View source for Kara Sea

{{Short description|Marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean}}
{{more citations needed|date=January 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name = Kara Sea
| image = 
| pushpin_map = Arctic
| caption = 
| image_bathymetry = Kara Sea map.png
| caption_bathymetry = Map showing the location of the Kara Sea.
| location = [[Arctic Ocean]]
| coords = {{Coord|77|N|77|E|type:waterbody_scale:10000000|display=inline, title}}
| type = [[Sea]]
| inflow = 
| outflow = 
| catchment = 
| basin_countries = [[Russia]]
| length = 
| width = 
| area = {{convert|926000|km2|abbr=on}}
| depth = {{convert|131|m|abbr=on}}
| max-depth = 
| volume = {{convert|121000|km3|e9acre.ft|abbr=on}}
| frozen = Practically all year round
| reference = <ref>{{cite book|first = R.|last = Stein |title=Arctic Ocean Sediments: Processes, Proxies, and Paleoenvironment |page= 37 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oaTGl9HKWzAC&pg=PA37|isbn = 9780080558851|publisher= Elsevier |date=2008}}</ref>
}}

The '''Kara Sea'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɑː|r|ə}} {{respell|KAHR|ə}}; {{langx|ru|Карское море|Karskoye more}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈkarskə(j)ɪ ˈmorʲɪ|pron}}}} is a [[marginal sea]], separated from the [[Barents Sea]] to the west by the [[Kara Strait]] and [[Novaya Zemlya]], and from the [[Laptev Sea]] to the east by the [[Severnaya Zemlya]] archipelago. Ultimately the Kara, Barents and Laptev Seas are all extensions of the [[Arctic Ocean]] north of [[Siberia]].

The Kara Sea's northern limit is marked geographically by a line running from [[Cape Kohlsaat]] in [[Graham Bell Island]], [[Franz Josef Land]], to [[Cape Molotov]] (Arctic Cape), the northernmost point of [[Komsomolets Island]] in [[Severnaya Zemlya]].

The Kara Sea is roughly {{convert|1,450|km|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|970|km|abbr=on}} wide with an area of around {{convert|880000|km2|0|abbr=on}} and a mean depth of {{convert|110|m|ft}}.

Its main ports are [[Novy Port]] and [[Dikson (urban-type settlement)|Dikson]] and it is important as a [[fishing]] ground although the sea is ice-bound for all but two months of the year. The Kara Sea contains the [[East-Prinovozemelsky field]] (an extension of the [[West Siberian Oil Basin]]), containing significant undeveloped [[petroleum]] and [[natural gas]]. In 2014, US government sanctions resulted in [[Exxon]] having until 26 September to discontinue its operations in the Kara Sea.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.dn.no/nyheter/energi/2014/09/16/1609/sanksjoner-kan-avslutte-boring-i-karahavet |title=Sanksjoner kan avslutte boring i Karahavet |date=16 September 2014 |trans-title= Sanctions could end drilling in the Kara Sea |newspaper=[[Dagens Næringsliv|DN]] |language=no |access-date=22 November 2020}}</ref>

==Name origin==
It is named after the [[Kara (river)|Kara]] river (flowing into [[Baydaratskaya Bay]]), which is now relatively insignificant but which played an important role in the Russian conquest of northern Siberia.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Varshavsky | first1=V. I. | last2=Pospelov | first2=D. A. | title=Geograficheskie nazvaniya mira : toponimicheski slovar |trans-title=Geographic names of the world| publisher=Russkie Slovari | publication-place=Moskvá | year=1998 | oclc=934009474 | language=ru | page=191}}</ref> The Kara river name is derived from a [[Nenets languages|Nenets]] word meaning '[[Hummock|hummocked ice]]'.<ref>{{cite book |first=V.Yu.|last= Vize |title=Karskoye more // Morya Sovetskoy Arktiki: Ocherki po istorii issledovaniya |trans-title=Kara Sea // Seas of the Soviet Arctic: Essays on the history of research | publisher=Izdatel'stvo Glavsevmorputi | language=ru |location=Leningrad |year=1939 |pages=180–217 }}</ref>

==Geography==

===Extent===
[[Image:Kara Sea islands.PNG|thumb|Main islands and island groups in the central and eastern regions of the Kara Sea.]]
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the limits of the Kara Sea as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011}}</ref>

:''On the West.'' The Eastern limit of [[Barents Sea]] <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Cape Kohlsaat]] to [[Cape Zhelaniya]] (Desire); West and Southwest coast of [[Novaya Zemlya]] to Cape Kussov Noss and thence to Western entrance Cape, Dolgaya Bay ({{Coord|70|15|N|58|25|E|display=inline}}) on [[Vaygach Island|Vaigach Island]]. Through Vaigach Island to Cape Greben; thence to Cape Belyi Noss on the mainland].

