The Arctic Ocean is considered the smallest and coldest body of water on planet Earth, not without reason in Ancient Russia it was called the "Cold Sea".
The seas that are part of the Arctic Ocean basin, namely: the Kara, White, East Siberian, Barents, Laptev, Chukchi - began to be called "northern". All of the above natural objects, with the exception of the White Sea, are marginal, they are separated from each other by a chain of islands, including Severnaya Zemlya, Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and others. All northern seas are considered shallow because they are located on the shelf of the mainland. Only the northern territory of the Laptev Sea is located on the outskirts of a deep-water basin called Nansen. The bottom of the sea at this point decreases to 3385 meters, as a result, its average depth is 533 meters, so this natural object, once discovered by the Laptev brothers, is considered the deepest of the northern seas. The second position in terms of the degree of deep water is occupied by the Barents Sea, the averagethe indicator of the above parameter is 222 meters, and the maximum is 600 meters. The Chukchi Sea is considered to be the shallowest natural object, its average depth is 71 meters, and the East Siberian Sea - 54 meters.
Remarkable is the fact that the ice in these seas is kept for all 12 months. A significant area of the Arctic Ocean is “shrouded” in ice all year round.
Incredible cold that "exudes" the northern seas, ice cover and polar night prevent the normal development of zoo- and phytoplankton, resulting in a low level of biological productivity here. The species "arsenal" of organisms living here is not distinguished by its richness. In harsh conditions, the most cold-resistant species survive.
At the same time, the fish of the northern seas are distinguished by an abundance and variety of species: sea bass, halibut, haddock, herring, salmon, nelma. Among commercial fish, muksun, vendace, omul, as well as representatives of the smelt family are of particular value.
But there is a water body, which is not only conditionally called "northern", but also has a similar official name. If you go around the Scandinavian Peninsula from the northern part towards the south, you will certainly find yourself in the North Sea, which is the only water body of the Atlantic that connects with European countries. Some call it the "German" Sea.
The North Sea covers 544,000 sq. km. Its depth averages 96 m, but in some places, such as the Norwegian Trench,reaches 809 m. The North Sea washes the Scandinavian Peninsula, the coast of the Orkney and Shetlen Islands, the coast of Europe. Waterways connect it with the Norwegian and B altic Seas, the ocean. The North Sea washes the territory of Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France.
Major European rivers flow into it: Elbe, Rhine, Thames, Scheldt, Weser.
The flora of the sea has about three hundred species of plants. These are phytoplankton, sea grass, red, brown, green algae. Favorable temperature contributes to their rapid growth.
The fauna is represented by one and a half thousand species of animals: mollusks, coelenterates, fish. There are also mammals, including beluga whales, dolphins, killer whales, whales.
The we alth of the deep sea has become the basis of commercial fishing in all countries facing the North Sea. Herring, flounder, mackerel, sprats and other fish are harvested here. In the North Sea, you can find different types of sharks: Atlantic, feline, katran, hammerhead, blue, polar.
The coast line is diverse in its relief. In the area of the Wadden Sea, it is a plain, sometimes descending to sea level. Near Norway and in the southeast - an island line. In Scandinavia, the coast is cut by fjords, many bays.
The bottom of the sea is basically a plain, gradually deepening as you move away from the coast. In the bottom relief there are shoals (Goodmin Sand, Dogger) located off the coast of Great Britain. To the south are ridges of sand and gravel washed up by the tides. One of the deepest places - Norwegiangutter, depression has an average depth of 350 m. The bottom soil consists mainly of silt and sand.
The North Sea does not freeze as the warm North Atlantic Current enters from the Norwegian Sea. Water warms up to twenty degrees in summer, and in winter it never gets colder than two degrees Celsius. The flow of sea water has a cyclonic direction (counterclockwise), its speed is low: about half a meter per second. The current is influenced by winds, mainly western ones, which create a temperate climate in the sea area. Storms and fogs are frequent here, which makes navigation difficult. The height of the tides in the UK reaches seven meters, in Scandinavia - one meter.
The bottom of the sea abounds in natural resources - oil and gas. They are being developed off the coast of Norway and Scotland.
