The bottom relief of the Laptev sea. Laptev sea

Posted Mon, 27/04/2015 - 06:59 by Cap

The Laptev Sea (Yakut. Laptevtar Baygallara) is the marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. Located between the northern coast of Siberia in the south, the islands of Severnaya Zemlya in the west and.
The sea is named after Russian polar explorers - cousins Dmitry and Khariton Laptev. In the past it was known as different names, the last of which is the Nordenskjold Sea.
The sea has a harsh climate with temperatures below 0 ° C for more than nine months a year, low salinity, sparse flora and fauna, and a low coastal population. Most of the time, with the exception of August and September, it is under ice.

Laptev Sea map

For thousands of years, the sea coast was inhabited by the indigenous tribes of the Yukaghirs, and later the Evens and Evenks, who were engaged in fishing, hunting and nomadic reindeer herding. Then the shores were inhabited by Yakuts and Russians. The development of the territory by Russian explorers began in the 17th century from the south, along the channels of rivers flowing into the sea.

There are several dozen islands in the Laptev Sea, on many of which well-preserved remains of mammoths are found.
The main human activities in this area are mining and navigation along the Northern Sea Route; fishing and hunting are practiced but not commercially important. The largest settlement and port is Tiksi.

Extent and boundaries
Basic physical and geographical features. Between the archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya and in the west lies the sea, which bears the name of the Laptev brothers. It is limited by natural boundaries and conventional lines. Its western border runs along the east from Cape Arkticheskiy (Komsomolets Island), then through the Red Army strait along the eastern coast of Komsomolets Island. October Revolution to Cape Anuchin, across the Shokalsky Strait to Cape Sandy on the island. Bolshevik and along its eastern coast to Cape Vaigach, then along the eastern border of the Vilkitsky Strait and further along the mainland coast to the top of the Khatanga Bay.
The northern border of the sea runs from Cape Arctic to the point of intersection of the meridian of the northern tip of the island. Kotelny (139 ° E) with the edge of the continental shelf (79 ° N, 139 ° E), the eastern border from the specified point - to the western coast of the island. Kotelny, further along the western border of the Sannikov Strait, bends around the western shores of the Bolshoi and Maly Lyakhovsky islands and then goes along the western border of the Dmitry Laptev Strait. The southern border of the sea runs along the mainland coast from Cape Svyatoy Nos to the top of the Khatanga Bay. Within these boundaries, the sea lies between the parallels 81 ° 16 ′ and 70 ° 42 ′ N. NS. and meridians 95 ° 44 ′ and 143 ° 30 ′ E. etc.

By geographic location and hydrological conditions other than the ocean, with which the sea communicates freely, it belongs to the type of continental marginal seas. Within the accepted boundaries, the Laptev Sea has the following dimensions: area - 662 thousand km2, volume 353 thousand km3, average depth 533 m, maximum depth 3385 m.

The Laptev Sea on the shores of the northernmost sea

Physical and geographical location
The sea surface area is 672,000 km².
Largest river, flowing into the Laptev Sea (and the second largest of the Arctic rivers after the Yenisei) - Lena with its large delta. The rivers also flow into the sea: Khatanga, Anabar, Olenek, Yana.

The shores are heavily indented and form bays and coves of various sizes. The coastal landscape is varied, with low mountains.
Large bays: Khatangsky, Oleneksky, Faddeya, Yansky, Anabarsky, Maria Pronchishcheva Bay, Buor-Khaya.

In the western part of the sea and river deltas, there are several dozen islands with a total area of 3784 km². Frequent storms and currents due to ice melting lead to severe erosion of the islands, for example the Semyonovsky and Vasilievsky Islands, discovered in 1815, have already disappeared.
Most Komsomolskaya Pravda and Thaddeus.
The largest single islands: Bolshoy Begichev (1764 km²), Belkovsky (500 km²), Maly Taimyr (250 km²), Stolbovoy (170 km²), Starokadomsky Island (110 km²), and Sandy (17 km²)

Bottom relief
Depths up to 50 m prevail, the maximum depth is 3385 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. More than half of the sea (53%) is a gentle continental shelf with an average depth of less than or a little more than 50 meters; moreover, the bottom areas south of the 76th parallel are at a depth of less than 25 meters. In the northern part of the sea, the bottom drops abruptly to the ocean floor with depths of about one kilometer (22% of the sea area). In shallow areas, the bottom is covered with sand and silt with admixtures of pebbles and boulders. Near the coast, river precipitation accumulates at a high rate, up to 20-25 centimeters per year. On great depths the bottom is covered with silt.
The continental slope is cut by the Sadko trench, which passes in the north into the Nansen Basin with depths of more than 2 kilometers; maximum depth Laptev Sea - 3385 meters (79 ° 35 ′ N 124 ° 40 ′ E).

polar lights in the Laptev sea

Climate
The Laptev Sea has an arctic continental climate and, due to its remoteness from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is one of the harshest among the Arctic seas. The polar night and polar day last about 3 months a year in the south and 5 months in the north. The air temperature remains below 0 ° C 11 months of the year in the north and 9 months in the south.
The average temperature in January (the coldest month) varies depending on the location between -31 ° C and -34 ° C, and the minimum is -50 ° C. In July, temperatures rise to 0 ° C (maximum 4 ° C) in the north and 5 ° C (maximum 10 ° C) in the south, however, it can reach 22-24 ° C on the coast in August. The maximum of 32.7 ° C was recorded in Tiksi. Strong winds, blizzards and snowstorms are common during the winter. Snow falls even in summer and alternates with fogs. Winds in winter blow from the south and south-west from average speed 8 m / s and subside by spring. In summer, they change direction to the north, and their speed is 3-4 m / s. The relatively low wind speed leads to low convection in surface waters, which occurs only to a depth of 5-10 meters.

Tiksi Bay Laptev Sea

HYDROLOGY OF THE SEA
Hydrological characteristics.
Generally large continental runoff, the spread of freshened waters over vast areas of the sea, along with other factors (the severity of the climate, free water exchange with the Arctic Ocean, year-round existing ice over large areas) noticeably affect the hydrological conditions of the Laptev Sea. This is primarily manifested in the values of distribution and spatio-temporal variability of oceanological characteristics in the sea under consideration.

For most of the year, the water temperature is close to freezing point. In cold seasons, it rapidly decreases in autumn, and in winter on the surface it changes over the sea space from −0.8 ° (near Mostakh Island) to −1.7 ° (near Cape Chelyuskin). Similar values are observed at this time in other regions. In the first months of spring warming up, the ice melts, so the water temperature remains almost the same as in winter. Only in coastal areas, especially near estuarine areas, which are cleared of ice earlier than others, the water temperature rises. Its values generally decrease from south to north and from east to west. In summer, the sea surface warms up. In August, in the south (Buor-Khaya Bay), the surface water temperature can reach + 10 ° and even + 14 °, in central regions it is equal to + 3-5 °, at the northern tip of the island. Kotelny and near the Chelyuskin metro station + 0.8-1.0 °. In general, the western part of the sea, where the cold waters of the Arctic basin enter, is characterized by lower values (+ 2–3 °) of water temperature than the eastern part, where the bulk of warm river waters are concentrated, therefore the surface temperature here can reach + 6–8 °.