:''On the North.'' Cape Kohlsaat to [[Arctic Cape|Cape Molotov]] ({{Coord|81|16|N|93|43|E|display=inline}}) (Northern extremity of [[Severnaya Zemlya]] on [[Komsomolets Island]]).

:''On the East.'' Komsomolets Island from Cape Molotov to South Eastern Cape; thence to Cape Vorochilov, [[October Revolution Island|Oktiabrskaya Revolutziya Island]] to Cape Anuchin. Then to Cape Unslicht on [[Bolshevik Island]]. Bolshevik Island to Cape Yevgenov. Thence to Cape Pronchisthehev on the main land (see Russian chart No. 1484 of the year 1935).

===Islands===
[[File:Kara Sea structural map.png|thumb|Kara Sea [[geological map|structural map]]]]
There are many islands and island groups in the Kara Sea. Unlike the other marginal seas of the Arctic, where most islands lie along the coasts, in the Kara Sea many islands, like the [[Arkticheskiy Institut Islands]], the [[Izvesti Tsik Islands]], the [[Kirov Islands]], [[Uedineniya Island|Uedineniya]] or Lonely Island, [[Wiese Island]], and [[Voronina Island]] are located in the open sea of its central regions.

The largest group in the Kara Sea is by far the [[Nordenskiöld Archipelago]], with five large subgroups and over ninety islands. Other important islands in the Kara Sea are [[Bely Island]], [[Dikson Island]], [[Taymyr Island]], the [[Kamennyye Islands]] and [[Oleni Island]]. Despite the high latitude, all islands are [[unglaciated]] except for [[Ushakov Island]] at the extreme northern limit of the Kara Sea.<ref>[http://nag.iasc.info/images/publications/magics/iasc_mb1996.pdf Arctic Glaciers; Ushakov Island]</ref>

===Subareas===

Counter-clockwise, mostly west to east:
* [[Baydaratskaya Bay]]
* [[Gulf of Ob]]
** [[Taz Estuary]]
* [[Gydan Bay]]
* [[Yuratski Bay]]
* [[Yenisei Gulf]]
* [[Pyasina Bay]]
* [[Middendorff Bay]]
* [[Taymyr Gulf]]
* [[Toll Bay]]
* [[Zhuravlev Bay]] ([[Komsomolets Island]])

===Straits===

* [[Kara Strait]]
* [[Kurochkin Strait]]
* [[Malygina Strait]]
* [[Matochkin Strait]]
* [[Red Army Strait]]
* [[Shokalsky Strait]]
* [[Taymyr Strait]]
* [[Vilkitsky Strait]]
* [[Yugorsky Strait]]
* [[Yuny Strait]]

===Current patterns===
Water circulation patterns in the Kara Sea are complex. The Kara Sea tends to be [[sea ice]] covered between September and May,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Harms|first1=I. H.|last2=Karcher|first2=M. J.|date=15 June 1999|title=Modeling the seasonal variability of hydrography and circulation in the Kara Sea|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans|language=en|volume=104|issue=C6|pages=13431–13448|doi=10.1029/1999JC900048|bibcode=1999JGR...10413431H|url=https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/3691/1/Har1999g.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref> and between May and August heavily influenced by [[Fresh water|freshwater]] run-off (roughly 1200&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pavlov|first1=V.K.|author2-link=Stephanie Pfirman|last2=Pfirman|first2=S.L.|date=1995|title=Hydrographic structure and variability of the Kara Sea: Implications for pollutant distribution|journal=Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography|language=en|volume=42|issue=6|pages=1369–1390|doi=10.1016/0967-0645(95)00046-1|bibcode=1995DSRII..42.1369P|doi-access=free}}</ref>) from the Russian rivers (e.g., [[Ob River|Ob]], [[Yenisei River|Yenisei]], [[Pyasina River|Pyasina]], [[Pur River|Pur]], and [[Taz River|Taz]]). The Kara Sea is also affected by the water inflow from the [[Barents Sea]], which brings 0.6 [[Sverdrup|Sv]] in August and 2.6 [[Sverdrup|Sv]] in December.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schauer|first1=Ursula|last2=Loeng|first2=Harald|last3=Rudels|first3=Bert|last4=Ozhigin|first4=Vladimir K|last5=Dieck|first5=Wolfgang|date=2002|title=Atlantic Water flow through the Barents and Kara Seas|journal=Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers|language=en|volume=49|issue=12|pages=2281–2298|doi=10.1016/S0967-0637(02)00125-5|bibcode=2002DSRI...49.2281S}}</ref> The [[Advection|advected]] water originates from the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], but it was cooled and mixed with freshwater in the [[Barents Sea]] before it reaches the Kara Sea.<ref name=":0" /> Simulations with the Hamburg shelf ocean model (HAMSOM) suggest that no typical water current pattern consists in the Kara Sea throughout the year. Depending on the freshwater run-off, the dominant wind patterns, and the [[sea ice]] formation, the water currents change.<ref name=":0" />

