The geographical position of the Bering Sea in the world ocean. Description of the geographical location of the Bering Sea. Water temperature and salinity

Every year from the end of September, ice forms, which melts in July. The surface of the sea (except for the Bering Strait) is annually covered with ice for about ten months (about five months half of the sea, about seven months, from November to May, - the northern third of the sea). The Gulf of Laurentia in some years is not cleared of ice at all. In the western part of the Bering Strait, ice brought by the current can occur even in August.

Bering Sea

The largest of the Far Eastern seas washing the shores of Russia, the Bering Sea is located between two continents - Asia and North America - and is separated from the Pacific Ocean by the islands of the Commander-Aleutian arc. Its northern border coincides with the southern border of the Bering Strait and stretches along the line of Cape Novosilsky (Chukotsky Peninsula) - Cape York (Seward Peninsula), the eastern border runs along the coast of the American continent, the southern one - from Cape Khabuch (Peninsula Alaska) through the Aleutian Islands to Cape Kamchatsky, western - along the coast of the Asian continent.

The Bering Sea is one of the largest and deepest seas in the world. Its area is 2315 thousand km 2, volume - 3796 thousand km 3, average depth - 1640 m, maximum depth - 4097 m. The area with depths of less than 500 m occupies about half of the entire area of ​​the Bering Sea, which belongs to the marginal seas of the mixed - ocean type.

There are few islands in the vast expanses of the Bering Sea. Apart from the border Aleutian island arc and the Commander Islands, there are large Karaginsky Islands in the west and several islands (St. Lawrence, St. Matthew, Nelson, Nunivak, St. Paul, St. George, Pribylova) in the east.

Coastline The Bering Sea is heavily indented. It forms many bays, bays, peninsulas, capes and straits. For the formation of many natural processes in this sea, the straits are especially important, providing water exchange with the Pacific Ocean. The total area of ​​their cross section is approximately 730 km 2, the depths in some of them reach 1000-2000 m, and in Kamchatsky - 4000-4500 m, as a result of which water exchange occurs not only in the surface, but also in the deep horizons. The cross-sectional area of ​​the Bering Strait is 3.4 km 2, and the depth is only 60 m. The waters of the Chukchi Sea practically do not affect the Bering Sea, but the Bering Sea waters play a very significant role in the Chukchi Sea.

The borders of the seas of the Pacific Ocean

Different parts of the coast of the Bering Sea belong to different geomorphological types of coasts. The shores are mostly abrasion, but there are also accumulative ones. The sea is surrounded mainly by high and steep shores, only in the middle part of the western and eastern coasts wide strips of flat lowland tundra approach it. Narrower strips of the lowland coast are located near the mouths of small rivers in the form of a deltaic alluvial valley or border the tops of bays and bays.

Landscapes of the coast of the Bering Sea

Bottom relief

The main morphological zones are clearly distinguished in the relief of the bottom of the Bering Sea: the shelf and insular shoals, the continental slope and the deep-water basin. The shelf zone with depths up to 200 m is mainly located in the northern and eastern parts of the sea and occupies more than 40% of its area. Here it adjoins the geologically ancient regions of Chukotka and Alaska. The bottom in this area is a vast, very gently sloping underwater plain 600-1000 km wide, within which there are several islands, hollows and small bottom elevations. The continental shelf off the coast of Kamchatka and the islands of the Commander-Aleutian ridge looks different. Here it is narrow, and its relief is very complex. It borders the shores of geologically young and very mobile land areas, within which intense and frequent manifestations of volcanism and seismic activity are common.

The continental slope stretches from the northwest to the southeast approximately along the line from Cape Navarin to about. Unimac. Together with the island slope zone, it occupies approximately 13% of the sea area, has depths from 200 to 300 m, and is characterized by a complex bottom topography. The zone of the continental slope is dissected by submarine valleys, many of which are typical submarine canyons, deeply cut into the seabed and having steep and even steep slopes. Some canyons, especially near the Pribylov Islands, are distinguished by their complex structure.

The deep-water zone (3000-4000 m) is located in the southwestern and central parts of the sea and is bordered by a relatively narrow strip of coastal shallows. Its area exceeds 40% of the sea area. The bottom relief is very calm. It is characterized by the almost complete absence of isolated depressions. The slopes of some bottom depressions are very gentle; these depressions are weakly isolated. Of the positive forms, the Shirshov Ridge stands out, but it has a relatively shallow depth on the ridge (mainly 500–600 m with a saddle of 2500 m) and does not come close to the base of the island arc, but ends in front of the narrow but deep (about 3500 m) Ratmanov Trench. The greatest depths of the Bering Sea (more than 4000 m) are located in the Kamchatka Strait and near the Aleutian Islands, but they occupy a small area. Thus, the bottom relief determines the possibility of water exchange between separate parts of the sea: without restrictions within the depths of 2000–2500 m and with some limitation (determined by the section of the Ratmanov trough) to depths of 3500 m.

Bottom relief and currents of the Bering Sea

Climate

The geographical position and large spaces determine the main features of the climate of the Bering Sea. It is located almost entirely in the subarctic climate zone, only the northernmost part (to the north of 64° N) belongs to the Arctic zone, and the southernmost part (to the south of 55° N) belongs to the zone of temperate latitudes. In accordance with this, climatic differences between different areas of the sea are also determined. North of 55-56°N in the climate of the sea (especially its coastal regions), the features of continentality are noticeably pronounced, but in areas remote from the coast they are much weaker. South of these parallels, the climate is mild, typically maritime. It is characterized by small daily and annual air temperature amplitudes, high cloud cover and a significant amount of precipitation. As you get closer to the coast, the influence of the ocean on the climate decreases. Due to stronger cooling and less significant heating of the part of the Asian continent adjacent to the sea, the western regions of the sea are colder than the eastern ones. Throughout the year, the Bering Sea is under the influence of constant centers of atmospheric action - the Polar and Hawaiian maxima, the position and intensity of which change from season to season, and the degree of their influence on the sea changes accordingly. It is no less influenced by seasonal large-scale baric formations: the Aleutian Low, the Siberian High, and the Asian Depression. Their complex interaction determines the seasonal features of atmospheric processes.

In the cold season, especially in winter, the sea is mainly influenced by the Aleutian Low, the Polar High, and the Yakutsk spur of the Siberian Anticyclone. Sometimes the influence of the Hawaiian high is felt, which at this time occupies the extreme southern position. Such a synoptic situation leads to a wide variety of winds, the entire meteorological situation over the sea. At this time, winds of almost all directions are observed here. However, the northwestern, northern and northeastern ones noticeably predominate. Their total repeatability is 50-70%. Only in the eastern part of the sea, south of 50°N, south and southwest winds are quite often observed, and in some places also southeast. The wind speed in the coastal zone is on average 6-8 m/s, and in open areas it varies from 6 to 12 m/s, and increases from north to south. The winds of the northern, western and eastern directions carry with them cold sea Arctic air from the Arctic Ocean, and cold and dry continental polar and continental Arctic air from the Asian and American continents. With southerly winds, sea polar, and sometimes sea tropical air comes here. Above the sea, mainly the masses of continental arctic and maritime polar air interact, on the border of which the arctic front is formed. It is located somewhat north of the Aleutian arc and generally extends from the southwest to the northeast. On the frontal section of these air masses, cyclones form, moving approximately along the front to the northeast. The movement of these cyclones enhances northern winds in the west and weakening them or even changing to the southern seas in the east. Large pressure gradients caused by the Yakutian spur of the Siberian anticyclone and the Aleutian low cause very strong winds in the western part of the sea. During storms, the wind speed often reaches 30-40 m/s. Usually storms last about a day, but sometimes they last 7-9 days with some weakening. The number of days with storms in the cold season is 5-10, in some places it reaches 15-20 per month.

