The ocean within which the Kara Sea is located. Waters of the Far North. Kara Sea

Kara Sea used to be called Nyarzomsky (Narzemsky) - this is how it was named in the story of 1601 about the journey to Mangazeya of a resident of Pinega Leonty Shubin (Plekhan) and in the petition of Andrei Palitsyn from 1630. On the map of Edward Wells, the sea is called Tartar. And the name "Kara" belonged to Baydaratskaya Bay, after the name of the river Kara flowing into it. According to the version given by V.Yu. Vize, the name of the river comes from the Nenets word "hare", meaning hummocky ice. It is curious that the Dutchman N. Witsen calls the sea Ice, and the Frenchman J. Campredon Arctic, which echoes the Nenets word. For the first time, the sea was named Kara on the map of V. M. Selifontov in 1736, compiled according to the results of the work of the Dvina-Ob detachment of the Great Northern Expedition.

The Kara Sea belongs to the group of seas of the Siberian Arctic. The boundaries of this sea are land and imaginary lines. From the west, the sea is bounded by a number of islands (the largest of which New Earth) and several straits. From the east, the border of the sea runs along the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and the straits: the Red Army, Shokalsky and Vilkitsky. From the south, the border of the sea is the coast of the mainland. The Kara Sea is well open to the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The sea is located mainly on the continental shelf. These features make it possible to attribute the sea to the continental type of marginal seas.

The Kara Sea is one of the largest seas Russian Federation. Its area is approximately 883 thousand km2. The volume of water reaches about 98 thousand km3. Average depth sea ​​is 111 m, the maximum is 620 m. In the waters of the Kara Sea there is a large number of islands, most of which are small in size. Small islands are combined into archipelagos (Nordenskiöld, Skerries, Minin) and are located along the coast of the mainland. Islands over large sizes(White, Shokalsky, Vilkitsky, Sibiryakov, Nansen, Russian) are located alone.

The coastline of the Kara Sea is uneven. The shores of Novaya Zemlya, which wash the waters of this sea, are indented big amount fjords. The mainland coast is also strongly dissected: in a number of places the sea sharply protrudes into the land, forming the Baidaratskaya and Obskaya bays. The Yamal Peninsula strongly protrudes into the space of the sea. Along the coastline there are large bays (Gydansky, Yeniseisky and Pyasinsky), as well as a number of small bays.

seafaring

The date of commencement of navigation in the Kara Sea is unknown. Only the fact is recorded in history that in 1556 the English traveler Stephen Borough found among the Russian sailors he met at the Kara Gates a clear idea of ​​the sea route to the mouth of the Ob and complete readiness to accompany the British along it. There is a reply from the Tobolsk governor M.M. Godunov and I.F. Volkonsky to the Tsar from 1601, where a description of this path is given: by the Yugorsky Shar Strait to the western part of Yamal, then along the Mutnaya River (a tributary of the Mordyyakha) to the watershed with the Seyakha (Green) River - Lakes Neito and Yambuto - then by portage and river descent into the Gulf of Ob . From the Ob Bay, a path opened south along the Ob (Obdorsk) and east through the Taz Bay (Mangazeya) to the Yenisei basin.

Bottom relief

The relief of the bottom of the Kara Sea has a large number of irregularities. The sea lies almost entirely on the shelf with depths of up to 100 meters. The St. Anna Trough has a maximum depth of 620 meters. The bottom of shallow waters and uplands is covered with sands and sandy silt. Troughs and basins are covered with gray, blue and brown muds. Iron-manganese nodules are found at the bottom of the central part of the sea.

In the southwestern part of the sea, off the Yamal Peninsula, large offshore deposits of natural gas and gas condensate have been explored. The largest of them are Leningradskoye gas reserves - more than 1 trillion m³ and Rusanovskoye. The development of offshore fields is planned to begin after 2025.

Climate and hydrological regime

The Kara Sea is characterized by a polar maritime climate, which is due to the northern location of the sea and its direct contact with the ocean. Atlantic Ocean, located relatively close to the Kara Sea, moderates the climate. But the island of Novaya Zemlya prevents the penetration of a large amount of warm air masses. The Kara Sea is in more severe climatic conditions than the Barents Sea. Due to the large extent of the sea, climatic differences are observed in its different parts. Storms most often occur in the western part of the sea. Near the island of Novaya Zemlya constantly arises hurricane wind(Novaya Zemlya boron). The duration of this hurricane is short 2 - 3 hours, but in winter time it may take several days. In March, the average air temperature reaches -28.6 0 C at Cape Chelyuskin and -20 0 C at Cape Zhelaniya. The most low temperature air, which can be at sea, is - 45 - 50 0 С. In the warmest period (in July), the air warms up on average by 5 - 6 0 С in the western part of the sea and by 1 - 2 east. Near the mainland coast, the air can warm up to +18 and +20 0 C. But, despite the high summer temperatures, at any summer time snow may fall. In general, the short summer is marked by low temperatures and cloudy weather with a lot of rain.

