Since ancient times, salinity of the Chukchi Sea has been of interest to sailors and travelers. What is it, this body of water located on the very edge of the Arctic Ocean? What is the story of its development? Animal and plant world? Relief and physical and geographical location? Let's find out.
Location uniqueness
The Chukchi Sea, the salinity, depth and temperature of which will be described in detail in this article, is located between the Chukchi Peninsula and the state of Alaska. It is a conditional border not only between two states, but also between two continents, and two continents.
On the west side, the reservoir connects to the East Siberian Sea through the Long Strait, in the south - to the Bering Sea through the Bering Strait. The eastern part of the Chukchi Sea is washed by Cape Barrow, thereby touching the Beaufort Sea. As we see, the Chukchi Sea, due to its geographical location, is a connecting link between vast territories and reservoirs.
Moreover, a conditional line runs along its water area, on different sides of which the local time differs from each other by twenty-four hours (a whole day). This conditional line, generally accepted in the international community, is called the date line.
When was the Chukchi Sea discovered (salinity and other indicators of the reservoir will be described below)?
Discovery story
It is noteworthy that in ancient times the Chukchi Sea was developed three times, and each time by different people.
For the first time this reservoir was said back in 1648, when the Russian Semyon Dezhnev walked along it from the Kolyma River to the Andadyr River. Who was this man and what contribution did he make to land development?
Semen Ivanovich was born in 1605 in the small town of Veliky Ustyug. Nothing is known about the childhood and youth of this sailor and traveler. In adulthood, Dezhnev entered the royal service and moved to Siberia, where at first he acted as an ordinary Cossack. He later became an ataman and was appointed a yasak collector. Performing his official duties, Semen Ivanovich organized the Chukotka expedition, which he set off with his comrades on several moguls - fishing sailing vessels.
During the trip Dezhnev proved to be a strong and wise sailor. Having survived several forced wintering, shipwrecks and snowdrifts, the sailor explored the Chukchi Sea and the peninsula of the same name, the Bering Strait and the outskirts of North America. Semen Ivanovich kept notes in which he made his observations, notes and diagrams.
Research history
Who became the successor of Dezhnev in this complex and dangerous business of developing the Chukchi Sea? In 1728, a Russian expedition was sent to the shores of this reservoir, headed by a captain-commander, a Danish descent Vitus Jonassen Bering. This fearless seafarer through the strait, later named after him, went to the Chukchi Sea, where he was able to conduct instrumental shooting of the west coast.
Fifty-one years later, the heroic act of the Russian navigators was repeated by James Cook, an English naval sailor and famous traveler.
He also crossed the Chukchi Sea, carefully examining its coast and surroundings. This happened in 1978, at the end of the third round-the-world voyage made by a brave sailor and his crew. They crossed the Arctic Circle, entered the Chukchi Sea and headed for the Aleutian Islands. During his journey through the ice field, Cook was able to study the area in detail, get acquainted with the drawn maps of Bering and create his own plan for the northern land.
Name history
What was the name of the Chukchi Sea (salinity, depth and topography of which will be described below) in those days? The fact is that until the mid-twentieth century, this reservoir was considered part of the East Siberian Sea, and only in 1935 it was officially named after the inhabitants of the peninsula of the same name.
This decision was made after the Norwegian polar oceanographer and meteorologist Harald Sverdrup in the course of his hydrographic studies found that the reservoir located between Wrangel Island and Cape Barrow is very different from the surrounding sea space.
Having a short excursion into the history of navigation, let us now get closer to the Chukchi Sea itself and its features.
Common parameters. Depth
The northern body of water occupies a relatively small area - five hundred eighty nine thousand six hundred square kilometers. What is the depth of this vast body of water?
Depths with a minimum of not more than fifty meters occupy more than half of the total area. The maximum depth reaches one kilometer two hundred fifty six meters.
The salinity and depth of the Chukchi Sea are closely interconnected. This principle can be traced: the higher the depth, the stronger the salinity.