The temperature of the water on the surface of the Bering and Seas of Okhotsk in summer

The air temperature in winter decreases from south to north. Average monthly temperature the coldest months - January and February - is 1-4 ° in the southwestern and southern parts of the sea and -15-20 ° in the northern and north- eastern regions. In the open sea, the air temperature is higher than in the coastal zone. Off the coast of Alaska, it can drop to -40-48°. On open spaces ax temperatures below –24° are not observed.

In the warm season, the pressure systems are restructured. Starting from spring, the intensity of the Aleutian minimum decreases, and in summer it is very weakly expressed, the Yakut spur of the Siberian anticyclone disappears, the Polar maximum shifts to the north, and the Hawaiian maximum occupies its extreme northern position. As a result of such a synoptic situation in warm seasons, southwestern, southern and southeastern winds prevail, the frequency of which is 30-60%. Their speed in the western part of the open sea is 4-6 m/s, and in the eastern regions - 4-7 m/s. In the coastal zone, the wind speed is less. Decrease in wind speeds compared to winter values due to a decrease in atmospheric pressure gradients over the sea. In summer, the Arctic front shifts south of the Aleutian Islands. Cyclones are born here, with the passage of which a significant increase in winds is associated. IN summer time the frequency of storms and wind speeds is less than in winter. Only in the southern part of the sea, where tropical cyclones (typhoons) penetrate, do they cause severe storms with hurricane-force winds. Typhoons in the Bering Sea are most likely from June to October, usually occur no more than once a month and last for several days. The air temperature in summer generally decreases from south to north, and it is somewhat higher in the eastern part of the sea than in the western part. The average monthly air temperatures of the warmest months - July and August - within the sea vary from about 4 ° in the north to 13 ° in the south, and they are higher near the coast than in the open sea. Relatively mild winters in the south and cold in the north, and cool, overcast summers everywhere are the main seasonal features of the weather in the Bering Sea. The continental runoff into the sea is approximately 400 km 3 per year. Most of the river water enters its northernmost part, where the largest rivers flow: Yukon (176 km 3), Kuskokwim (50 km 3 / year) and Anadyr (41 km 3 / year). About 85% of the total annual runoff occurs during the summer months. The influence of river waters on sea waters is felt mainly in the coastal zone on the northern margin of the sea in summer.

Hydrology and water circulation

The geographical position, vast expanses, relatively good communication with the Pacific Ocean through the straits of the Aleutian ridge in the south and extremely limited communication with the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait in the north determine the hydrological conditions of the Bering Sea. The components of its thermal budget depend mainly on climatic conditions and, to a much lesser extent, on heat advection by currents. In this regard, various climatic conditions in the northern and southern parts of the sea entail differences in the heat balance of each of them, which accordingly affects the water temperature in the sea.

For the water balance of the Bering Sea, on the contrary, water exchange is of decisive importance. Very large amounts of surface and deep ocean waters enter through the Aleutian Straits, and water flows out through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea. Precipitation (approximately 0.1% of the volume of the sea) and river runoff (approximately 0.02%) are very small in relation to huge area and the volume of sea waters, therefore, they are less significant in the water balance than water exchange through the Aleutian straits.

However, water exchange through these straits has not yet been sufficiently studied. It is known that large masses of surface water exit the sea into the ocean through the Kamchatka Strait. The vast majority of deep ocean water enters the sea in three regions: through the eastern half of the Middle Strait, through almost all the straits of the Fox Islands, and through the Amchitka, Tanaga and other straits between the Rat and Andrianov Islands. Perhaps more deep waters penetrate into the sea and through the Kamchatka Strait, if not constantly, then periodically or sporadically. Water exchange between the sea and the ocean affects the distribution of temperature, salinity, structure formation and general circulation of the waters of the Bering Sea.

The main mass of the waters of the Bering Sea is characterized by a subarctic structure, main feature which is the existence of a cold intermediate layer in summer, as well as a warm intermediate layer located below it. Only in the southernmost part of the sea, in the areas immediately adjacent to the Aleutian ridge, waters of a different structure were found, where both intermediate layers are absent.

Water temperature and salinity

Salinity on the surface of the Bering and Okhotsk seas in summer

The bulk of the waters of the sea, which occupies its deep-sea part, is clearly divided into four layers in summer: surface, cold intermediate, warm intermediate and deep. Such stratification is determined mainly by differences in temperature, and the change in salinity with depth is small.

The surface water mass in summer is the most heated upper layer from the surface to a depth of 25-50 m, characterized by a temperature of 7-10° on the surface and 4-6° at the lower boundary and a salinity of about 33‰. The greatest thickness of this water mass is observed in the open part of the sea. The lower boundary of the surface water mass is the temperature jump layer. The cold intermediate layer is formed here as a result of winter convective mixing and subsequent summer heating of the upper water layer. This layer has an insignificant thickness in the southeastern part of the sea, but as it approaches the western shores, it reaches 200 m or more. The minimum temperature was recorded at horizons of about 150-170 m. In the eastern part, the minimum temperature is 2.5-3.5°, and in the western part of the sea it drops to 2° in the area of ​​the Koryak coast and to 1° and lower in the area of ​​the Karaginsky Bay. The salinity of the cold intermediate layer is 33.2-33.5‰ At the lower boundary of this layer, the salinity rapidly rises to 34‰.

Vertical distribution of water temperature (1) and salinity (2) in the Bering Sea

In warm years in the south, in the deep part of the sea, a cold intermediate layer may be absent in summer, then the temperature decreases relatively smoothly with depth, with a general warming of the entire water column. The origin of the intermediate layer is associated with the influx of Pacific water, which is cooled from above as a result of winter convection. Convection here reaches horizons of 150-250 m, and under its lower boundary there is an increased temperature - a warm intermediate layer. The maximum temperature varies from 3.4-3.5 to 3.7-3.9°. The depth of the core of the warm intermediate layer in the central regions of the sea is about 300 m, to the south it decreases to 200 m, and to the north and west it increases to 400 m or more. The lower boundary of the warm intermediate layer is eroded, approximately it is outlined in the 650-900 m layer.

The deep water mass, which occupies most of the volume of the sea, does not differ significantly both in depth and in the area of ​​the sea. For more than 3000 m, the temperature varies from about 2.7-3.0 to 1.5-1.8 ° at the bottom. Salinity is 34.3-34.8‰.

As you move south to the straits of the Aleutian ridge, the stratification of waters is gradually erased, the temperature of the core of the cold intermediate layer rises, approaching in value the temperature of the warm intermediate layer. The waters are gradually acquiring a qualitatively different structure of the Pacific water.

In some areas, especially in shallow water, the main water masses change, new masses appear that have local meaning. For example, in the western part of the Gulf of Anadyr, a freshened water mass is formed under the influence of continental runoff, and in the northern and eastern parts - a cold water mass of the Arctic type. There is no warm intermediate layer here. In some shallow areas of the sea, cold waters are observed in the bottom layer in summer. Their formation is associated with the eddy circulation of water. The temperature in these cold "spots" drops to -0.5-1°.

Due to autumn-winter cooling, summer warming and mixing in the Bering Sea, the surface water mass, as well as the cold intermediate layer, are most strongly transformed. Intermediate Pacific water changes its characteristics during the year very little and only in a thin upper layer. Deep waters do not change noticeably during the year.

