day, although it seemed impossible to hate more ... Right now, seeing all the shameless lies and cold, calculating violence, my heart and mind were outraged to the last human limit! .. I did not I could think calmly. Although once (it seemed that it was a very long time ago!), Having just fallen into the hands of Cardinal Caraffa, I promised myself not to give in to feelings for anything in the world ... in order to survive. True, I didn’t know then how terrible and merciless my fate would be ... Therefore, even now, despite my confusion and indignation, I forcibly tried to somehow gather myself and again returned to the story of a sad diary ...
The voice that called itself Esclarmonde was very quiet, soft and infinitely sad! But at the same time, there was an incredible determination in him. I did not know her, this woman (or girl), but something very familiar slipped through her determination, fragility, and doom. And I realized - she reminded me of my daughter ... my sweet, brave Anna! ..
And suddenly I wanted to see her wildly! This strong, sad stranger. I tried to tune in... The real reality habitually disappeared, giving way to unprecedented images that came to me now from its distant past...
Directly in front of me, in a huge, poorly lit ancient hall, on a wide wooden bed lay a very young, exhausted pregnant woman. Almost a girl. I realized that this was Esclarmonde.
Some people crowded around the high stone walls of the hall. They were all very thin and emaciated. Some were quietly whispering about something, as if they were afraid to frighten off a happy resolution with a loud conversation. Others nervously walked from corner to corner, obviously worried either for the unborn child, or for the young woman in labor herself ...
A man and a woman stood at the head of a huge bed. Apparently, Esclarmonde's parents or close relatives, since they were very similar to her ... The woman was about forty-five years old, she looked very thin and pale, but she carried herself independently and proudly. The man showed his condition more openly - he was frightened, confused and nervous. Endlessly wiping the perspiration that appeared on his face (although it was damp and cold in the room!), he did not hide the slight trembling of his hands, as if his surroundings did not matter to him at the moment.
Next to the bed, on the stone floor, a long-haired young man was kneeling, all of whose attention was literally nailed to the young woman in labor. Seeing nothing around and not taking his eyes off her, he continuously whispered something to her, hopelessly trying to calm her down.
I tried with interest to examine the future mother, when suddenly a sharp pain slashed all over my body! .. And I immediately, with my whole being, felt how cruelly Esclarmonde suffered! gave her a sea of ​​unfamiliar pain, for which she was not yet ready.
Convulsively seizing the young man's hands, Esclarmonde whispered softly:
“Promise me… Please, promise me… you will be able to save him… Whatever happens… promise me…”
The man did not answer, only affectionately stroked her thin hands, apparently not finding the saving words needed at that moment.
He should be born today! He must! .. - the girl suddenly shouted desperately. - He cannot die with me! .. What should we do? So tell me what should we do?
Her face was incredibly thin, haggard and pale. But neither thinness, nor terrible exhaustion could spoil the refined beauty of this surprisingly tender and bright face! Only his eyes now lived on it ... Clean and huge, like two gray-blue springs, they shone with infinite tenderness and love, not breaking away from the anxious young man ... And in the very depths of these wonderful eyes lurked a wild, black hopelessness ...
What was it?!.. Who were all these people who came to me from someone's distant past? Was it the Cathars?! And is it not because my heart sank so mournfully over them that an inevitable, terrible misfortune hung over them? ..
