This sea belongs to the marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean and for the most part is located on the continental shallows.
Its area is 885.2 thousand sq. km, the average depth is about 130 m, the maximum is 620 meters.
In the north, the Kara Sea is adjacent to the Arctic Basin, in the west it borders on the Barents Sea, and in the east on the Laptev Sea. In its waters there are many islands of various sizes, the vast majority of them are located along the continental coast.
On the map of the Arctic Ocean you can see the Kara Sea.
The sea coastline has complex contours and outlines. The Ob and Baydaratskaya bays protrude deep into the land, between which the Yamal Peninsula protrudes far into the sea. The relief of the sea bottom is uneven, there are deep-sea trenches and elevations. The southern and eastern parts of the Kara Sea are less deep-water than its western and northwestern sides. The deepest region of the Kara Sea is located south of Novaya Zemlya, where the Novaya Zemlya depression lies with depths of up to 500 meters. East of Novaya Zemlya, the St. Anna Trench begins, extending beyond the sea into the Arctic basin. The central part of the Kara Sea has a more even terrain. The eastern part of the Kara Sea, near the mouths of the Ob and Yenisei rivers, is very shallow (depths 20-50 m) and has highly desalinated water.
Sea surface almost the entire year is covered with ice reaching a thickness of 4 meters. In the central part of the sea the ice is drifting, near coastline form fast ice. Sea surface ice cover may vary depending on different years. The tides are not large, from half a meter to 80 cm.
Surface water temperature The Kara Sea is close to freezing temperature - approximately 1.8 degrees C. In deeper areas, especially in the trenches where the warm waters of the Barents Sea penetrate, the water temperature and salinity are slightly higher. At the mouths of large rivers the sea is highly desalinated. In summer, the sea surface (up to 10-50 meters) warms up somewhat, in some places - up to 6 degrees C. The Kara Sea is one of the coldest seas in Russia. There are frequent fogs and storms here. There are two stable sea currents - in the northeast and southwest, which slowly move water masses counterclockwise.
Harsh climate, cold water and a powerful ice shell limited the rapid development of life in the Kara Sea. The species composition of the animal world here is two times poorer than in the neighboring Barents Sea. However, there is still life here.
The flora is represented by several types of bottom algae - brown algae (some types of fucus), red algae (rodimenia, odontalia, porphyra), green algae (ulva or sea lettuce). In the water, a mass of unicellular algae and phytoplankton feel well and develop, as well as zooplankton, which serves as the main food for the few cetaceans here.
Quite richly represented invertebrate and fish fauna, among which there are many semi-anadromous salmon (pink salmon, chum salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, omul, muksun, nelma, char, navaga, flounder). Salmon and whitefish spawn in the river and go out to the sea to feed. At the same time, they stay near the mouths of rivers, without moving far to the north. As in other northern seas, small fish thrive here - European smelt, capelin, sculpin from the slingshot family, liparis, sea chanterelles and other fish. In total, 54 species of fish live in the Kara Sea. However, only omul, muksun and vendace (whitefish), smelt (smelt), navaga, pollock (cod) and nelma (salmon) are of commercial importance in the Kara Sea. Fishing is organized only in bays, bays and lower reaches of rivers, where there is no thick ice cover.
From marine mammals x seal, walrus, sea hare, and beluga whale live here. Cetaceans are also represented by larger animals - minke whales, of which there are 5 species (fin whale, sei whale, blue whale, small whale, humpback whale). Very rarely, bowhead whales belonging to the family of right whales and predatory killer whales swim here from the Barents Sea.
As in all coastal northern seas of Eurasia, walruses are caught in the Kara Sea, but only for the needs of the local population, since walruses have been under state protection since 1956.
There are many birds on the islands (guillemots, auks, and little auks predominate), forming noisy bird colonies. Of the terrestrial animals, the shores of the mainland and islands are visited by polar bear and Arctic fox, for which the sea is an important source of food.