The temperature of the water on the sea surface generally decreases from south to north, and in the western part of the sea the water is somewhat colder than in the eastern part. In winter, in the south of the western part of the sea, the surface water temperature is usually 1-3°, and in the eastern part - 2-3°. In the north, throughout the sea, the water temperature is kept in the range from 0 ° to -1.5 °. In spring, the water begins to warm up, and the ice begins to melt, while the temperature rises slightly. In summer, the water temperature on the surface is 9-11° in the south of the western part and 8-10° in the south of the eastern part. In the northern regions of the sea, it is 4° in the west and 4-6° in the east. In shallow coastal areas, the surface water temperature is somewhat higher than in the open areas of the Bering Sea.

The vertical distribution of water temperature in the open part of the sea is characterized by seasonal changes to horizons of 150-200 m, deeper than which they are practically absent.

Water exchange scheme in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Bering Sea

In winter, the surface temperature, equal to about 2°, extends to horizons of 140-150 m, below it rises to about 3.5° at horizons of 200-250 m, then its value almost does not change with depth.

In spring, the water temperature on the surface rises to about 3.8 ° and remains up to horizons of 40-50 m, then to horizons of 65-80 m it sharply, and then (up to 150 m) very smoothly decreases with depth and slightly increases from a depth of 200 m to the bottom.

In summer, the water temperature on the surface reaches 7-8°, but very sharply (up to 2.5°) drops with a depth of up to 50 m, below its vertical course is almost the same as in spring.

In the general water temperature in the open part of the Bering Sea, the relative uniformity of the spatial distribution in the surface and deep layers and relatively small seasonal fluctuations are characteristic, which manifest themselves only up to horizons of 200-300 m.

Salinity surface water sea ​​varies from 33-33.5‰ in the south to 31‰ in the east and northeast and up to 28.6‰ in the Bering Strait. Water is most significantly desalinated in spring and summer in the confluence areas of the Anadyr, Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. However, the direction of the main currents along the coast limits the influence of the continental runoff on the deep sea areas.

The vertical distribution of salinity is almost the same in all seasons of the year. From the surface to the horizon of 100-125 m, it is approximately equal to 33.2-33.3‰. Salinity slightly increases from horizons 125-150 to 200-250 m, deeper remains almost unchanged to the bottom.

In accordance with small spatiotemporal changes in temperature and salinity, the density also changes insignificantly. The depth distribution of oceanological characteristics indicates a relatively weak vertical stratification of the waters of the Bering Sea. In combination with strong winds, this creates favorable conditions for the development of wind mixing. In the cold season, it covers the upper layers up to horizons of 100-125 m, in the warm season, when the waters are more sharply stratified and the winds are weaker than in autumn and winter, wind mixing penetrates to horizons of 75-100 m in deep and up to 50-60 m in coastal areas.

Significant cooling of the waters, and in the northern regions and intense ice formation, contribute to the good development of autumn-winter convection in the sea. During October - November, it captures the surface layer of 35-50 m and continues to penetrate deeper.

The boundary of penetration of winter convection deepens when approaching the coast due to enhanced cooling near the continental slope and shallows. In the southwestern part of the sea, this depression is especially large. The observed sinking of cold waters along the coastal slope is associated with this.

Due to the low air temperature due to the high latitude of the northwestern region, winter convection develops very intensively here and, probably, already in mid-January (due to the shallow water of the region) reaches the bottom.

currents

As a result of the complex interaction of winds, the inflow of water through the straits of the Aleutian ridge, tides and other factors, a field of constant currents in the sea is created.

The predominant mass of water from the ocean enters the Bering Sea through the eastern part of the Middle Strait, as well as through other significant straits of the Aleutian ridge.

The waters entering through the Near Strait and spreading first into eastbound, then turn north. At a latitude of about 55°, these waters merge with the waters coming from the Amchitka Strait, forming the main flow of the central part of the sea. This current maintains the existence of two stable circulations here - a large, cyclonic one, covering the central deep part of the sea, and a less significant, anticyclonic one. The waters of the main stream are directed to the northwest and reach almost to the Asian shores. Here, most of the water turns along the coast to the southwest, giving rise to the cold Kamchatka Current, and exits into the ocean through the Kamchatka Strait. Some of this water is discharged into the ocean through western part the Middle Strait, and a very small part is included in the main circulation.

The waters entering through the eastern straits of the Aleutian ridge also cross the central basin and move to the north-north-west. Approximately at a latitude of 60 °, these waters are divided into two branches: a northwestern one, heading towards the Gulf of Anadyr and further northeast, into the Bering Strait, and a northeastern one, moving towards Norton Sound Bay, and then northward, into the Bering Strait. strait.

The velocities of constant currents in the sea are small. Highest values(up to 25-50 cm/s) are observed in the areas of the straits, and in the open sea they are equal to 6 cm/s, and the velocities are especially low in the zone of the central cyclonic circulation.

Tides in the Bering Sea are mainly due to the propagation of a tidal wave from the Pacific Ocean.

In the Aleutian Straits, the tides have an irregular diurnal and irregular semidiurnal character. Near the coast of Kamchatka, during the intermediate phases of the Moon, the tide changes from semidiurnal to diurnal, at high declinations of the Moon it becomes almost purely diurnal, and at low declinations it becomes semidiurnal. At the Koryak coast, from the Olyutorsky Bay to the mouth of the river. Anadyr, the tide is irregular semi-diurnal, and near the coast of Chukotka - the correct semi-diurnal. In the area of ​​Provideniya Bay, the tide again changes into an irregular semi-diurnal one. In the eastern part of the sea, from Cape Prince of Wales to Cape Nome, tides have both regular and irregular semidiurnal character.

South of the mouth of the Yukon, the tide becomes irregularly semidiurnal.

Tidal currents in the open sea are circular in nature, and their speed is 15-60 cm/s. Near the coast and in the straits, tidal currents are reversible, and their speed reaches 1-2 m/s.

The cyclonic activity that develops over the Bering Sea causes the occurrence of very strong and sometimes prolonged storms. Especially strong excitement develops from November to May. At this time of the year, the northern part of the sea is covered with ice, and therefore the strongest waves are observed in the southern part. Here, in May, the frequency of waves over 5 points reaches 20-30%, and in the northern part of the sea, due to ice, it is absent. In August, waves and swell over 5 points reach their greatest development in the eastern part of the sea, where the frequency of such waves reaches 20%. IN autumn time in the southeastern part of the sea, the frequency of strong waves is up to 40%.

With prolonged winds of medium strength and significant acceleration of waves, their height reaches 6-8 m, with a wind of 20-30 m / s or more - up to 10 m, and in some cases - up to 12 or even 14 m. Periods of storm waves reach up to 9-11 s, and with moderate excitement - up to 5-7 s.

Kunashir Island

In addition to wind waves, swell is observed in the Bering Sea, the highest frequency of which (40%) occurs in autumn. In the coastal zone, the nature and parameters of the waves are very different depending on the physical and geographical conditions of the area.

ice coverage

Most of the year, a significant part of the Bering Sea is covered with ice. Ice in the sea is of local origin, i.e. formed, destroyed and melted in the sea itself. Winds and currents bring an insignificant amount of ice from the Arctic Basin into the northern part of the sea through the Bering Strait, which usually does not penetrate south of about. St. Lawrence.

The northern and southern parts of the sea differ in terms of ice conditions. The approximate boundary between them is the extreme southern position of the ice during the year - in April. This month, the edge goes from Bristol Bay through the Pribylov Islands and further west along the 57-58th parallel, and then drops south to the Commander Islands and runs along the coast to the southern tip of Kamchatka. The southern part of the sea does not freeze at all. Warm Pacific waters entering the Bering Sea through the Aleutian Straits push the floating ice to the north, and the ice edge in the central part of the sea is always curved to the north.

The process of ice formation begins first in the northwestern part of the Bering Sea, where ice appears in October and gradually moves south. Ice appears in the Bering Strait in September. In winter, the strait is filled with solid broken ice drifting to the north.