The vertical distribution of water temperature is not the same in cold and warm seasons. Its change with depth is clearly expressed only in summer. In winter, in areas with depths of up to 50-60 m, the water temperature is the same from the surface to the bottom. In the coastal zone, it is -1.0-1.2 °, and in the open sea about -1.6 °. At great depths, at levels of 50-60 m, the water temperature rises by 0.1-0.2 °. This is due to the influx of other waters, since salinity increases somewhat at the same time.

In the north, in areas of a deep trench, the negative temperature extends from the surface to about 100 m. From here, it begins to rise to 0.6-0.8 °. This temperature persists up to about 300 m, and below it slowly drops again to the bottom. High temperatures in the 100-300 m layer are associated with the penetration of warm Atlantic waters from the Central Arctic Basin into the Laptev Sea.

In summer, the top layer 10-15 m thick warms up well and has a temperature of 8-10 ° in the southeastern part and 3-4 ° in the central part. Deeper than these horizons, the temperature drops sharply, reaching −1.4–1.5 ° at the 25 m horizon. These values or those close to them remain until the very bottom. In the western part of the sea, where warming is less than in the east, such sharp differences in temperature are not observed.

The salinity in the Laptev Sea is not the same and changeable in space and time. Its differences are very large (from 1 to 34 ‰), but desalinated waters with a salinity of 20-30 ‰ prevail. The distribution of salinity over the surface is very complex. In general, it increases from the southeast to the northwest and north.

In winter, with minimal river runoff and intense ice formation, salinity is highest. Moreover, in the west it is higher than in the east. At Cape Chelyuskin it is almost 34 ‰, and at Fr. Boiler room only 25 ‰. At the beginning of spring, salinity remains quite high, but in June, when the ice begins to melt, it begins to decrease. In summer, at maximum runoff, salinity is characterized by low values (see Fig. 26, b). The southeastern part of the sea is most desalinated. In Buor-Khaya Bay, salinity drops to 5 ‰ and below, to the north of it it is slightly higher, to 10-15 ‰. More salty waters (30–32 ‰) are spread in the west of the sea. They are located slightly north of the line about. Petra - M. Anisy. Thus, the desalinated waters wedge out to the north in the eastern part of the sea, and the salty waters descend in a wide tongue to the south in the western part of the sea.

In autumn, the river runoff decreases, and in October ice formation begins and the surface water becomes saline. Salinity generally increases with depth. However, its vertical distribution has seasonal differences in different regions of the sea. In winter, in shallow waters, it increases from the surface to 10-15 m, and then remains almost unchanged to the bottom. At great depths, a noticeable increase in salinity begins not from the surface itself, but from the underlying horizons, from which it slowly increases to the bottom. The spring type of vertical distribution of salinity, which differs from the winter type, begins with the time of intense ice melting. At this time, salinity sharply decreases in the surface layer and retains rather high values in the lower horizons.

In summer, in the zone of influence of river waters, the upper layer of 5-10 m is very much freshened; below, a very sharp increase in salinity is observed. In the layer from 10 to 25 m, the salinity gradient in places reaches 20 ‰ per 1 m. Hence, the salinity either remains unchanged or gradually increases by tenths of a ppm. In the northern part of the sea, salinity increases comparatively rapidly from the surface to 50 m, from here and up to 300 m it rises more slowly within the range from 29 to 33–34 ‰, deeper it hardly changes.

Autumn in southern regions the salinity values increase with depth and the summer jump is gradually leveled out. In the north, the same salinity covers the upper layer, and below it increases with depth. The temperature and salinity of the water determine its density, and in the Laptev Sea big influence salinity has an effect on the density. In accordance with the change in salinity and temperature in space and time, the density of water also changes. It increases from the southeast to the northwest. In winter and autumn, the water is denser than in summer and spring. Density increases with depth. In winter and early spring, it is almost the same from surface to bottom. In summer, a jump in salinity and a temperature at a horizon of 10-15 m determine here a sharply expressed jump in density. In autumn, salinization and cooling of surface waters increases their density.

The density stratification of waters is clearly traced from late spring to early autumn; it is most pronounced in the southeastern and central regions of the sea and at the ice edge. The varying degrees of vertical stratification of waters gives rise to unequal opportunities for the development of mixing in different regions of the Laptev Sea. Laptevih sea

Wind mixing in the ice-free areas of this sea is poorly developed due to the relatively calm wind situation in the warm season, high ice coverage of the sea and stratification of its waters. During spring and summer, the wind mixes only the uppermost layers up to 5-7 m thick in the east and up to 10 m in the western part of the sea.

Strong autumn-winter cooling and intense ice formation cause active, but different from place to place, the development of convection. It begins in the northeast and north, then occurs in the central part, in the south and southeast of the sea. Due to the relatively low degree of stratification and early ice formation, density mixing penetrates deepest (up to horizons of 90-100 m) in the north of the sea, where its distribution is limited by the density structure of the waters. In the central regions, convection reaches the bottom (40-50 m) by the beginning of winter, and in the southern part, subject to the influence of continental runoff, even at shallow (up to 25 m) depths, it spreads to the bottom only by the end of winter as a result of a significant increase in salinity after due to winter ice formation, which is explained here by the stratification of waters in depth.

The natural features of the Laptev Sea determine the markedly pronounced heterogeneity of its waters. Due to a certain similarity of the considered and Kara seas, their hydrological structure and the mechanism of its formation are similar and are shown in the section on the Kara Sea. Thus, the Laptev Sea (like the Kara Sea) is dominated by surface Arctic waters with their inherent characteristics and seasonal stratification in temperature and salinity. In zones of strong influence of coastal runoff, as a result of mixing of river and surface Arctic waters, water is formed with a relatively high temperature and low salinity. Large gradients of salinity and density are created at their interface (horizon 5-7 m). In the north, in a deep trench under the surface Arctic water, warm Atlantic waters are widespread, but their temperature is somewhat lower than in the trenches of the Kara Sea. They penetrate here 2.5-3 years after the start of the journey at Svalbard. In the Laptev Sea, which is deeper than the Kara Sea, the horizons from 800-1000 m to the bottom are occupied by cold bottom water with a temperature of -0.4-0.9 ° and almost uniform (34.90-34.95 ‰) salinity. Its formation is associated with the sinking of the cooled sea waters along the continental slope to great depths. The decisive role in the hydrological conditions of the Laptev Sea belongs to the processes occurring in the surface Arctic waters and in the zones of their mixing with river waters.