===Connections to global weather===
{{excerpt|Arctic sea ice decline#Barents Sea ice}}

==History==
The Kara Sea was formerly known as '''Oceanus Scythicus''' or '''Mare Glaciale''' and it appears with these names in 16th century maps. Since it is closed by ice most of the year it remained largely unexplored until the late nineteenth century.

In 1556 [[Stephen Borough]] sailed in the ''Searchthrift'' to try to reach the [[Ob River]], but he was stopped by ice and fog at the entrance to the Kara Sea. Not until 1580 did another English expedition, under [[Arthur Pet]] and [[Charles Jackman (explorer)|Charles Jackman]], attempt its passage. They too failed to penetrate it, and [[England]] lost interest in searching for the [[Northeast Passage]].

In 1736–1737 [[Russia]]n Admiral [[Stepan Malygin]] undertook a voyage from [[Dolgy Island]] in the [[Barents Sea]]. The two ships in this early expedition were the ''Perviy'', under Malygin's command and the ''Vtoroy'' under Captain A. Skuratov. After entering the little-explored Kara Sea, they sailed to the mouth of the [[Gulf of Ob|Ob River]]. Malygin took careful observations of these hitherto almost unknown areas of the Russian Arctic coastline. With this knowledge he was able to draw the first somewhat accurate map of the Arctic shores between the [[Pechora River]] and the [[Ob River]].

In 1878, Finnish explorer [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]] on ship ''Vega'' sailed across the Kara Sea from [[Gothenburg]], along the coast of Siberia, and despite the ice packs, got to [[180th meridian|180° longitude]] by early September. Frozen in for the winter in the [[Chukchi Sea]], Nordenskiöld waited and bartered with the local [[Chukchi people]]. The following July, the Vega was freed from the ice, and continued to [[Yokohama]], Japan. He became the first to force the [[Northeast Passage]]. During the same years, [[Christian Dahl]] explored the sailing conditions in the Kara Sea, and was instrumental in opening up a direct trade route from central Siberia to Western Europe.<ref name=goarctic>{{cite journal |last1= Dresen|first1= Urmas|date= 2021|title= Men from Estonia on the Arctic Ocean and the Ob River|url= https://dea.digar.ee/article/AKgoarctic/2021/06/0/17|journal= Go Arctic 2021 |issue= 1|publisher= Baltic Sail Charter|pages= 56–61|access-date=7 October 2025}}</ref> The largest group of islands in the Kara Sea, the [[Nordenskiöld Archipelago]], has been named in his honour. The year 1912 was a tragic one for Russian explorers in the Kara Sea. In that fateful year unbroken consolidated ice blocked the way for the [[Northern Sea Route]] and three expeditions that had to cross the Kara Sea became trapped and failed: [[Georgy Sedov|Sedov]]'s on vessel ''St. Foka'', [[Georgy Brusilov|Brusilov]]'s on the [[Svyataya Anna|''St. Anna'']], and [[Vladimir Rusanov|Rusanov]]'s on the ''Gercules''. Georgy Sedov intended to reach Franz Josef Land on ship, leave a depot over there, and sledge to the pole. Due to the heavy ice the vessel could only reach [[Novaya Zemlya]] the first summer and wintered in [[Franz Josef Land]]. In February 1914 Sedov headed to the [[North Pole]] with two sailors and three sledges, but he fell ill and died on [[Rudolf Island]]. [[Georgy Brusilov]] attempted to navigate the [[Northeast Passage]], was trapped in the Kara Sea, and drifted northward for more than two years reaching latitude 83° 17' N. Thirteen men, headed by [[Valerian Albanov]], left the vessel and started across the ice to [[Franz Josef Land]], but only Albanov and one sailor ([[Alexander Konrad]]) survived after a gruesome three-month ordeal. The survivors brought the ship log of ''St. Anna'', the map of her drift, and daily meteorological records, but the destiny of those who stayed on board remains unknown. In the same year the expedition of [[Vladimir Rusanov]] was lost in the Kara Sea. The prolonged absence of those three expeditions stirred public attention, and a few small rescue expeditions were launched, including [[Jan Nagórski]]'s five air flights over the sea and ice from the NW coast of [[Novaya Zemlya]].