Sharks in the Kara Sea represented, perhaps, by the only species - the small-headed or polar shark, which does not care about cold waters and harsh climates. This fish is not fished here due to its small numbers and low taste qualities her meat.
It is entirely possible for giant planktivorous sharks to enter from the Barents Sea, but such facts are not mentioned anywhere.
In the coastal zone, away from the freshwater mouths of rivers flowing into the sea, it is possible, although unlikely, to encounter an ordinary katran.
That's the entire shark arsenal of the Kara Sea. It’s not thick, and it’s completely safe for humans.
On the next page - about the eastern neighbor of the Kara Sea -
Posted Thu, 04/23/2015 - 08:32 by Cap
In ancient times, sailing in the Kara Sea was equal to a deadly feat - it was called the “ice cellar”. Until now, this sea is considered the coldest sea on Earth. It is not surprising, because in winter in these parts the temperature drops to -46 degrees, and in summer no more than +16.
A third of the year is occupied by the polar night, and the rest of the time is occupied by the polar day. In winter, stormy winds often blow, blizzards and blizzards rage.
In summer, fogs come, and the north wind brings snowballs. For most of the year the sea is completely covered with ice. Even modern nuclear icebreakers do not always conquer this sea.
The Kara Sea can safely be called the most extreme sea in Russia!
In the sea area there are many islands that are included in the Great Arctic State Nature Reserve. It is the largest in Eurasia. One of the most famous islands of the Kara Sea, Vaygach Island, is a special place where the secrets of bloody rites and pagan cults of the ancient peoples who inhabited these lands in ancient times are kept. According to their legends, this is where the abode of the gods was located. Scientists call Vaygach Island an anomalous mystery that they cannot solve for a long time. Travelers note that health is restored here and mood improves.
The Kara Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean.
Previously, the sea was called Nyarzomsky (Narzemsky) - this is how it was named in the 1601 story about the journey to Mangazeya by Pinega resident Leonty Shubin (Plekhan) and in the petition of Andrei Palitsyn from 1630 (the etymology of this name is unknown). And the name “Karskaya” belonged to Baydaratskaya Bay, named after the Kara River flowing into it. According to the version given by V. Yu. Wiese, the name of the river comes from the Nenets word “khare”, meaning hummocky ice. It is curious that the Dutchman N. Witsen calls the sea Ice, and the Frenchman J. Campredon Arctic, which echoes the Nenets word.
The sea was first named Kara on the map of V.M. Selifontov in 1736, compiled based on the results of the work of the Dvina-Ob detachment of the Great Northern Expedition.
schooner Polar Odyssey in the Kara Sea 
Geography
Location
The sea is limited to the northern coast of Eurasia and Heiberg. In the northern part of the sea is Wiese Land, an island theoretically discovered in 1924. Also in the sea are the islands of the Arctic Institute and the Izvestia Central Executive Committee islands.
The sea is located primarily on the shelf; many islands. The predominant depths are 50-100 meters, greatest depth 620 meters. Area 883,400 km².
Full-flowing rivers flow into the sea: the Ob, so the salinity varies greatly. The Taz River also flows into the Kara Sea.
The Kara Sea is one of the coldest seas in Russia; only near river mouths the water temperature in summer is above 0 °C. Fogs and storms are frequent. Most of the year the sea is covered with ice.
Bottom relief
The sea lies almost entirely on the shelf with depths of up to 100 meters. Two trenches—St. Anna with a maximum depth of 620 meters (80°26′N 71°18′E) and Voronin with a depth of up to 420 meters—cut the shelf from north to south. The East Novaya Zemlya trench with depths of 200–400 meters runs along eastern shores New Earth. The shallow (up to 50 meters) Central Kara Plateau is located between the trenches.
The bottom of shallow waters and hills is covered with sand and sandy silt. The gutters and basins are covered with gray, blue and brown silts. At the bottom of the central part of the sea there are iron-manganese nodules.
