Black Sea. It would seem so familiar and absolutely safe. Nothing like this. In its waters you will not only find poisonous Marine life, but there is a more serious threat - suffocating toxic fumes.
Dead zone
Not everyone knows that 90% of the Black Sea waters are saturated with hydrogen sulfide. This discovery was made back in 1890 by Russian geologist Nikolai Andrusov. In some places, the hydrogen sulfide layer is located at a distance of 50 meters from the sea surface, and it constantly continues to move upward. Periodically, a liquid lens of “dead” water comes very close to the surface layers, which has a detrimental effect on the inhabitants of the underwater world.
However, there is still life in the hydrogen sulfide cloud, although in the absence of oxygen only a few species can exist here sea worms and anaerobic bacteria involved in the decomposition of the remains of living organisms.
Hydrogen sulfide in water is not a unique phenomenon; it is also found in other seas and oceans. But given that the Black Sea is virtually isolated from the World Ocean by the shallow Bosporus and there is practically no normal water exchange, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide here is off the charts.
Sometimes, as a result of storms, hydrogen sulfide vapor escapes, and then there is a specific smell in the area where the gas escapes rotten eggs. This is fraught with extreme danger. Upon contact large quantity hydrogen sulfide with air can cause an explosion. According to experts, the explosion of all the hydrogen sulfide contained in the Black Sea can be comparable to the consequences of the fall of an asteroid weighing half the mass of the Moon.
But something similar has already happened. In the dead of night on September 12, 1927, the Crimean peninsula experienced the full power of an 8-magnitude earthquake. The epicenter was located 25 kilometers south of Yalta, gigantic landslides were recorded, almost the entire crop was lost, and many buildings were destroyed.
As eyewitnesses testified, hesitation earth's surface accompanied by a disgusting stench and flashes that soared from the surface of the sea to the sky. The pillars of fire, shrouded in smoke, reached several hundred meters in height. This is how the Black Sea burned. Most scientists have no doubt that hydrogen sulfide was to blame.
Experts are seriously puzzled by the problem of accumulating hydrogen sulfide in the surface layers of the Black Sea. Any tectonic shift can lead to the release of huge amounts of toxic substance, and then the consequences could be much more serious than during the Crimean earthquake.
Oceanologist Alexander Gorodnitsky is convinced that such a threat is quite real: “The Black Sea is a seismically active region, there are earthquakes that provoke emissions of gas hydrates - accumulations of methane and other flammable gases compressed under high pressure.”
In an unfavorable scenario, tons of concentrated sulfuric acid will enter the atmosphere: thousands of people will die from suffocation, millions will have to move away from the coast, but even there they will be overtaken by hydrogen sulfide, causing acid rain.
Several years ago, a release of hydrogen sulfide was recorded at the Koblevo resort in the Nikolaev region (Ukraine). There were more than 100 tons on the shore then dead fish. Engineer Gennady Bugrin, who participated in the liquidation of the consequences of the disaster, warns that such an emergency could happen again at any time and on a larger scale.
Toxic waters
Things are no better with environmental situation in the waters of the Black Sea, primarily due to the waste constantly entering them from the Danube, Prut and Dnieper. Industrial enterprises And utility services without a twinge of conscience, tons of industrial and human waste are poured into rivers, which leads to the gradual extinction of many species of flora and fauna of the Black Sea coastal waters. In Russia, the most polluted marine area is located near the ports of Novorossiysk and Taman.
Together with river water Pesticides, heavy metals, phosphorus, and nitrogen enter the Black Sea, as a result of which phytoplankton multiplies rapidly and the water begins to bloom. And this leads to the destruction of bottom microorganisms, which in turn causes hypoxia and the subsequent death of many inhabitants of the seabed - squid, mussels, oysters, young sturgeon, crabs. According to environmentalists, the area of the kill sometimes exceeds 40 thousand square meters. km.
Of course, all this does not pass without a trace for humans. The head of the Department of Extreme Natural Phenomena and Man-Made Disasters of the Southern Scientific Center, Candidate of Biological Sciences Oleg Stepanyan, warns and reminds that the Black Sea is not a pool with filtered water and you need to choose the right places for swimming, because often even on city beaches you can see how they are drained into the sea wastewater from nearby cafes and eateries.
And although, according to Stepanyan, special services They monitor the cleanliness of the beaches and the bacterial situation on them; it is important to be vigilant. Especially dangerous in such cases are the sandy and pebble beaches of large resort cities, where the process of self-purification of water is slow.
Deputy Coordinator public organization“Ecological watch in the North Caucasus” Dmitry Shevchenko notes that there are such polluted areas in the Black Sea, for example, in Gelendzhik or Anapa bays, that going into the water is simply a health risk.