In the Gulf of Anadyr and Norton Sound, ice can be found as early as September. In early November, ice appears in the area of ​​Cape Navarin, and in mid-November it spreads to Cape Olyutorsky. Off the coast of Kamchatka and the Commander Islands, floating ice usually appears in December, and only as an exception in November. During winter, the entire northern part of the sea, approximately up to the 60 ° parallel, is filled with heavy, hummocky ice, the thickness of which reaches 6-10 m. South of the parallel of the Pribylov Islands, there are broken ice and separate ice fields.

However, even at the time of the greatest development of ice formation, the open part of the Bering Sea is never covered with ice. In the open sea, under the influence of winds and currents, ice is in constant motion, and strong compression often occurs. This leads to the formation of hummocks, maximum height which can reach up to 20 m. Due to periodic compression and rarefaction of ice associated with tides, ice heaps, numerous polynyas and leads are formed.

The immovable ice that forms in winter in closed bays and gulfs can be broken and carried out to sea during storm winds. The ice of the eastern part of the sea is carried to the north, into the Chukchi Sea.

In April, the floating ice boundary moves to the south as far as possible. Since May, the ice begins to gradually break down and retreat to the north. During July and August, the sea is completely ice-free, but even during these months, ice can be found in the Bering Strait. Strong winds contribute to the destruction of the ice cover and the cleansing of the sea from ice in summer.

In bays and gulfs, where the freshening effect of river runoff is felt, the conditions for ice formation are more favorable than in the open sea. Big influence winds affect the location of the ice. Surge winds often clog individual bays, coves and straits with heavy ice brought from the open sea. Offshore winds, on the contrary, carry the ice into the sea, sometimes clearing the entire coastal area.

bird market

Economic importance

The fish of the Bering Sea are represented by more than 400 species, of which only no more than 35 are important commercial ones. These are salmon, cod, flounder. Perch, grenadier, capelin, coalfish, etc. are also caught in the sea.

The former inland sea of ​​the Russian Empire is now the easternmost possession of our state. The northeastern territories are still waiting for their conquerors. One of the pantries natural resources this part of the planet is the Bering Sea, geographical position which not only plays a significant role in the development of local regions, but also opens up great prospects for Russia's expanding economic activity in the Arctic latitudes.

Bering Sea. Description

The northern margin of the Pacific Basin is the largest of all the seas washing the shores of Russia. Its area is 2,315 thousand km2. For comparison: the surface of the Black Sea is five and a half times smaller. The Bering Sea is the deepest among coastal seas and one of the deepest in the world. The lowest mark is at a depth of 4,151 m, and the average depth is 1,640 m. Deep-water areas are located on the southern side of the water area and are called the Aleutian and Commander basins. Surprisingly, with such indicators, about half of the seabed is only half a kilometer away from the sea surface. Relative shallow water allows us to attribute the sea to the continental-oceanic type. The Northern Far Eastern reservoir holds 3.8 million km 3 of water. Most scientists explain the origin of the Bering Sea by cutting off from the rest of the ocean by the Commander-Aleutian ridge, which arose as a result of global tectonic processes in the distant past.

History of discovery and development

The modern hydronym comes from the name of the first European explorer Vitus Bering. A Dane in Russian service organized two expeditions in 1723-1943. The purpose of his travels was to find the border between Eurasia and America. Although the strait between the continents was discovered by topographers Fedorov, Gvozdev and Mashkov, it was later named after a hired navigator. During Bering's second expedition, the territories of the northern part of the Pacific Ocean were explored and Alaska was discovered. On old Russian maps, the northern water area is called the Bobrov, or the Kamchatka Sea. The coast has been explored by Russian explorers since the beginning of the 18th century. So, Timofey Perevalov in the 30s compiled a map of some territories of Kamchatka and Chukotka. Thirty years later, D. Cook visited these places. The tsarist government sent expeditions here under the leadership of Sarychev, Bellingshausen and Kotzebue. Modern name was proposed by the Frenchman Fliorier. This term came into wide use thanks to the Russian navigator Admiral Golovnin.

Description of the geographical position of the Bering Sea

Geomorphological features are defined by natural coastline boundaries to the east and west, a group of islands to the south, and a speculative frontier to the north. The northern border adjoins the waters of the strait of the same name, which connects with the Chukchi Sea. The demarcation runs from Cape Novosilsky in Chukotka to Cape York on the Seward Peninsula. From east to west, the sea stretches for 2,400 km, and from north to south - 1,600 km. The southern border is marked by the archipelagos of the Commander and Aleutian Islands. Pieces of land in the ocean outline a kind of giant arc. Beyond Pacific Ocean. The northernmost edge of the world's largest body of water is the Bering Sea. The geometric pattern of the water area is characterized by the narrowing of the water space towards the Arctic Circle. The Bering Strait separates two continents: Eurasia and North America - and two oceans: the Pacific and the Arctic. The northwestern waters of the sea wash the shores of Chukotka and the Koryak Upland, the northeastern - the west of Alaska. The runoff of continental waters is negligible. From the side of Eurasia, Anadyr flows into the sea, and the legendary Yukon has its mouth on the shores of Alaska. The Kuskokuim River flows into the sea in the bay of the same name.

Coast and islands

Numerous bays, inlets and peninsulas form the indented coastline that characterizes the Bering Sea. The Olyutorsky, Karaginsky and Anadyrsky bays are the largest on the Siberian shores. The vast bays of Bristol, Norton and Cuscoquim are on the coast of Alaska. A few islands are different in their origin: mainland islands- these are small areas of land within the boundaries of continental plateaus, islands of volcanic origin make up the inner, and folded type - the outer belt of the Commander-Aleutian arc. The ridge itself stretches for 2,260 km from Kamchatka to Alaska. The total area of ​​the islands is 37,840 km2. The Commander Islands belong to Russia, all the rest of the USA: Pribylova, St. Laurentia, St. Matvey, Karaginsky, Nunivak and, of course, the Aleuts.

Climate

Significant fluctuations average daily temperatures, more characteristic of continental land areas, distinguish the Bering Sea. Geographic location is a determining factor in the formation of the region's climate. Most of the sea area is subarctic. The north side belongs to the arctic zone, and the south to temperate latitudes. The western side is getting colder. And due to the fact that the Siberian territories adjacent to the sea warm up less, this part of the water area is much colder than the eastern one. Above central part sea ​​in the warm season, the air warms up to +10 °C. In winter, despite the penetration of arctic air masses, it does not fall below -23 °C.

Hydrosphere

In the upper horizons, the water temperature decreases towards northern latitudes. The waters washing the Eurasian coast are colder than the North American zone. In the coldest season off the coast of Kamchatka, the sea temperature on the surface is +1…+3 °C. Off the coast of Alaska, it is one or two degrees higher. In summer, the upper layers warm up to +9 °C. The considerable depth of the straits of the Aleutian ridge (up to 4,500 m) contributes to active water exchange with the Pacific Ocean at all horizons. The influence of the waters of the Chukchi Sea is minimal due to the small depth of the Bering Strait (42 m).

In terms of the degree of wave formation, the first place among the seas of Russia is also occupied by the Bering Sea. Which ocean is the higher water area is reflected in the characteristics of the degree of roughness of the periphery. Significant depths and storm activity are derivatives of heavy seas. For most of the year, waves are observed with a height of water crests up to 2 m. In winter, there are a number of storms with a wave height of up to 8 m. Over the past hundred years of observations, ship logbooks have recorded cases of waves up to 21 m high.

ice conditions

The ice cover is local by type of origin: the massif forms and melts in the water area itself. The Bering Sea in the northern part is covered with ice at the end of September. First of all, the ice shell binds closed bays, gulfs and the coastal zone, and the area reaches its greatest distribution in April. Melting ends only in the middle of summer. Thus, the surface in the zone of high latitudes is covered with ice for more than nine months of the year. In the Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the coast of Chukotka, in some seasons the ice does not melt at all. South side, on the contrary, does not freeze throughout the year. Warm masses from the ocean come through the Aleutian straits, which squeeze the ice edge closer to the north. The sea strait between the continents is clogged with pack ice for most of the year. Some ice fields reach a thickness of six meters. Off the coast of Kamchatka, drifting massifs are found even in August. Escort of sea vessels going to the North by sea, requires the participation of icebreakers.