The water temperature near the sea surface in winter is close to −1.8 °C. Water in shallow areas is well mixed from the surface to the bottom and has the same temperature and salinity (about 34 ppm). River runoff and ice melt in summer lead to a decrease in salinity sea ​​water below 34 ppm, in the mouths of the rivers, the water becomes close to fresh. The water warms up to 6 °C in summer.

The tides in the Kara Sea reach a height of 50 - 80 centimeters. During the cold period, sea ice has a great influence on the tides - the magnitude of the tide decreases. The sea is covered with ice almost all year round. Ice formation begins in September. There are significant areas of multi-year ice up to 4 meters thick. Fast ice forms along the coast, and floating ice forms in the center of the sea. In summer, the ice breaks up into separate massifs.

Flora and fauna

The flora and fauna of the Kara Sea is poorer than the Barents Sea, but much richer than the Laptev Sea. The flora is represented by several types of bottom algae - brown algae, red algae, green algae. The water feels good and a lot of unicellular algae and phytoplankton develop. The fauna of invertebrates and fish is quite richly represented, including pink salmon, chum salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, omul, muksun, nelma, char, saffron cod, flounder. Salmon and whitefish spawn in rivers, and go out to sea to feed. At the same time, they keep near the mouths of the rivers, not moving far to the north. In total, 54 species of fish live in the Kara Sea. From marine mammals the seal, walrus, sea hare, white whale live here. Cetaceans are also represented by larger animals - minke whales, of which 5 species can be counted here. Very rarely, both bowhead whales and predatory killer whales swim here from the Barents Sea. There are many birds on the islands (guillemots, auks, little auks predominate), which form noisy bird colonies. Of the land animals, the shores of the mainland and the island are visited by the polar bear and the arctic fox, for which the sea is an important source of food. Sharks in the Kara Sea are represented by a single species - a small-headed or polar shark, which does not care about cold waters and a harsh climate.

Economic importance

The Kara Sea is characterized by high bioproductivity. Among the objects of fishing are cod, whitefish, char, vendace, omul, smelt, saffron cod, polar cod. Fisheries are organized only in bays, gulfs and lower reaches of rivers, where there is no thick ice cover. As in all coastal northern seas Eurasia, walruses are harvested in the Kara Sea, but only for the needs local population, since walruses have been taken under state protection since 1956. Large oil and gas fields (gas condensate Rusanovskoye, Leningradskoye) have been discovered and are being developed. The Kara Sea is part of the transport Northern Sea Route. Ports are located here: Dikson, Amderma; Dudinka and Igarka (Yenisei).

Ecology

The waters belonging to the bays of the Kara Sea are characterized by specialists as moderately polluted. The rivers that flow into the Kara Sea have a relatively low level of pollution. However, the waters of the Ob and Yenisei have a high concentration of heavy metals, which adversely affects the ecosystem of the sea. Another important source is pollution of the waters of the water area with aerosol materials from the metallurgical production in the city of Norilsk. Vessels have a negative impact on the ecological state of the sea. The places of their frequent movement are polluted with oil products.

Remains important environmental problem Radioactive contamination of the Kara Sea. Due to the fact that a number of numerous air, surface, underground and underwater nuclear explosions were carried out on Novaya Zemlya in the 60s of the last century, more than 13 million curies of Cs-137 were released into the atmosphere. period in the northern seas began the disposal of radioactive waste. To date East End shelf of Novaya Zemlya is the main burial site. In this region, waste is flooded in several areas at a depth of 12 to 380 m, they account for 70% of the volume of marine burials of the USSR period. Flooding was carried out in the shallow waters of the bays of the Kara Sea during 1965-1988 swimming facilities with radioactive waste. The greatest potential danger comes from 17 reactors of the atomic icebreaker "Lenin" and 11 thousand containers with hazardous waste. Control measurements are regularly carried out, the results of which show that at the moment the level of radioactivity in the bays of the Kara Sea does not exceed the norm, however, these objects pose a potential environmental hazard.

Posted Thu, 23/04/2015 - 08:32 by Cap

IN old times sailing along the Kara Sea was equal to a deadly feat - it was called the "ice cellar". Until now, this sea is considered the coldest sea on Earth. It is not surprising, because in winter in these parts the temperature drops to -46 degrees, and in summer no more than +16.
The third part of the year is occupied by the polar night, and the rest of the time by the polar day. In winter, storm winds often blow, blizzards and snowstorms rage.
In the summer, fogs roll in, and North wind brings snow loads. Most the sea is completely covered with ice. Even modern nuclear-powered icebreakers do not always conquer this sea.
The Kara Sea can be safely called the most extreme sea in Russia!

