The Sea of ​​Okhotsk freezes or not. The Sea of ​​Okhotsk became an inland sea of ​​Russia

The buildings 13.10.2019
The buildings

My dream is to visit Kamchatka or Sakhalin off the coast of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. Alas, for me such a trip is long and costly. I hope to see this beauty someday. And now I just have to deepen my knowledge and watch a video about it beautiful place. I think that my knowledge is enough and therefore I want to describe the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Geographical characteristics of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk

I remember from school when a geography teacher told us that in order to describe a large geographical object, you need to open an atlas and find it on a map. Then you need to compose Plan characteristics Sea of ​​Okhotsk:

  • the name of the sea;
  • geographical position;
  • islands and peninsulas;
  • dimensions;
  • depth, salinity;
  • economic use.

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is a marginal sea Pacific Ocean . It is located near the eastern shores of Eurasia, between Kamchatka, the Kuril Islands and the mainland. His the area is 1,603,000 km².The maximum depth is 3,916 m and the average salinity is 32‰. Fishing is carried out in the sea fishing and seafood. Most of all, such types of fish are caught: salmon, herring, pollock, capelin, navaga. It is Kamchatka that is famous for its red and black caviar. It is also important transport route. There is a constant oil development from the sea shelf.

Features of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk

If you look at the sea from a height, you can see that almost everywhere shores are high, rockye. When you look at the coast from afar, only black stripes are visible on the horizon.

Geologists prove that the eastern part of the sea is one of the most "restless" areas world ocean. Fluctuations of the earth's crust for that territory is a common phenomenon. The Kamchatka-Kuril region is one of the most interesting regions in the world. Volcanoes constantly erupt in the sea and this is called seaquake. The Kuril Islands are of volcanic origin.

It is interesting that in 1910 a hydrographic expedition took place near Magadan. The researchers did not see the small island, which is located three kilometers from the coast, and did not put it on the map. Later he was named Island of Misunderstanding.

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is part of the Pacific Ocean, separated from it by the Kamchatka Peninsula, the Kuril Islands and the island of Hokkaido. The sea washes the shores of Russia and Japan. The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is named after the Okhota River, which in turn comes from Evensk. okat - "river". Previously it was called Lamsky (from the Evensk lam - “sea”), as well as the Kamchatka Sea. The western part of the sea is located on the continental shelf and has a shallow depth. In the center of the sea are the Deryugin depressions (in the south) and the TINRO depression. In the eastern part there is the Kuril basin, in which the depth is maximum. The coast in the north is strongly indented, in the northeast of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk there is its largest bay - Shelikhov Bay. Of the smaller bays of the northern part, the most famous are the Eyriney Bay and the bays of Shelting, Zabiyaka, Babushkina, Kekurny. In the east, the coastline of the Kamchatka Peninsula is practically devoid of bays. In the southwest, the largest are Aniva and Patience bays, Odessa Bay on Iturup Island.

Territorial regime The Sea of ​​Okhotsk, although it is surrounded on almost all sides by the territory Russian Federation, her inland sea is not; its water area consists of internal sea waters, the territorial sea and the exclusive economic zone. In the central part of the sea, there is an area elongated in the meridional direction, traditionally referred to in the English literature as Peanut Hole, which is not included in the exclusive economic zone of Russia and is legally open sea; in particular, any country in the world has the right to fish here and conduct other activities permitted by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. Since this region is an important element for the reproduction of the population of some species of commercial fish, the governments of some countries expressly prohibit their vessels from fishing in this area of ​​the sea.

temperature and salinity In winter, the water temperature at the sea surface ranges from -1.8 to 2.0 °C, in summer the temperature rises to 10-18 °C. Below the surface layer, at a depth of about 50-150 meters, there is an intermediate cold layer of water, the temperature of which does not change during the year and is about -1.7 °C. The waters of the Pacific Ocean entering the sea through the Kuril Straits form deep water masses with a temperature of 2.5 - 2.7 ° C (at the very bottom - 1.5-1.8 ° C). In coastal areas with significant river runoff, the water temperature is around 0 °C in winter and 8-15 °C in summer. Salinity of surface sea ​​waters- 32.8-33.8 ppm. The salinity of the intermediate layer is 34.5‰. Deep waters have a salinity of 34.3 - 34.4 ‰. Coastal waters have a salinity of less than 30 ‰.

