Pechora Sea
Pechora Sea | ||
---|---|---|
Печо́рское мо́ре ( Primary inflows Pechora River | | |
River sources | Pechora River | |
Primary outflows | Arctic Ocean | |
Ocean/sea sources | Arctic Ocean | |
Catchment area | 330,000 km2 (127,000 sq mi) | |
Basin countries | Russia | |
Surface area | 81,263 km2 (31,376 sq mi) | |
Average depth | 6 m (20 ft) | |
Max. depth | 210 m (690 ft) | |
Water volume | 4,380 km3 (1,050 cu mi) | |
Salinity | 18–34.95 ‰[a] | |
Max. temperature | 8 °C (46 °F) | |
Min. temperature | −1.0 °C (30.2 °F) | |
Frozen | November to late June[1] | |
References | [3][4][2] |
The Pechora Sea (
Located in the centre of the
History
Historically, before the adjacent Barents Sea was named as such, the Pechora Sea's own name was already established. The rest of the present-day Barents Sea was known then as Sea of Murmansk (Murmanskoye Morye).
The Pechora Sea was used as a starting point of the exploration of the then unknown icy seas lying to the east. The earliest recorded voyage across the Pechora Sea through the Yugorsky Strait was made by early Russian explorer Uleb, from Nizhny Novgorod. Uleb's passing into the Kara Sea was recorded in 1032.
Russian
Geography
The Pechora Sea is blocked by floating ice from November to June—a relatively short period.[6] The main river entering the Sea is the Pechora. The Sea's salinity ranges from 18 to 34 ‰. At the central part of the Sea, the salinity stays around 34 ‰, and the temperature ranges from 0.5 to 2 °C (32.9 to 35.6 °F).[2]
Bathymetry
The Pechora Sea's average depth is 6 m (20 ft), and its deepest point reaches 210 m (690 ft).
The Sea's shallowness makes it distinct from the rest of the Barents Sea. Over its 205,607 km2 (79,385 sq mi) area,
Hydrology
As with the neighbouring
Compared to other seas around the world, the Arctic Ocean's river-heavy source of
Temperature and salinity
Ice formation is boosted by the Sea's low salinity. The temperature ranges from −1.0 to 1.5 °C (30.2 to 34.7 °F) below 150 m (490 ft); 0.5 to 2 °C (32.9 to 35.6 °F) at the central part of the Sea; and 5 to 8 °C (41 to 46 °F) in summer and autumn at the southern part of the Sea.[2]
Its salinity ranges from 8 to 18 ‰ in the bay, 18 to 26 ‰ in the southern portion, and 34 ‰ in the central part,[2] increasing with distance from the mouth of the Pechora River.[8]
Climate
The Pechora Sea has a humid continental climate.
Counteracting the Sea's continental position is the influx of nutrients supplied by the Pechora River,[3] which gives the Sea 4,570 km3 (1,100 cu mi) of sediment and 12,500 tonnes (12,500,000 kg; 13,800 short tons) of other suspended matter.[3]
The Sea's cold continental climate,[3] a result of its location in the dead centre of the continent, gives favourable conditions to ice formation.[3] As a result of this continental position and abundance of ice, the Sea's water column is stratified, its sediment is heterogeneous[9] and its pelagic productivity is low.[3]
Seafloor sediment
1 km (0.62 mi)-wide fast ice covers the floor of the Sea's coastal zone. On top of it is flaw polynya.[3]
Biogeography and ecology
It supports a unique
The fisheries of the Barents Sea, in particular the cod fisheries, are of great importance for both Norway and Russia. There is a diversity of benthic fauna on the Pechora Sea floor.[10] In addition, there is a genetically distinct polar bear population associated with the Barents Sea.[11] The Karskaya group of beluga whales migrate into Pechora Sea for wintering.[12] Various species such as walruses are threatened by possible pollutions.[13][14]
Flora and fauna
There are about 600 taxa in the Pechora Sea.