Kara Sea Sibiryakova Island 
Flora and fauna
The flora and fauna of the Kara Sea is formed under the influence of heterogeneous climatic and hydrological conditions in the north and south. Neighboring basins also have a great influence, due to the penetration of some thermophilic forms from them (from the Barents Sea) and high-Arctic species (from the Laptev Sea). The ecological boundary of their distribution is approximately the eightieth meridian. Freshwater elements also play a significant role in the life of the Kara Sea.
Qualitatively, the flora and fauna of the Kara Sea is poorer than the Barents Sea, but much richer than the Laptev Sea. This can be seen from a comparison of their ichthyofauna. There are 114 species of fish, in the Kara Sea - 54, and in the Laptev Sea - 37. Of commercial importance in the Kara Sea are: whitefish - omul, muksun and vendace; from the smelt family - smelt; from cod - navaga and pollock; from salmon - nelma. Fishing is organized only in bays, bays and lower reaches of rivers. There are pinnipeds in the sea different types: seals, sea hares, less often walruses. In the summer, beluga whales come here in large numbers - a herd animal that makes regular seasonal migrations. There are also polar bears in the Kara Sea.
COAST OF THE KARA SEA
The coastline of the Kara Sea is complex and winding. The eastern shores of Novaya Zemlya are indented by numerous fjords. The mainland coast is significantly dissected, where the Baydaratskaya and Ob Bays protrude deep into the land, between which large bays are located far to the east: Gydansky, Pyasinsky, starting from which the coastline outlines many small bays. The western coast of Severnaya Zemlya is less winding.
The coast of the Kara Sea, varied in external shape and structure in different areas, belongs to different morphological types of coasts (). The sea is framed mainly by abrasive shores, but there are accumulative and icy shores. The eastern shores of Novaya Zemlya are steep and hilly. The mainland coast is low and flat in places, steep in places. Mostly low banks near
Gydan Bay, Kara Sea 
ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENA AND WINDS
Located in the high latitudes of the Arctic and directly connected to the Arctic Ocean, the Kara Sea is characterized by a polar maritime climate. The relative proximity of the Atlantic Ocean somewhat softens the climate of the sea, in the path of warm Atlantic air and waters, therefore the Kara Sea is climatically more severe. The large extent of the Kara Sea from southwest to northeast creates noticeable differences in climatic indicators in its different regions in all seasons of the year.
The location, intensity and interaction of the main centers of atmospheric action largely determine the state of the weather and the magnitude of meteorological elements throughout the year. In autumn-winter, the Siberian anticyclone forms and establishes itself, the Polar High intensifies, and the trough of the Icelandic Low extends to the sea. At the beginning of the cold season, the north wind predominates in the northern part of the sea, and in the southern part the winds are unstable in direction. The wind speed at this time is usually 5-7 m/s. The winter pressure situation determines the predominance of southern, southwestern and southeastern winds in most of the sea. Only in the northeast are winds of northern directions often observed. The average wind speed is 7-8 m/s, often reaching storm force. Largest quantity storms occur in the western part of the sea. Off the coast of Novaya Zemlya, local hurricane wind- Novaya Zemlya forest. It usually lasts several hours, but in winter it can last 2-3 days. Winds southern directions, as a rule, bring continental air very cooled over the mainland to the Kara Sea. The average monthly air temperature in March at Cape Chelyuskin is −28.6°, at Cape Zhelaniya −20°, and the minimum air temperature at sea can reach −45–50°. However, with southern winds, relatively warm sea polar air sometimes enters the western part of the sea. It is brought by cyclones coming from the west and deviating to the south and southeast, as they meet the chain of Novaya Zemlya Mountains on their way. The most frequent influxes of warm air occur in February. These invasions and the Novaya Zemlya bora make winter weather in the western part of the sea unstable, while in its northern and eastern regions there is relatively stable cold and clear weather.