Today, a constant problem for the Black Sea has become the massive development of green filamentous and lamellar algae, including the so-called sea lettuce (Ulva). Eating such algae is fraught with serious poisoning, since they grow in places overflowing with organic substances coming through wastewater.
Doctors also caution when talking about possible harm for the body of mussels and rapana caught in large port waters of Novorossiysk, Tuapse, and Sevastopol. Mussels actively filter poisoned sea water, and rapana are predators that eat them. But if someone still decides to enjoy the Black Sea delicacies, then you should pay attention to the color of their meat. Light yellow or pinkish most likely indicates its suitability for consumption, but blue, black or simply very bright indicates that the mollusks have accumulated heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons and other toxicants.
Dangerous inhabitants
In the waters of the Black Sea, of course, there are not as many poisonous inhabitants as in tropical seas, but extreme caution must still be exercised here. First of all, we are talking about large jellyfish with a diameter exceeding 30 centimeters. Under no circumstances should you touch them, as you can get burned by the stinging cells. A “kiss” from such a jellyfish in the throat or chest area can cause respiratory paralysis or heart failure.
In the sandy shallows of the Anapa bank, in the area from the village of Volna to the village of Blagoveshchensky, the stingray is often found, poisonous thorn which can penetrate even a thick rubber coating and cause a very sensitive wound with subsequent swelling of the damaged part of the body.
The small scorpion fish, or, as it is also called, the sea ruff, also poses a serious danger. She mainly hunts among rocks, and hypothetically you can step on her. The prick of its poisonous thorns will be very painful and the wound will take several weeks to heal.
The sea dragon, although it does not look intimidating, poses no less a threat than a stingray or scorpionfish. On his first dorsal fin poisonous glands are located. Fishermen or divers sometimes inadvertently grab a thorn, and as a result - painful sharp pains in the area of the wound and a feverish state, accompanied by a rise in temperature. In this case, it will not be possible to do without a doctor.
Just 8,000 years ago it was a lake (it did not have access to the World Ocean) and today it is considered one of the youngest seas on our planet (despite the fact that it is surrounded on all sides by land, two straits - the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus - connect it with the Aegean and Mediterranean Sea).
Due to the fact that it occupies a fairly small area (438,600 sq. km.) and is protected on the northern coast by mountains, the wind does not have time to swing the waves strongly enough, so the storm here is quite a rare event. The concentration of salt in the water is insignificant (it doesn’t sting the eyes), and there are practically no animals dangerous to humans, so it is considered that a holiday on the Black Sea is suitable for children- here they can dive and frolic without fear, becoming acquainted with the marine world for the first time.
Features of the Black Sea
The water on the surface of the Black Sea has a very low concentration of salt, and, therefore, less dense, i.e. light: does not mix with deep layers of water. At any time of the year, the temperature at the sea surface close to air temperature. But water at a depth (more than 100-150 meters) has a completely different density, practically does not contain oxygen (as a result, almost only bacteria live at depth, which produce hydrogen sulfide in the process of their life activity) and, in addition, at any time of the year it has constant temperature +9°C (average depth 1239 m, maximum depth 2208 m).
Quite rare, but still on the Black Sea you can observe such frightening and fascinating a natural phenomenon like a tornado. As a result constant collision of air masses(one of which is formed above the surface Black Sea, and the other in the coastal mountains) the climate here is comfortable for most vacationers and local residents: it is never cold in winter, and the constant sea breeze in summer smoothes out the effects of high temperatures and the southern sun.
Countries with beaches on the Black Sea coast
It can be proud of the diversity of its beaches. In the western part on the coast of Crimea and Bulgaria, the beaches are sandy. To the east - in Russia, Abkhazia and Georgia - almost all beaches are pebble (small or large pebbles), with the exception of the Taman Peninsula - the capital sandy beaches Black Sea Russia.
Flora and fauna of the Black Sea
Habitat conditions in waters and on the coast Black Sea unique: despite the fact that living organisms are almost completely absent in the depths of sea waters, the number of species of plants and living creatures in the coastal zone is enormous! The Black Sea is the only natural body of water on the planet that has a deep division into oxygen (up to 200 m deep) and hydrogen sulfide (at great depths) zones. Moreover, hydrogen sulfide is practically lifeless zone, is 88% of the total volume of the sea.
It is in the remaining layer (12% of the total volume of water) that plant and organic life boils. But how diverse it is! Hundreds of species of plankton, about a thousand species of benthic algae, animals and about 2700 species! Only fish - almost 200 species, invertebrates - about 2100! IN Black Sea There are 4 species of mammals. And all this diversity adapts to such harsh conditions, How:
- different salinity of water in Black Sea V different regions and depths (very few animals can withstand such changes);
- relatively low temperature surface water for most of the calendar year;
- Hydrogen sulfide and the lack of oxygen at great depths are the main obstacle to the development of organic life in the form familiar on Earth.