The general circulation of the waters of the Laptev Sea is not yet sufficiently clear in details, especially with regard to movement in the lower horizons, vertical components, etc. Quite definite ideas exist about constant currents on the sea surface. In general, this sea is characterized by cyclonic circulation of surface waters. It is formed by a coastal stream moving along the mainland from west to east, where it is enhanced by the Lena current. With further movement, most of it deviates to the north and northwest and, in the form of the Novosibirsk Current, goes beyond the sea, connecting with the Transarctic Current. At the northern tip of Severnaya Zemlya, the East Taimyr Current branches off, which moves south along the eastern shores of Severnaya Zemlya and closes the cyclonic ring in the sea. A small part of the coastal stream flows through the Sannikov Strait into the East Siberian Sea.

sunbathing on the shore of the Laptev sea

ICE SITUATION
For most of the year (from October to May), the entire Laptev Sea is covered with ice of varying thickness and age (see Fig. 28). Ice formation begins at the end of September and takes place simultaneously throughout the entire area of the sea. In winter, in its shallow eastern part, an extremely extensive fast ice up to 2 m thick is developed. The boundary of the fast ice distribution is a depth of 20–25 m, which in this area of the sea passes at a distance of several hundred kilometers from the coast. The fast ice area is approximately 30% of the area of the entire sea. In the western and northwestern parts of the sea, landfast ice is small, and in some winters it is completely absent. Drifting ice is located to the north of the fast ice zone.

With an almost constant removal of ice from the sea to the north in winter, after fast ice, significant areas of polynyas and young ice... The width of this zone varies from tens to several hundred kilometers. Its individual areas are called the East Severozemelskaya, Taimyr, Lenskaya and Novosibirsk polynyas. The last two at the beginning of the warm season reach enormous sizes (thousands square kilometers) and become centers of ice cleansing from the sea. Ice begins to melt in June - July, and by August significant areas of the sea are freed from ice. In summer, the ice edge often changes its position under the influence of winds and currents. The western part of the sea is generally more ice-covered than the eastern one. From the north, a spur of the oceanic Taimyr ice massif descends into the sea, in which heavy perennial ice often occurs. It stably persists until new ice formation, depending on the prevailing winds, moving either north or south. The local Yansky ice massif, formed by fast ice, usually melts in situ by the second half of August or is partially carried to the north beyond the sea.

Andrey's Island Laptev Sea

Flora and fauna
Flora and fauna are scarce due to the harsh climate. The vegetation of the sea is represented mainly by diatoms, of which there are more than 100 species. For comparison, green, blue-green algae and flagellates - about 10 species each. The total phytoplankton concentration is 0.2 mg / l. There are also about 30 species of zooplankton in the sea with a total concentration of 0.467 mg / l. The flora of the coast consists mainly of mosses, lichens and several species of flowering plants, including polar poppy, saxifrage, crumbs and small populations of polar and creeping willows. Vascular plants are rare and are represented mainly by shrapnel and saxifrage. Non-vascular, on the other hand, are very diverse: mosses of the genera Ditrichum, Dicranum, Pogonatum, Sanionia, Bryum, Orthothecium, and Tortula, as well as lichens of the genera Cetraria, Thamnolia, Cornicularia, Lecidea, Ochrolechia, and Parmelia.
In the sea, 39 species of fish were recorded, mostly typical of the brackish aquatic environment. The main ones are various types of grayling and whitefish, such as muksun, chir, omul. Sardines, Bering Sea omul, polar smelt, navaga, Arctic cod, flounder, Arctic char and nelma are also widespread.
Mammals are constantly inhabited here: walrus, sea hare, seal, harp seal, hoofed lemming, arctic fox, reindeer, wolf, ermine, polar hare and polar bear. The beluga whale makes seasonal migrations to the coast (for flying). Laptev Sea walruses are sometimes classified as a separate subspecies, Odobenus rosmarus laptevi, but this issue remains controversial.
Several dozen species of birds live here. Some of them are sedentary and live here permanently, such as snow bunting, sea sandpiper, snowy owl and brent goose. While others - wander in the polar regions or migrate from the south, creating large colonies on the islands and the coast of the mainland. The latter include auk, kittiwake, guillemot, ivory, guillemot, charadriiformes, and polar gulls. Skuas, terns, fulmars, glaucous gulls, long-tailed ducks, eiders, loons and ptarmigan are also found.
In 1985, the Ust-Lensky Nature Reserve was organized in the Lena River delta. In 1993, it was also included in its buffer zone. The territory of the reserve is 14 330 km². It contains numerous species of plants (402 species of vascular plants), fish (32 species), birds (109 species) and mammals (33 species), many of which are included in the Red Data Books of the USSR and Russia.

Khatanga Bay Laptev Sea

History and development
The coast of the Laptev Sea has long been inhabited by the aboriginal tribes of northern Siberia, such as the Yukaghirs and Chuvans. The traditional occupations of these tribes were fishing, hunting, nomadic reindeer herding, and hunting wild reindeer. Starting from the 2nd century, the gradual assimilation of the Yukaghirs by the Evens and Evenks began, and from the 9th century by the much more numerous Yakuts, and later by the Koryaks and Chukchi. Many of these tribes moved to the north from the territories of Lake Baikal, avoiding clashes with the Mongols. All these tribes practiced shamanism, but the languages were different. In the 17th-19th centuries, the number of Yukaghirs decreased due to epidemics and civil strife.

Russian assimilation
The Russians began to explore the coast of the Laptev Sea and nearby islands around the 17th century, rafting down the course of Siberian rivers. Many early expeditions do not appear to have been documented, as evidenced by the graves found on the islands by their official discoverers. In 1629, Siberian Cossacks sailed the entire Lena in boats and reached its delta. They left a record that the river flows into the sea. In 1633, another group reached the Olenek River delta.
In 1712, Yakov Permyakov and Mercury Vagin investigated eastern part the Laptev Seas and the Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island, which they had discovered two years earlier. On the second occasion, however, they were killed by the mutinous Cossacks of their detachment. In the spring of 1770, the industrialist Ivan Lyakhov succeeded. Having found a fossil mammoth bone there, upon his return, he asked for a monopoly right to collect it, and as a result received it by a special decree of Catherine II. During his sleigh trip, he described several other islands, including the Kotelny, which he named so because of the copper cauldron found on it. In 1775 he made detailed map Big Lyakhovsky Island.