In the warm season, the Siberian High collapses and the low pressure trough disappears. The polar maximum shifts north. In connection with this, winds blow in spring, unstable in direction, the speed of which usually does not exceed 5-6 m/s. Cyclonic activity is weakening. Spring warming occurs quite quickly, but does not lead to significant increases in air temperature. In May, the average monthly air temperature is about −7° in the west and about −9° in the east of the sea.
In summer, a local area of high pressure forms over the sea, which leads to the predominance of northerly winds with speeds of 4-5 m/s. In the warmest month (July), the air temperature averages 5-6° in the western part of the sea and 1-2° in the east and northeast. In some areas of the mainland coast, the air temperature can rise to +18 and even +20°. There can be snowfall in any summer month. IN general summer short and cold with cloudy rainy weather. Strong winter cooling and weak summer heating, unstable weather in the cold season and a relatively calm state of the atmosphere in summer are characteristic features of the climate of the Kara Sea.
Baydaratskaya Bay Kara Sea 
KARA SEA DRAIN
This sea accounts for on average about 55% (1290 km3/year) of the total flow into all seas of the Siberian Arctic. The Ob annually brings approximately 450 km3 of water, Pyasina - 80 km3, Pur and Taz together - about 86 km3, and other rivers - approximately 74 km3. With such a significant river flow, it is distributed very unevenly in time and across the sea. Approximately 80% of river water reaches the sea in late summer - early autumn (June - September). In winter, water from only the largest rivers flows into the sea in very small quantities. Almost all continental runoff enters the Kara Sea from the south. Under the influence mainly of the prevailing winds, river water spreads across the sea; its distribution is not the same from year to year. Based on a generalization of long-term observations for the Kara Sea, western, eastern and fan-shaped variants of the distribution of desalinated waters in it have been established.
In general, almost 40% of the area of this sea is under the influence of continental waters. They have a very diverse effect on natural conditions seas. The heat they bring slightly increases the temperature of the water on the surface in the estuarine areas, which promotes the breaking of fast ice in the spring and somewhat slows down ice formation in the fall; river waters reduce the salinity of sea waters; mechanically, river flow affects the directions of movement of sea waters, etc. Continental flow - important factor formation of features of the Kara Sea.
Pyasina, Upper and Lower Taimyr, Khatanga.
Portnyagino, Kungasalakh, Labaz, Kokora.
Largest bays:
Middendorf, Pyasinsky, Simsa, Taimyr Bay, Teresa Klavenes, Thaddeus, Maria Pronchishcheva Bay.
Administratively, it is part of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, forming a special Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets district.
The largest city is Norilsk.
NUMBER OF PEOPLES
Number of indigenous small peoples The North - as of 01/01/2008 - is 10,217 people or 27.0% of the total population, of which:
Dolgan - 5,517 people;
Nenets - 3,486 people;
Nganasans - 749 people;
Evenks - 270 people;
Entsy - 168 people;
other nations - 27 people.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
Berman L.V. To new Mangazeya. - L.: Krasnaya Gazeta, 1930. - 189 p. — 50,000 copies.
Vasiliev N. Ya. Kara expedition. - M.: Editorial office of the NKVT publications, 1921. - 44 p.
Wiese V. Yu. Kara Sea // Seas of the Soviet Arctic: Essays on the history of research. — 2nd ed. - L.: Publishing house of the Main Northern Sea Route, 1939. - P. 180-217. — 568 p. — (Polar Library). — 10,000 copies.
Vorobyov V.I. Kara Sea. - L.-M.: Publishing house of the Main Northern Sea Route, 1940. - 128 p. — 5,000 copies.
Gelvald F. and the Kara Sea // In the region eternal ice: History of travel to the North Pole from ancient times to the present. - SPb.: Publishing house. book magician "New Time", 1881. - pp. 812-828. — 880 s.