After the [[Russian Revolution (1917)|Russian Revolution]] in 1917, the scale and scope of exploration of the Kara Sea increased greatly as part of the work of developing the Northern Sea Route. Polar stations, of which five already existed in 1917, increased in number, providing meteorologic, ice reconnaissance, and radio facilities. By 1932 there were 24 stations, by 1948 about 80, and by the 1970s more than 100. The use of icebreakers and, later, aircraft as platforms for scientific work were developed. In 1929 and 1930 the [[Icebreaker Sedov]] carried groups of scientists to [[Severnaya Zemlya]], the last major piece of unsurveyed territory in the Soviet Arctic; the archipelago was completely mapped under [[Georgy Ushakov]] between 1930 and 1932.

Particularly worth noting are three cruises of the [[Sadko (1913 icebreaker)|Icebreaker ''Sadko'']], which went farther north than most; in 1935 and 1936 the last unexplored areas in the northern Kara Sea were examined and the small and elusive [[Ushakov Island]] was discovered.

In the summer of 1942, German [[Kriegsmarine]] warships and submarines entered the Kara Sea to destroy as many Russian vessels as possible. This naval campaign was named "[[Operation Wunderland]]". Its success was limited by the presence of ice floes, as well as bad weather and fog. These effectively protected the Soviet ships, preventing the damage that could have been inflicted on the [[Soviet Navy|Soviet fleet]] under fair weather conditions.

In October 2010, the Russian government awarded a license to Russian oil company [[Rosneft]] for developing the [[East-Prinovozemelsky field|East-Prinovozemelsky oil and gas structure]] in the Kara Sea.<ref name=upstream151010>
{{cite news
 | url = http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article232846.ece
 | title = Rosneft and Gazprom clinch Arctic acreage
 | newspaper = [[Upstream (newspaper)|Upstream Online]]
 | publisher = NHST Media Group
 | date = 15 October 2010
 | access-date = 30 January 2011}}
</ref><ref name=upstream140111>
{{cite news
 | url = http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article241699.ece
 | title = BP and Rosneft in exploration pact
 | newspaper = [[Upstream (newspaper)|Upstream Online]]
 | publisher = NHST Media Group
 | date = 14 January 2011
 | access-date = 30 January 2011}}
</ref>

==Nuclear dumping==
{{Main|Ocean disposal of radioactive waste}}
There is concern about [[radioactive contamination]] from [[nuclear waste]] the former [[Soviet Union]] dumped in the sea and the effect this will have on the marine environment. According to an official "White Paper" report compiled and released by the Russian government in March 1993, the Soviet Union dumped six [[nuclear submarine]] reactors and ten [[nuclear reactors]] into the Kara Sea between 1965 and 1988.<ref>"Radioecological Hazard of Ship Nuclear Reactors Sunken in the Arctic", Atomic Energy, Vol.79, No. 3, 1995.</ref> Solid high- and low-level wastes unloaded from Northern Fleet nuclear submarines during reactor refuelings were dumped in the Kara Sea, mainly in the shallow fjords of Novaya Zemlya, where the depths of the dumping sites range from 12 to 135 meters, and in the Novaya Zemlya Trough at depths of up to 380 meters. Liquid low-level wastes were released in the open Barents and Kara Seas. A subsequent appraisal by the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] showed that releases are low and localized from the 16 naval reactors (reported by the IAEA as having come from seven submarines and the [[Lenin (nuclear icebreaker)|icebreaker ''Lenin'']]) which were dumped at five sites in the Kara Sea. Most of the dumped reactors had suffered an accident.<ref>Mount, M.E., Sheaffer, M.K. and Abbott, D.T. (1994). "Kara Sea radionuclide inventory from naval reactor disposal". ''J. Environ. Radioactivity'', 25, 1–19.</ref>