Within the framework of the Great Northern Expedition, two groups were engaged in the exploration of the Laptev Sea:
At the head of the Lena-Yenisei detachment, on June 30, 1735, Vasily Pronchishchev set off from Yakutsk down the Lena on a double-dinghy "Yakutsk" with a crew of more than 40 people. He explored the eastern coast of the Lena delta, mapping it, stopped for the winter at the mouth of the Olenek River. Despite the difficulties, in 1736 he managed to paddle north beyond the 77th latitude, almost to Cape Chelyuskin - the extreme north point mainland. However, due to poor visibility, the travelers were unable to see the land.
On the way back, Pronchishchev himself and his wife, Tatyana Pronchishcheva, perished: on August 29, Pronchishchev went on a scout on a boat and broke his leg. Returning to the ship, he lost consciousness and soon died of a fatty embolism. The wife (her participation in the expedition was unofficial) survived her husband by only 14 days and died on September 12 (23), 1736. The bay of Maria Pronchishcheva ("Maria" - due to a mistake made in the preparation of the publication of the maps) in the Laptev Sea was named after her.
In December 1737, Khariton Laptev was appointed the new leader of the detachment. Under his leadership, the detachment again reached Taimyr, transferred wintering to Khatanga, and after the ship was crushed by ice, continued the description of the Taimyr shores from land. One of the groups of this detachment, led by Semyon Chelyuskin, managed to reach the northern tip of the peninsula, which now bears his name, by land.
At the head of the Lena-Kolyma detachment, Dmitry Laptev (who replaced P. Lassineus, who died during the wintering in 1736) on the Irkutsk boat described the sea coast from the Lena delta to the strait in the East Siberian Sea, later named after him.

A detailed mapping of the Laptev Sea coast was carried out by Peter Anjou, who in 1821-1823 traveled about 14,000 km across this territory on sledges and boats, in search of Sannikov Land, thus demonstrating that large-scale coastal studies can be carried out without ships. The Anjou Islands (northern part of the New Siberian Islands) were named in his honor. In 1875, Adolf Erik Nordenskjöld was the first to sail across the Laptev Sea on the steamer Vega.
In 1892-1894, and then in 1900-1902, Baron Eduard Toll explored the Laptev Sea on two separate expeditions. He carried out geological and geographical research on the Zarya ship on behalf of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. During his second expedition, Toll went missing somewhere on the New Siberian Islands under unclear circumstances. He was able to note large, economically significant accumulations of perfectly preserved mammoth bones on the beaches, in reservoirs, river terraces and riverbeds of the Novosibirsk Islands. Later scientific studies showed that these clusters formed over about 200,000 years.

Etymology of the name
Historical names: Tatarskoe, Lenskoe (on maps of the 16th — 17th centuries), Siberian, Arctic (18th — 19th centuries). In 1883, the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen named the sea after Nordenskjold.
In 1913, at the suggestion of the oceanographer Yu.M. Shokalsky, the Russian Geographical Society approved current name- in honor of the cousins Dmitry and Khariton Laptev, but it was officially confirmed only by the decision of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of June 27, 1935.

camp in Oleneksky Bay Laptev Sea

Pyasina, Upper and Lower Taimyr, Khatanga.

The southern shores of Severnaya Zemlya are located only 55 kilometers from the northern tip of Asia - Cape Chelyuskin - and are visible on a clear day. It is now well known that Russian navigators quite early, at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th centuries, in the Laptev Sea by the strait separating the Northern Land from the mainland. Perhaps these brave sailors had to see a tall, bizarre mountainous country, and we owe them the first information about her. True, on the old geographical maps this country has fantastic outlines. But what's in it! After all, the continents on the world maps of the 15th and 16th centuries had no less fantastic forms; Greenland had no less bizarre outlines on the maps of the 16th and even the 18th century, despite the fact that it became known to Europeans in the 9th, 10th and especially in the 11th and 12th centuries.

- Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Administratively it is part of the Taimyr (Dolgan-Nenets) municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The area of the archipelago is about 37 thousand km². Uninhabited.
The northernmost island point of Asia is located on Severnaya Zemlya - Cape Arctic on the island of Komsomolets.

History
The archipelago was discovered on September 4, 1913 by the hydrographic expedition of 1910-1915 by Boris Vilkitsky. First, it was named by the members of the expedition with the word "Taiwai" (after the first syllables of the expedition icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach"). Official name The "Land of Emperor Nicholas II" in honor of the then reigning Russian emperor, the archipelago received on January 10 (23), 1914, when it was announced by order No. 14 of the Minister of the Navy. Disputes continue about who was the initiator of this name. It is known that Boris Vilkitsky was his supporter both before the appearance of Order No. 14 and two decades later. The archipelago was originally thought to be one island.

January 11, 1926 Presidium of the All-Russian Central The Executive Committee by his decree, he renamed the Land of Emperor Nicholas II to Severnaya Zemlya. The island of Tsarevich Alexei was renamed into Maly Taimyr Island. Subsequently, in 1931-1933, the islands forming the archipelago were discovered, which received from the Soviet discoverers (Nikolai Urvantsev and Georgy Ushakov) the names Pioneer, Komsomolets, Bolshevik, October Revolution, Schmidt.

On December 1, 2006, the Duma of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug adopted a resolution proposing the former name of the Land of Emperor Nicholas II, as well as renaming Maly Taimyr Island into Tsarevich Alexei Island, October Revolution Island - into St. Alexandra Island, Bolshevik Island - into the island of St. Olga, the island of Komsomolets - to the island of St. Mary, the island of Pioneer - to the island of St. Tatyana and the island of Domashny - to the island of St. Anastasia.

However, after the unification of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug, the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory did not support this initiative.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTOS:
Team nomad
Shamraev Yu.I., Shishkina L.A. Oceanology. L .: Gidrometeoizdat, 1980
http://tapemark.narod.ru/more/14.html
Ust-Lensky State Natural Reserve
MI Belov Following the tracks of polar expeditions. Part II. On archipelagos and islands
Lyakhov Ivan, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
http://znayuvse.ru/geografiya/zagadka-zemli-sannikova
Dmitry Laptev, Khariton Laptev, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Vise V. Yu. The Laptev Sea // Seas of the Soviet Arctic: Essays on the history of research. - 2nd ed. - L .: Publishing house of Glavsevmorput, 1939. - P. 180-217. - 568 p. - (Polar Library). - 10,000 copies.
The history of the discovery and development of the Northern Sea Route: In 4 volumes / Ed. Ya.Ya. Gakkel, A.P. Okladnikova, M.B. Chernenko. - M.-L., 1956-1969.
Belov MI Scientific and economic development of the Soviet North 1933-1945. - L .: Hydrometeorological Publishing House, 1969. - T. IV. - 617 p. - 2,000 copies
http://www.photosight.ru/
photo E. Gusev, S. Anisimov, L. Schwartz.

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The Laptev Sea is located on the continental plate of the Eurasian continent. Its borders are the Kara Sea, the Arctic Ocean basin and the East Siberian Sea. It owes its name to the Laptev brothers, who dedicated their lives to the exploration of the North. Its other names - Nordenskjöld and Siberian - are less relevant. The sea area is 672,000 sq. km., depths of up to 50 meters prevail everywhere. Only a fifth of the bottom is submerged by more than 1000 meters. The maximum depth is recorded in the Nansen Basin and is equal to 3385 m. The bottom of the sea is muddy in deep places and sandy-muddy in shallower ones.