Dobrovolsky A.D., Zalogin B.S. Kara Sea // Seas of the USSR. - M.: Moscow State University Publishing House, 1982. - P. 102-112. — 192 p. — 14,000 copies.
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 M.I. Arctic navigation from ancient times to mid-19th century. - M.: Maritime transport, 1956. - T. I. - 592 p. — 3,000 copies.
Pinchenson D. M. The problem of the Northern Sea Route in the era of capitalism. - L.: Marine transport, 1962. - T. II. — 767 p. — 1,000 copies.
Belov M.I. Soviet Arctic navigation 1917-1932. - L.: Marine transport, 1959. - T. III. — 511 p. — 3,000 copies.
Belov M.I. Scientific and economic development of the Soviet North 1933-1945. - L.: Hydrometeorological Publishing House, 1969. - T. IV. — 617 p. — 2,000 copies.
Kalinin V.M. Kara Sea // Great Tyumen Encyclopedia / Ch. ed. G. F. Shafranov-Kutsev. — 1st ed. — Tyumen: Research Institute of Regional Encyclopedias of Tyumen State University; “Socrates”, 2004. - T. 2. I-P. — P. 69-71. — 495 p. — 10,000 copies. — ISBN 5-88664-171-8.
Kanevsky Z. M. Forecast price. - L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1976. - 128 p. — 50,000 copies.
Kara Sea / Nikiforov E. G., Speicher A. O. // Italy - Kvarkush. - M.: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1973. - (Bolshaya Soviet encyclopedia: in 30 t./ch. ed. A. M. Prokhorov; 1969-1978, vol. 11).
Kovalev S.A. Arctic shadows of the Third Reich. - M.: Veche, 2010. - 432 p. - (Marine Chronicle). — 5,000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-9533-4348-0.
Kovalev S. Polar bases of the Kriegsmarine // Independent Military Review: newspaper. - M., March 29, 2002.
Kopylov V. E. Kara expeditions // Great Tyumen Encyclopedia / Ch. ed. G. F. Shafranov-Kutsev. — 1st ed. — Tyumen: Research Institute of Regional Encyclopedias of Tyumen State University; “Socrates”, 2004. - T. 2. I-P. - P. 69. - 495 p. — 10,000 copies. — ISBN 5-88664-171-8.
Nansen F. To the Land of the Future: The Great Northern Route from Europe to Siberia through the Kara Sea. - Pg.: Ed. K. I. Xido, 1915. - 454 p.
Rudnev D. D., Kulik N. A. Materials for the study of the Northern Sea Route from Europe to the Ob and Yenisei. — Pg.: Type. A. E. Collins, 1915. - VI, 127 p.
Sergeev A. A. Germanskie submarines in the Arctic 1941-1942 — M.: Russian Publishing House, 2003. - 304 p. — 2,000 copies. — ISBN 5-9900099-1-7.
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Kara Sea... From the school geography course we know that it is located somewhere on the edge of the Arctic Ocean, i.e. at the top of a map or globe. Very extensive knowledge, isn't it? This is definitely not enough for such an amazing geographical feature. Let's try to get to know each other better.
Section 1. Kara Sea. General description.
The Kara Sea belongs to the category of marginal seas, geographically related to the Arctic Ocean. Its name comes from the one belonging to this basin, which, in turn, received given name in honor of a noble local Nenets family.
Before this, other names can be traced in history: Northern Tatar, New Northern and Mangazeya.
In accordance with the physical and geographical conditions, Kara is considered the most difficult sea in the Russian Arctic, so any navigation here is fraught with quite great difficulties. One reason is the almost constant presence of strong ice cover. In addition, the depth of the sea is uneven, shallows are encountered quite often, and currents are poorly studied.
It should also be noted that much in this region is decided by the weather, and since fog or haze persists almost constantly, it is impossible to visually determine the distance in most cases.
In the south-west parts of the Kara Sea, large offshore deposits of gas condensate and natural gas have been discovered nearby.