Bottom relief The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is located in the transition zone of the mainland to the ocean bed. The basin of the sea is divided into two parts: northern and southern. The first is a submerged (up to 1000 m) continental shelf; within it are distinguished: the heights of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR and the Institute of Oceanology, occupying the central part of the sea, the depressions of Deryugin (near Sakhalin) and Tinro (near Kamchatka). southern part The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is occupied by the deep-water Kuril Basin, which is separated from the ocean by the Kuril Islands. Coastal sediments are coarse-grained terrigenous; in the central part of the sea, diatomaceous oozes. Earth's crust under the sea is represented by continental and subcontinental types in the northern part and suboceanic type in the southern part. The formation of the basin in the northern part occurred in the Anthropogenic time, due to the subsidence of large blocks of the continental crust. The deep-water Kuril Basin is much older; it was formed either as a result of the subsidence of the continental block, or as a result of the isolation of part of the ocean floor.

Flora and fauna According to the species composition of organisms living in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, it has an arctic character. The species of the temperate (boreal) zone, due to the thermal effect of oceanic waters, are predominantly inhabited by the southern and southeastern parts of the sea. The phytoplankton of the sea is dominated by diatoms, while the zooplankton is dominated by copepods and jellyfish, larvae of mollusks and worms. Numerous settlements of mussels, littorinas and other mollusks, barnacles of balanus, sea urchins are noted in the littoral zone, among crustaceans there are many amphinodes and crabs. At great depths, a rich fauna of invertebrates (glass sponges, holothurians, deep-sea eight-ray corals, decapod crustaceans) and fish has been found. The richest and most widespread group of plant organisms in the littoral zone are brown algae. Reds are also widespread in the sea, in the northwestern part - green algae. Of the fish, the most valuable are salmon: chum salmon, pink salmon, coho salmon, chinook, sockeye salmon. Commercial accumulations of herring, pollock, flounder, cod, navaga, capelin, smelt are known. Mammals live - whales, seals, sea lions, fur seals. Of great economic importance are Kamchatka and blue, or flat-footed, crabs (the Sea of ​​Okhotsk ranks first in the world in terms of stocks of commercial crab), salmon fish.

Sea of ​​Okhotsk, whose resources have great importance for states, it is one of the largest seas belonging to the Pacific Ocean. Located off the coast of Asia. It is separated from the ocean by the islands - Hokkaido, the eastern coast of Sakhalin and the chain of the Kuril lands.

It is worth noting that this sea is considered the coldest of all located on Far East. Even in summer, the temperature above it does not exceed 18 degrees on the south side, and in the northeast, thermometers show 10 degrees - this is the maximum figure.

Brief description of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk

It is cold and powerful. The Sea of ​​Okhotsk washes the shores of Japan and Russia. According to its outlines, the reservoir resembles an ordinary trapezoid. The sea stretches from the southwest to the northeast. The maximum length is 2.463 km and the maximum width is 1.500 km. The coastline is over 10,000 km long. The depth of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk (indicator of the maximum depression) is almost 4,000 km. The type of reservoir adjacent to the outskirts of the mainland is mixed.

Volcanic activity extends both to the surface and to the bottom of the sea. When a seismic movement or an explosion of an underwater volcano occurs underwater, it can cause huge tsunami waves.

hydronym

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk, whose resources are used in the national economic spheres of the two countries (Russia and Japan), got its name from the name of the Okhota River. According to official sources, earlier it was called Lamsky and Kamchatsky. In Japan, for a long time the sea was called "Northern". But due to confusion with another body of the same name, the hydronym was adapted and now the sea is called the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Importance of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk for Russia

It cannot be overestimated. Since 2014, the Sea of ​​Okhotsk belongs to inland waters Russian Federation. The state makes full use of its resources. First of all, it is the main supplier of salmon fish species. These are chum salmon, sockeye salmon, chinook salmon and other members of the family. The extraction of caviar is organized here, which is highly valued. No wonder Russia is considered one of the largest suppliers of this product.