Due to the huge number of rivers flowing into the Nordenskjöld, the sea surface has a low salt concentration. The Laptev Sea receives most of its water from Khatanga and Lena, the main arteries of Siberia. Sea temperatures are rarely above zero. This is one of the harshest places on the planet.

But life did not disregard this part of our planet. Despite the fact that the sea surface is almost always covered with ice and despite the small amount of sunlight, vegetation can be found on the coast. The flora here is represented by various diatoms and other microscopic algae. Planktonic microorganisms can also be found.

The coastal line is heavily indented. The steep banks are dotted with birds that fly here to raise their offspring. Seagulls, guillemots, guillemots and many other birds breed their chicks here. Bird eggs attract smaller predators such as Arctic foxes, who are eager to indulge in a delicacy. larger animals such as polar bears are also attracted. Along the continental strip along the coast, there are also stars, mollusks and other small inhabitants of the deep sea.

In the Laptev Sea, there are about 40 species of fish - cod, omul, and many others. Extraction is not possible due to the ice crust on the surface. Sports fishing also poorly developed due to the remoteness of the sea from residential areas.

Mammals are represented here by walruses, minke whales, seals and beluga whales. Their extraction is also completely undeveloped for the reasons described above. Nothing is known about the existence of Laptev sharks in the waters of the Sea. But it can be assumed that such conditions are quite suitable for a polar shark. In warmer months, from neighboring seas, it can get here

Recently, a large number of offshore and gas related projects began to appear. This is due to the low depths over most of the area of the entire sea. A good seismic study of the bottom provides excellent prerequisites for conclusions about the high content of oil and gas. Shallow depths allow drilling not from special offshore platforms, but from bulk islands.

At present, the oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft are planning to drill the first wells in the Laptev Sea. Each, in turn, will have to bring foreign partners to the shelf. It remains only to wait for the moment when the development of the Laptev Sea will begin.

The Laptev Sea has the status of a marginal sea belonging to the. It not only has a rather harsh climate, but is also under the ice crust for 9 months.

General description of the Laptev Sea

The sea is limited by the northern shores of Russia, as well as by the coasts of such islands as Severnaya Zemlya, Novosibirsk Islands and the Taimyr Peninsula. From the eastern part, the reservoir is adjacent to the sea, and from the western - with.

Sea map

There are several dozen islands in this area, and most of them are located in the west. There are many single skeletons, as well as whole groups of them. The largest of them can be considered the skeleton of Komsomolskaya Pravda, Small and Thaddeus.
On the coastline of the sea, you can see a large number of different bays and bays. In addition to the Taimyr Peninsula, such peninsulas as Nordvik and Khara-Tumus deserve special attention. One of the most large bays can be called Khatanga, Anabar, and Yansky bays. The most big bay and the port of these places is considered Tiksi.
Until 1935, the Laptev Sea had a completely different name - the Nordenskiöld Sea. Later it was decided to give the reservoir a new name in honor of the famous explorer brothers Khariton and Dmitry.

Bottom relief of the Laptev Sea

The key location of the sea can be called the area of the continental slope, the shelf, as well as a small area belonging to the ocean floor. The relief of the seabed can be confidently called flat, but a sharp cliff was discovered in its northern part. One of the trenches of the sea can be found near the mouth of the Lena River. The same relief formation can be seen near Oleneksky Bay and Stolbovoy Island.
In general, the Laptev Sea is not such a painful depth - on average, this indicator ranges from 50 to 80 meters. But with a shift to the north, the depth of the seabed increases sharply from 100 meters to 2000 meters.
In shallower areas, the bottom is covered with silt and sand, partially mixed with pebbles, while at higher depths only silt deposits are found. There is a high ice content in the rock stratum, which increases the rate of abrasion of nearby shores. Not only melting ice, but also constant surf can lead to the destruction of entire small islands. In the Nansen Basin, the maximum seabed depth was discovered - 3385 meters.
Such large rivers as Khatanga and Lena carry their waters towards the Laptev Sea. Many other, but much smaller rivulets are involved in the desalination of the sea. Usually, this period falls on the summer-autumn season - from May to September.

Hydrological regime of the Laptev Sea

The Laptev Sea has a distinctive feature from all the seas of the Arctic Ocean and in general, namely, a strong and prolonged cooling of the waters during a relatively calm winter. As for the system of currents, so far modern researchers do not have enough information on them. One thing is clear for sure that the circulation system is cyclonic.
The water cycle formed by fresh waters moves counterclockwise, as, indeed, in other seas of the Arctic type. The currents that formed this natural phenomenon are very unstable and do not have a high speed.
Almost throughout the year, the water temperature, with rare exceptions, rises above zero. The surface of the sea begins to warm up only closer to summer, when the waters completely come out from under the ice. In August, the surface water temperature can reach up to +140 C.
It is possible to track changes in the temperature regime with increasing depth only in the summer season. Near open sea most often there is a minus temperature in the range of -1.60 C. At considerable depths, due to the influx of external waters, this indicator rises to 0.2 ° C. Under the same conditions, the salinity of the waters also increases. In general terms, the sea has a low salinity. In the north, this parameter can reach 34 ‰, and closer to the south - 5 ‰ (which is typical for the summer season).

Flora and fauna of the Laptev Sea

TO flora This area mostly includes phytoplankton, which is more than 100 species of diatoms. Zooplankton is also abundant here. This group includes microorganisms such as amphipods, marine ciliates, copepods and rotifers.
From the fish world, the following species should be distinguished: Arctic cod, navaga, capelin, sturgeon and nelma. Scientists also have an assumption that such representatives of the shark family as the katrana, polar and herring sharks can swim in the Laptev waters.
On the coastal areas, gulls and other species of seabirds very often set up so-called “bird colonies”. Among the animals, seals, beluga whales, polar bears and walruses are more common.

Between the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and the Taimyr Peninsula in the west and the Novosibirsk Islands in the east lies the sea, which bears the name of the Russian navigators, the Laptev brothers. Its western border runs along the eastern shores of the Severnaya Zemlya islands from Cape Arkticheskiy (Komsomolets Island), through the Red Army strait along the eastern coast of Komsomolets Island. October Revolution to Cape Anuchin, across the Shokalsky Strait to Cape Sandy on the island. Bolshevik and along its eastern coast to Cape Vaigach, then along the eastern border of the Vilkitsky Strait and further along the mainland coast to the top of the Khatanga Bay. The northern border of the sea goes from Cape Arctic to the point of intersection of the meridian of the northern tip of the island. Kotelny (Cape Anisiy) with the edge of the continental shelf (79 ° N, 139 ° E), the eastern border - from this point along the meridian to the island. Kotelniy, further along its western coast, through the Sannikov Strait, along the western shores of the Bolshoy and Maly Lyakhovsky islands and along the western border of the Dmitry Laptev Strait to Cape Svyatoy Nos. The southern border of the sea runs along the mainland coast from this cape to the top of the Khatanga Bay.