The mother of the young Esclarmonde (and it must have been her) was obviously agitated to the limit, but, as best she could, she tried not to show this to her already completely exhausted daughter, who at times “went away” from them into oblivion, not feeling anything and not answering … And only she lay there like a sad angel, who left her tired body for a while... On the pillows, scattered in golden-brown waves, long, wet, silky hair shone... The girl, indeed, was very unusual. Some strange, spiritually doomed, very deep beauty shone in her.
Esclarmonde was approached by two thin, stern but pleasant women. Approaching the bed, they tried to gently persuade the young man to leave the room. But he, without answering, only shook his head negatively and turned back to the woman in labor.
The lighting in the hall was sparse and dark - a few smoking torches hung on the walls on either side, casting long, swaying shadows. Once upon a time, this hall must have been very beautiful ... Wonderfully embroidered tapestries still proudly hung on the walls ... And the high windows were protected by cheerful multi-colored stained-glass windows, enlivening the last dim evening light that poured into the room. Something very bad must have happened to the owners to make such a rich room look so abandoned and uncomfortable now ...
I couldn't understand why this strange story completely captivated me?!. And what was the most important thing in it: the event itself? Someone who was there? Or that unborn little man?.. Unable to tear myself away from the vision, I longed to find out as soon as possible how this strange, probably not very happy, alien story would end!
Suddenly, the air thickened in the papal library - the North suddenly appeared.
- Oh! .. I felt something familiar and decided to return to you. But I didn’t think that you would watch this… You don’t need to read this sad story, Isidora. It will only bring you more pain.
– Do you know her?.. Then tell me who these people are, Sever? And why does my heart hurt so much for them? Surprised by his advice, I asked.
“These are Cathars, Isidora… Your beloved Cathars… on the night before the burning,” Sever said sadly. “And the place that you see is their last and most expensive fortress for them, which held out longer than all the others. This is Montsegur, Isidora… The Temple of the Sun. The home of Magdalene and her descendants… one of which is just about to be born into the world.
– ?!..
- Do not be surprised. The father of that child is a descendant of Beloyar, and, of course, Radomir. His name was Svetozar. Or by the Light of Dawn, if you prefer. This (as they always have) is a very sad and cruel story ... I do not advise you to watch it, my friend.
North was focused and deeply sad. And I understood that the vision that I was watching at that moment did not give him pleasure. But in spite of everything, he, as always, was patient, warm and calm.
- When did this happen, Sever? Are you saying that we are seeing the real end of Qatar?
Sever looked at me for a long time, as if pitying.... As if not wanting to hurt even more... But I stubbornly continued to wait for an answer, not giving him the opportunity to remain silent.
“Unfortunately, it is, Isidora. Although I would very much like to answer you something more joyful ... What you are now observing happened in 1244, in the month of March. On the night when the last refuge of Cathar fell ... Montsegur. They held out for a very long time, ten long months, freezing and starving, infuriating the army of His Holiness the Pope and His Majesty the King of France. There were only one hundred real warrior knights and four hundred other people, among whom were women and children, and more than two hundred Perfect. And the attackers were several thousand professional warrior knights, real killers who received the green light to destroy the disobedient "heretics" ... to ruthlessly kill all the innocent and unarmed ... in the name of Christ. And in the name of the "holy", "all-forgiving" church.
And yet, the Cathars held out. The fortress was almost inaccessible, and in order to capture it, it was necessary to know the secret underground passages, or passable paths, known only to the inhabitants of the fortress or the inhabitants of the district who helped them.