One of the most interesting and fascinating phenomena on the Black Sea is its autumn “glow”. The reason for this is the unique pyridenea algae floating in the water. The names of the most common algae in Black Sea sound fabulous: Laurencia, Cystoseira or Coraline. Sea grapes and phyllophora live at depth. By the way, the reason for the glow Black Sea in autumn, not only in algae - some very small predators also glow - nightlights (noctilucas).
The dolphin is one of the main symbols of the entire Black Sea coast and many cities. And there are simply countless souvenirs with the image of this mammal sold at coastal markets. You can find out more about this amazing animal, as well as get to know the Black Sea dolphinariums in a special material "
» — sea of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. By the way, this phenomenon makes the Black Sea double by sea - one inside the other. So to speak, nested seas :) Such nested seas are rare in nature. And the enclosed sea of hydrogen sulfide does not occur at all, except in the Black Sea.
The sea of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea lies there for a reason and doesn’t bother anyone. If it were so, then, quite possibly, no one would ever know about him. But the sea of hydrogen sulfide periodically manifests itself - and not everyone likes this manifestation. So, imagine the picture - you are relaxing at a resort. And you decide to get up early in the morning to watch the sea sunrise. You get dressed, go to the sea - and see something unimaginable! The entire shore is covered with fish, jellyfish, and some kind of completely unseen animals. It's scary to approach. Corpses, corpses... And the smell of rot in the air.
But if you sit by the shore and look at this miracle, you will notice that the sea inhabitants on the shore occasionally move and twitch. And if you look even longer, you will notice that they are gradually moving back to the sea. And by eight or nine o’clock, when most vacationers go to the sea, the shore is already empty and no longer resembles a worldwide catastrophe.
What happened? A rather rare, but common thing for the Black Sea occurred - a small release of hydrogen sulfide. The smell of which you may have smelled.
Due to the fact that the upper layer of water in the Black Sea is weakly mixed with the lower layer, oxygen rarely reaches the bottom of the sea. And where there is no oxygen, rotting begins. One of the results of rotting is the release hydrogen sulfide.
Well, since the upper, fresher layer of water rarely mixes with the lower, more salty one, this poisonous gas accumulates at the bottom of the Black Sea in huge quantities. And occasionally, when its quantity exceeds imaginable limits, it comes out in the form of huge bubbles.
As the bubble passes through the upper, inhabited layer of the Black Sea, it poisons fish, jellyfish and other living creatures. And they are washed ashore by the sea in an unconscious state. Well, then, when they leave on land, the fish and shrimp run back into the sea.
Measurements have shown that in the center of the Black Sea the hydrogen sulfide zone approaches the surface by about 50 meters; closer to the shores, the depth from where the hydrogen sulfide sea begins increases to 300 meters. As we have already said, in this sense the Black Sea is unique, it the only sea in the world without a hard bottom.
Curious readers may ask: “Why doesn’t a gas that is lighter than water float to the surface right away?” But this is who exactly belongs to the ““ section. Scientists believe that the pressure of the upper layers of water is to blame - 200 meters of water is no joke. And if at least part of this water disappeared, the Black Sea would boil from hydrogen sulfide released in the form of gas.
Why do hydrogen sulfide emissions occur from the depths? For two reasons - excessive growth of the content of this poison and underwater earthquakes. A small offset is enough earth's crust, And shock wave raises a huge bubble of gas from the bottom of the sea. So, during the Crimean earthquake of 1927 in Yalta, residents watched the sea burn - hydrogen sulfide, which rose from below, interacted with the air and flared up.
Although, according to other sources, it was not hydrogen sulfide, but methane. And the concentration of hydrogen sulfide in water is so low that it cannot form gas bubbles, boil and poison animals. So it seems like there are no hydrogen sulfide bubbles...
But it is up to scientists to determine what will happen if hydrogen sulfide decides to rise to the surface. We just need to know that there is not a single recorded case where hydrogen sulfide from the bottom of the Black Sea led to the death of people. Or even simple poisoning.
By the way, there is another question that has not yet been solved: “Why is there suddenly a sea of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea, but there is no sea of hydrogen sulfide in other seas and oceans?” In fact, there is still debate about the source of hydrogen sulfide in the depths of the Black Sea. Some consider the main source to be the reduction of sulfates by sulfate-reducing bacteria during the decomposition of dead organic matter.