The Laptev Sea belongs to the type of continental marginal seas. Its area is 662 thousand km 2, volume - 353 thousand km 3, average depth - 533 m, maximum depth - 3385 m.

There are several dozen islands in the Laptev Sea, most of which are located in the western part of the sea. Most large islands- Komsomolskaya Pravda, Vilkitsky and Thaddeus. Among the single islands, the islands of Starokadomsky, Maly Taimyr, Bolshoy Begichev, Sandy, Stolbovoy and Belkovsky stand out for their size. Many small islands located in river deltas.

The shores of the sea are quite indented and form bays of various shapes and sizes, inlets, bays, peninsulas and capes. The eastern coasts of the islands of Severnaya Zemlya and the Taimyr Peninsula are significantly dissected. East of it coastline forms several large bays (Khatangsky, Anabarsky, Oleneksky, Yansky), bays (Kozhevnikova, Nordvik, Tiksi), bays (Buor-Khaya, Vankina) and peninsulas (Khara-Tumus, Nordvik). West Coast The New Siberian Islands are much less indented.

By their nature, the seashore is quite varied. There are both abrasion and accumulative, there are also ice shores. Sometimes low mountains approach the water, most of the coast is low.

Climate

The Laptev Sea is one of the harshest Arctic seas. Its climate, generally polar marine, also has signs of continentality, which is most clearly manifested in the relatively large annual fluctuations in air temperature.

In the cold season, the sea is located mainly in the area of high atmospheric pressure - the Siberian anticyclone. In autumn, erratic winds gradually acquire a southerly direction and intensify to stormy ones. Cyclones pass less often, cloudiness decreases.

In winter, the Laptev Sea is affected by three large baric systems. Above the southeastern part lies a spur of the Siberian anticyclone, the center of which is located near the Yansky Bay. The crest of the polar maximum extends from the north. In the western part of the sea, the influence of the Icelandic minimum is sometimes observed. In accordance with such a baric situation, southerly and south-westerly winds prevail in this season with an average speed of about 8 m / s. By the end of winter, their speed decreases, and calms are often observed. The air is greatly cooled. The air temperature over the sea generally decreases from north-west to south-east in January and in the area of Tiksi Bay is -26 - 29 °. Calm and slightly cloudy winter weather is sometimes interrupted by cyclones passing slightly to the south of the sea. They cause strong cold north winds and blizzards that only last a few days.

At the beginning of the warm season, the destruction of areas of atmospheric pressure begins. The baric environment is generally similar to the winter one, but somewhat more eroded, therefore the spring winds are very unstable in direction. In addition to the southern winds, northern winds also sometimes blow. Usually the winds are gusty, but not strong. The air temperature rises steadily. Cloudy, rather cold weather prevails. In summer, the Siberian maximum is absent, and the polar maximum looms rather weakly. To the south of the sea, the pressure is somewhat lowered; over the sea itself, it is slightly increased. As a result, northern winds most often blow at a speed of 3-4 m / s. Strong winds (with speeds exceeding 20 m / s) are not observed in summer. Average monthly temperature The air temperature in August is maximum in the year, in the central part of the sea the temperature is 1-5 °. On the coast in closed bays, the air sometimes (albeit very rarely) warms up quite significantly (up to 32.7 ° in Tiksi). Summer is characterized by increased cyclonic activity. At this time, cyclones pass over the southern part of the sea, which are also filled here. Then cloudy weather with continuously drizzling rain sets in over the sea. At the end of August, the Siberian maximum pressure begins to form, which marks the transition to autumn.

Thus, the Laptev Sea is under the influence of the Siberian anticyclone for most of the year. This is responsible for relatively weak cyclonic activity and predominantly weak winds of a monsoon nature.

Long-term and strong cooling with a calm wind regime of winter is the most important climatic feature of the sea. Another very important factor in the formation of the natural appearance of the Laptev Sea is continental runoff. Many small and several large rivers flow into this sea. The largest of them - Lena - annually brings on average about 515 km 3 of water, Khatanga - over 100, Yana - more than 30, Olenek - about 35 and Anabara - about 20 km 3. All other rivers provide about 20 km 3 of water per year. The total annual flow into the sea is approximately 720 km 3, which is 30% of the total flow to all Arctic seas. However, the distribution of runoff is very uneven in time and space. About 90% of the annual runoff occurs in the summer months (June-September), of which about 35-40% of the annual runoff falls in August, while in January it barely reaches 5%. This type of runoff distribution throughout the year is explained by the fact that the rivers flowing into the Laptev Sea are snow-fed, and the overwhelming majority of their water flows into the southeastern part of the sea (Lena alone provides 70% of the total coastal runoff). Depending on the amount of water brought by the rivers and the hydrometeorological situation, the river water spreads to the northeast, reaching the northern tip of the island. Kotelny, then far to the east, going through the straits into the East Siberian Sea. Large continental runoff leads to freshening of waters over vast areas of the sea, especially in the southern and eastern parts of it.

Water temperature and salinity

The Laptev Sea (like the Kara Sea) is dominated by surface Arctic waters. In zones of strong influence of coastal runoff, as a result of mixing of river and surface Arctic waters, water is formed with a relatively high temperature and low salinity. Large gradients of salinity and density are created at their interface (horizon 5-7 m). In the north, in a deep trench, warm Atlantic waters are widespread above the surface Arctic water, but their temperature is somewhat lower than in the trenches of the Kara Sea. They penetrate here 2.5 - 3 years after they start their journey at Svalbard. In the deeper (in comparison with the Kara) Laptev Sea, the horizons from 800-1000 m to the bottom are occupied by cold bottom Arctic water with a temperature of –0.4-0.9 ° and almost uniform (34.90-34.95 ‰) salinity.

For most of the year, the water temperature is close to freezing and drops rapidly after the summer maximum. In winter, the surface water temperature varies from –0.8 ° (near Mostah Island) to –1.7 ° (near Cape Chelyuskin), which is associated with differences in salinity in these areas.

In the first spring months, the ice melts, so the water temperature remains almost the same as in winter. Only in the coastal areas (especially in the estuarine areas), which are cleared of ice earlier than others, the water temperature is slightly higher than in the central regions. It generally decreases from south to north and from east to west. During the summer, the sea surface warms up noticeably. In August, in the south (Buor-Khaya Bay), the water temperature on the surface can reach 10 or even 14 °, in the central regions it is 3 - 5 °, at the northern tip of the island. Boiler 0.8 ° and at m. Chelyuskin 1 °. In general, the western part of the sea, where the cold waters of the Arctic basin enter, is characterized by a lower (2 - 3 °) water temperature than the eastern part, where the bulk of the warm river waters are concentrated, and the surface temperature here can reach 6 - 8 °.