But, as it usually happened with heroes, betrayal appeared on the stage... The army of killer knights, out of patience, going crazy from empty inaction, asked for help from the church. And of course, the church immediately responded, using its most proven method for this - giving one of the local shepherds a large fee for showing the path leading to the "platform" (the so-called nearest platform on which it was possible to arrange a catapult). The shepherd sold out, ruining his immortal soul... and the sacred fortress of the last remaining Cathars.

My heart was beating wildly with indignation. Trying not to succumb to the surging hopelessness, I continued to ask Sever, as if I still did not give up, as if I still had the strength to watch this pain and the savagery of the atrocity that had once occurred ...
Who was Esclarmonde? Do you know anything about her, Sever?
“She was the third and youngest daughter of the last lords of Montsegur, Raymond and Corba de Pereille,” Sever replied sadly. “You saw them at the head of Esclarmonde in your vision. Esclarmonde herself was a cheerful, affectionate and beloved girl. She was explosive and mobile, like a fountain. And very kind. Her name in translation meant - Light of the World. But acquaintances affectionately called her "flash", I think, for her seething and sparkling character. Just do not confuse it with another Esclarmonde - Qatar also had the Great Esclarmonde, Dame de Foix.
She was called Great by the people themselves, for her steadfastness and unshakable faith, for her love and help to others, for the protection and Faith of Qatar. But this is another, although very beautiful, but (again!) very sad story. Esclarmonde, whom you "watched", became the wife of Svetozar at a very young age. And now she was giving birth to his child, which the father, according to an agreement with her and with all the Perfect Ones, had to somehow take away from the fortress that same night in order to save it. Which meant that she would only see her child for a few short minutes while his father was preparing to escape... But, as you have already seen, the child was still not born. Esclarmonde was losing strength, and from this she panicked more and more. A whole two weeks, which, according to general estimates, should have certainly been enough for the birth of a son, came to an end, and for some reason the child did not want to be born ... Being in a complete frenzy, exhausted by attempts, Esclarmonde almost did not believe, that she would still be able to save her poor child from a terrible death in the flames of a fire. Why did he, an unborn baby, have to experience this?! Svetozar did his best to calm her down, but she no longer listened to anything, completely immersed in despair and hopelessness.
Having adjusted, I again saw the same room. About ten people gathered around Esclarmonde's bed. They stood in a circle, all equally dressed in dark, and from their outstretched hands a golden glow gently flowed into the woman in labor. The flow grew thicker, as if the people around her were pouring all their remaining Life Power into her...
It's the Cathars, right? I asked quietly.
– Yes, Isidora, they are Perfect. They helped her survive, helped her baby be born into the world.
Suddenly Esclarmonde screamed wildly... and at the same moment, in unison, a heart-rending cry of a baby was heard! A bright joy appeared on the emaciated faces surrounding her. People laughed and cried, as if a long-awaited miracle had suddenly appeared to them! Although, probably, it was so?.. After all, a descendant of Magdalene, their beloved and revered guiding Star, was born!.. A bright descendant of Radomir! It seemed that the people who filled the hall completely forgot that at sunrise they would all go to the fire. Their joy was sincere and proud, like a stream of fresh air in the expanses of Occitania scorched by fires! Greeting the newborn in turn, they, smiling happily, left the hall until only Esclarmonde's parents and her husband, her most beloved person in the world, remained around.
With happy, sparkling eyes, the young mother looked at the boy, unable to utter a word. She perfectly understood that these moments would be very short, because, wanting to save the newborn son, his father would have to immediately pick him up in order to try to escape from the fortress before morning. Before his unfortunate mother climbs the fire with the others....
– Thank you!.. Thank you for your son! - not hiding the tears rolling down his tired face, whispered Svetozar. – My bright-eyed joy... come with me! We will all help you! I can't lose you! He doesn't know you yet!.. Your son doesn't know how kind and beautiful his mother is! Come with me, Esclarmonde!
He pleaded with her, knowing in advance what the answer would be. He just couldn't leave her to die. After all, everything was calculated so perfectly! .. Montsegur surrendered, but asked for two weeks, ostensibly to prepare for death. In reality, they were waiting for the appearance of the descendant of Magdalene and Radomir. And they calculated that after his appearance, Esclarmonde would have enough time to get stronger. But, apparently, they say correctly: “we assume, but fate disposes” ... So she ordered cruelly ... allowing the newborn only to last night be born. Esclarmonde had no strength left to go with them. And now she was going to end her short, completely unlived life on the terrible fire of "heretics"...
The Pereyles, embracing each other, sobbed. They so wanted to save their beloved, bright girl! .. They so wanted her to live!
My throat caught - how familiar was this story! .. They should have seen how their daughter would die in the flames of a fire. Just as I will probably have to watch the death of my beloved Anna...
The Perfect Ones reappeared in the stone hall - it's time to say goodbye. Esclarmonde screamed and tried to get out of bed. Her legs gave way, not wanting to hold her ... The husband grabbed her, not letting her fall, squeezing her tightly in the last embrace.
“You see, my love, how can I go with you?” Esclarmonde whispered softly. - You go! Promise you will save him. Promise me please! I will love you there too... And my son.
Esclarmonde burst into tears ... She so wanted to look courageous and strong! .. But fragile and affectionate female heart let her down... She didn't want them to leave!.. She didn't even have time to recognize her little Vidomir! It was much more painful than she naively imagined. It was a pain from which there was no escape. She was in so much pain!!!
Finally, kissing her little son for the last time, she let them go into the unknown... They left to survive. And she stayed to die... The world was cold and unfair. And there was no room in it even for Love ...
Wrapped in warm blankets, the four stern men stepped out into the night. These were her friends - Perfect: Hugo (Hugo), Amiel (Amiel), Poitevin (Poitevin) and Svetozar (which is not mentioned in any of the original manuscripts, everywhere it simply says that the name of the fourth Perfect remained unknown). Esclarmonde tried to go after them... Her mother would not let her go. It no longer made sense - the night was dark, and the daughter would only interfere with those leaving.