The main economic importance of the sea lies in the fact that it is considered the most important link so necessary for the country and plays a large role in the development and strengthening of the productive forces of the regions
Section 2. Kara Sea. How diverse is its flora and fauna?.
In general, we can say with confidence that the flora and fauna here were formed under the influence of conditions that are very different in nature, both climatic and hydrological. Note that they differ significantly from each other in the southern and northern parts.
Neighboring basins continue to have a huge impact. For example, some heat-loving forms actively penetrate from the Barents Sea, and, on the contrary, high Arctic forms from the Laptev Sea. The ecological boundary of distribution, according to scientists, is the eightieth meridian. However, we should not forget that freshwater elements also play a significant role.
If you carry out comparative analysis, then it turns out that the flora and fauna are qualitatively much poorer than the Barents Sea, but significantly ahead of the Laptev Sea. For example, in the Barents Sea there are currently 114 different species of fish, in the Kara Sea there are somewhere around 54, and in the Laptev Sea there are much fewer, only 37.
Thanks to this fact, the Kara Sea is important in the life of the entire country. There are organized events related to fishing for omul, muksun, vendace, smelt, navaga, pollock and nelma.
The Kara Sea... Photos of animals living in its vicinity adorn printed and virtual publications of the planet. Pinnipeds are also abundant in the sea. Here you can meet seals, and if you're lucky, walruses. In the summer, beluga whales come here, and polar bears live here all year round.
Section 3. 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. Coming across an island in the Kara Sea, or rather a cluster of several, is not such a rarity. The average depth is 50-100 m, the greatest recorded is 620 meters. The area is 893,400 km². The coldest of all our (Russian) seas. The water temperature near the coast in winter rarely exceeds −1.8 °C, and in summer +6 °C. During the Cold War, this sea was a place for secret burials nuclear waste. According to very rough estimates, today in its waters there are not only thousands of containers, about twenty ships with radioactive waste, but also several reactors with dangerous unspent fuel. It turns out that waste, the level of radiation of which was considered low, was simply poured into the water.
The Kara Sea is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. The name of the sea comes from the name of the Kara River, which flows into it. The sea is limited by the northern coast of Eurasia and the islands: New Earth, Franz Josef Land, Northern Land, Heiberg. In the northern part of the sea is Wiese Land, an island theoretically discovered in 1924. Also in the sea are the islands of the Arctic Institute and the Izvestia Central Executive Committee islands. The sea is located primarily on the shelf; many islands. The predominant depths are 50-100 meters, the greatest depth is 620 meters. Area 893,400 km2. Full-flowing rivers flow into the sea: Ob, Yenisei, so salinity varies greatly. The Kara Sea is one of the coldest seas in Russia; only near river mouths the water temperature in summer is above 0 °C. Fogs and storms are frequent. Most of the year the sea is covered with ice.
Kara Sea formerly called Nyarzomsky (Narzemsky) - this is how it was named in the 1601 story about the journey to Mangazeya by Pinega resident Leonty Shubin (Plekhan) and in the petition of Andrei Palitsyn from 1630. On Edward Wells's map the sea is called Tartary. And the name “Karskaya” belonged to Baydaratskaya Bay, named after the Kara River flowing into it. According to the version given by V.Yu. Wiese, the name of the river comes from the Nenets word “khare”, meaning hummocky ice. It is curious that the Dutchman N. Witsen calls the sea Ice, and the Frenchman J. Campredon Arctic, which echoes the Nenets word. The sea was first named Kara on the map of V.M. Selifontov in 1736, compiled based on the results of the work of the Dvina-Ob detachment of the Great Northern Expedition.
The Kara Sea belongs to the group of seas of the Siberian Arctic. The boundaries of this sea are land and conventional lines. On the west, the sea is limited by a number of islands (the largest of which is Novaya Zemlya) and several straits. From the east, the border of the sea runs along the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago and the Red Army, Shokalsky and Vilkitsky straits. From the south, the border of the sea is the coast of the mainland. The Kara Sea is well open to the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The sea is located mainly on the continental shallows. These features make it possible to classify the sea as a continental type of marginal sea.