There are many islands in the sea area, which are included in the Great Arctic State nature reserve. It is the largest in Eurasia. One of the most famous islands in the Kara Sea, Vaigach Island, is a special place where the secrets of bloody rites and pagan cults of the ancient peoples who inhabited these lands in ancient times are kept. According to their legends, it was here that the abode of the gods was located. Scientists call Vaygach Island anomalous mystery, which for a long time cannot be solved. Travelers note that health is restored here and mood improves.

The Kara Sea is a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean.
Previously, the sea was called Nyarzomsky (Narzemsky) - this is how it was named in a 1601 story about a trip to Mangazeya by a resident of Pinega, Leonty Shubin (Plekhan) and in a petition by Andrey Palitsyn from 1630 (the etymology of this name is unknown). And the name "Kara" belonged to Baydaratskaya Bay, after the name of the river Kara flowing into it. According to the version cited by V. Yu. Vize, the name of the river comes from the Nenets word "hare", meaning hummocky ice. It is curious that the Dutchman N. Witsen calls the sea Ice, and the Frenchman J. Campredon Arctic, which echoes the Nenets word.
For the first time, the sea was named Kara on the map of V. M. Selifontov in 1736, compiled according to the results of the work of the Dvina-Ob detachment of the Great Northern Expedition.

schooner Polar Odysseus in the Kara Sea

Geography
Location
The sea is limited north coast Eurasia and Geiberg. In the northern part of the sea is Vize Land, an island theoretically discovered in 1924. Also in the sea are the islands of the Arctic Institute, the islands of Izvestia of the Central Executive Committee.

The sea is located mainly on the shelf; many islands. Depths of 50-100 meters predominate, the greatest depth is 620 meters. Area 883,400 km².

Fall into the sea deep rivers: Ob, so salinity varies greatly. The Taz River also flows into the Kara Sea.

The Kara Sea is one of the coldest seas in Russia, only near the mouths of the rivers the water temperature in summer is above 0 °C. Frequent fogs and storms. Most of the year the sea is covered with ice.

Bottom relief
The sea lies almost entirely on the shelf with depths of up to 100 meters. Two gutters - St. Anne's with maximum depth at 620 meters (80°26′ N 71°18′ E) and Voronin with a depth of up to 420 meters cut through the shelf from north to south. The East Novaya Zemlya Trench, with depths of 200–400 meters, runs along the eastern shores of Novaya Zemlya. The shallow (up to 50 meters) Central Kara Plateau is located between the trenches.

The bottom of shallow waters and uplands is covered with sands and sandy silt. Troughs and basins are covered with gray, blue and brown muds. Iron-manganese nodules are found at the bottom of the central part of the sea.

Kara Sea Sibiryakov Island

Flora and fauna
The flora and fauna of the Kara Sea is formed under the influence of diverse climatic and hydrological conditions in the north and south. Big influence Neighboring basins are also affected by the penetration of some heat-loving forms (from the Barents Sea) and high arctic species (from the Laptev Sea) from them. The ecological boundary of their distribution is approximately the eightieth meridian. Freshwater elements also play a significant role in the life of the Kara Sea.

Qualitatively, the flora and fauna of the Kara Sea is poorer than the Barents Sea, but much richer than the Laptev Sea. This can be seen from a comparison of their ichthyofauna. 114 species of fish are found, in the Kara - 54, and in the Laptev Sea - 37. The following are of commercial importance in the Kara Sea: whitefish - omul, muksun and vendace; from smelt - smelt; from cod - saffron cod and saithe; from salmon - nelma. Fisheries are organized only in the bays, gulfs and lower reaches of the rivers. There are pinnipeds in the sea different types: seals, sea hares, less often walruses. In the summer, the beluga whale comes here in large numbers - a herd animal that makes regular seasonal migrations. There is also a polar bear in the Kara Sea.

COAST OF THE KARA SEA
The coastline of the Kara Sea is complex and winding. The eastern shores of Novaya Zemlya are indented by numerous fjords. The mainland coast is significantly dissected, where the Baidaratskaya and Obskaya bays go deep into the land, between which large bays are located far to the east: Gydansky, Pyasinsky, starting from which the coastline outlines many small bays. Less winding is the western coast of Severnaya Zemlya.

Diverse in external forms and structure, the coast of the Kara Sea in different areas belongs to different morphological types of coasts (). The sea is framed mainly by abrasion, but there are accumulative and ice shores. The eastern shores of Novaya Zemlya are steep and hilly. The mainland coast is low-lying and gently sloping in places, steep in places. Mostly low shores

Gydan Bay, Kara Sea

ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA AND WINDS
Located in the high latitudes of the Arctic and directly connected with the Arctic Ocean, the Kara Sea is characterized by a polar maritime climate. The relative proximity of the Atlantic Ocean somewhat softens the climate of the sea, in the way of warm Atlantic air and waters, therefore the Kara Sea is climatically more severe,. The large extent of the Kara Sea from the southwest to the northeast creates noticeable differences in climatic indicators in its different areas in all seasons of the year.