The water temperature decreases rapidly with depth. In winter, in areas with depths of up to 50-60 m, the water temperature is the same from surface to bottom. In the coastal zone it is –1-1.2 °, and in the open sea about –1.6 °. In the northern regions, at depths of 50-60 m, the water temperature rises by 0.1-0.2 ° due to the influx of other waters.

In the north, in the area of a deep trench, a negative temperature is noted from the surface up to 100 m. Below it begins to rise (up to 0.6-0.8 °) to about 300 m and then slowly decreases to the bottom. High temperatures (above zero) in the 100-300 m layer are associated with the penetration of warm Atlantic waters from the Central Arctic basin into the Laptev Sea.

In summer, the top layer 10-15 m thick warms up well and has a temperature of 8-10 ° in the southeastern part and 3-4 ° in the central regions. Deeper than these horizons, the temperature drops sharply and reaches –1.4–1.5 ° at the 25 m horizon. These values or those close to them remain until the very bottom. In the western part of the sea, where warming is less, such sharp temperature differences are not observed.

Salinity in the Laptev Sea is very heterogeneous: in summer it varies from 1 to almost 31 ‰, but the surface layer is dominated by desalinated waters with a salinity of 20-30 ‰, and its distribution is very complex. In general, it increases from the southeast to the northwest and north.

In winter, with minimal river runoff and intense ice formation, salinity increases. At the same time (as in summer) it is higher in the west (near Cape Chelyuskin - 34 ‰ than in the east (near Kotelny Island - 25 ‰). This high salinity lasts for a rather long time, only in June, when the ice begins to melt, it begins to decrease ...

In summer, the southeastern part of the sea is most desalinated. In the Buor-Khaya Bay, salinity decreases to 5 ‰ and below, west of the Lyakhovsky Islands it rises (10-15 ‰). More salty waters (30 - 32 ‰) are spread in the west of the sea. They are located slightly north of the line about. Petra - M. Anisy. Thus, desalinated water flows out to the north in the eastern part of the sea, and salty waters descend to the south in the western part of the sea.

Salinity increases with depth, but seasonal differences are noted in its distribution. In winter, in shallow water, it increases from the surface to horizons of 10 - 15 m, and below and to the bottom remains almost unchanged. At great depths, salinity noticeably increases not from the surface itself, but from the underlying horizons. The vertical distribution of salinity in the spring begins with the time of intense melting of snow and ice. At this time, salinity rapidly decreases in the surface layer and retains winter values at the lower horizons.

In summer, in the zone of river water distribution, the upper layer (5 - 10 m) is very much freshened, below there is a very sharp increase in salinity. In the layer from 10 to 25 m, the salinity gradient reaches 20 ‰ per 1 m in places.In the northern part of the sea, salinity increases relatively rapidly from the surface to 50 m, from here to 300 m salinity increases more slowly (within the range from 29 to 33 - 34 ‰) , deeper it hardly changes.

In autumn, in the southern regions, the summer salinity jump is gradually eroded.

In the Laptev Sea, the density distribution is more related to salinity than temperature. This is due to the large salinity range and the weak influence on the density of the low water temperature.

The density increases from southeast to northwest. In winter and autumn, the water is denser than in summer and spring. In winter and early spring, the density is almost the same from surface to bottom. In summer, large gradients of salinity and temperature at horizons of 10-15 m also determine a sharp drop in density. In autumn, due to the cooling and salinization of surface waters, their density increases.

The density stratification of waters is clearly traced from late spring to early autumn. It is most pronounced in the southeastern and central regions of the sea and at the edge of the ice.

Port in the Arctic

Bottom relief

The bottom of the Laptev Sea is an almost undivided plain that slopes gently to the north. Several gutters, low elevations and banks stand out here. A wide, but short trench is located opposite the Lena delta, a funnel-shaped trench is located at Oleneksky Bay, a narrow and long trough goes from about. Stolbovoy to the north. In the eastern part of the sea, the banks of the Semenovskaya and Vasilievskaya rise. Half of the entire area of the sea is occupied by depths of up to 50 m, and south of 76 ° N. they do not exceed 25 m. The northern part of the sea is much deeper. At a depth of 100 m, the bottom drops sharply. The appearance of the sea is formed mainly by the waters of the southern part with a depth of 25-100 m.

The relief of the bottom and current of the Laptev Sea

Currents

Wind mixing in ice-free areas of the sea is poorly developed due to relatively weak winds in the warm season and high sea ice coverage. During spring and summer, the wind mixes only the uppermost layers up to 5-7 m thick in the east and up to 10 m in the western part of the sea.

Strong autumn-winter cooling and intense ice formation cause active development of convective mixing. Due to the relatively high degree of water homogeneity and early ice formation, density mixing penetrates deepest (up to horizons of 90-100 m) in the north of the sea. In the central part, convection reaches the bottom (40-50 m) by the beginning of winter, and in the southern part, due to large vertical salinity gradients, even at shallow (up to 25 m) depths, it spreads to the bottom only by the end of winter.

In general, the sea is characterized by the usual cyclonic circulation. The coastal stream, moving along the coast of the mainland from west to east, at the eastern coasts deviates to the north and north-west and in the form of the Novosibirsk current goes beyond the sea, connecting with the Transarctic Current of the Central Arctic Basin. From it at the northern tip of Severnaya Zemlya branches off to the south the East Taimyr Current, which moves south along the eastern shores of Severnaya Zemlya and the Taimyr Peninsula and closes the cyclonic ring. A small part of the coastal stream flows through the Dmitry Laptev and Sannikov Straits into the East Siberian Sea.

The velocities of the currents in this circulation are low (2 cm / s). Depending on the large-scale baric situation, the center of the cyclonic circulation can shift from the middle of the northern part of the sea towards Severnaya Zemlya. Accordingly, there are branches from the main streams. Constant currents are superimposed on tidal currents.

In the Laptev Sea, tides are well pronounced, having an irregular semidiurnal character everywhere. The tidal wave enters from the north from the Central Arctic Basin, fading and deforming as it travels south. The magnitude of the tide is usually small, mainly about 0.5 m. Only in Khatanga Bay, the range of tidal level fluctuations exceeds 2 m in syzygy. This is due to the well-known "funnel" effect observed, for example, in the Bay of Fundy. The tidal wave arriving in the Khatanga Bay ("funnel") grows in size and spreads almost 500 km up the river. Khatange. This is one instance of deep tidal wave penetration upriver. However, the phenomenon of boron on Khatanga is not observed. In other rivers flowing into the Laptev Sea, the tide hardly enters. It attenuates very close to the estuaries, since the tidal wave is extinguished in the deltas of these rivers.