The problems of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, however, as well as other water bodies, have led to a significant decrease in populations. It was for this state that it was necessary to limit the catch of fish. And this applies not only to the salmon family, but also to other species, such as herring, flounder, cod.

Industry

Russia has achieved great results in the development of industry on the shores of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. First of all, these are ship repair enterprises and, of course, fish processing factories. These two areas were modernized in the 90s and are now of great importance for economic development states. Nowadays, many commercial enterprises have appeared here.

Industry is also developing quite well on about. Sakhalin. Earlier, in tsarist times, it was perceived negatively, as it served as a place for exile of people objectionable to the rule. Now the picture has changed radically. The industry is flourishing, people themselves tend to come here in order to earn big money.

Kamchatka seafood processing enterprises entered the world market. Their products are highly appreciated abroad. It meets the standards and is quite popular in many countries.

Thanks to oil and gas deposits, Russia is a monopoly in this area. There is not a single state that could supply the same volumes of oil and gas to Europe. That is why a lot of money from the sovereign treasury is invested in these enterprises.

Islands

There are few islands in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, the largest of them is Sakhalin. Its coastline is heterogeneous: lowlands are observed in the northeast, the southeast is slightly elevated above sea level, and there is a shallow in the west.

The Kuril Islands are of particular interest. They are small in size, there are about 30 large ones, but there are also smaller ones. Together they form a seismic belt - the largest on the planet. On the Kuril Islands there are about 100 volcanoes. Moreover, 30 of them are operational: they can constantly “excite” the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

The resources of the Shantar Islands are fur seals. The largest concentration of this species is observed here. However, recently their production has been regulated in order to avoid complete extermination.

gulfs

The coastline of the reservoir is slightly indented, although it has a large length. There are practically no bays and bays in this area. The basin of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is divided into three basins: the Kuril, TINRO and Deryugin basins.

The largest bays: Sakhalin, Tugursky, Shelikhov, etc. There are also several bays here - sea bays that cut deep into the land, which form the depression of large rivers. Among them are Penzhinskaya, Gizhiginskaya, Udskaya, Tauyskaya. Thanks to the bays, water exchange in the seas also occurs. And on this moment scientists call this question rather problematic.

Straits

They are part of the Okhotsk basin. This is the one important element, which connects the reservoir with and also with the Pacific Ocean. In addition, there are low and shallow and Nevelsk. They do not play a special role, since they are quite small. But the Krusenstern and Bussol straits are different large area, while their maximum depth reaches 500 meters. In many ways, they regulate the salinity of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Bottom and coastline

The depths of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk are not uniform. From the side of Sakhalin and the mainland, the bottom is represented by a shoal - a continuation of the Asian part of the mainland. Its width is approximately 100 km. The rest of the bottom (about 70%) is represented by the continental slope. Near the Kuril Islands, next to about. Iturup is a sore cavity. In this place, the depth of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk reaches 2,500 meters. At the bottom of the reservoir, two large towering sections of relief are distinguished with quite original titles: Upland of the Institute of Oceanology and the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.

The coastline of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk belongs to different geomorphological forms. Most of them are high and steep slopes. Only the western territory of Kamchatka and the east of about. Sakhalin have a low-lying character. But the northern coast is significantly indented.

Water exchange

The continental runoff is small. This is due to the fact that all the rivers flowing into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk are not full-flowing, and cannot play a significant role. The most important is r. Cupid, it is on it that more than half of the total indicator of effluents falls. There are other relatively large rivers. This is Hunt, Uda, Bolshaya, Penzhina.

Hydrological characteristic

The reservoir is completely because the salinity of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is quite high. It is 32-34 ppm. It decreases closer to the coast, reaching a mark of 30 ‰, and in the intermediate layer - 34 ‰.