The location, intensity and interaction of the main centers of atmospheric action largely determine the state of the weather and the magnitude of meteorological elements throughout the year. In the autumn-winter time, the Siberian anticyclone forms and sets, the Polar High intensifies, and the action of the Icelandic Low trough extends to the sea. At the beginning of the cold season in the northern part of the sea, the north wind prevails, and in the south - the winds are unstable in direction. The wind speed at this time is usually 5-7 m/s. The winter baric situation determines the predominance of southern, southwestern and southeastern winds in most of the sea. Only in the northeast winds of the northern rhumbs are often observed. The average wind speed is 7-8 m/s, often it reaches storm force. Most storms occur in western part seas. Off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, a local hurricane wind, the Novaya Zemlya bora, is often formed. It usually lasts several hours, but in winter it can last 2-3 days. Winds southern directions, as a rule, they bring continental air strongly cooled over the mainland into the Kara Sea. The average monthly air temperature in March at Cape Chelyuskin is −28.6°, at Cape Zhelaniya −20°, and the minimum air temperature in the sea can reach −45–50°. However, with southerly winds, relatively warm polar sea air sometimes also enters the western part of the sea. It is brought by cyclones coming from the west and deviating to the south and southeast, as they meet the chain of Novaya Zemlya mountains on their way. The most frequent inflows of warm air occur in February. These intrusions and the Novaya Zemlya bora make the winter weather unstable in the western part of the sea, while in its northern and eastern regions the weather is relatively stable, cold and clear.

In the warm season, the Siberian High collapses, and the low-pressure trough disappears. The polar maximum is shifting to the north. In this regard, winds blow in the spring, which are unstable in direction, the speed of which usually does not exceed 5-6 m/s. The cyclonic activity is weakening. Spring warming occurs quite quickly, but does not lead to significant increases in air temperature. In May average monthly temperature air keeps about -7 ° in the west and about -9 ° in the east of the sea.

Formed over the sea in summer local area increased pressure, which leads to the predominance of northern winds with speeds of 4-5 m/s. In the warmest month (July), the average air temperature is 5–6° in the western part of the sea and 1–2° in the east and northeast. In some areas of the mainland coast, the air temperature can rise to +18 and even +20°. There can be snowfall in any summer month. In general, summers are short and cold with overcast rainy weather. Strong winter cooling and weak summer warming, unstable weather in the cold season and a relatively calm state of the atmosphere in summer - character traits climate of the Kara Sea.

Baydaratskaya Bay Kara Sea

DRAIN OF THE KARA SEA
This sea accounts for, on average, about 55% (1290 km3/year) of the total runoff to all seas of the Siberian Arctic. The Ob annually brings about 450 km3 of water, the Pyasina - 80 km3, the Pur and Taz together - about 86 km3, and other rivers - about 74 km3. With such a significant river runoff, it is distributed very unevenly in time and space of the sea. Approximately 80% of river water enters the sea in late summer - early autumn (June - September). In winter, water from only the largest rivers flows into the sea in very small quantities. Almost all continental runoff enters the Kara Sea from the south. Under the influence of mainly prevailing winds, river water spreads over the sea, its distribution is not the same from year to year. Based on the generalization of long-term observations for the Kara Sea, western, eastern and fan-shaped variants of the distribution of freshened waters in it have been established.
In general, almost 40% of the area of ​​this sea is under the influence of continental waters. They have very different effects on natural conditions seas. The heat they bring slightly increases the surface water temperature in the estuarine areas, which contributes to the breakup of fast ice in spring and somewhat slows down ice formation in autumn; river waters reduce the salinity of sea waters; mechanically, river runoff affects the direction of movement of sea waters, etc. Continental runoff is an important factor in the formation of the features of the Kara Sea.

Pyasina, Upper and Lower Taimyr, Khatanga.

Portnyagino, Kungasalakh, Labaz, Kokora.

Major bays:
Middendorf, Pyasinsky, Sims, Taimyr Bay, Teresa Clavenes, Thaddeus, Maria Pronchishcheva Bay.
Administratively, it is part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, forming in it a special Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets region.
The largest city is Norilsk.

