Sea of the Arctic Ocean: list, features, characteristics

The Arctic Ocean is a severe and cold ocean, completely lying in the Northern Hemisphere. It occupies only 4% of the world's oceans, but it is washed by the shores of several states, such as:

• Denmark.
• Norway.
• Iceland.
• Canada.
• USA.
• Russia.

Let us study in greater detail the seas of the Arctic Ocean, which wash Russia. Their list is quite extensive, and one can find interesting information about each.

Some legal information

The waters of the coldest ocean, located in the northern latitudes of our planet, do not have a clear legal status. All the neighboring countries, except for Iceland, are claiming separate water sectors. This greatly complicates the development of the ocean floor, as there are no agreements on the rights to the territory.

The seas fall under sectoral distinctions. This means that the map is conditionally divided into triangles, the tops of which are the North Pole, and the eastern and western borders of the states.

But the UN Convention establishes other rules of delineation, according to which borders are determined not only by extreme coastal points, but also by the length of the shelf.

Characteristics of the seas. Arctic Ocean

The total area of the most severe ocean is more than 10 million square kilometers. Km. This is approximately 70% of the total territory. Here, however, scientists attributed ocean straits and bays. The seas of the Arctic Ocean, the list of which we will give below, are subdivided into marginal and internal.

A common feature is the shallow water of the seas. The fact is that the ocean, located in the northern part of the board, is the smallest of all existing. It has a harsh climate, and year round gusty winds with fogs and dense precipitation. Floating ice creates difficulties for navigation even at a time when the seas are considered passable. The farther from the coast, the thicker the ice fields, and navigation requires the escort of powerful icebreakers.

Despite all the difficulties, most of the year for these harsh waters is considered navigable. Caravans of ships are moving along the Northern Sea Route with an endless stream, as here is the shortest road from the western to the eastern border of the Russian Federation.

Sea of the Arctic Ocean

The list of water bodies belonging to the ocean basin, located at the North Pole, consists of ten seas, six of which wash the shores of the Russian Federation. The largest area is Barentsevo, which is located in the western part of the Eurasian continent. But the deepest is the Greenland Sea, whose depth reaches about 5500 m.

The Norwegian Sea is considered the warmest of all the northern reservoirs, since its warm current prevents the freezing of water even in winter. The temperature is at least 2 degrees in winter and about 8-12 in summer.

How do we know the seas of the Arctic Ocean? The list of northern, severe reservoirs of the planet will be as follows:

• Norwegian. Washes the coast of Iceland and the Scandinavian Peninsula.
• Greenland. It was located between the eastern coast of the island of Greenland and the western border of Iceland.
• The Barents. The sea, located in the western part of Russia.
• White. Northern coast of Europe.
• East Siberian. Washes the coast of Russia, is located among the Novosibirsk and Vrangel islands.
• Karskoe. The eastern boundary of the sea runs along the Northern Earth archipelago, and the western border is bordered by the coastline of a large number of islands, including the New Earth.
• Baffin. It lies along the western border of the island of Greenland, and on the other hand it ishes the shores of the Arctic Canadian archipelago.
• The Laptevs. Washes the shores of Taimyr, the Novosibirsk Islands and the Northern Earth.
• Beaufort. The coastline of the North American continent, from Cape Barrow to the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
• The Chukchi. Washes the coasts of two continents: Eurasia and North America.

Six cold seas of Russia

The Arctic Ocean, the seas of which are washed by Russian shores, were once called Hyperborean. There were many more names, and only in 1935 the government of the then Soviet Union recognized today's name. But it should be noted that many foreign maps have the name "Arctic Ocean", which is recognized by the London Geographical Society.

Consider the seas of the Arctic Ocean. The list of Russia consists of six names of sea water bodies, each of which we will study separately.

Only one of them (White) is referred to inland water bodies, and the other five are to the continental waters.

Barencevo sea

The location is the westernmost part of the arctic seas. It is a marginal sea on the North European shelf. Among the Russian seas, the Barents Sea is the largest. A significant difference from other reservoirs of this region is year-round navigation. Most of the Barents Sea does not freeze.

Its depth ranges from 200 to 600 m. Numerous bays allow us to equip comfortable ports protected from strong winds.

The commercial significance of the Barents Sea is very palpable for Russia. It is found here, sea bass, cod fish, haddock, halibut flounder and herring.

The Chukchi Sea

The location is in the north-eastern outskirts of Asia and north-west of North America. The area is relatively small - about 600 thousand square meters. Km. Depth - from 71 to 257 m. The climate can be attributed to severe, because the warmest temperature in the summer is about +7 ° C.

Fishery and slaughter of the sea beast are poorly developed. Transportation is carried out, mainly transit, through Pevek.

White Sea

Location - north of Europe. The area is only 90 thousand square meters. Km. Depth - from 100 to 330 m. The climate is gradually changing from oceanic to continental. The weather is cool and unstable.

The salinity of the sea is about 24-30 ppm. This is due to the fact that several fresh rivers flow into its waters.

The White Sea has a seasonal ice cover. Ice is 90% floating. The animal world of the sea is very diverse. It is inhabited by beluga, seal, walrus, seals and many birds. In industrial quantities, laminaria (sea kale), white sea herring and cod are mined.

Laptev sea

The area of this sea is about 650 thousand square meters. Km. For the seas of this region, the depth is quite large - an average of 520 m.

It is considered to be the most severe, since the winters are very frosty, and the waters are frozen all year round. Winter lasts almost 10 months. Frost in this period can be -55 ° C. In summer the temperature is slightly above zero.

The sea of East Siberian

Location - beyond the Arctic Circle. The area is about 915 thousand square meters. Km. The depth difference is from 54 to 915 m.

The climate is arctic. Winters are clear, with frosts down to -30 ° C. In summer, it often falls wet snow. In winter, the sea cramps the ice.

Flora is represented by whitefish species of fish. In addition, the inhabitants - polar bears, seals and walruses.

The sea is navigable.

Kara Sea

Area - more than 880 thousand square meters. Km. This makes it possible to classify the sea as the largest in Russia. Depth - from 110 to 600 m.

The climate is polar sea. In winter, frost can reach -50 ° С, but in summer the air warms up to +20 ° С.

In the Kara Sea , many islands were formed, and its coast is riddled with bays. The salinity of water is affected by the confluence of large freshwater rivers.

The fauna is represented by several species of fish - flounder, navaga, char. Mammals are hare, seal, beluga, walrus. The islands are abundantly populated by birds.

The seas of the Arctic Ocean (the list of which we cited in this article) has recently suffered from human activities. This is because a large number of minerals are mined in the North. In this regard, Russia faces the issue of preventing pollution of the seas washing its shores.