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The Kara Sea belongs to largest seas Russian Federation. Its area is approximately 883 thousand km 2. The volume of water reaches about 98 thousand km 3. The average depth of the sea is 111 m, the maximum is 620 m. In the waters of the Kara Sea there are a large number of islands, most of which are small in size. Small islands are united into archipelagos (Nordenskiöld, Skerries, Minin) and are located along the coast of the mainland. The larger islands (Bely, Shokalsky, Vilkitsky, Sibiryakov, Nansen, Russky) are located alone.
The coastline of the Kara Sea is uneven. The shores of Novaya Zemlya, which are washed by the waters of this sea, are indented by a large number of fjords. The mainland coast is also strongly dissected: in a number of places the sea juts sharply into the land, forming the Baydaratskaya and Obskaya bays. The Yamal Peninsula protrudes strongly into the sea. Along the coastline there are large bays (Gydansky, Yeniseisky and Pyasinsky), as well as a number of small bays.
Sailing
The start date of voyages in the Kara Sea is unknown. The only fact recorded in history is that in 1556 the English traveler Stephen Borow found among the Russian sailors he met at the Kara Gate a clear idea of the sea route to the mouth of the Ob and complete readiness to accompany the British along it. There is a reply from Tobolsk governor M.M. Godunov and I.F. Volkonsky to the Tsar from 1601, where a description of this route is given: through the Yugorsky Shar Strait to the western part of Yamal, then along the Mutnaya River (a tributary of Mordyyakha) to the watershed with the Soyakha (Green) River - lakes Neito and Yambuto - then by portage and river descent into the Gulf of Ob . From the Ob Bay, a path opened to the south along the Ob (Obdorsk) and to the east through the Tazovskaya Bay (Mangazeya) to the Yenisei basin.
Bottom relief
The bottom topography of the Kara Sea has a large number of irregularities. The sea lies almost entirely on the shelf with depths of up to 100 meters. The St. Anne Trench has a maximum depth of 620 meters. The bottom of shallow waters and hills is covered with sand and sandy silt. The gutters and basins are covered with gray, blue and brown silts. At the bottom of the central part of the sea there are iron-manganese nodules.
In the southwestern part of the sea, near the Yamal Peninsula, large shelf deposits of natural gas and gas condensate have been explored. The largest of them are Leningradskoye gas reserves - more than 1 trillion m³ and Rusanovskoye. The development of offshore fields is planned to begin after 2025.
Climate and hydrological regime
The Kara Sea is characterized by a polar maritime climate, which is due to the northern location of the sea and its direct contact with the ocean. Atlantic Ocean, located relatively close to the Kara Sea, softens the climate. But the island of Novaya Zemlya prevents the penetration of large amounts of warm air masses. The Kara Sea is located in more severe climatic conditions than the Barents Sea. Due to the large extent of the sea, climatic differences are observed in different parts of it. Storms most often occur in the western part of the sea. Hurricane winds (Novaya Zemlya bora) constantly occur near the island of Novaya Zemlya. The duration of this hurricane is short - 2 - 3 hours, but in winter it can last for several days. In March, the air temperature on average reaches –28.6 0 C at Cape Chelyuskin and –20 0 C at Cape Zhelaniya. The lowest air temperature that can be at sea is - 45 - 50 0 C. In the warmest period (in July), the air warms up on average by 5 - 6 0 C in the western part of the sea and by 1 - 2 0 C in the east and northeast. Near the mainland coast, the air can warm up to +18 and +20 0 C. But, despite the high summer temperatures, snow can fall at any time in the summer. In general, the short summer is characterized by low temperatures and cloudy weather with a lot of rain.