In addition to tidal fluctuations in the Laptev Sea, seasonal and surge fluctuations of the level are observed. Seasonal changes in level are generally insignificant. They are most pronounced in the southeastern part of the sea, in areas close to river mouths, where the fluctuation range reaches 40 cm. The minimum level is observed in winter, the maximum - in summer.

Surge fluctuations of the level are observed everywhere and at any time of the year, but they are most significant in the southeastern part. Surges and surges cause the largest depressions and rises in the level in the Laptev Sea. The range of surge and surge level fluctuations reaches 1-2 m, and sometimes reaches 2.5 m (Tiksi Bay). Most often, surges and surges are observed in autumn with strong and stable winds. In general, northerly winds cause a surge, and southern ones cause a surge, but depending on the configuration of the coast, surge-surging level fluctuations in each specific area create winds of certain directions. Thus, in the southeastern part of the sea, the western and northwestern ones are among the most effective surge winds.

On average, the Laptev Sea is dominated by waves of 2-4 points with wave heights of about 1 m.In summer (July - August), storms of 5-7 points occasionally develop in the western and central parts of the sea, during which wave heights reach 4-5 m. Autumn - the most stormy time of the year, when the maximum high waves(up to 6 m). However, in this season, waves with a height of about 4 m predominate, which is determined by the acceleration length and depths.

Ice cover

For most of the year (from October to May), the Laptev Sea is covered with ice. Ice formation begins at the end of September and takes place simultaneously throughout the entire area of the sea. In winter, in its shallow eastern part, an extensive fast ice with a thickness of up to 2 m is developed. The boundary of the fast ice distribution is a depth of approximately 25 m, which in this area of the sea is removed several hundred kilometers from the coast. The fast ice area is about 30% of the entire sea area. In the western and northwestern parts of the sea, landfast ice is small, and in some winters it is completely absent. Drifting ice is located to the north of the fast ice zone.

With the almost constant removal of ice from the sea to the north in winter, after fast ice, significant areas of polynyas and young ice remain for almost the entire winter. The width of this zone varies from tens to several hundred kilometers. Its individual areas are called the East Severozemelskaya, Taimyr, Lenskaya and Novosibirsk polynyas. The last two at the beginning of the warm season reach enormous sizes (thousands of km 2). Melting of ice begins in June - July, and by August, significant areas of the sea are freed from ice. In summer, the ice edge often changes its position under the influence of winds and currents. The western part of the sea is generally more ice-covered than the eastern one. From the north along east coast Taimyr, the oceanic Taimyr ice massif descends into the sea, in which heavy perennial ice often occurs. It stably persists until new ice formation, depending on the prevailing winds, moving either north or south. The local Yansky ice massif, formed by fast ice, usually melts "in place" by the second half of August or is partially carried to the north beyond the sea.

Economic value

Due to the harsh natural conditions the biological productivity of the Laptev Sea is low, and life in its waters is generally poor in quantity and quality. It is home to 37 species of fish. In very small quantities, vendace, omul, and partly muksun are caught.

The Laptev Sea is the marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. Located between the northern shores of Siberia in the south, the Taimyr Peninsula, the Severnaya Zemlya Islands in the west and the Novosibirsk Islands in the east, and was named after the Russian polar explorers, the cousins Dmitry and Khariton Laptev. The rugged North Sea has a challenging history of exploring and establishing precise boundaries.

Geographical position

The area of the Laptev Sea is 672 thousand square meters. km. The largest river flowing into the Laptev Sea is the Lena with its large delta. The rivers also flow into the sea: Khatanga, Anabar, Olenek, Yana.

By the type of location, the Laptev Sea is marginal. The neighboring sea is the Kara, the Laptev Sea is connected with it by the Vilkitsky Strait, as well as the East Siberian Sea, with which it is connected by the Sannikov and Dmitry Laptev straits.

Rice. 1. The Laptev Sea on the map

The coastline is highly indented and forms bays and coves of various sizes. The coastal landscape is varied, with low mountains. Large bays:

Khatanga;
Oleneksky;
Thaddeus;
Yansky;
Anabarsky;
bay of Maria Pronchishcheva;
Ebelyakhskaya lip;
lip Buor-Khaya.

Bottom relief

The maximum depth is 3385 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. More than half of the sea is occupied by a gentle continental shelf. Where the shelf is located, the average depth is about 50 meters. In the northern part of the sea, the bottom drops abruptly to the ocean floor with depths of about one kilometer. In shallow areas, the bottom is covered with sand and silt with admixtures of pebbles and boulders. At great depths, the bottom is covered with silt.

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a brief description of

The main characteristic of the Laptev Sea is its low water temperature. In winter, under the ice, the water temperature ranges from -0.8 ° C in the southeastern part to -1.8 ° C. Above a depth of 100 meters, the entire water layer has negative temperatures (down to -1.8 ° C). V summer time the nature of the distribution of surface water temperature is largely related to the position of the ice edge, which determines the area of the sea exposed to summer heating.

The salinity of the Laptev Sea increases rapidly with increasing depth. This indicator is strongly influenced by:

melting ice;
runoff of Siberian rivers.

Due to relatively weak winds and shallow depths, the Laptev Sea is relatively calm, with waves usually within 1 m.In July-August, waves up to 4-5 m in height can be observed in the open sea, and in the autumn period they reach 6 m.

Rice. 2. The Laptev Sea is almost always covered with ice

Frosty Arctic winters cause significant education sea ice, which covers the sea area almost all year round. The development of ice is also promoted by the shallowness of the sea and the low salinity of its surface waters. As a result, the Laptev Sea is the largest source of Arctic sea ice.

Despite the freezing of the sea, navigation is the main human activity in the region, and Tiksi is one of the major ports.

Rice. 3. Port of Tiksi

Biological resources of the Laptev Sea

The features of the organic world of the Laptev Sea are due to its extremely harsh climate. The sea vegetation is represented by diatoms and an insignificant amount of green and blue-green algae. There are also about 30 species of zooplankton in the sea. The flora of the coast is represented by mosses, lichens and several species of flowering plants.

Mammals are constantly inhabited here: walrus, sea hare, seal, harp seal, arctic fox, reindeer, wolf, ermine, polar hare and polar bear.

Despite the extremely harsh climate, sea coast several dozen species of birds live. Some of them are sedentary and live here permanently (snow bunting, snowy owl, black goose), while others roam the circumpolar regions or migrate from the south, creating large colonies on the islands and the mainland coast (auk, ivory and polar gulls, guillemot).

To the main environmental issues Laptev Seas include:

pollution from numerous factories and mines;
recurring oil spills;
sunken and floating decaying wood.

What have we learned?

According to the plan for the 8th grade of the geography course, we found out which ocean basin the Laptev Sea belongs to, is it marginal or inland, who discovered and after whom this northern sea was named. To briefly describe it, it is a shallow, not too salty sea of the Arctic Ocean, with a harsh climate, which is covered with ice almost all year round.

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