The [[Soviet submarine K-27]] was scuttled in Stepovogo Bay with its two reactors filled with spent nuclear fuel.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lifting Russia's accident reactors from the Arctic seafloor will cost nearly €300 million |url=https://thebarentsobserver.com/en/ecology/2020/03/lifting-russias-accident-reactors-arctic-seafloor-will-cost-nearly-eu300-million |work=The Barents Observer |date=8 March 2020}}</ref> At a seminar in February 2012 it was revealed that the reactors on board the submarine could re-achieve [[Critical mass|criticality]] and explode (a buildup of heat leading to a steam explosion vs. nuclear). The catalogue of waste dumped at sea by the Soviets, according to documents seen by Bellona, includes some 17,000 containers of [[radioactive waste]], 19 ships containing radioactive waste, 14 nuclear reactors, including five that still contain spent nuclear fuel; 735 other pieces of radioactively contaminated heavy machinery, and the K-27 nuclear submarine with its two reactors loaded with nuclear fuel.<ref name="rae">{{cite web |url=http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2012/Russia_reveals_dumps |title=Russia announces enormous finds of radioactive waste and nuclear reactors in Arctic seas |author=Charles Digges |date=28 August 2012 |publisher=Bellona |access-date=23 September 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923095725/http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2012/Russia_reveals_dumps |archive-date=23 September 2012 }}</ref>

==Nature reserve==
[[File:Hivus-6 on Kara sea beach.jpg|thumb|Hovercraft on Kara Sea shore]]
The [[Great Arctic State Nature Reserve]]—the largest [[nature reserve]] of Russia—was founded on 11 May 1993, by Resolution No. 431 of the Government of the Russian Federation (RF). The Kara Sea Islands section (4,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) of the Great Arctic Nature Reserve includes: the [[Kirov Islands|Sergei Kirov Archipelago]], the [[Voronina Island]], the [[Izvestiy TSIK Islands]], the [[Arkticheskiy Institut Islands|Arctic Institute Islands]], the [[Svordrup Island]], [[Uedineniya]] (Ensomheden) and a number of smaller islands. This section represents rather fully the natural and biological diversity of Arctic sea islands of the eastern part of the Kara Sea.

Nearby, the [[Franz Josef Land]] and [[Severny Island]] in northern [[Novaya Zemlya]] are also registered as a sanctuary, the [[Russian Arctic National Park]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Oceans|Siberia|Russia|Geography}}
* [[Valerian Albanov]]
* [[List of seas]]
* [[Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld]]
* [[Northern Sea Route]]
* [[Boris Vilkitsky]]
* [[West Siberian petroleum basin]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www-ns.iaea.org/appraisals/west-kara.htm International Atomic Energy Agency:Radiological Conditions of the Western Kara Sea] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060927013551/http://www-ns.iaea.org/appraisals/west-kara.htm |date=27 September 2006 }}
* J. Zeeberg. ''Into the Ice Sea''.
* Sea ice and polynias in the Kara Sea: [http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2005GeoRL..3215501K] &  [https://doi.org/10.1007%2Fs00367-004-0199-5]
* Marine pollution in the Kara Sea: [http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0025326X00002356]
* {{webarchive |url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20060930222354/http://www.unep.org/dewa/giwa/areas/reports/r1a/assessment_giwa_r1a.pdf |title=Ecological assessment |date=30 September 2006}}
* [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/04/27/science/russians-describe-extensive-dumping-of-nuclear-waste.html?pagewanted=all "Russians Describe Extensive Dumping of Nuclear Waste"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 27 April 1993

{{Kara Sea Islands}}
{{List of seas}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Kara Sea| ]]
[[Category:European seas]]
[[Category:Seas of the Arctic Ocean]]
[[Category:Seas of Asia]]
[[Category:Seas of Russia]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Arkhangelsk Oblast]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Nenets Autonomous Okrug]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Krasnoyarsk Krai]]