Animal and plant world

Gulls, guillemots, puffins and other feathered inhabitants of subpolar latitudes arrange their colonies on coastal rocks. On the gently sloping shores, you can find rookeries of walruses and sea lions. These real monsters of the Bering Sea reach a length of more than three meters. Sea otters are found in large numbers. Marine flora is represented by five dozen coastal plants. In the south, the vegetation is more diverse. Phytoalgae promote the development of zooplankton, which in turn attracts many marine mammals. Humpback whales, representatives of gray and toothy species of cetaceans - killer whales and sperm whales come here to feed. The Bering Sea is extremely rich in fish: the underwater fauna is represented by almost three hundred species. Sharks also live in northern waters. The polar fish keeps at great depths, and the dangerous predator - salmon - does not show aggression towards people. Without a doubt, the depths of the sea have not yet revealed all their secrets.

Between Asia and America

Small groups of animal traders began to explore the northeastern waters from the 40s of the 18th century. The islands of the Aleutian archipelago, like a huge natural bridge, allowed merchants to reach the shores of Alaska. The position of the Bering Sea, namely its non-freezing part, contributed to the establishment of a busy navigation between Petropavlovsk in Kamchatka and the newly built strongholds on the American mainland. True, Russian expansion in America did not last long, only about eighty years.

Territorial disputes

During the reign of M. S. Gorbachev, an agreement was concluded on concessions in favor of the United States of a significant part of the sea and the continental shelf with a total area of ​​​​almost 78 thousand km 2. In June 1990, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR, E. Shevardnadze, together with the State Secretary, D. Baker, signed an appropriate agreement. The domestic trawl fleet lost the opportunity to fish in the middle part of the sea. In addition, Russia has lost a significant segment of a promising oil-bearing province on the shelf. The bill was approved by the US Congress in the same year. In Russia, the agreement is subject to constant criticism and has not yet been ratified by parliament. The dividing line was named Shevardnadze-Baker.

Economic activity

The economy of the region consists of two components: fishing industry and maritime transport. Inexhaustible fish resources contribute to the vigorous activity of Russian fishing companies. Many processing plants have been built on the coast of Kamchatka. On an industrial scale, fishing for herring, salmon cod and flounder species is carried out. On a small scale, mainly in the interests of the indigenous population, hunting of marine animals and cetaceans is allowed. In recent years, scientific interest in this Far Eastern region has increased. This is mainly due to the search for hydrocarbon deposits on the shelf. Three small oil-bearing basins have been discovered off the coast of Chukotka.

Klondike at the bottom of the ocean

On sea ​​depths no comprehensive studies have yet been carried out, the purpose of which would be to search for minerals or collect geological data for further prospective searches. Mineral deposits are unknown within the boundaries of the water area. And on the coastal areas, deposits of tin and semiprecious stones have been discovered. Hydrocarbon deposits have been discovered in the Anadyr Basin. But on the opposite coast, they have been plowing up the bottom for several years in search of the yellow metal. One hundred years ago, the impetus for the development of the region was gold found on the shores of the Yukon and the gold rush that followed. The Bering Sea at the beginning of the 21st century gives new hopes. Thirst for profit gives rise to ingenious technical devices. An ordinary excavator, a screen for sifting inert materials and an impromptu room resembling a construction trailer, which houses an electric generator, are installed on an old barge. Such technical "monsters" of the Bering Sea are becoming more and more widespread.

Original Discovery Channel Project

For the fifth season in a row, the popular science American TV channel Discovery has been following the fate of the seekers of easy money. As soon as the water area is freed from ice, prospectors from all over the world gather on the coast of Alaska, and the gold rush resumes in the northern latitudes. The Bering Sea off the coast has a shallow depth. This will allow you to use improvised means. A makeshift fleet defies the elements. The treacherous sea tests everyone for stamina and masculinity, and the seabed is reluctant to share its treasures. Only a few lucky ones were enriched by the gold rush. The ice of the Bering Sea allows some enthusiasts to continue working in the winter. Over the course of several episodes documentary film you can watch three teams of gold miners risking their lives for the coveted handful of yellow metal.

The BERING SEA, a marginal sea in the northern part of the Pacific Ocean between the continents of Eurasia and North America, washes the shores of the United States and Russia (the largest of its Far Eastern seas). It is connected in the north by the Bering Strait with the Chukchi Sea, separated from the Pacific Ocean by the Aleutian Ridge and the Commander Islands. The area is 2315 thousand km 2, the volume is 3796 thousand km 3. The greatest depth is 5500 m. The coastline is strongly indented, forming many bays (the largest are Karaginsky, Olyutorsky, Anadyrsky - Russia; Norton, Bristol - USA), bays, peninsulas and capes. Islands Karaginsky (Russia), St. Lawrence, Nunivak, Nelson, St. Matthew, Pribylova (USA).

The shores of the Bering Sea are diverse; high, rocky, strongly indented bay shores are predominantly developed, as well as fjord and abrasion-accumulative ones. Leveled accumulative banks prevail in the east, where the deltas of the large Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers are located.

Relief and geological structure of the bottom. By the nature of the bottom topography, the Bering Sea is clearly divided into shallow and deep water parts approximately along the line from Cape Navarin to Unimak Island. The northern and southeastern parts lie on a shelf with depths of up to 200 m (predominant depths of 50-80 m) and a width in the northeast of up to 750 km (46% of the sea area) - one of the widest in the World Ocean. It is a vast plain, slightly inclined to the southwest. In the Quaternary period, the shelf was periodically drained and a land bridge arose between the continents of Eurasia and North America. Within the shelf there are large depressions - Anadyr, Navarin, Khatyr and others, filled with Cenozoic terrigenous deposits. Depressions can be reservoirs of oil and natural combustible gas. The narrow continental slope with depths of 200-3000 m (13%) and with large bottom slopes almost throughout its entire length passes into the deep-water bed with steep ledges, cut in many places by underwater valleys and canyons. The sides of the canyons are often steep, sometimes steep. In the central and southwestern parts there is a deep-water zone with depths over 3000 m (37%), bordered in the coastal zone by a narrow strip of the shelf. The Shirshov submarine ridge with depths of 500-600 m above the ridge, stretching south from the Olyutorsky Peninsula, divides the deep-water part of the sea into the Commander and Aleutian basins, it is separated from the island arc by the Ratmanov trough (about 3500 m deep). The flat bottom of both basins is slightly inclined to the southwest. The Shirshov Ridge is a complexly constructed zone of junction of two lithospheric plates (Komandor and Aleutian), along which the oceanic crust was crowded (possibly with subduction) until the middle of the Miocene. The basement of the Aleutian Basin is of Early Cretaceous age and is a fragment of the Mesozoic oceanic lithospheric Kula plate, separated in the Cretaceous from the Pacific plate by a large transform fault, transformed in the Paleogene into the Aleutian island arc and of the same name deep sea trench. The thickness of the Cretaceous-Quaternary sedimentary cover in the central part of the Aleutian Basin reaches 3.5-5 km, increasing to 7-9 km towards the periphery. The basement of the Commander Basin is of Cenozoic age; it was formed as a result of local spreading (the spreading of the bottom with the neoformation of the oceanic crust), which continued until the end of the Miocene. The paleospreading zone can be traced to the east of Karaginsky Island in the form of a narrow trough. The thickness of the Neogene-Quaternary sedimentary cover in the Commander Basin reaches 2 km. In the north, from the Aleutian Islands, the Bowers Ridge (a former Late Cretaceous volcanic arc) departs in an arc to the north, outlining the basin of the same name. Maximum depths The Bering Seas are located in the Kamchatka Strait and near the Aleutian Islands.