Such was their fate, and it was necessary to meet it with your head held high. As difficult as it may be...
The descent down which the four Perfects left was very dangerous. The rock was slippery and almost vertical.
And they descended on ropes tied around the waist, so that, in case of trouble, everyone's hands would remain free. Only Svetozar felt defenseless, as he supported the child tied to him, who, drunk with poppy decoction (so as not to scream) and arranged on his father's wide chest, slept sweetly. Did this kid ever know what his first night in this cruel world was like? .. I think he did.

He lived a long and difficult life, this little son of Esclarmonde and Svetozar, whom his mother, who saw him for only a moment, named Vidomir, knowing that her son would see the future. Will be a wonderful Vidun...
- Just as slandered by the church as the rest of the descendants of Magdalene and Radomir, he will end his life at the stake. But unlike many who died early, at the time of his death he will already be exactly seventy years and two days old, and his name on earth will be Jacques de Molay (Jacques de Molay) ... the last Grand Master of the Order of the Templars. And also the last head of the bright Temple of Radomir and Magdalene. The Temple of Love and Knowledge, which the Roman Church was never able to destroy, because there were always people who sacredly kept it in their hearts.
(The Templars died slandered and tortured by the servants of the king and the bloodthirsty Catholic Church. But the most absurd thing was that they died in vain, since at the time of their execution they had already been acquitted by Pope Clement! .. Only this document was somehow “lost”, and no one saw it until 2002, when it was "accidentally" suddenly discovered in the Vatican Archives under the number 217, instead of the "correct" number 218 ... And this document was called - Parchment of Chinon (Parchement of Chinon), a manuscript from the city, in which he spent last years his imprisonment and torture by Jacques de Molay).

(If someone is interested in the details of the real fate of Radomir, Magdalene, Cathars and the Templars, please see the Additions after the chapters of Isidora or a separate (but still in preparation) book "Children of the Sun" when it is posted on the website www.levashov.info for free copying).

I stood completely shocked, as it was almost always after the next story of the North ...
Was that tiny, newly born boy really the famous Jacques de Molay?! How many different bizarre legends I heard about this mysterious man!.. How many miracles were connected with his life in the stories I once loved!
(Unfortunately, wonderful legends about this mysterious man have not survived to this day... He, like Radomir, was made a weak, cowardly and spineless master who "failed" to save his great Order...)
– Can you tell us a little more about him, Sever? Was he such a powerful prophet and miracle worker as my father once told me? ..
Smiling at my impatience, Sever nodded in the affirmative.
– Yes, I will tell you about him, Isidora... I have known him for many years. And I talked to him many times. I loved this man very much ... And I missed him very much.
I did not ask why he did not help him during the execution? It didn't make sense, since I already knew his answer.
– What are you?! Have you spoken to him? Please, will you tell me about this, Sever?!. I exclaimed.
I know I was like a child in my excitement... But it didn't matter. Sever understood how important his story was for me, and patiently helped me.
“Only I would like to know first what became of his mother and the Cathars. I know that they died, but I would like to see it with my own eyes... Help me, please, Sever.
And again reality disappeared, returning me to Montsegur, where my last hours wonderful brave people - disciples and followers of Magdalene...