The Pechora Sea is the main 'staging and moulting ground for
At the
Pollution
Relative to the rest of the Barents Sea, the water quality of the Pechora Sea is poor.[16]
Economy
Oil and gas
As of 2023[update], the Pechora Sea is one of the most developed places in the Arctic with regard to
In current times[
Notes
References
- ^ a b Dahle et al. 1998, p. 184.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Dahle et al. 1998, p. 185.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Convention on Biological Diversity 2015.
- ^ a b Britannica 1998.
- ^ a b c d e Polyak, Stanovoy & Lubinski 2003, p. 1.
- ^ a b Gebruk et al. 2021, p. 57.
- ^ Dahle et al. 1998, p. 187, Table 2.
- ^ Polyak, Stanovoy & Lubinski 2003, p. 3, 'steady, declerating increase of salinities with distance from the estuaries'.
- ^ Dahle et al. 1998.
- ^ S. Dahle, 2004
- ^ C.M. Hogan, 2008
- ^ Regional Environment Case Study - Barents and Kara Seas
- ^ Pechora Sea pollution causes diseases of the Atlantic walruses
- ^ Reeves R.R., Ewins J.P., Agbayani S., Blijleven J., 2013, Distribution of endemic cetaceans in relation to hydrocarbon development and commercial shipping in a warming Arctic, Marine Policy 44, pp.375-389, DOI: 10.1016/j.marpol.2013.10.005, Retrieved on 29 January 2017
- ^ Dahle et al. 1998, p. 187.
- ^ Politova et al. 2019, Abstract.
- ^ S.A. Ogorodov, 2004
- ^ "Prirazlomnaya oil spill would threaten Russian Arctic with irreparable disaster: study". Greenpeace Russia. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
- ^ "Environmentalists warn of risk of oil production in the Russian Arctic". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 14 August 2012. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
Sources
- "Pechora Sea". Britannica.com. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 20 July 1998. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- "Ecologically or Biologically Significant Areas: South-eastern Barents Sea (the Pechora Sea)". The Clearing-House Mechanism of the Convention on Biological Diversity: Information Submission Service. Convention on Biological Diversity. 12 June 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- Polyak, Leonid; Stanovoy, Vladimir; Lubinski, David J. (2003). "Stable isotopes in benthic foraminiferal calcite from a river-influenced Arctic marine environment, Kara and Pechora Seas". Paleoceanography. 18 (1): 1003. . Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- Dahle, Salve; Denisenko, Stanislav G.; Denisenko, Nina V.; Cochrane, Sabine J. (28 August 1998). "Benthic fauna in the Pechora Sea" (PDF). Sarsia. 83. Bergen: 183–210. ISSN 0036-4827. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- Makarevich, Pavel; Druzhkova, Elena; Larionov, Viktor (2012). "Chapter 16: Primary Producers of the Barents Sea" (PDF). In Ali, Mahamane (ed.). Diversity of Ecosystems. InTech. pp. 367–392. ISBN 978-953-51-0572-5.
- Politova, N. V.; Kravchishina, N. D.; Novigatsky, A. N.; Lokhov, A. S. (2019). "Dispersed Sedimentary Matter of the Barents Sea". Oceanology. 59 (5): 697–714. S2CID 211265306. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- Gebruk, Anna; Zalota, Anna K.; Dgebuadze, Polina; Ermilova, Yulia; Spiridonov, Vassily A.; Shabalin, Nikolay; Henry, Lea-Anne; Henley, Sian F.; Mokievsky, Vadim O. (2021). "Trophic niches of benthic crustaceans in the Pechora Sea suggest that the invasive snow crab Chionoecetes opilio could be an important competitor". Polar Biology. 44 (1): 57–71. S2CID 230533350.
- Benthic fauna: [1]
- C. Michael Hogan (2008) Polar Bear: Ursus maritimus, Globaltwitcher.com, ed. Nicklas Stromberg
- Oil and Gas Resources in North-West Russia (2008) [2]
- S. A. Ogorodov (2004) Human impact on coastal stability in the Pechora Sea [3]
- Leonid Sverdlov, (Member of the Russian Geographic Society), RUSSIAN NAVAL OFFICERS AND GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION IN NORTHERN RUSSIA.
- C. Raymond Beazley, The Russian Expansion Towards Asia and the Arctic in the Middle Ages (to 1500). The American Historical Review