Although in this case another logical question arises: “Where in the Black Sea so many organic matter? To which there is no answer yet. But there is an interesting assumption: for example, one of the hypotheses for the emergence of the Black Sea says that 7500 years ago it was deepest freshwater lake on earth, the level was more than a hundred meters below the modern one. At the end ice age The level of the World Ocean rose and the Bosphorus Isthmus was broken. A total of 100 thousand km² were flooded (the most fertile lands, already cultivated people). The flooding of these vast lands may have become the prototype for the myth of global flood. The emergence of the Black Sea, according to this hypothesis, was presumably accompanied by the mass death of the entire freshwater living world of the lake (the same organic matter), the decomposition product of which - hydrogen sulfide - reaches high concentrations at the bottom of the sea
Other scientists adhere to the hydrothermal hypothesis, that is, the release of hydrogen sulfide from cracks in the seabed as a result of volcanic activity. But this version of the development of events does not explain why only the Black Sea received such an honor - to be a double sea.
This distribution can be partially explained by the fact that the Black Sea is structured in such a way that its water exchange with the Mediterranean goes by sea through the shallow Bosphorus threshold. The Black Sea water, desalinated by the river runoff and therefore lighter, goes into the Sea of Marmara and further, and towards it, or rather under it, through the Bosphorus threshold, the saltier and heavier water rolls down into the depths of the Black Sea Mediterranean water. It turns out to be something like a giant sump, in the depths of which hydrogen sulfide has gradually accumulated over the past six to seven thousand years.
Thus, the average concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is 5.73 mg/l at a depth of 1240 m, and the approximate amount of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is 3.1 billion tons. Some studies in recent years allow us to speak of the Black Sea as a gigantic reservoir of not only hydrogen sulfide, but also methane, most likely also released during the activity of microorganisms, as well as from the bottom of the sea
By the way, this hydrogen sulfide can not only harm or threaten. It can help significantly by improving the energy sector of the Black Sea countries. So, since hydrogen sulfide is a flammable gas, it can be burned and thereby produce energy. Perhaps this is not very justified economically (although when there are thousands of tons of free fuel...), but along with the environmental result, this procedure could well help Ukraine with its gas shortage.
In order to clarify, it is necessary to clarify one more detail: when reading the article, it may seem that at the depths of the Black Sea there is not a solution of hydrogen sulfide in water, but a huge bubble of pure hydrogen sulfide gas, which, for unknown reasons, cannot float to the surface on its own and may explode... In fact, things are simple there hydrogen sulfide solution, i.e. it's just there mineral water. The same as in many hydrogen sulfide mineral springs, which hit the surface without exploding anything around.
So, as you can see, there are many opinions on this matter.
But, nevertheless, the sea of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is a mystery that has not yet been solved. But it shows itself periodically.
Based on materials from http://voda.blox.ua/2008/07/Zagadka-Chernogo-morya.html
Black Sea is an inland sea of the Atlantic Ocean.
History of the Black Sea
The emergence of the Black Sea began with Ocean Tatis, named after the goddess of the sea, Tetis, - approximately 300 million years ago it was on the site of the current Mediterranean, Marmara, Azov, Caspian and Aral seas.
8-10 million years ago freshwater was formed Pontic Sea as a result of movements of the earth's crust, then it united the current Black and Caspian Sea. We can say that the Pontic Sea is an outdated name for the Black Sea.
Later, the Black Sea more than once merged with the saltier Mediterranean. The last such merger occurred 7-8 thousand years ago, which can be considered the age of the modern Black Sea. It became approximately the same as we see it on modern maps.
Then the salty waters of the Mediterranean Sea poured into the sea, which caused the death of many species of fauna. Decaying into deep sea deprived of oxygen, the biomass began to release great amount hydrogen sulfide, which caused modern features the bottom of the Black Sea.
Black Sea bottom
The Black Sea bowl is deep-sea and has relatively steep slopes. However, greater depth (100 meters or more) does not begin immediately off the coast, but after 10 - 15 kilometers. And only in some places great depths start after 200 meters (northwestern part) and 1 km (Crimea).
Mmaximum known depth The Black Sea is 2211 meters.
Hydrogen sulfide layer
Hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea is of biochemical origin: bacteria living in large numbers in the depths of the sea, living in an oxygen-free environment, decompose the corpses of animals and plants and release hydrogen sulfide. And since the water in the Black Sea does not mix well, hydrogen sulfide accumulates at the bottom. The hydrogen sulfide layer of the Black Sea begins at a depth of 150-200 meters; only bacteria live in this layer and there is no other life. Over millions of years, more than a billion tons of hydrogen sulfide have accumulated in the sea.
Hydrogen sulfide- poisonous explosive gas.
Black Sea climate
The formation of the Black Sea climate is ensured air masses coming from the north and south, relief features, as well as sea currents.
