Sea of Okhotsk: resources, description, geographical location

The Sea of Okhotsk, whose resources are of great importance to the states, is one of the largest seas in the Pacific basin. It is located off the coast of Asia. It is separated from the ocean by the peninsula of Kamchatka and the islands - Hokkaido, the eastern coast of Sakhalin and the chain of the Kurile lands.

It is worth noting that this sea is considered the coldest of all located in the Far East. Even in summer, the temperature above it does not exceed 18 degrees from the south, and in the northeast thermometers show 10 degrees - this is the maximum.

Short description of the Sea of Okhotsk

It's cold and powerful. The Sea of Okhotsk washes the shores of Japan and Russia. In its outline, the reservoir resembles an ordinary trapezoid. The sea stretches from the south-west to the northeast. The maximum length is 2,463 km, and the maximum width is 1,500 km. The coast line is more than 10 000 km long. The depth of the Sea of Okhotsk (the maximum depression) is almost 4,000 km. The type of reservoir adjacent to the edge of the continent is mixed.

Volcanic activity extends both to the surface and to the bottom of the sea. When underwater a seismic movement occurs or an underwater volcano explodes, it can cause huge tsunami waves.

Hydronym

Its name is the Sea of Okhotsk, whose resources are used in the economic spheres of the two countries (Russia and Japan), derived from the name of the Okhota River. According to official sources, earlier it was called Lamsky and Kamchatka. In Japan for a long time the sea was called "Northern". But because of the confusion with another similar reservoir, the hydronym has been adapted and now the sea is called Okhotsk.

The significance of the Sea of Okhotsk for Russia

It can not be overestimated. Since 2014 the Sea of Okhotsk belongs to the inland waters of the Russian Federation. The state makes full use of its resources. First of all, it is the main supplier of salmon species. They are chum, sockeye salmon, chinook salmon and other representatives of the family. Here, the production of caviar is highly valued. Knowingly Russia is considered one of the large-scale suppliers of this product.

Problems of the Sea of Okhotsk, however, as well as other reservoirs, led to a significant decline in populations. It was for this state that it was necessary to limit the catch of fish. And this applies not only to the salmon family, but also to other species such as herring, flounder, cod.

Industry

Russia has achieved great results in the development of industry on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk. First of all, these are ship repair enterprises and, of course, fish processing factories. These two spheres were modernized in the 90s and now are of great importance for the economic development of the state. Nowadays many commercial enterprises have appeared here.

Also, the industry on the Fr. Sakhalin. Earlier, in tsarist times, it was perceived negatively, as it served as a place for links of people disliked by the government. Now the picture has changed radically. Industry is booming, people are eager to come here to earn big money.

Kamchatka seafood processing enterprises entered the world market. Their products are highly valued abroad. It meets the standards and is quite popular in many countries.

Thanks to oil and gas fields, Russia is a monopolist in this field. There is not a single state that could supply the same volumes of oil and gas to Europe. That's why a lot of money is being invested in these companies from the state treasury.

The Islands

In the Sea of Okhotsk there are few islands, the largest of which is Sakhalin. Its coastline is inhomogeneous: in the northeast there is a lowland, the southeast is slightly elevated above sea level, in the west there is a sandbank.

The Kuril Islands are of particular interest. In size, they are small, large there are about 30, but there is less. All together, they form a seismic belt - the largest on the planet. About 100 volcanoes are located on the Kuril Islands. And 30 of them are active: they can constantly "worry" the Sea of Okhotsk.

The resources of the Shantar Islands are fur seals. Here the largest cluster of this species is observed. However, recently their prey was regulated in order to avoid complete extermination.

Bays

The coastline of the reservoir is indented slightly, although it has a large length. There are practically no gulfs and bays in this area. The Sea of Okhotsk basin is divided into three basins: Kuril, TINRO and Deryugin Basin.

The largest bays are Sakhalin, Tugur, Shelikhov, and others. There are also several lips - deeply embedded in the land of sea bays, which form a depression in large rivers. Among them are the Penzhinskaya, Gizhiginskaya, Udskaya, and Tauiskaya. Thanks to the bays, there is also a water exchange in the seas. And at the moment, scientists call this issue problematic enough.