NUMBER OF PEOPLES
The number of indigenous peoples of the North - as of 01/01/2008 - is 10,217 people or 27.0% of the total population, of which:
Dolgans - 5,517 people;
Nenets - 3,486 people;
Nganasans - 749 people;
Evenks - 270 people;
Enets - 168 people;
other nations - 27 people.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
Berman L.V. To the new Mangazeya. - L .: Krasnaya gazeta, 1930. - 189 p. — 50,000 copies.
Vasiliev N. Ya. Karskaya expedition. - M .: Editorial board of the NKVT publications, 1921. - 44 p.
Vize V. Yu. Kara Sea // Seas of the Soviet Arctic: Essays on the history of research. - 2nd ed. - L .: Publishing House of the Glavsevmorput, 1939. - S. 180-217. — 568 p. - (Polar Library). — 10,000 copies.
Vorobyov V. I. Kara Sea. - L.-M .: Publishing House of the Glavsevmorput, 1940. - 128 p. — 5,000 copies.
Gelvald F. and the Kara Sea // In the region eternal ice: The history of travel to the North Pole from ancient times to the present. - St. Petersburg: Ed. book. mag. "New time", 1881. - S. 812-828. — 880 p.
Dobrovolsky A.D., Zalogin B.S. Kara Sea // Seas of the USSR. - M .: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1982. - S. 102-112. — 192 p. - 14,000 copies.
History of the discovery and development of the Northern Sea Route: In 4 volumes / Ed. Ya. Ya. Gakkelya, A. P. Okladnikova, M. B. Chernenko. - M.-L., 1956-1969.
Belov M.I. Arctic navigation from ancient times to the middle of the 19th century. - M .: Sea transport, 1956. - T. I. - 592 p. — 3,000 copies.
Pinkhenson D. M. The problem of the Northern Sea Route in the era of capitalism. - L .: Sea transport, 1962. - T. II. — 767 p. — 1,000 copies.
Belov M. I. Soviet Arctic navigation 1917-1932. - L .: Sea transport, 1959. - T. III. — 511 p. — 3,000 copies.
Belov M. I. Scientific and economic development of the Soviet North in 1933-1945. - L .: Hydrometeorological Publishing House, 1969. - T. IV. — 617 p. — 2,000 copies.
Kalinin V.M. The Kara Sea // Great Tyumen Encyclopedia / Ch. ed. G. F. Shafranov-Kutsev. - 1st ed. - Tyumen: Research Institute of Regional Encyclopedias of Tyumen State University; "Socrates", 2004. - T. 2. I-P. - S. 69-71. — 495 p. — 10,000 copies. — ISBN 5-88664-171-8.
Kanevsky Z. M. The price of the forecast. - L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1976. - 128 p. — 50,000 copies.
Kara Sea / Nikiforov E. G., Shpayher A. O. // Italy - Kvarkush. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1973. - (Big soviet encyclopedia: in 30 tons / ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov; 1969-1978, v. 11).
Kovalev S. A. Arctic shadows of the Third Reich. — M.: Veche, 2010. — 432 p. - (Marine chronicle). — 5,000 copies. - ISBN 978-5-9533-4348-0.
Kovalev S. Polar bases of the Kriegsmarine // Independent military review: newspaper. - M., March 29, 2002.
Kopylov V.E. Kara expeditions // Great Tyumen Encyclopedia / Ch. ed. G. F. Shafranov-Kutsev. - 1st ed. - Tyumen: Research Institute of Regional Encyclopedias of Tyumen State University; "Socrates", 2004. - T. 2. I-P. - S. 69. - 495 p. — 10,000 copies. — ISBN 5-88664-171-8.
Nansen F. To the Land of the Future: The Great northern path from Europe to Siberia across the Kara Sea. — Pg.: Ed. K. I. Ksido, 1915. - 454 p.
Rudnev D. D., Kulik N. A. Materials for the study of the Northern Sea Route from Europe to the Ob and Yenisei. — Pg.: Type. A. E. Collins, 1915. - VI, 127 p.
Sergeev A. A. German submarines in the Arctic 1941-1942. — M.: Russian Publishing House, 2003. - 304 p. — 2,000 copies. - ISBN 5-9900099-1-7.
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The Kara Sea is one of several seas that are part of the Siberian Arctic group. Due to geographical features, it belongs to the continental type of the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean.

The Kara Sea is considered one of the largest in the Russian Federation - its area is approximately 883 thousand kilometers, and the volume of water is about 98 thousand cubic kilometers.

It is said that it was the Kara Sea that served as the prototype for The Tale of Tsar Saltan.

Gas producers...

Boundless pr...

Vaigach Island...

Cape Chelyuskin...

The Kara Sea is located between the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya. It is considered the marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean and is part of the Arctic Ocean. sea ​​way. It communicates with the neighboring one on the east side, with the help of the Kara Gates and Matochkin Shar straits, and on the western side - with the Vilkitsky straits, and the straits between the Severnaya Zemlya islands.

The main bays are the Baidaratskaya and Obskaya bays, as well as the Yenisei, Pyasinsky and Taimyr. In some places they crash into the gentle coast of the mainland. Several rivers flow into the Kara Sea, the largest of which are the Yenisei, Ob, Pyasinka and Kara, after which the sea is named. And although this sea is the heaviest along the entire length of the Northern Sea Route, due to the huge ice cover, it is a kind of northern gate of Siberia. It is here that the riches of the Siberian forests are exported along the Yenisei, the Ob.

There are many islands in the sea area, which are included in the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve. It is the largest in Eurasia. One of the most famous islands in the Kara Sea, Vaigach Island, is a special place where the secrets of bloody rites and pagan cults of the ancient peoples who inhabited these lands in ancient times are kept. According to their legends, it was here that the abode of the gods was located. Scientists call Vaygach Island an anomalous mystery that cannot be solved for a long time. Travelers note that health is restored here and mood improves.