Main Caucasus ridge closes north coast Black time from the northern winds and forms high humidity. Where the Caucasus Mountains are small, the climate is the driest, but also the coolest (Anapa). But where the Caucasus is already high (Abkhazia) - the weather is warmest and humid there.
Climate south coast The Black Sea is shaped by winds blowing from the Mediterranean.
Tornado, atmospheric vortices or tornadoes in the Black Sea are a fairly common occurrence, but they occur mainly only in the summer and autumn: in August and September, at the height of the holiday season.
Freezing of the Black Sea
The sea never freezes, but an exception is the short-term establishment of ice cover in northern parts sea, which happens once every few decades.
Ebbs and flows on the Black Sea
The ebb and flow of the tides in the Black Sea are not very pronounced and the magnitude of water level fluctuations is only 3-10 cm, since for the normal development of the tides they do not have enough water area, and the small width and shallow depth of the Dardanelles, Bosphorus and Strait of Gibraltar“they do not allow” large volumes of water into the Black Sea.
Flora and fauna of the Black Sea
The Black Sea is one of the most sparsely inhabited seas on earth. There are only 37 kilograms of biomass per cubic kilometer of water. Life in the Black Sea is concentrated only in a narrow coastal strip in the area of shallow depths, and below two hundred meters there is no life due to the hydrogen sulfide layer.
Vegetable world
There are more than 250 species of algae in the Black Sea. There are algae that live near the shore - coraline, cystosera, sea salad, Laurencia, there are those that need depth - phyllophora, or sea grapes, and there are those that simply float in the water, for example peridenea.
Animal world
In the sea there are jellyfish with the names Aurelia and Cornerot. Cornerot is the largest Black Sea jellyfish and can cause burns, while Aurelia is harmless.
The most common shellfish in the Black Sea are mussels, brine, oysters and scallops.
There are crabs in the Black Sea - there are 18 species of them. The largest is the redbark, but it rarely reaches a size larger than 20 cm in diameter.
The Black Sea is home to approximately 180 species of fish.
Beluga, sturgeon, stellate sturgeon, herring, anchovy (Black Sea anchovy), sprat, sprat, mullet, red mullet, horse mackerel, mackerel, flounder, bonito, tuna. It is extremely rare for a swordfish to swim into the Black Sea. There are also eels in the sea - river and sea. Among fish that do not have a large commercial value, we can note the bull, sea ruffe, sea needle, seahorse, stickleback, sea dragon, the greenfinch is a small bright fish capable of chewing the shells of mollusks, gurnard (trigla), and monkfish with its teeth.
In addition, there are 3 species of mullet, stargazer or sea cow, pipefish, and seahorse.
There are two types of sharks in the Black Sea:
- Katran (spiny shark, sea dog) can grow up to 2 meters.
- Small spotted shark scyllium (cat shark).
Three species of dolphins live permanently in the Black Sea:
- Harbour porpoise(Azovka)
- bottlenose dolphin
- common white sided
Over the past 80 years, whales have been spotted in the Black Sea twice.
Dangerous inhabitants of the Black Sea
There are no inhabitants in the Black Sea that are dangerous to human life, however, there are animals and fish that can cause serious injuries, such as cuts, burns or poisoning.
Dangerous inhabitants of the Black Sea include:
- Sharks: Katran and spotted (cat). Black Sea sharks are not dangerous and do not swim close to the shore, but nevertheless you should be careful of them in the water, since they are still a predator.
- Jellyfish: aurelia and cornerot. Aurelia is safe, but a larger cornet can cause burns.
- Sea ruff or black sea scorpionfish: located at the bottom in the rocks, it can be caught with a fishing rod. The fish itself is not dangerous; the danger is caused by the needles on the fish's comb. If cut by these needles, swelling and fever may occur, and children may require medical attention.
- Sea dragon- this is the most dangerous black sea fish. When poison gets into a wound, it forms strong pain, tumor, tachycardia, pulmonary spasm, you must immediately consult a doctor.
- stingray grows up to one and a half meters and likes to swim close to the shore in September-October to bask in the sun. He himself is never the first to attack and avoids crowded places, but you can accidentally step on him in the water.
Fortunately, collisions with dangerous fish and animals in the Black Sea are practically impossible for vacationers and swimmers, but nevertheless, be careful when entering the water.
Remember that animal poisoning can cause allergic reactions up to anaphylactic shock, so in any case you should consult a doctor.
- The mountains around the Black Sea are constantly growing, and the sea itself is increasing in size at a rate of 20-25 cm per 100 years.
- The glow of the Black Sea at night in August is caused by the oribatid flagellate Noctiluca.
- Waves in the Black Sea have their own direction: from the countries of Eastern Europe and Turkey - from the north and northeast; near Crimea and the Caucasus - from the west and south.