Cathars.
Esclarmonde lay quietly on the bed. Her eyes were closed, she seemed to be sleeping, exhausted by losses ... But I felt - it was just protection. She just wanted to be alone with her sadness... Her heart suffered endlessly. The body refused to obey... Just a few moments ago, her hands were holding a newborn son... Embracing her husband... Now they are gone into the unknown. And no one could say with certainty whether they would be able to get away from the hatred of the "hunters" who filled the foot of Montsegur. Yes, and the whole valley, as far as the eye covered ... The fortress was the last stronghold of the Cathars, after it there was nothing left. They suffered a complete defeat ... Exhausted by hunger and winter cold, they were helpless against the stone "rain" of catapults that rained down on Montsegur from morning to night.

“Tell me, Sever, why didn’t the Perfect Ones defend themselves?” After all, as far as I know, no one was better than them in "movement" (I think they mean telekinesis), "breath" and much more. Why did they give up?!
“There are reasons for this, Isidora. In the very first attacks of the crusaders, the Cathars did not yet give up. But after the complete destruction of the cities of Albi, Beziers, Minerva and Lavour, in which thousands of civilians died, the church came up with a move that simply could not work. Before they attacked, they announced to the Perfects that if they surrendered, not a single person would be harmed. And, of course, the Cathars surrendered... From that day on, the fires of the Perfect Ones began to blaze all over Occitania. People who devoted their whole lives to Knowledge, Light and Goodness were burned like garbage, turning the beautiful Occitania into a desert scorched by bonfires.
Look, Isidora... Look, if you want to see the truth...
I was seized by a real sacred horror! .. For what the North showed me did not fit into the framework of normal human understanding! .. It was Hell, if it ever truly existed somewhere ...
Thousands of knights-murderers dressed in sparkling armor cold-bloodedly massacred people rushing about in horror - women, old people, children ... Everyone who fell under strong blows faithful servants of the "forgiving" Catholic Church ... Young men who tried to resist immediately fell dead, hacked to death by long knightly swords. Heart-rending cries sounded everywhere... the clash of swords was deafening. There was a suffocating smell of smoke, human blood and death. The knights mercilessly cut down everyone: whether it was a newborn baby, which, begging for mercy, was held out by an unfortunate mother ... or there was a weak old man ... All of them were immediately mercilessly hacked to death ... in the name of Christ !!! It was sacrilege. It was so wild that my hair really moved on my head. I was trembling all over, unable to accept or simply comprehend what was happening. I really wanted to believe that this was a dream! That such a reality could not be! But, unfortunately, it was still a reality ...
HOW could they explain the perpetrated atrocity?! HOW could the Roman Church FORGIVE (???) those committing such a terrible crime?!
Even before the start of the Albigensian Crusade, in 1199, Pope Innocent III “graciously” declared: “Anyone who professes a belief in God that does not coincide with church dogma should be burned without the slightest regret.” The crusade against Qatar was called "For the Cause of Peace and Faith"! (Negotium Pacis et Fidei)...
Right at the altar, a handsome young knight tried to crush the skull of an elderly man... The man did not die, his skull did not give in. The young knight calmly and methodically continued to beat, until the man finally twitched for the last time and calmed down - his thick skull, unable to stand it, split ...
The young mother, terrified, held out the child in a prayer - in a second, two even halves remained in her hands ...
A little curly-haired girl, crying with fright, gave the knight her doll - her most precious treasure ... The head of the doll flew off easily, and after it the head of the hostess rolled like a ball on the floor ...
Unable to bear it any longer, sobbing bitterly, I collapsed on my knees... Were these PEOPLE?! HOW could one call a person who did such evil?!
I did not want to watch it any further!.. I had no more strength left... But the North mercilessly continued to show some cities with churches blazing in them... These cities were completely empty, not counting the thousands of corpses thrown right on streets, and overflowing rivers of human blood, drowning in which the wolves feasted ... Horror and pain fettered me, not allowing me to breathe even for a minute. Don't let me move...