The Severnaya Zemlya archipelago also has a rich and interesting history. It was discovered in 1913 by the expedition of Boris Vilkitsky. He mistakenly presented the archipelago as one island and named it the Land of Nicholas II. In 1926, Nicholas II Land was named Severnaya Zemlya. And the fact that this zone is a group of islands was published only in 1933.

In ancient times, navigation in the Kara Sea was equal to a deadly feat - it was called the "ice cellar". Until now, this sea is considered the coldest sea on Earth. It is not surprising, because in winter in these parts the temperature drops to -46 degrees, and in summer no more than +16. The third part of the year is occupied by the polar night, and the rest of the time by the polar day. In winter, storm winds often blow, blizzards and snowstorms rage. In the summer, fogs roll in, and the north wind brings snowballs. Most of the year the sea is completely covered with ice. Even modern nuclear-powered icebreakers do not always conquer this sea.

Plant life in the Kara Sea, with its harsh climate, cold water and a powerful ice shell, you can’t call it lively. But it still exists here, however, it is several times poorer than in the neighboring Barents Sea. Several types of bottom algae grow here: some types of fucus, rodimenia and odontaria, porphyry, Ulva, which is also called "sea lettuce" and kelp "- seaweed". In the icy water of this northern sea, unicellular algae and phytoplankton also thrive well. Zooplankton also lives in the waters of the Kara Sea, which serves as food for cetaceans.

Unlike plants, the fauna is somewhat richer. For example, in the waters of this sea there are many invertebrates and fish: pink salmon and chum, chinook and sockeye salmon, omul and musk, nelma and char, saffron cod and flounder. In addition to them, in the sea, not far from the mouths of the rivers, salmon and whitefish come out to feed, which spawn in the rivers.

Just like in other northern seas, there are many small fish in the Kara Sea: European smelt and capelin, sculpins and liparis, sea chanterelles and some other fish. In total, there are about 54 species of fish in this sea. Some of them are of great commercial importance.

The Kara Sea is inhabited by seals and walruses, seals, bearded seals and beluga whales. Among cetaceans, there are 5 species of minke whales: fin whale, sei whale, small, and also humpback. Of the sharks in the Kara Sea, only the polar one lives, which is not afraid of the icy water of this northern sea.

There are a lot of birds on the islands, they form noisy bird markets. Most of them are guillemots and auks, as well as little auks.

So far there are not so many tourists going to the icy coast of the Kara Sea. But those who have visited these parts talk about their vacation excitedly. Of course, you should not count on five-star hotels in this harsh edge. But the hotels here are quite decent and you will not stay hungry, that's for sure. But what kind of fishing and hunting awaits you in the Arctic! You can fish even in summer or winter. Here, any kid will teach you this.

If you wish, you can take part in hunting for seals or seals.

Of course, you need to be careful, because the owner of the north can also do this near you.

And of course, you should get to know the customs of the locals better, ride a snowmobile or.

The Kara Sea and the islands lying in its water area are a real pearl of the Russian North. It cannot be described in words, it must be seen and felt.;

Video: Kara Sea:...

The Kara Sea is a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. Located between the coast of the mainland (West Siberian Plain), the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Zemlya Franz Joseph and Severnaya Zemlya.

In the north, the Kara Sea communicates with the Arctic Basin, in the west with the Barents Sea (straits of Yugorsky Shar, Kara Gates, Matochkin Shar and between the northern tip of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land), in the east with the Laptev Sea (straits of Vilkitsky, Shokalsky and Red Army).

Area of ​​the Kara Sea 893.4 thousand km2, water volume 101 thousand km2 greatest depth 600 m, average 113 m. H longest length N to SW between 81 and 68° N sh. near. 1500 km, maximum width in the northern part of the Kara Sea 800 km. The length of the coastline along the mainland is 9047 km along the islands 5653 km. |

Major bays- Baydaratskaya Bay, Gulf of Ob, Yenisei Bay, Pyasinsky Bay, Gydan Bay and Taimyr Bay - are cut into the mainland coast. Major rivers , flowing into the sea - the Yenisei, the Ob, as well as Pyasina, Pur and Taz, Kara (which gave the name to the sea) - have a total runoff of about 1300 km3 / year (80% of the runoff occurs in summer).

There are a large number of islands in the Kara Sea (their total area about 10 thousand km2), concentrated mainly in the northeastern part of the sea. Along the coast of the mainland are the skerries of Minin, the Nordenskiöld archipelago (more than 70 islands), etc.; in the central part of the Kara Sea - the islands of the Arctic Institute, Izvestia of the Central Executive Committee, Sergei Kirov, Solitude. The island of Vize is widely known, the existence of which was theoretically predicted by V. Yu. Vize (1924) as a result of studying the drift of ice in the Kara Sea.