On the shelf, the bottom sediments are mainly terrigenous, near the shore they are coarse detrital, then sands, sandy silts and silts. Sediments of the continental slope are also predominantly terrigenous, in the area of ​​Bristol Bay - with an admixture of volcanic material, and outcrops of bedrocks are numerous. The thickness of sediments in deep-water basins reaches 2500 m, the surface layer is represented by diatomaceous silt.

Climate. For most of the Bering Sea, a subarctic climate is characteristic, in a small area north of 64 ° north latitude - arctic, south of 55 ° north latitude - temperate maritime. The climate is formed under the influence of the cold masses of the Arctic Ocean in the north, the open spaces of the Pacific Ocean in the south, the adjacent land and the centers of action of the atmosphere. In the open part of the Bering Sea, remote from the influence of the continents, the climate is maritime, mild, with small amplitudes of air temperature fluctuations, the weather is cloudy, with fogs and a lot of precipitation. In winter, under the influence of the Aleutian Low, northwestern, northern, and northeastern winds predominate, bringing cold maritime arctic, as well as cold, dry continental air. The wind speed near the coast is 6-8 m/s, in the open sea - up to 12 m/s. Often, especially in the western part of the sea, storm conditions develop with winds up to 30-40 m/s (last up to 9 days). average temperature air in January - February from 0, -4 °С in the south and southwest to -15, -23 °С in the north and northeast. Off the coast of Alaska, air temperatures dropped to -48 °C. In summer, the influence of the Hawaiian anticyclone increases; southerly winds with speeds of 4-7 m/s prevail over the Bering Sea. Tropical typhoons with hurricane-force winds penetrate the southern part on average once a month. The frequency of storms is lower than in winter. The air temperature in the open sea varies from 4 °С in the north to 13 °С in the south; in coastal areas it is noticeably warmer. The annual amount of precipitation is from 450 mm in the northeast to 1000 mm in the southwest.

Hydrological regime. The river flow is about 400 km 3 per year. Up to 70% of the runoff is provided by the Yukon (176 km 3), Anadyr (50 km 3), Kuskokwim (41 km 3) rivers, while more than 85% of the runoff occurs in spring and summer. Compared to the volume of the sea, the amount of freshwater runoff is small, but river waters come mainly to the northern regions of the sea, leading in summer to a noticeable desalination of the surface layer. Features of the hydrological regime are determined by limited water exchange with the Arctic Ocean, relatively free connection with the Pacific Ocean, continental runoff and water freshening during ice melting. The exchange with the Chukchi Sea is difficult due to the small cross-sectional area of ​​the Bering Strait (3.4 km 2 , the average depth above the threshold is 39 m). Numerous straits connecting the Bering Sea with the Pacific Ocean have a cross section with a total area of ​​730 km 2 and depths of over 4000 m (Kamchatka Strait), which contributes to good water exchange with Pacific waters.

In the structure of the Bering Sea, four water masses are mainly distinguished in the deep part: surface, subsurface intermediate cold, intermediate Pacific warm and deep. Changes in salinity with depth are small. Both intermediate water masses are absent only near the Aleutian Islands. In some parts of the Bering Sea, in particular in coastal areas, other water masses are formed depending on local conditions.

The surface currents of the Bering Sea form a counterclockwise circulation, which is significantly influenced by the prevailing winds. Along the coast of Alaska, the Bering Sea branch of the Kuroshio warm currents follows to the north, which partially leaves through the Bering Strait and, taking in the cold waters of the Chukchi Sea, moves along the Asian coast to the south and forms the cold Kamchatka Current, which intensifies in summer. The velocities of permanent currents in the open sea are low, about 6 cm/s, in the straits the speed increases to 25-50 cm/s. In coastal areas, circulation is complicated by periodic tidal currents, reaching 100-200 cm/s in the straits. The tides in the Bering Sea are irregular semidiurnal, irregular diurnal and regular diurnal, their nature and magnitude vary greatly from place to place. On average, the height of the tide is 1.5-2.0 m, the highest - 3.7 m - is noted in Bristol Bay.

The water temperature on the surface in February varies from -1.5 °С in the north to 3 °С in the south, in August, respectively, from 4-8 °С to 9-11 °С. The salinity of surface waters in winter is from 32.0‰ in the north to 33.5‰ in the south; in summer, under the influence of ice melting and river runoff, salinity decreases, especially in coastal areas, where it reaches 28‰, in the open part of the sea, respectively, from 31.0‰ in the north to 33‰ in the south. The northern and northeastern parts of the sea are annually covered with ice. The first ice appears in September in the Bering Strait, in the northwest - in October and gradually spreads to the south. During the winter, the Bering Sea is covered with heavy ice up to 60° north latitude. All ice forms and melts in the Bering Sea. Only a small part sea ​​ice carried out through the Bering Strait into the Chukchi Sea and by the Kamchatka Current into northwestern region Pacific Ocean. The ice cover breaks up and melts in May - June.

Research History. The Bering Sea is named after the captain-commander of the Russian fleet V. Bering, whose name is associated with discoveries in the 1st half of the 18th century - the Bering Strait, the Aleutian and Commander Islands. The modern name was put into use in the 1820s by V. M. Golovnin. Previously it was called Anadyrsky, Bobrov, Kamchatsky. The first geographical discoveries of the coasts, islands, peninsulas and straits of the Bering Sea were made by Russian explorers, fur traders and sailors at the end of the 17th and 18th centuries. Comprehensive studies of the Bering Sea were carried out by Russian naval sailors, hydrographers and naturalists especially intensively until the 1870s. Before the sale of Russian America (1867), the entire coast of the Bering Sea was part of the possession of the Russian Empire.

Economic use. There are about 240 species of fish in the Bering Sea, of which at least 35 species are commercial. Cod, flounder, halibut, Pacific perch, herring, salmon are being caught. Kamchatka crab and shrimp are mined. Walruses, sea lions, sea otters live. On the Commander and Aleutian Islands - fur seal rookeries. Baleen whales, sperm whales, beluga whales and killer whales are found in the open sea. On the rocky shores - bird colonies. The Bering Sea is of great transport importance as part of the Northern Sea Route. Main ports- Anadyr, Provideniya (Russia), Nome (USA).

The ecological state of the Bering Sea is consistently satisfactory. The concentration of pollutants increases in the mouth areas of rivers, in bays, in ports, which leads to some reduction in the size of hydrobionts in coastal areas.

Lit .: Dobrovolsky A.D., Zalogin B.S. Seas of the USSR. M., 1982; Bogdanov N.A. Tectonics of deep-sea basins of marginal seas. M., 1988; Zalogin B.S., Kosarev A.N. Seas. M., 1999; Dynamics of the ecosystems of the Bering and Chukchi seas. M., 2000.

The Bering Sea is the easternmost Russian sea, stretching between Kamchatka and America. Area - 2304 thousand square meters. km. Volume - 3683 thousand cubic meters. km. Average depth- 1598 m, maximum - 4191 m.

In the north, the Bering Sea connects with the Chukchi Sea, in the south it borders on the Aleutian Islands and the open ocean.

Many rivers flow into the Bering Sea, the largest are Anadyr, Yukon, Apuka. The sea is named after Vitus Jonassen Bering, leader of the Great Northern Expedition.