How should the “people” who gave such orders feel? I don't think they felt anything at all, for black were their ugly, callous souls.

Suddenly I saw a very beautiful castle, the walls of which were damaged in places by catapults, but basically the castle remained intact. The entire courtyard was littered with the bodies of people drowning in pools of their own and other people's blood. Everyone's throat was slit...
– This is Lavaur, Isidora... A very beautiful and rich city. Its walls were the most protected. But the leader of the crusaders, Simon de Montfort, who had gone berserk from unsuccessful attempts, called for help all the rabble he could find, and... 15,000 "soldiers of Christ" who had come to the call attacked the fortress... Unable to withstand the onslaught, Lavur fell. All the inhabitants, including 400 (!!!) Perfects, 42 troubadours and 80 defending knights, fell brutally at the hands of the "holy" executioners. Here, in the courtyard, you see only the knights who defended the city, and also those who held weapons in their hands. The rest (except for the burned Qatar) were slaughtered and simply left to rot in the streets... In the city basement, the killers found 500 hidden women and children - they were brutally killed right there... without going outside...
Some people brought into the courtyard of the castle, chained, pretty, well-dressed young woman. Around began drunken whooping and laughter. The woman was roughly grabbed by the shoulders and thrown into the well. Deaf, plaintive groans and cries were immediately heard from the depths. They continued until the crusaders, by order of the leader, filled the well with stones...
– It was Lady Giralda... The owner of the castle and this city... Without exception, all subjects loved her very much. She was soft and kind... And she carried her first unborn baby under her heart. - Sever finished hard.
Then he looked at me, and apparently immediately realized that I simply had no more strength left ...
The horror ended immediately.
Sever sympathetically approached me, and, seeing that I was still trembling violently, gently laid his hand on my head. He stroked my long hair, softly whispering words of comfort. And I gradually began to come to life, coming to my senses after a terrible, inhuman shock ... A swarm of unasked questions was annoyingly swirling in my tired head. But all these questions now seemed empty and irrelevant. Therefore, I preferred to wait what the North would say.
– Forgive me for the pain, Isidora, but I wanted to show you the truth... So that you would understand the burden of Katar... So that you would not think that they easily lost the Perfect...
“I still don’t get it, Sever! Just as I couldn't understand your truth... Why didn't the Perfect Ones fight for their lives?! Why didn't they use what they knew? After all, almost every one of them could exterminate an entire army with just one movement! .. Why was it necessary to surrender?
“I guess that was what I talked to you about so often, my friend… They just weren't ready.
“Not ready for what?!” I exploded out of old habit. Are you ready to save your life? Not ready to save other suffering people?! But all this is so erroneous!.. It is not true!!!
“They weren’t warriors like you are, Isidora. Sever spoke softly. – They did not kill, believing that the world should be different. Considering that they could teach people to change... Teach Understanding and Love, teach Goodness. They hoped to give people Knowledge... but not everyone, unfortunately, needed it. You are correct in saying that the Cathars were strong. Yes, they were perfect Mages and wielded great power. But they did not want to fight with FORCE, preferring to fight with the WORD over strength. That is what destroyed them, Isidora. That's why I'm telling you, my friend, they weren't ready. And to be extremely precise, it was the world that was not ready for them. The earth, at that time, respected precisely force. And the Cathars carried Love, Light and Knowledge. And they came too early. People weren't ready for them...
- Well, what about those hundreds of thousands that throughout Europe carried the Faith of Qatar? What were drawn to Light and Knowledge? There were a lot of them!
– You are right, Isidora... There were many of them. But what happened to them? As I told you earlier, Knowledge can be very dangerous if it comes too soon. People must be ready to receive it. Not resisting and not killing. Otherwise this Knowledge will not help them. Or even worse - falling into someone's dirty hands, it will destroy the Earth. I'm sorry if it upset you...
- And yet, I do not agree with you, Sever ... The time you are talking about will never come to Earth. People will never think the same way. This is fine. Look at nature - every tree, every flower is different from each other... And you want people to be similar!.. Too much evil, too much violence was shown to man. And those who have a dark soul do not want to work and KNOW when it is possible to just kill or lie to get what they need. It is necessary to fight for Light and Knowledge! And win. This is exactly what a normal person should miss. The earth can be beautiful, North. We just have to show her HOW she can become pure and beautiful...
Sever was silent, watching me. And I, in order not to prove anything more, tuned in to Esclarmonde again ...
How could this girl, almost a child, endure such deep grief?.. Her courage was amazing, forcing respect and pride in her. She was worthy of the Magdalene family, although she was only the mother of her distant descendant.
And my heart ached again for the wonderful people whose lives were cut short by the same church that falsely proclaimed “forgiveness”! And then I suddenly remembered the words of Caraffa: “God will forgive everything that is happening in his name”! .. The blood froze from such a God ... And I wanted to run wherever my eyes look, just not to hear and not see what is happening “for the glory” of this monsters!..
Before my eyes again stood the young, exhausted Esclarmonde... The unfortunate mother who lost her first and last child... And no one could really explain to her why they did this to them... Why did they, kind and innocent, go to death...
Suddenly, a thin, out of breath boy ran into the hall. He obviously came running straight from the street, as steam poured out of his wide smile.
- Madam, Madam! They got saved!!! Good Esclarmonde, there is a fire on the mountain! ..