Islands diverse in origin and relief. Some of the islands are mountainous, for example, the mountains of Vaigach Island and Novaya Zemlya are a continuation Ural mountains. Depressions on the slopes of the mountain ranges of the Sonorny Island of Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya are occupied by glaciers producing icebergs. The shores of these islands are steep and indented by fiords. Other islands (Ushakov, Schmidt) are completely covered with ice domes. Many low-lying sand islands(White, Solitude, etc.).

Studies have shown that the coast of the Kara Sea has been experiencing a tendency to rise over the past decades. The highest uplift rate of 1.5 mm/year is observed on Pravda Island. Along the coast, the relative velocity of vertical movements of the earth's crust varies from 0.7 mm/year (the area of ​​the port of Amderma) to 0.1 mm/year (near Dikson Island) and up to -1.2 mm/year (the area of ​​Cape Chelyuskin).

Bottom relief and bottom sediments

The coast of the Kara Sea borders the Barents-Kara shelf, so about 40% of the bottom area has depths of less than 50 m, 64% - less than 100 m and only 2% - more than 500 m. The shelf is cut from north to south by two wide deep-water trenches - St. Anna (along east coast Franz Josef Lands, depths up to 620 m) and Voronin (along west coast Severnaya Zemlya, depths up to 420 m). The East Novaya Zemlya Trench runs along the eastern shores of Novaya Zemlya (depths 200–400 m). Between the trenches is the Central Kara Plateau (depths less than 50 m), bearing the islands of Ushakov, Vize, Solitude, etc.

Geological past Kara Sea is closely connected with development history the Arctic Ocean, which determined geological structure its bed and shores. Geologically, the Kara Sea is one of the youngest. Key Features its relief was determined in the late Cretaceous - early Pleistocene periods. As a result of tectonic breaks that occurred during these periods, the Barents-Kara shelf was formed; suboceanic trenches that penetrated the shelf separated the shelf from the abyssal of the Arctic Basin. Beneath a comparatively thin layer of present-day sediments—brown, gray, and blue silts in trenches and deep-water basins, sandy silts on underwater elevations and shallow waters, and sands on shallows and near coasts—traces of glacial regressions and interglacial transgressions are found.

Climate in the Kara Sea

Hydrological regime

Located in high latitudes, the Kara Sea is covered with ice for a significant part of the year. Ice formation begins in the north of the Kara Sea in September, in the south in October. In winter, fast ice forms near the coast and between the islands. The ice covering the rest of the Kara Sea is drifting. IN winter period The water temperature of the Kara Sea is close to freezing (about -1.8°C). Water in shallow areas from the surface to the bottom has almost the same temperature. However, in the deep-water trenches of St. Anna and Voronin, where warm Atlantic waters penetrate from the Arctic Basin, temperatures of 1.5 and 2.5 ° C are observed at depths of 150–200 m. As calculations show, approximately 9 ,4.10^3 km3 of Atlantic waters, bringing almost 8*10^12 kcal. heat. surface water in summer they are strongly freshened by river runoff and ice melting.

Throughout the summer, the water temperature in the zone of drifting ice is only slightly above the freezing point. Freed from ice, the waters of the Kara Sea warm up to 6°C in the southwestern part and to 2°C in the north. The thickness of the heated water layer is up to 60–70 m in the southwestern part of the Kara Sea and up to 10–15 m in the eastern part.

The Barents Sea waters enter the Kara Sea through the Kara Gates and Yugorsky Shar straits. Pouring into the Yamal Current, they move north along the shores of the Yamal Peninsula. In the area of ​​Bely Island, the Yamal Current is strengthened by the Ob-Yenisei Current; A little to the north of it, the East Novaya Zemlya current departs to Novaya Zemlya, the waters of which are directed to the south, where their cyclonic circulation closes. Part of the waters leave the Ob-Yenisei region to the east, forming the West Taimyr Current, which spreads along the coast to the Vilkitsky Strait.

In the central part of the Kara Sea, the course of St. Anna, carrying water to the north, is included in the cyclonic circulation, which determines the circulation of water and ice in a clockwise direction.

tides in the Kara Sea are determined mainly by the tidal wave propagating from the Atlantic Ocean; this wave penetrates into the Kara Sea from the Arctic Basin and through the straits from the Barents Sea. The tides are predominantly semidiurnal. The average value of the tide is 0.5-0.8 m. In winter, the ice cover has a significant effect on the tides: the magnitude of the tide decreases, and the propagation of the tidal wave is delayed compared to summer.