- In addition to dolphins, there are other mammals in the sea: porpoise and white-bellied seal.
- The most dangerous fish The Black Sea is a sea dragon.
- There is a katran shark in the Black Sea, but it is not dangerous to humans.
- The Black Sea is home to 2,500 species of animals, which is almost 4 times less than in the Mediterranean Sea.
- Over the past 80 years, whales have entered the sea twice.
- It would seem traditional rapana clam appeared in the sea relatively recently and was brought by ships from the Far East.
- In the Black Sea there are two closed gyre currents called Knilovich Points, in honor of the oceanologist who described them.
All sailing directions and atlases indicate that the average depth of the Black Sea is 1300 meters. From the surface of the water to the bottom of the sea basin is, on average, almost one and a half kilometers, but what we are accustomed to consider the sea has a depth several times less, about 100 meters. Below lurks a lifeless and deadly poisonous abyss. This discovery was made by a Russian oceanographic expedition in 1890.
Measurements have shown that the sea is almost entirely filled with dissolved hydrogen sulfide, a poisonous gas with the smell of rotten eggs. In the center of the sea, the hydrogen sulfide zone approaches the surface by about 50 meters; closer to the shores, the depth, where the sulfide zone begins, increases to 300 meters. In this sense, the Black Sea is unique; it is the only one in the world without a hard bottom.
Liquid convex lens dead water underlies a thin top layer, where all the sea life. The underlying lens breathes and swells, breaking through to the surface from time to time due to blowing winds. Major breakthroughs occur less frequently; the last one occurred during the Yalta earthquake of 1928, when even far from the sea a strong smell of rotten eggs could be felt and thunderous lightning flashed on the sea horizon, spreading in burning columns into the sky (Hydrogen sulfide H2S is a flammable and explosive poisonous gas).
There is still debate about the source of hydrogen sulfide in the depths of the Black Sea. Some consider the main source to be the reduction of sulfates by sulfate-reducing bacteria during the decomposition of dead organic matter. Others adhere to the hydrothermal hypothesis, i.e. release of hydrogen sulfide from cracks on the seabed. However, there are no contradictions here; apparently, both reasons are at work. The Black Sea is designed in such a way that its water exchange with the Mediterranean Sea occurs through the shallow Bosphorus threshold. The Black Sea water, desalinated by the river runoff and therefore lighter, goes into the Sea of Marmara and further, and towards it, or rather under it, through the Bosphorus threshold, the saltier and heavier Mediterranean water rolls down into the depths of the Black Sea. It turns out to be something like a giant sump, in the depths of which hydrogen sulfide has gradually accumulated over the past six to seven thousand years.
Today this dead layer makes up over 90 percent of the sea's volume. In the 20th century, as a result of sea pollution by organic anthropogenic substances, the boundary of the hydrogen sulfide zone rose from the depths by 25 - 50 meters. Simply put, oxygen from the upper thin layer of the sea does not have time to oxidize the hydrogen sulfide that is propping up from below. Ten years ago, this problem was considered one of the top priorities in the Black Sea countries. Hydrogen sulfide is a highly toxic and explosive substance. Poisoning occurs at concentrations from 0.05 to 0.07 mg/m3. The maximum permissible concentration of hydrogen sulfide in the air of populated areas is 0.008 mg/m3. According to a number of experts and scientists, a charge power equivalent to Hiroshima is sufficient to detonate hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. In this case, the consequences of the disaster will be comparable to what would happen if an asteroid with a mass half the mass of the Moon crashed into our Earth.
There is more than 20 thousand cubic kilometers of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. Now the problem has been forgotten due to unknown circumstances. True, this did not make the problem go away. In the early 1950s, in Walvis Bay (Namibia), an upward current (upwelling) brought a hydrogen sulfide cloud to the surface. Up to one hundred and fifty miles inland the smell of hydrogen sulfide could be felt, the walls of houses darkened. The smell of rotten eggs already means exceeding the maximum permissible concentration (maximum permissible concentration). In fact, the inhabitants of South-West Africa then experienced a “soft” gas attack. On the Black Sea, a gas attack could be much harsher. Let's say someone gets the idea to mix up the sea, or at least part of it. Technically this, alas, is feasible. In the relatively shallow northwestern part of the sea, somewhere halfway between Sevastopol and Constanta, it is possible to conduct an underwater nuclear explosion relatively low power. On the shore it will only be noticed by instruments. But after a few hours, there, on the shore, they will smell the smell of rotten eggs. Under the best circumstances, within 24 hours, two-thirds of the sea will turn into a mass cemetery marine organisms. If things go wrong, coastal cemeteries will also turn into communal cemeteries. settlements, where the organisms live are no longer marine. In the previous two phrases, the evaluative adjectives “favorable” and “unfavorable” can be swapped, depending on how you look at it.