Esclarmonde jumped up, about to run, but her body turned out to be weaker than the poor thing could have imagined ... She collapsed straight into her father's arms. Raymond de Pereille picked up his daughter, light as a feather, in his arms and ran out the door ... And there, gathered on top of Montsegur, stood all the inhabitants of the castle. And all eyes looked only in one direction - to where a huge fire burned on the snowy peak of Mount Bidorta! .. Which meant - four fugitives reached the desired point !!! Her brave husband and newborn son were saved from the brutal paws of the Inquisition and could happily continue their lives.
Now everything was in order. All was good. She knew that she would ascend the fire calmly, since the people dearest to her lived. And she was truly pleased - fate took pity on her, allowing her to find out .... Allowing her to calmly go to her death.

Sea location

• The Laptev Sea (Yakut. Laptevtar Baigallar) is a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the Taimyr Peninsula and the Severnaya Zemlya Islands in the west and the New Siberian Islands in the east.

Physical location

The surface area of ​​the sea is 672,000 km². Depths up to 50 m prevail, the greatest depth is 3385 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. The coast is heavily indented. Large bays: Khatanga, Oleneksky, Faddey, Yansky, Anabarsky, Maria Bay, Pronchishcheva, Buor-Khaya. There are many islands in the western part of the sea, mostly off the coast. The islands of Komsomolskaya Pravda are located in the southwestern part of the sea.

Inhabitants and flowing rivers

• Rivers flow into the sea: Khatanga, Anabar, Olenyok, Lena, Yana. Some rivers form large deltas. The main port is Tiksi.

• Walrus, sea hare, seal live here.

Bottom relief.