Biology and inhabitants

The characteristics of the flora and fauna of the Kara Sea are quite complex. According to the distribution of salinity, planktonic forms - freshwater and brackish - penetrate far to the north, and benthic marine forms - far to the south. The marine fauna is mainly (more than 50%) represented by arctic species. To these are added to a large extent other species rising from the deeper layers of the Kara Sea, for example, the Atlantic ones from the warm Atlantic intermediate layer. The greatest species diversity of flora and fauna is observed in two regions of the Kara Sea: in the region of the eastern shores of Novaya Zemlya and in the region of the northwestern part of the Kara Sea, where, along with the Barents Sea waters, the diverse Barents Sea fauna penetrates, and along deep sea trench many Atlantic bathyal and abyssal forms enter from the north. The quantitative composition of zooplankton includes 173 species. The predominant groups are copepods, ciliates and coelenterates. In the Yenisei Bay, the bulk of zooplankton are rotifers, copepods and cladocerans; with an average biomass of 150 mg/m3, the former give 47.4%, the latter 40%, the third 11.1%, and the rest 1.5% of the biomass weight. The average mass of zooplankton in the southwestern part of the Caspian Sea is 43 mg/m3, and in the eastern part 48 mg/m3.

The Kara Sea is relatively rich in representatives of zoobenthos (about 1400 species). Among the benthic animals of the Kara Sea, crustaceans, mollusks, polychaete worms, bryozoans and echinoderms are best represented. On silty soils near the Yamal Peninsula, the biomass of benthos is 100-300 g/m2, and on brown silts in the central part of the Kara Sea
the volume of biomass drops sharply to 3–5 g/m2.

Phytoplankton

The total number of species of planktonic algae in the central part of the Kara Sea is 78 (diatoms - 52, peridinium - 20, others - 6). According to the phytoplankton regime in the Kara Sea, two regions with a high content of biomass (from 1 to 3 g/m3) are distinguished: the region in the northwestern part of the Kara Sea, into which warm Barents and Atlantic deep waters enter, and the region of coastal waters, which is under the influence of runoff of the Ob and Yenisei rivers. The bulk of plankton in these areas is located in the 0–25 m layer.

The bottom vegetation is represented by 66 species, mainly red algae, somewhat poorer brown and very little green. Among the macrophytes in the Kara Sea, cold-loving species of the Barents Sea flora predominate. Heat-loving forms are very rare, and the farther north and northwest from the Kara Gate Strait, the less likely they are to be found.

Ichthyofauna

The ichthyofauna of the Kara Sea includes 54 species. Off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, especially in the area of ​​the Kara Gate Strait, cod is found, in the bays and bays - omul, vendace, smelt, char, nelma and grayling. However, there are no commercial concentrations of fish. In 1945, an ichthyological expedition carried out 43 hours of trawling with an otter trawl in the most promising fishing areas of the Kara Sea. The total catch was 500 fish specimens.

The Kara Sea is part of the Northern Sea Route. main port— Dixon. Sea vessels They also enter the Yenisei River to Igarka and Dudinka. In cargo transportation, timber, building materials, coal, wheat, furs have the largest share, and in Lately began to export Norilsk ore.

The Kara Sea is the extreme sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. It got its name due to the river Kara, which flows into the sea. It is ranked among the seas of the Siberian Arctic. The boundaries of the sea are conditional lines and land. Several islands limit it in the west (the largest island is Novaya Zemlya).

Geographic features

Almost the entire territory of the Kara Sea is occupied by the continental shelf. Greater depth is rarely recorded there. In the sea there is the St. Anna trench with a depth of about 620 m and the Voronin trench with a maximum depth of no more than 420 m. The average depth of the sea is 111 m. The map of the Kara Sea allows us to estimate its size. It is considered largest sea Russia. The area of ​​this reservoir is about 883 thousand square meters. km. Its waters contain many small islands. Miniature islands form archipelagos. They are usually located along the coast. Singles major islands: Shokalsky, Sibiryakov, Bely, Nansen, Vilkitsky and Russian.
The coast of the Kara Sea is a jagged line. Many fjords are located off the coast of Novaya Zemlya. The Yamal Peninsula strongly cuts into the sea. There are numerous bays along the coast.

Climatic conditions

The maritime polar climate prevails in the area of ​​the Kara Sea. Weather due to the peculiarities of the location of the sea and contact with the ocean. The climate is slightly softened by the Atlantic Ocean, which is not so far from the Kara Sea. Warm air masses cannot penetrate here because of the island of Novaya Zemlya. Therefore, the climate of the Kara Sea is much more severe than the climate of the Barents Sea. In the autumn-winter period, the weather is affected by the Siberian anticyclone. Cold winds often form in the north of the Kara Sea. Strong storms are not uncommon in the west. A hurricane or Novaya Zemlya bora constantly arises near the island of Novaya Zemlya. The minimum air temperature reaches -50 degrees. Near the coast in summer the air can warm up to +20 degrees. Despite this, it can snow at any time during the summer. The average temperature of sea water in winter is -1.8 degrees. In summer, the water reaches a temperature of +6 degrees.

Inhabitants of the Kara Sea

This sea is home to many species of fish and invertebrates. Flounder, saffron cod, omul, muksun, walrus, seal, etc. are found here. The islands serve as a habitat for arctic foxes and polar bears.