Waters of the Far North. Kara Sea.

Kara Sea ... From the course of school geography, we know that it is located somewhere on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, i.e. At the top of the map or globe. Very extensive knowledge, is not it? This is definitely not enough for such an amazing geographical object. Let's try to get to know each other better.

Section 1. The Kara Sea. General description .

The Kara Sea belongs to the category of marginal seas geographically belonging to the Arctic Ocean. Its name comes from the Kara river belonging to this basin. The latter, in turn, received this name in honor of the noble local Nenets clan.

Before that, other names could be traced in history: the Northern Tatar, the New Northern and the Mangazey.

In accordance with the physico-geographical conditions, Karskoe is considered the most difficult sea of the Russian Arctic, therefore any navigation here involves a lot of difficulties. One of the reasons is the almost constant presence of a durable ice cover. In addition, the depth of the sea is uneven, the shoals fall quite often, and the currents are poorly studied.

It should be noted and the fact that much in the region is decided by the weather, and since the fog or haze is almost always preserved, it is impossible to visually determine the distance in most cases.

In the south-west. Part of the Kara Sea, near the Yamal Peninsula, large offshore fields of gas condensate and natural gas were discovered.

The main economic importance of the sea is that it is considered the most important link in such a necessary Northern Sea Route for the country and plays an important role in the development and strengthening of the productive forces of the regions of the Far North.

Section 2. The Kara Sea. How diverse is its flora and fauna .

In general, we can say with confidence that the flora and fauna here was formed under the influence of very different in nature conditions, both climatic and hydrological. We note that they differ significantly from each other in the southern and northern parts.

The neighboring basins continue to exert a tremendous influence. For example, some thermophilic forms actively penetrate from the Barents Sea, and on the contrary, from the Laptev Sea, they are highly arctic. The ecological boundary of distribution, according to scientists, is the eightieth meridian. However, we should not forget that a significant role is played also by freshwater elements.

If we make a comparative analysis, it turns out that the flora and fauna are qualitatively poorer than the same Barents, but far ahead of the Laptev Sea. For example, in the Barents Sea today there are 114 various species of fish, in Karsky - about 54, and in the Laptev Sea - much less, only 37.

Due to this fact the Kara Sea is of great importance in the life of the whole country. Fisheries associated with catching omul, muksun, vendace, smelt, navaga, saithe and nelma are organized here.

Kara Sea ... Photos of animals living in its surroundings adorn the printed and virtual editions of the planet. The sea is rich in pinnipeds. Here you can meet nerpa, sea hares, and if you're lucky, then walruses. In summer, a white whale enters here, the polar bear dwells all year round.

Section 3. The Kara Sea. Interesting Facts.

The salinity of the sea is quite uneven. This is due to the fact that several large rivers flow into it at once (Yenisei, Taz and Ob). It is located mainly on the shelf. To meet an island in the Kara Sea, or rather a cluster of several, is not so rare. The average depth is 50-100 m, the largest one is fixed at 620 m. The area is 893,400 km ². The coldest of all our (Russian) seas. The water temperature at the shore in winter rarely exceeds -1.8 ° C, and in summer +6 ° C. During the Cold War, this sea was a place for secret burial of nuclear waste. According to very approximate estimates, today in its waters there are not only thousands of containers, about twenty vessels with radioactive waste, but also several reactors with unsafe untreated fuel. It turns out that waste, the level of radiation of which was considered low, simply merged into the water.