The history of the discovery and development of the Bering Sea goes back to the distant past and is associated with the names of the great pioneers who left their names in history forever.

After the conquest of Siberia by Ermak, the Cossack gangs, and with them many Russian merchants and hunters, began to penetrate further east, to the very coast of the Pacific Ocean. From them, the Russian rulers and the boyars learned about the untold riches Eastern Siberia. Furs, red caviar, valuable fish, skins, gold and the wealth of unknown China became the reason for the rapid development of this region. Since the delivery of these goods by land route was fraught with great difficulties, they began to think about opening a sea route along the northern coast, in order to reach America, Japan and China by sea.

Peter the Great paid special attention to this and contributed to this in every possible way. Even in his last days, he gave instructions to Admiral General Apraksin in which he wrote his orders:

1 . It is necessary to make one or two boats with decks in Kamchatka or in another customs place.
2 . On these boats near the land that goes to the north, and by hope (they don’t know the end of it) it seems that that land is part of America.
3 . And in order to look for where it met with America; and in order to get to which city of the European possessions, or if they see which European ship, visit from it, as it is called, and take the kust on a letter, and visit the shore themselves, and take a genuine statement, and putting it on the map, come here.

Peter did not live to see the implementation of these plans, although in January 1725, just three weeks before his death, he appointed one of the best sailors of that time, Vitus Bering, a Dane who served in the Russian fleet, as the head of the first Kamchatka expedition. Already after his death, Vitus Bering led an expedition that traveled by land through all of Siberia to Okhotsk. In winter, the expedition crossed on dogs to Kamchatka and there in Nizhnekamchatsk a ship was built for a sea voyage. It was a packet boat 18 meters long, 6.1 meters wide, with a draft of 2.3 meters. It was made according to the drawings of the St. Petersburg Admiralty and at that time was considered one of the best warships. June 9, 1728, during the launch of the boat on the water, the day of the holy archangel Gabriel was celebrated and the boat was given the name "Saint Gabriel".

July 13, 1728 on the boat "St. Gabriel" the expedition moved north. During the voyage, a detailed map of the coast and islands was drawn up. The weather was favorable, and the ship went through the strait between Chukotka and America and reached latitude 67 ° 19 on August 16 ". September 3 returned to Kamchatka.

After wintering, on June 5, 1729, Bering and his team set sail for the second time in order to reach the land in the east, which was talked about by the inhabitants of Kamchatka. They almost reached the Commander Islands, but with the worsening weather, they were forced to return back and, fulfilling the requirement of the Admiralty Board, were engaged in surveying and describing the eastern coast of Kamchatka. The result of the voyage was a detailed map and description, which Bering presented to the Admiralty Board in St. Petersburg. The materials of the expedition were highly appreciated, and Bering was awarded the rank of captain-commander.

Under the rule of Anna Ioannovna, passions about the northern and eastern seas subsided somewhat. But after Vitus Bering presented his report and a new project for an expedition to the shores of America and Japan and the exploration of the northern coast of Siberia with the promise of profits to the Admiralty Board, interest in new sea ​​routes resumed. The project was expanded and the task was to explore the northern seas and coasts of Russia. It was planned to draw up Full description North in geographical, geological, botanical, zoological and ethnographic aspects. For this, seven independent detachments were created, five of which were to work on the entire coast of the Arctic Ocean from Pechora to Chukotka, and two in the Far East.

Bering was the commander of a detachment that had to find a way to North America and the islands in the North Pacific. In 1734, Bering went to Yakutsk, where it was necessary to prepare equipment and food for the campaign. But Peter's times have passed and the local authorities were not particularly zealous in organizing, on the contrary, much intended for the expedition was plundered or was of poor quality. Bering was forced to stay in Yakutsk for three years. Only in 1737 did he end up in Okhotsk. Local authorities Okhotsk also did not help much in organizing the expedition and building ships. Only by the end of the summer of 1740, two packet boats "Saint Peter" and "Saint Paul" intended for the expedition were built.

And only in September, Vitus Bering on the "St. Peter" and Alexy Chirikov on the "St. Paul" were able to get to Avacha bay in Kamchatka. There they were forced to stand up for the winter. The crews of the ships laid a prison, which became the capital of Kamchatka, named after the ships Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

After a difficult winter, only on June 4, 1741, Bering on the "St. Peter" and Chirikov on the "St. Paul" went on a campaign to the shores of America. But on June 20, in thick fog, the ships missed each other. After vain attempts to find each other, the ships followed separately.

Bering, moving east, on July 16, 1741, at a latitude of 58 ° 14 "reached the coast of North America. Having landed on Kayak Island and replenished fresh water, the expedition moved on. The landing on the American coast was very short-lived and, of course, did not give anything either Bering was afraid of meeting with the local population, or did not want to stay there for the winter, but he, without consulting anyone, gave the command to turn back.

I follow along the coast of Alaska and further along the Aleutian Islands, making their descriptions and putting on the map: the islands of St. John, the Shumaginsky and Evdokeevsky Islands, St. Stephen, St. Markian and Kodiak Island, St. Peter almost approached the shores of Kamchatka. But on November 5, only 200 km short of Kamchatka, the ship entered one of the islands to replenish water supplies. A storm broke out, a sharp cold snap, snow did not allow to continue swimming and the team was forced to stay for the winter. On November 28, during a storm, the packet boat was washed ashore.

Not everyone endured the difficult wintering conditions, out of 75 team members 19 people died of scurvy, on December 8 Vitus Bering, who at that time was already 60 years old, also died. The navigator, lieutenant Sven Waxel became the commander of the expedition. Vitus Beging was buried there on the island, which was named Bering Island in his honor, and the archipelago the Commander Islands.

During the next summer, 46 surviving crew members built a small vessel from the wreckage of a packet boat - a gookor, which was also called "St. Peter" and only in August 1742 they were able to reach Kamchatka.

Campaign "St. Paul" also abounded in adventure. Alexy Chirikov, after they missed Bering, continued sailing eastward and on July 15 at a latitude of 55 ° 21 "he approached the land on which mountains covered with forests were visible. The boat sent to the shore did not find a suitable place for setting up the ship and landing on the shore and they continued to move along the coast to the east. The second attempt to land was made two days later. They sent a boat to the shore, but it disappeared without a trace. On July 23, seeing the light on the shore, they sent a second boat, but it did not return. So 15 crew members disappeared, whether they became victims of the Indians, or drowned at high tide, the story is silent about this.

After waiting 10 days, Chirikov gave the command to move on. After passing another 230 miles along the coast, the team was unable to land on the beach. It was impossible to get close to the shore without damaging the ship, and there were no more boats. Fresh water ended, the products were running out. Nevertheless, they tried once again to land on the shore on rafts, but for two days a bay suitable for landing was not found. At the council convened by Chirikov, there was a decision to go back.

On the way home, near the Aleutian Islands, they twice met local residents on boats. Attempts to stock up on water and provisions did not lead to anything, the Aleuts asked for weapons for water, which the Russian sailors refused. And so, without a supply of water and food, they continued on their way to the house. On the way, many, including Chirikov, fell ill, midshipman Elagin took command of the ship, who on October 12, 1741 brought the packet boat St. Paul to Kamchatka. Of the 68 crew members, 49 returned from the campaign.

The next year, 1742, Chirikov tried to find Bering's missing ship. On May 25, he again went to sea, but because of the headwinds, he could only reach the islands of Attu. On the islands he came across along the way, he did not find anyone. As it turned out later, they passed very close to the island where Bering's expedition wintered, but the coast was invisible in thick fog, and on July 1 Chirikov returned to Kamchatka. This is how the route of the packet boats St. Peter and St. Paul looks on the map.