If from the position of a person or group of people who set themselves the goal of paralyzing the peoples of half a dozen countries with horror, then it is necessary to change. However, the greed of oil and gas producing companies worse than any Ben with his Frankincense. Feeling that the end of the era of hydrocarbon raw materials is very close, and is measured in a couple of decades, after which an era of total stagnation and complete decline of the raw materials economy will begin, businessmen from the state, in agony and despair, threw the pipes to hell high pressure for a fuel pipeline right along the bottom of the Black Sea. It was difficult to expect greater obscurantism. This is a one-time weekend design, which is not possible to repair and prevent in conditions of explosive hydrogen sulfide. Everyone still remembers the Adler-Novosibirsk passenger train, which completely burned down due to a fuel line failure. You don’t have to be an expert chemist or physicist to understand what will happen if a fuel pipeline breaks in the deep layers of hydrogen sulfide in the Black Sea. No comments.
Thousands of businessmen making resort money from the exploitation of the Black Sea do not suspect that their business will soon come to an end, and the Black Sea coast from a resort area will turn into a zone of environmental disaster, dangerous for human habitation. This especially applies to the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus, where, according to scientists, large amounts of hydrogen sulfide are most likely to be released into the atmosphere. Twenty years ago, having familiarized themselves with the calculations of scientists on the Black Sea, scientists built a graph of the decrease in the surface layer of water from 1890 to 2020. The continuation of the graph curve reached 15 meters of layer thickness by 2010. And it was already noted near the Caucasus in 2007. This was even reported on May 30, 2007 on the radio in Sochi. There were also reports of mass deaths of dolphins in the Black Sea. And the local people themselves felt a certain dead spirit from the sea. In the area of New Athos, the sea is already different than it was 20-30 years ago; in the afternoon the water is cloudy, yellow, there are dead fish and even dead animals.
Many businessmen realized the pointlessness of their ideas of participating in investing in the resort business on the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. No one thinks that a catastrophe is coming, and it is not far off, but very close. Many local residents have the feeling that the 2014 Olympics will be held as a farewell to a foolish person with the Black Sea. Millions of people living in Black Sea coast will be forced to move further away from the coast due to the danger of dying as a result of suffocation from hydrogen sulfide and lack of oxygen in the air. And before this general flight of residents from resort cities, mass diseases of residents of the coastal zone may begin with fatalities. The end of the Black Sea resorts will come! This will be a worthy retribution of people for their admiration for the power of the Golden Calf, for their contempt for nature, for their ignorance of environmental safety issues. After all, with a reasonable approach to business, it is possible to turn the impending troubles to the benefit of the economy and energy.
The water of the Black Sea contains silver and gold. If we extracted all the silver in the water of the Black Sea, it would amount to approximately 540 thousand tons. If all the gold was extracted, it would amount to approximately 270 thousand tons. Methods for extracting gold and silver from the water of the Black Sea have long been developed. The very first primitive installations were based on ion exchangers, special ion exchange resins that are capable of attaching ions of substances dissolved in water. But industrially, using their own special technologies, only Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania extract silver and gold from the waters of the Black Sea.
It is known that at a depth below 50 meters, the deep layers of the Black Sea are a colossal warehouse of hydrogen sulfide (about a billion tons). Hydrogen sulfide is a flammable gas that, when burned, produces a corresponding amount of heat. In other words, this is a fuel that can and should be used. When hydrogen sulfide is burned according to the reaction: 2H2S + 3O2 = 2H2O + 2SO2, heat is released in an amount of about 268 kcal (with an excess of oxygen). Compare with the amount of heat released during the combustion of hydrogen in oxygen according to the reaction: H2 + 1/2 O2 >H2O (about 68.4 kcal/mol is released). Since the first reaction produces sulfur dioxide (a harmful product), it is of course better to use hydrogen as a fuel in the composition of hydrogen sulfide, which can be obtained by heating hydrogen sulfide using the reaction:
H2S H2+S3
The decomposition of hydrogen sulfide requires slight heating. Reaction (3) will make it possible to obtain sulfur from the water of the Black Sea. If you carry out reactions to burn hydrogen sulfide in atmospheric oxygen:
2H2S + 3O2 = 2H2O + 2SO2,
then by burning the resulting sulfur dioxide:
SO2 + ? O2 = SO3,
then according to the interaction of three sulfur oxides with water:
SO3 + H2O = H2SO4,
then, as is known, we can obtain sulfuric acid with associated heat production in the appropriate amount. During the production of sulfuric acid, about 194 kcal/mol is released. Thus, from the water of the Black Sea it is possible to obtain either hydrogen and sulfur, or sulfuric acid with the associated heat production in the appropriate quantity. All that remains is to extract hydrogen sulfide from the deep layers of the sea. This is confusing at first.