The water temperature at the sea surface in winter is close to −1.8 °C. The water in shallow areas is well mixed from surface to bottom and has the same temperature and salinity (about 34 ppm). River flow and ice melting in summer lead to a decrease in the salinity of sea water below 34 ppm; at river mouths the water becomes close to fresh. The water warms up to 6 °C in summer.
Tides in the Kara Sea reach a height of 50 - 80 centimeters. During the cold period, sea ice has a great influence on the tides - the magnitude of the tide decreases. The sea is covered with ice almost all year round. Ice formation begins in September. There are significant areas of perennial ice up to 4 meters thick. Fast ice forms along the shores, and floating ice forms in the center of the sea. In summer, the ice breaks up into separate massifs.
Flora and fauna
The flora and fauna of the Kara Sea is poorer than the Barents Sea, but much richer than the Laptev Sea. The flora is represented by several types of bottom algae - brown algae, red algae, green algae. A lot of unicellular algae and phytoplankton feel good in the water and develop. The fauna of invertebrates and fish is quite richly represented, including pink salmon, chum salmon, chinook salmon, sockeye salmon, omul, muksun, nelma, char, navaga, and flounder. Salmon and whitefish spawn in rivers and go out to the sea to feed. At the same time, they stay near the mouths of rivers, without moving far to the north. In total, 54 species of fish live in the Kara Sea. Among the marine mammals that live here are seals, walruses, bearded seals, and beluga whales. Cetaceans are also represented by larger animals - minke whales, of which there are 5 species. Very rarely, bowhead whales and predatory killer whales swim here from the Barents Sea. There are many birds on the islands (guillemots, auks, and little auks predominate), forming noisy bird colonies. Of the land animals, the shores of the mainland and the islands are visited by the polar bear and the arctic fox, for which the sea is an important source of food. Sharks in the Kara Sea are represented by a single species - the small-headed or polar shark, which does not care about cold waters and harsh climates.
Economic importance
The Kara Sea is characterized by high bioproductivity. Fishing objects include cod, whitefish, char, vendace, omul, smelt, navaga, and cod. Fishing is organized only in bays, bays and lower reaches of rivers, where there is no thick ice cover. As in all coastal northern seas of Eurasia, walruses are caught in the Kara Sea, but only for the needs of the local population, since walruses have been under state protection since 1956. Large oil and gas fields (Rusanovskoye and Leningradskoye gas condensate fields) have been discovered and are being developed. The Kara Sea is part of the transport Northern Sea Route. The following ports are located here: Dikson, Amderma; Dudinka and Igarka (Yenisei).
Ecology
The waters belonging to the bays of the Kara Sea are characterized by experts as moderately polluted. The rivers that flow into the Kara Sea have relatively low levels of pollution. However, the waters of the Ob and Yenisei have a high concentration of heavy metals, which adversely affects the sea ecosystem. Another important source is water pollution aerosol materials from metallurgical production in the city of Norilsk. Vessels have a negative impact on the ecological state of the sea. The places where they frequently move are contaminated with petroleum products.
Remains important environmental problem There is radioactive contamination in the Kara Sea. Due to the fact that a number of numerous air, surface, underground and underwater nuclear explosions were carried out on Novaya Zemlya in the 60s of the last century, over 13 million curies of Cs-137 were released into the atmosphere. period, the disposal of radioactive waste began in the northern seas. Today, the eastern part of the Novaya Zemlya shelf is the main burial site. In this region, waste is flooded in several areas at depths ranging from 12 to 380 m; they account for 70% of the volume of sea burials from the USSR period. In the shallow waters of the bays of the Kara Sea, during 1965-1988, floating vessels with radioactive waste were scuttled. The greatest potential danger comes from 17 reactors nuclear icebreaker"Lenin" and 11 thousand containers with hazardous waste. Monitoring measurements are carried out regularly, the results of which show that today the level of radioactivity in the bays of the Kara Sea does not exceed the norm, however, these objects pose a potential environmental hazard.