The Laptev Sea is located on the continental plate of the Eurasian continent. Its borders are the Kara Sea, the Northern Arctic Ocean and the East Siberian Sea. It owes its name to the Laptev brothers, who dedicated their lives to exploring the North. Its other names - Nordenskiölde and Siberian - are less relevant. The area of the sea is 672,000 square meters. km., depths of up to 50 meters prevail everywhere. Only a fifth of the bottom is submerged to more than 1000 meters. The maximum depth was recorded in the Nansen Basin and is equal to 3385 m. The seabed is muddy in deep places and sandy-muddy in shallower ones.
Because of huge amount The rivers flowing into the Nordenskiöld have a low concentration of salt on the surface of the sea. The Laptev Sea receives the most water from Khatanga and Lena, the main arteries of Siberia. The sea temperature is rarely above zero. This is one of the harshest places on the planet.
But life has not ignored this part of our planet. Despite the fact that the sea surface is almost always covered with ice and despite the small amount sunlight, you can find vegetation on the shore. The flora here is represented by various diatoms and other microscopic algae. Planktonic microorganisms can also be detected.
The coastline is heavily indented. The steep banks are dotted with birds that fly here to raise their young. Seagulls, guillemots, guillemots and many other birds breed their chicks here. Bird eggs attract small predators, such as Arctic foxes, who are not averse to indulging in the delicacy. also attract larger animals, such as polar bear. Along the continental strip along the coast there are also stars, mollusks and other small inhabitants of the deep sea.
There are about 40 species of fish in the Laptev Sea - cod, omul, and many others. Mining is not possible due to the ice crust on the surface. Sports fishing also poorly developed due to the distance of the sea from residential areas.
Mammals here include 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 sharks in the waters of the Laptev Sea. But we can assume that such conditions are quite suitable for the polar shark. In warmer times, it can get here from neighboring seas.
IN Lately A large number of projects related to shelf and gas began to appear. This is due to low depths over most of the area of the entire sea. Good seismic study of the bottom provides excellent prerequisites for drawing conclusions about high oil and gas content. Shallow depths make it possible to drill not from special offshore platforms, but from bulk islands.
Currently, they are planning to drill the first wells in the Laptev Sea oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft. Each, in turn, will have to bring foreign partners to the shelf. All that remains is to wait for the moment when the development of the Laptev Sea begins.
The Laptev Sea is one of the most interesting, important and useful bodies of water existing in the country. It is adjacent to the Arctic Ocean and is characterized by low temperature and low salinity of water. The sea is covered with ice for 10 months of the year. Specific features- poor fauna and flora, a small number of people on the coast and islands within the sea, on some of which the remains of mammoths can still be found.
The name “Laptev Sea” did not appear by chance. This is the merit of travelers with the corresponding surname - brothers Dmitry and Khariton. Previously, the reservoir bore the name of Norsköld (thanks to the suggestion of Fridtjof Nansen), and was also called the Tatar, Lena, Siberian and Arctic Seas.
Shores of the Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea has an area of 672 thousand km² and a volume of 363 thousand km². The maximum depth of the reservoir considered in the article is over 3000 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. The shores extend for 1300 km and form bays and bays different sizes. The most impressive bays include Khatanga, Yansky, Maria Pronchishcheva Bay and a number of others.
Several rivers flow into the Laptev Sea, in the deltas of which there are several dozen islands, often subject to erosion. The most famous of the rivers flowing into the reservoir is the Lena. The most important islands include Severnaya Zemlya, Bolshoi Begichev, Maly Taimyr, Belkovsky and Thaddeya.
The reservoir is a habitat for approximately 40 various types fish, most of which prefer salt water. These are grayling and whitefish, sardines and Bering Sea omul, smelt, cod, flounder and some other types of fish. Within the Laptev Sea there live many mammals - walruses, ermine, polar hare, polar bear, etc.
In addition to the above, there is a bird here. Among resident birds the bunting should be highlighted, sandpiper, polar owl and brant. The rest wander around the polar regions or fly in from the south. Thus, the reservoir is excellent for fishing and hunting, although both of these activities are not particularly common.
In the 80s of the last century in the area of the river. Lena reserve has been formed. In the 90s, its protective zone expanded significantly to include the islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago. Now total area The territory exceeds 14 thousand km². This is the habitat of many fish, plants, birds and mammals, including those that can be seen on the pages of the Red Book.
Cities on the Laptev Sea
(Tiksi village)
The largest settlement is considered to be the village of Tiksi, where the Arctic seaport of the same name is located. This is a food import site, industrial goods, building materials, equipment, fuel and export of timber, lumber. About 5 thousand people live in the village. To other significant ones settlements includes the villages of Bykovsky (519 people) and Khatanga (2645 people).
The Laptev Sea has the status of a marginal sea belonging to. It not only has a fairly harsh climate, but is also under an ice crust for 9 months.
General description of the Laptev Sea
The sea is limited to the northern shores of Russia, as well as the coasts of islands such as Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands and the Taimyr Peninsula. On the eastern part the reservoir is adjacent to the sea, and on the western part – 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 here, as well as entire groups of them. The largest of them can be considered the skeleton Komsomolskaya Pravda, Maly and Thaddeus.
On coastline sea you can see a large number of different bays and bays. In addition to the Taimyr Peninsula, peninsulas such as Nordvik and Khara-Tumus deserve special attention. Some of the largest bays include the Khatanga, Anabar, and Yana bays. Tiksi is considered the largest bay and port in this area.