Most of the territory is covered with floating ice in winter. The lowest water temperature during the cold season ranges from -1 to +2 degrees. In summer, the sea depths warm up to 10-18ºC.

An interesting fact: at a depth of 100 meters there is an intermediate layer of water, the temperature of which does not change throughout the year and is 1.7 ° C below zero.

Climate features

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is located in temperate latitudes. This fact renders big influence on the mainland, providing the Aleutian minimum in the cold part of the year. It largely influences the northern winds that cause storms that continue throughout the winter.

In the warm season, weak southeasterly winds come from the mainland. Thanks to them, the air temperature rises to a large extent. However, cyclones come along with them, which can later form typhoons. The duration of such a typhoon can be from 5 to 8 days.

Sea of ​​Okhotsk: resources

They will be discussed further. It is known that Natural resources Sea of ​​Okhotsk is still poorly explored. The sea shelf with its hydrocarbon reserves is of the greatest value. Today, 7 are open on Sakhalin, Kamchatka, in the Khabarovsk Territory and the Magadan administrative center. The development of these deposits began in the 70s. However, in addition to oil, the main wealth of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is flora and fauna. They are of great variety. Therefore, the industry is highly developed here. The most valuable species of salmon fish are found in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. In the depths, squids are mined, and in terms of catching crabs, the reservoir is in first place in the world. Recently, mining conditions have become more strict and harsh. And there are restrictions on the catch of some fish.

Fur seals, whales, seals live in the northern waters of the sea. Catching these representatives of the animal world is strictly prohibited. In recent years, fishing is gaining popularity - catching sea urchins and shellfish. From the plant world are important different types seaweed. Speaking about the use of the sea, it is worth noting its importance in the transport sector. She is a priority. Important maritime trade routes have been laid here, which connect the large cities of Korsakov (Sakhalin), Magadan, Okhotsk and others.

Ecological problems

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk, like other waters of the World Ocean, suffers from human activities. Here are fixed ecological problems in the form of a drain of oil products and residues of gas compounds. Also quite problematic are the waste of industrial and household enterprises.

The coastal zone began to be polluted from the time of the development of the first offshore fields, but until the end of the 80s it did not have such large-scale dimensions. Now human anthropogenic activity has reached a critical point and requires immediate resolution. The largest concentration of waste and pollution is concentrated off the coast of Sakhalin. This is mainly due to rich oil deposits.

This sea has several names - the Evenki called it the Lamsky Sea (Lam in Evenki - the sea), sometimes it is called the Kamchatka Sea. The Japanese call the sea "Hakkai" - the northern sea. The name Okhotskoye is connected with the name of the river Okhota, which flows into it.

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is located near the Eurasian continent between the Kamchatka Peninsula and the mainland. In the south it is delimited from the Pacific Ocean by the Kuril Islands, Sakhalin and Hokkaido, with Sea of ​​Japan connected through the La Perouse and Nevelskoy straits. The sea occupies an area of ​​1583 thousand sq. km, its average depth is 177 m, the largest is 3372 m (in the area of ​​the Kuril basin).

The location of the sea complete map Pacific - .

There are many bays along the coastline, the largest are: Shelikhov, Sakhalin, Udskaya Bay, Tauyskaya Bay, etc. The coast is mostly rocky, only the coast of Hokkaido, the mouths of the rivers flowing in, and the northern coast of Sakhalin is flat. major rivers flowing into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk: Amur, Okhota, Uda, Gizhiga, Penzhina.
There are many islands in the shelf zone: Shantar, Zavyalova, Spafareva, etc.

The bottom relief is evener than that of the neighbor - the Bering Sea. Only in the south is the deep-water Kuril basin. The northern shelf part of the sea bottom is shallow. In the zone of the continental shelf, sandy, pebbly-sandy, rocky and silty-sandy soils predominate, in the deep-water zone - silty soils.