The bottom of the Laptev Sea is a gently sloping continental shelf, abruptly ending to the ocean floor. The southern part of the sea is shallow, with depths of 20-50 meters. In shallow areas, the bottom is covered with sand and silt mixed with pebbles and boulders. Near the banks, river precipitation accumulates at a high rate, up to 20-25 centimeters per year. The continental slope is cut by the Sadko trough, passing in the north into the Nansen Basin with depths of over 2 kilometers, the maximum depth of the Laptev Sea is also noted here - 3385 meters ( 79°35 N 124°40′ o.d.). At great depths, the bottom is covered with silt.

temperature and salinity

Sea water temperatures are low. In winter, under the ice, the water temperature is -0.8 ... -1.8 °C. Above a depth of 100 meters, the entire layer of water has negative temperatures (up to -1.8 ° C). In summer, in ice-free areas of the sea, the uppermost layer of water can warm up to 4-6 °C, in bays up to 10 °C. In the deep-water zone of the sea at a depth of 250-300 meters, there are relatively warm waters coming from the Arctic waters of the Atlantic (up to 1.5 ° C). Below this layer, the water temperature becomes negative again until the very bottom, where the temperature is about −0.8 °C.

• The salinity of sea water at the surface in the northwestern part of the sea is 28 ppm, in the southern part - up to 15 ppm, near the mouths of rivers - less than 10 ppm. The salinity of surface waters is strongly influenced by the runoff of Siberian rivers and the melting of ice. With increasing depth, salinity increases rapidly, reaching 33 ppm

The Laptev Sea is located on the continental plate of the Eurasian continent. Its borders are the Kara Sea, the basin of the Arctic Ocean and the East Siberian Sea. It owes its name to the Laptev brothers, who devoted their lives to exploring the North. Its other names - Nordenskiöld and Siberian - are less relevant. The area of ​​the sea is 672,000 sq. km., depths up to 50 meters predominate everywhere. Only a fifth of the bottom is submerged by more than 1000 meters. The maximum depth was recorded in the Nansen Basin and is equal to 3385 m. The bottom of the sea is silty in deep places and sandy-silty in shallower ones.

Due to the huge number of rivers flowing into the Nordenskiöld, the surface of the sea has a low concentration of salt. Most of the water the Laptev Sea receives from Khatanga and Lena - the main arteries of Siberia. The sea temperature is rarely above zero. This is one of the most harsh places on the planet.

But life did not disregard this part of our planet. Despite the fact that the surface of the sea is almost always covered with ice and despite the small amount sunlight, you can find vegetation on the shore. The flora here is represented by various diatoms and other microscopic algae. Planktonic microorganisms can also be found.

The coastline is heavily indented. The steep banks are dotted with birds that come here to raise their offspring. Gulls, guillemots, guillemots and many other birds hatch their chicks here. Bird eggs attract small predators such as arctic foxes, who are not averse to indulging in the delicacy. attract larger animals such as polar bear. Along the mainland along the coast there are also stars, mollusks and other small inhabitants of the deep sea.

There are about 40 species of fish in the Laptev Sea - these are cod, omul, and many others. Mining is not possible due to the ice crust on the surface. Sport fishing is also poorly developed due to the remoteness of the sea from residential areas.

Mammals here are represented by walruses, minke whales, seals and beluga whales. Their extraction is also absolutely undeveloped for the reasons described above. Nothing is known about the existence of sharks in the waters of the Laptev Sea. But we can assume that such conditions are quite suitable for polar sharks. During warmer times neighboring seas can get here

IN Lately began to appear a large number of projects related to offshore and gas. This is due to the low depths over most of the area of ​​the entire sea. A good study of the bottom in seismic terms provides excellent prerequisites for conclusions about the high content of oil and gas. Shallow depths allow drilling not from special offshore platforms, but from man-made islands.

Currently, the oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft are planning to drill the first wells in the Laptev Sea. Each, in turn, will have to bring foreign partners to the shelf. It remains only to wait for the moment when the development of the Laptev Sea will nevertheless begin.