In August 1742, while in Yakutsk, Chirikov sent a report on the expedition to St. Petersburg. And in 1746 he himself was summoned to St. Petersburg, where he personally reported on the campaign. Being in the Admiralty Board, he proposed to found a city at the mouth of the Amur, in order to build a ship pier there and lay a fortress, which could be reached from the depths of Russia along the Amur. But no one considered his opinion, although later it was considered very far-sighted and in 1856 the port city of Nikolaevsk-on-Amur was built there.

Subsequently, Chirikov worked for a long time in Yeniseisk, compiled maps of Russian discoveries in the east, which were considered lost for a long time and only in Soviet times were discovered and used to map the Soviet Union. The brilliant officer of the Russian fleet, who reached the shores of North-West America, Alexei Chirikov, died in need in 1748 at the age of only 45, and his family was left forgotten and without a livelihood.

And yet, the work of Russian sailors, although many years later, gave its results. On the coast Far East and large seaports were built in Kamchatka, which turned into modern cities. The Russian Pacific Fleet, despite numerous wars, became the most powerful in that region, and the Kamchatka Sea itself since 1818, at the suggestion of a Russian navigator and the head of two round the world expeditions Vice Admiral V. M. Golovnin, became known as the Bering Sea.

Due to its geographical position, the Bering Sea has its own characteristics. In the Bering Strait, two continents, Asia and America, are closest to each other. The distance between them is about 90 kilometers. In the middle of the strait lie the Diomede Islands, separated by only five kilometers. The western island - Ratmanov - belongs to Russia, the eastern island - Kruzenshtern - belongs to the USA. Our state border with America passes between the islands.

The inhabitants of Ratmanov Island are the first in the country to welcome the coming day. Their time is 10 hours ahead of Moscow. Here, starting between the islands of the Bering Strait and following to the passage between the Commander and Aleutian Islands, the boundary of the change of day is drawn, which continues further south along the 180 ° meridian in the Pacific Ocean and is called the date change line, or demarcation line. Navigators going east to America, when crossing this line, rearrange the calendar a day ago and count the same day of the week twice. Navigators going west to Russia add a day ahead to the calendar date and skip one day of the week.

Strictly speaking, this operation should have been carried out not in the Bering Strait, but to the west of it, on the 180° meridian. But this meridian passes through the Chukchi Peninsula. Having two calendars in the same area would be extremely inconvenient. Therefore, it was agreed to move the line of the boundary of the day to the east, to the Bering Strait. And in the southern part of the Bering Sea, this line is shifted, on the contrary, to the west from the meridian 180 ° to the Commander Islands. This is done in order not to change the calendar day in the Aleutian Islands.

Thus, the Bering Strait plays an important role both in political relations and in the system of the modern calendar.

Of all the fourteen seas of Russia, the Bering Sea is the deepest. Depths greater than this lie only in open ocean beyond the Kuril and Aleutian Islands and east of Kamchatka. However, the northern part of the sea does not resemble the southern one in terms of bottom topography. The depths in it, on a vast area of ​​about 1 million square kilometers, do not exceed several tens of meters.

The rise of the bottom in the northern part of the sea between the Koryak coast and the tip of the Alaska Peninsula is rather steep. The transition of the relief from the southern to the northern half of the sea can be compared with a sharp transition to a high mountain country, on the top of which there is a large plateau, indented by a number of hollows. This plateau is the bottom of the northern part of the sea. And the hollows are reminiscent of that geological era, when the entire plateau stood above sea level and was crossed by numerous rivers. Geologists have established that the rise and fall of land in this area occurred several times.

During the last glaciation, the land was above its current level. In place of the northern part of the Bering Sea and the Bering Strait, a wide plain then spread. As with previous land uplifts, then the Pacific Ocean had no connection with the Arctic Ocean. Asia and America were connected by a dry isthmus. This explains why now in Asia and America, despite their separation by the sea, there are identical land animals and plants.

They spread across two continents at a time when there was a "land bridge" between them. Mammoths, in particular, crossed this "bridge". On it, people could also cross from Asia to North America - the distant ancestors of the current North American tribes. This is reminiscent of similarities appearance and cultures of some tribes of Asia and America.

Then the land sank, the lowlands were covered with water, and the sea again lay between the two continents, as if no communication by land had ever existed. It took a long development of mankind and the growth of science to restore the history of the development of oceans and land.

Dive " land bridge happened not so long ago, only a few tens of thousands of years ago. Hence, from the point of view of geology, the northern part of the Bering Sea should be considered young.

The Bering Sea is now one of the most developed in the world, despite the harsh climatic conditions. The water temperature on the surface in summer + 7-8 °, in winter + 2 °. The salinity of the water is from 28-33‰. The tides in the Bering Sea are diurnal and semidiurnal. The average height of the water level fluctuation is 1.5-2m, in the Bering Strait it is only about 0.5m, and in the Bristol Bay it is sometimes 8 meters or more, the speed of the tides is 1-2 m/s. Cyclones with winds up to 20-30 m/s are quite frequent in the sea area, which cause strong and prolonged storms, the wave height is up to 14 m. For a long time in the year, most of the Bering Sea is covered with ice.

The Bering Sea has long been considered one of the most commercial seas. Only underwater inhabitants, there are more than 400 species. About 35 species are commercial, mainly salmon, cod and flounder. For many years, red caviar, obtained from salmon fish, has been the most expensive delicacy, which has been exported and exported from here in tons, while destroying millions of fish of valuable species. Some order is being introduced in this, but poaching is still flourishing.

A special article is occupied by crab fishing. Crab meat was once a food product only for Asians: Chinese, Japanese, etc. Over time, it gained popularity in many countries of the world. The Bering Sea is the place where the largest population of king crab and during the crab fishing season, thousands of ships from many countries come to the Bering Sea. Although the crab fishing season is only a few days, during this time more than 30 thousand tons of crab are managed to get out of the waters. Moreover, the allocated quotas are constantly violated by foreigners. But for many, this is the main income and often a family business.

The fauna of the Bering Sea is very diverse. A huge number of walruses, sea lions, seals, fur seals live in the waters. Often they can be seen on the open sea on ice floes.

On the Aleutian, Commander Islands, on the coast of Alaska and Chukotka, these marine animals arrange numerous rookeries where they breed their offspring.

Quite a lot of whales live in the waters of the Bering Sea. Once there were more of them here than anywhere else on the globe, but for many years they were actively hunted. Special whaling fleets were created here, including the Russian "Slava" and "Aleut", which beat hundreds of whales and their population fell sharply. In recent years, the number of whales has been gradually increasing.

It is not uncommon to meet swimming polar bears in the open sea. Sometimes they stay for a long time on the shores, where there is more food than in the neighboring Chukchi Sea.

The fauna of the coast of the Bering Sea is very rich and diverse. Lives in the forests a large number of various animals: bears, elks, wolves, foxes, sable, martens, squirrels, arctic fox, ermine, etc. On the Chukotka Peninsula, numerous herds of reindeer have become one of the main wealth of this region.

Created a few years ago, the Beringia National Park, located between Chukotka and Kamchatka, due to its protected status, has now become so populated with rare animals that it is becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations.

The number and variety of birds in the Bering Sea is simply incredible. They arrange huge bird markets on the rocky shores, where they breed their chicks. The population density of birds on some islands exceeds 200,000 birds per 1 sq. km.

This sea is the easternmost border of our country and therefore it is reliably protected. Border ships are on duty around the clock on the eastern sea border of our country.

Climatic conditions in the Bering Sea region: in Kamchatka, Kuril Islands and on the Chukotka Peninsula are quite severe. The temperature is below zero for almost 9 months of the year. Severe snowy winters and cold winds are common here. And still, few of their people living on the coast of this very east sea agrees to move to the mainland.