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 zone of the continental slope, the shelf, as well as a small area belonging to the ocean bed. The topography of the seabed can confidently be called flat, but a sharp cliff was discovered in its northern part. One of the sea trenches can be found near the mouth of the Lena River. The same relief formation can be seen next to Oleneksky Bay and Stolbovoy Island.
In general, the depth of the Laptev Sea is not that bad - on average, this figure ranges from 50 to 80 meters. But when moving 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, partly mixed with pebbles, while at higher depths only silt deposits are found. The rock mass contains a high ice content, 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. Found in the Nansen Basin maximum depth seabed - 3385 meters.
The following waters flow towards the Laptev Sea: large rivers, like Khatanga and Lena. Many other, but much smaller rivers are involved in the desalination of the sea. Typically, this period falls on the summer-autumn season - from May to September.
Hydrological regime of the Laptev Sea
The Laptev Sea has distinctive feature from all the seas of the Arctic Ocean and in general, namely, strong and prolonged cooling of waters during a relatively calm winter. As for the current system, but so far modern researchers do not have enough information on them. One thing is certain, that the circulation system is cyclonic.
Educated fresh waters The water cycle moves counterclockwise, as, indeed, in other Arctic-type seas. The currents that formed this a natural phenomenon, are very unstable and do not have great 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 emerge from under the ice. Temperature in August surface waters can reach +140 C.
Track change temperature regime with increasing depth it is possible only in summer season. Near open sea most often there is a minus temperature within -1.60 C. At significant depths, due to the influx of third-party waters, this figure rises to 0.2 ° C. Under these same conditions, the salinity of the waters also increases. According to general indicators, the sea has 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
The flora of this area mostly includes phytoplankton, which represents more than 100 species of diatoms. Zooplankton also lives here large quantities. This group includes microorganisms such as amphipods, marine ciliates, copepods and rotifers.
From the fish world it is worth highlighting the following types: Arctic cod, navaga, capelin, sturgeon and nelma. Scientists also have an assumption that representatives of the shark family such as the Katrana, polar and herring sharks can swim into the Laptev waters.
In coastal areas, seagulls and other species of seabirds often organize so-called “bird markets”. The most common animals are seals, beluga whales, polar bears and walruses.
Description of the reservoir, flora and fauna
About the Laptev Sea
This sea is located on the continental slope of Eurasia between the Taimyr Peninsula, the islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago and Severnaya Zemlya.
From the west it borders Kara Sea, in the east - with the East Siberian, in the north - with the Arctic basin of the Arctic Ocean.
The sea owes its name to Russian explorers of the north Dmitry and Khariton Laptev. The sea has two more names - Siberian and Nordenskiöld.
The Laptev Sea covers an area of 672 thousand sq. km, the average depth is about 500 meters, the maximum is 3385 meters (Nansen Basin).
On the map of the Arctic Ocean you can see the Laptev Sea.
More than half of the sea's water area has depths of less than 50 meters, and only a fifth of its area is deeper than 1000 m. The seabed is represented by silty (in the deep part) and sandy-silty (in shallower areas) soils. Many rivers flow into the sea, the largest of which are the Lena and Khatanga. The surface layers of the sea are moved by currents that slowly move water masses counterclockwise. The tides are low (up to half a meter), but tidal waves in bays and bays lead to a significant rise in water (up to 2.5 meters).
The water in the surface layers of the sea is slightly salty due to the large river flow. The water temperature can rise above zero only in the warm season, and even then on the surface. In depth average temperature water -0.8 degrees C.
The shores of the Laptev Sea are heavily indented.
The Laptev Sea is one of the harshest seas on the planet. Cold waters, covered almost all year round ice-covered surface, lack solar heat and rays, made it difficult for living organisms to inhabit.
However, life has penetrated here too. Many animals and algae feel quite comfortable in its harsh waters and on the coast. Of course, the diversity and abundance of flora and fauna here is poorer than even in the neighboring Kara Sea, but life still exists. Vegetable world
presented mainly diatoms. Some coastal algae, microscopic phytoalgae, and planktonic organisms are found.
On the steep shores of the mainland and islands there are often noisy bird markets organized by gulls, guillemots, guillemots and other seabirds. Occasionally, polar bears and arctic foxes wander here to hunt.
In the coastal strip on the continental slope there are echinoderms ( sea stars, hedgehogs), mollusks, polychaete worms and some other invertebrate animals.
Species composition of fish in the Laptev Sea there are just over 40 species, these are mainly small fish (smelt, cod, capelin, navaga and some other types of cod), as well as freshwater fish, emerging into the sea from the mouths of flowing rivers for feeding. These include whitefish, salmon, sturgeon and some other types of fish. Here you can find salmon, sturgeon, omul, whitefish, and Arctic char.
The fishery is not developed, since the sea is rarely open to the passage of ships due to the ice shell. Occasionally they fish in bays, bays and estuaries of flowing rivers. For sports fishermen, this sea is also not of great interest, despite the value of many species of fish living here (salmon, sturgeon). The reason is the lack of roads and remoteness from populated areas.
Among the mammals here you can meet walruses, several species of seals, and beluga whales. Far from the coastal zone, many species of cetaceans, mainly minke whales, feeding on planktonic organisms, feel well.
About the existence of sharks There is little information in the waters of the Laptev Sea. It can be assumed that he will feel quite comfortable in its waters. polar shark, which is not afraid of cold waters. Its food consists of a wide variety of organic matter - from small organisms and fish to carrion. IN summer months accidental spread from western seas(Kara, Barentsevo) Katrana And herring shark. However, reliable information about such visits is nowhere to be found.
For obvious reasons, the Laptev Sea is shark-safe for vacationers and swimmers.
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