Straits

They are part of the Okhotsk basin. This is an important element that connects the reservoir with the Sea of Japan, as well as with the Pacific Ocean. In addition, low and shallow straits are observed : Laperuza and Nevel'skii. They do not play a special role, because they are small enough. But the straits of Kruzenshtern and Bussol are distinguished by a large area, while their maximum depth reaches 500 meters. In many respects they regulate the salinity of the Sea of Okhotsk.

Bottom and coastline

The depths of the Sea of Okhotsk are not uniform. On the part of Sakhalin and the continent, the bottom is represented by a shallow - continuation of the Asian part of the continent. Its width is about 100 km. The rest of the bottom (about 70%) is represented by the continental slope. Near the Kurile Islands, near to. Iturup is a sick cavity. At this point the depth of the Sea of Okhotsk reaches 2,500 meters. At the bottom of the reservoir, two major elevating sections of the relief are distinguished with rather original names: the elevation of the Institute of Oceanology and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

The shoreline of the Okhotsk Sea belongs to different geomorphological forms. Most of them are high and steep slopes. Only the western territory of Kamchatka and the east of. Sakhalin have a low character. But the northern coast is considerably cut.

Water exchange

The continental runoff of the waters is not great. This is due to the fact that all the rivers that flow into the Sea of Okhotsk are not full-fledged, and they can not play an important role. The most important is p. Cupid, it is on it that the greater part of the overall indicator of drains comes. There are other relatively large rivers. This is Hunting, Uda, Bolshaya, Penzhina.

Hydrological characteristics

The reservoir does not freeze completely, because the salinity of the Sea of Okhotsk is quite high. It is 32-34 ppm. It decreases closer to the shore, reaching a mark of 30 ‰, and in the intermediate layer - 34 ‰.

Most of the territory in winter is covered by floating ice. The lowest temperature of water in the cold season fluctuates from -1 to +2 degrees. In summer, the depths of the sea warm up to 10-18ºC.

An interesting fact: at a depth of 100 meters there is an intermediate layer of water, the temperature of which does not change during the year and is 1.7 ° C below zero.

Features of climate

The Sea of Okhotsk is located in temperate latitudes. This fact has a great influence on the mainland, providing a monsoon climate. In the cold part of the year, the Aleutian minimum prevails in the reservoir territory. It largely influences the northern winds that cause storm storms, which continue throughout the winter.

In the warm season, weak southeasterly winds come from the mainland. Thanks to them, the air temperature rises substantially. However, along with them come and cyclones, which can subsequently form typhoons. The duration of such typhoon can be from 5 to 8 days.

The Sea of Okhotsk: Resources

They will be discussed further on. It is known that the natural resources of the Sea of Okhotsk are still poorly explored. The most valuable is the shelf of the sea with its hydrocarbon reserves. Today seven oil fields are open on Sakhalin, Kamchatka, Khabarovsk Krai and Magadan Administrative Center. Develop these deposits began in the 70's. However, in addition to oil, the main wealth of the Okhotsk Sea is flora and fauna. They are very diverse. Because there is a significant development of fishing. In the Sea of Okhotsk, the most valuable species of salmon are found. In the depths of squid are extracted, and by catch of crabs the reservoir is on the first place in the world. Recently, the production conditions have become more severe and severe. And the catch of some fish introduced restrictions.

In the northern waters of the sea marine seals, whales, seals live. Catching these representatives of the animal world is strictly prohibited. Recently fishing has been gaining popularity - catching sea urchins and mollusks. From the plant world, different types of algae are important. Speaking about the use of the sea, it is worth noting its importance in the transport sector. It is a priority. There are important sea trade routes that connect the major cities of Korsakov (Sakhalin), Magadan, Okhotsk and others.

Ecological problems

The Sea of Okhotsk, like other waters of the World Ocean, suffers from human activities. Here, environmental problems are recorded in the form of a runoff of refined products and remnants of gas compounds. Waste from industrial and domestic enterprises is also problematic.

The coastal zone began to become polluted from the time of the development of the first offshore deposits, but until the late 1980s it did not have such large-scale dimensions. Now man's anthropogenic activity has reached a critical point and requires immediate resolution. The greatest concentration of waste and pollution is concentrated off the coast of Sakhalin. This is mainly due to the rich oil deposits.