One of the scientific developments is based on the fact that in order to raise deep layers of sea water saturated with hydrogen sulfide, it is not necessary to expend energy on pumping it. According to this scientific development, it is proposed to lower a pipe with strong walls to a depth of 80 meters and lift water through it once from the depth in order to obtain a gas-water fountain in the pipe due to the difference in the hydrostatic pressure of water in the sea at the level of the lower cut of the channel and the pressure of the gas-water mixture at that the same level inside the canal (remember that every 10 meters the pressure in the sea increases by one atmosphere). An analogy is given with a bottle of champagne. By opening the bottle, we lower the pressure in it, which is why gas begins to be released in the form of bubbles, and so intensely that the bubbles, floating up, push the champagne in front of them. Pumping out a column of water from a pipe for the first time is precisely the opening of the plug.
It is reported that a group of scientists from Kherson conducted a ground-based experiment back in 1990, confirming the operation of such a fountain until the hydrogen sulfide in the sea runs out. Successfully ended and full-scale sea experiment. A very illustrative example, when the existence of life is under threat, the planet is saved by a bunch of lone heroes, who are also hindered by the government and everything around them. And where is all the state potential at this time, with its scientific power, computers, and programs?
Skeptics can easily check the data with their fingers by sailing further out to sea and lowering a thick hose with a weight at the end into the water. It’s just not recommended to smoke at this time, so that it doesn’t turn out like in Chukovsky’s poems. Many probably remember the words of Korney Chukovsky’s poem: “And the little foxes took matches, went to the blue sea, lit the blue sea.” But few people know that the children's poems of Korney Chukovsky are studied very carefully by astrologers: as in the quatrains of Michel Nostradamus, these poems contain a lot most interesting predictions. Leonid Utesov helped with the geographic location of the “arson site”: “The bluest sea in the world is my Black Sea!” Until recently, this sea was practically the only vacation spot for residents of the entire country - the USSR. Even the great schemer, Ostap Bender, showed up there in search of twelve chairs. And for little he did not pay with his life in Yalta at the time of the famous Crimean earthquake of 1928. By “coincidence”, there was a thunderstorm at the time of the earthquake. Lightning struck everywhere. Including at sea. And suddenly something completely unexpected happened: columns of flame began to burst out of the water to a height of 500-800 meters. These are the matches and chanterelles. Chemists know two types of hydrogen sulfide oxidation reaction: H2S + O = H2O + S;
H2S + 4O + to = H2SO4.
As a result of the first reaction, free sulfur and water are formed. The second type of H2S oxidation reaction occurs explosively with an initial thermal shock. As a result, sulfuric acid. It was the second course of the H2S oxidation reaction that was observed by the residents of Yalta during the earthquake in 1928. Seismic tremors stirred deep-sea hydrogen sulfide to the surface. The electrical conductivity of an aqueous solution of H2S is higher than that of pure sea water. Therefore, electrical lightning discharges most often hit areas of hydrogen sulfide raised from the depths. However, a significant layer of pure surface water extinguished the chain reaction. By the beginning of the 20th century, the upper inhabitable layer of water in the Black Sea was 200 meters. Thoughtless technogenic activity has led to a sharp reduction in this layer. Currently, in some places its thickness does not exceed 10-15 meters. During strong storm Hydrogen sulfide rises to the surface, and vacationers may smell a characteristic odor.
At the beginning of the century, the Don River supplied up to 36 km3 to the Azov-Black Sea basin fresh water. By the beginning of the 80s, this volume had decreased to 19 km3: metallurgical industry, irrigation structures, field irrigation, city water supply systems. The commissioning of the Volgodonsk nuclear power plant took another 4 km3 of water. A similar situation occurred during the years of industrialization on other rivers in the basin. As a result of the thinning of the surface habitable layer of water, a sharp reduction occurred in the Black Sea. biological organisms. For example, in the 50s, the dolphin population reached 8 million individuals. Nowadays, meeting dolphins in the Black Sea has become very rare. Fans of underwater sports sadly observe only the remains of pathetic vegetation and rare schools of fish; rapana have disappeared. Few people think, for example, that all sea souvenirs sold along the Black Sea coast (decorative shells, mollusks, sea stars, corals, etc.) have nothing to do with the Black Sea. Traders bring these goods from other seas and oceans. And in the Black Sea even mussels have almost disappeared. Sturgeon, horse mackerel, mackerel, and bonito, which have been caught since ancient times, disappeared back in the 1990s as a commercial species.
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