Common parameters. Relief
According to studies, the reservoir is located on the shelf - a leveled area of the underwater edge of the mainland adjacent to land. Here, the depth of the water varies between forty and sixty meters. Shallows with depths of ten to thirteen meters can also be found. Therefore, it becomes clear that along the coastline there is a relatively small salinity of the Chukchi Sea (in ppm it is approximately equal to twenty-eight units).
The seabed of the reservoir is varied and beautiful, cut by two long depressions (or canyons), the depth of which reaches ninety meters (Herald Canyon) and one hundred and sixty meters (Barrow Canyon).
The bottom surface is also heterogeneous. There is loose silt mixed with sand and gravel).
Common parameters. Temperature
As many scientists note, the salinity of the Chukchi Sea and the temperature of its waters are also closely interconnected. How? The lower the temperature, the saltier the water.
For example, in winter, at a water temperature of about two degrees with a minus mark, it can reach thirty-three ppm. During this period, the highest salinity of the Chukchi Sea is observed (as a percentage, this ratio is quite easy to translate, since per mille is one thousandth, or one tenth of a percent). That is, an indicator of thirty-three ppm is 3.3 percent.
In summer, the salinity of the water varies between twenty-eight and thirty-two ppm, and the temperature of the sea varies from four to twelve degrees above zero.
Currents
At the mouths of the rivers the lowest salinity is observed (from three to five ppm).
As you can see, this parameter is affected not only by depth and temperature, but also by currents. How?
For example, in summer, the warm waters of fresh rivers flow into the sea through the Bering Strait, which significantly reduces the salinity of the water in the entire body of water. Most often these are Siberian rivers flowing to the southeast.
Tides occur in the Chukchi Sea, however, they are considered to be sparingly expressed due to the Bering Strait, which prevents the significant influence of the Arctic Ocean on the Chukchi Sea. The average height of the tides usually does not exceed fifteen centimeters.
As for the excitement of water, they are also small. In the fall, there are decent waves with a height of about six to seven centimeters, but soon the sea waves subside, as they freeze.
More than six months the Chukchi Sea is covered with ice. Typically, the freezing process begins in late October, and ice melting occurs in early June.
Along the coast
On the territory of the Chukchi Sea there are two large ports - Uelen (from the Russian Federation) and Barrow (from the United States of America).
On the Arctic coast of the reservoir there are many shallow beautiful lagoons, the largest of them are Kanygtokynmanki, Erokynmanky, Tenkargykynmangky and others.
Industry
According to some estimates, the underwater part of the Chukchi Sea contains twenty-five to thirty billion barrels of oil. Also at the bottom there is a large accumulation of placer gold for industrial mining.
Fauna of the reservoir
On the ice of the Chukchi Sea, you can find a polar bear - a large predatory mammal, whose length can reach three meters, and body weight - half a ton.
Polar bears from their brown counterparts are distinguished by a long neck and a flat head. In summer, under the influence of direct sunlight, their fur may turn yellow, and in winter again turn white.
Most often, animals live on drifting ice floes, where they hunt for seals, sea hares and walruses. Pregnant females fall into hibernation, while healthy males sleep irregularly and very little in winter (about two months).
Also in the Chukchi Sea, seals find refuge - huge mammals from the walrus family.
Their body length varies between two and three meters, and their weight usually reaches nine hundred kilograms. They feed on squids, crustaceans and other marine life.
In the waters of the sea, you can often find valuable fish, such as grayling, Far Eastern navaga, Arctic char. In summer, geese, ducks, and gulls nest along the shores, which suit real bird markets.
Finally
As you can see, the Chukchi Sea is a large Arctic reservoir that connects Russia and America. Its beautiful embossed bottom is decorated with canyons and numerous algae. In the waters of the sea dozens of representatives of wildlife find refuge - all kinds of fish, crustaceans, and mammals.
The average salinity of the Chukchi Sea can reach thirty ppm (this is about three percent). As already mentioned above, several factors affect the salinity of the water — the temperature of the water, the depth of the reservoir, and all kinds of currents.
On islands located near the Chukchi Sea, there is a state natural reserve “Wrangel Island”, which protects endangered species of polar bears and walruses.