The climate of the area where the sea is located is temperate. Most cold dry winds blow from Eurasia, cooling the sea, especially its northern regions. In winter, in some places the air temperature drops below 20 degrees C, in summer it warms up to + 12- + 18 degrees C. The upper layers of water have a temperature slightly above zero in winter, in summer they can warm up to 15 degrees C (in the south).
The currents are directed counterclockwise (cyclonic). The tides in different areas are very different.
The maximum height of the tides (more than 12 meters) is noted in the Penzhina Bay.
The northern part of the sea has been covered with ice since November, the southern and central ones remain open, but severe and prolonged storms often rage here.

Animal and vegetable world The Sea of ​​Okhotsk has an arctic character, but to the south there are more and more representatives of temperate flora and fauna.

The phytoplankton of the sea is dominated by diatoms. Thanks to good conditions for the development of phytoplankton (water temperature, good mixing of surface layers with deeper ones), phytoalgae develop rapidly. Zooplankton, the main consumer of phytoalgae, is represented by small organisms - copepods, jellyfish, larvae of mollusks and worms, etc.
The richest and most widespread group of plant organisms in coastal zone are brown algae, including such a valuable representative as sea ​​kale(or kelp). This algae is widely used in Food Industry, and in medicine. Red algae are also common in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, and green algae in the northwestern part.


Coastal and shelf areas of the sea are inhabited by various mollusks (mussels, littorinas, cephalopods, etc.), crustaceans (crabs, shrimps, etc.), echinoderms ( sea ​​urchins, starfish) and other invertebrates. There are also many different bottom fish species (gobies, flounders, etc.)

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is especially rich in crabs - in terms of the reserves of commercial species of these crustaceans, it ranks first in the world. More than 80% of the famous king crab, which is found in the Sea of ​​Japan and in the south of the Bering Sea. This huge crab (however, not even a crab, but a sea crayfish - it has ten legs, like crayfish), reaches a leg span of 1.5 meters! True, the body itself (cephalothorax) is not so impressive - up to a quarter of a meter in diameter. The Kamchatka crustacean miracle weighs up to 7 kg.


Marine mammals also live here: whales (humpback whales, gray whales, sperm whales, killer whales), seals (seals), fur seals.

Coastal cliffs, as in many northern seas, often become places for sea birds to arrange bird rookeries.

The fish world of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is represented by more than 200 species of fish, including many valuable commercial ones. Herring, cod, flounder, navaga, pollock, capelin are caught here. The most valuable species of commercial fish are salmon (pink salmon, chum, chinook, sockeye salmon, coho salmon).

Square Sea of ​​Okhotsk 1.603 million sq. km. Average depth 1780 m maximum depth 3521 m. The western part of the sea has a shallow depth and is located on the continental shelf. In the center of the sea are the Deryugin depressions (in the south) and the TINRO depression. In the eastern part there is the Kuril basin, in which the depth is maximum.

From October to May-June, the northern part of the sea is covered with ice. The southeastern part practically does not freeze.

The coast in the north is strongly indented, in the northeast of the Sea of ​​​​Okhotsk there is its largest bay - Shelikhov Bay. Of the smaller bays of the northern part, the most famous are the Eyriney Bay and the bays of Shelting, Zabiyak, Babushkin, Kekurny, Odessa Bay on Iturup Island. In the east, the coastline of the Kamchatka Peninsula is practically devoid of bays. In the southwest, the largest are Aniva and Patience bays.

Fishing (salmon, herring, pollock, capelin, navaga, etc.).

Main ports: on the mainland - Magadan, Ayan, Okhotsk (port point); on the island of Sakhalin - Korsakov, on the Kuril Islands - Severo-Kurilsk.

The Sea of ​​Okhotsk is named after the Okhot River, which in turn comes from the Even okat - "river". The Japanese traditionally called this sea "Hokkai" (北海), literally "North Sea". But since this name now refers to North Sea Atlantic Ocean, they changed the name of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to "Ohotsuku-kai" (オホーツク海), which is an adaptation of the Russian name to the norms of Japanese phonetics.

The sea is located on the Okhotsk subplate, which is part of the Eurasian plate. The crust under most of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is of continental type.

We recommend reading

Top