Barents Sea

Named after Dutch navigator, Williem Barentsz, Barents Sea is located off the northern coast of Russia and Norway. It is surrounded by Kola peninsula in the south, the shelf edge in the west, the archipelagos of Svalbard to the northwest, Franz Josef land to the northeast, and novaya and zemlya to the east.

Sailors in the past have called the Barents Sea ” The devils dance floor ” and this is due to its difficulty level. The Barents Sea contains the World largest cod population. It also contains haddock and capelin. Fishing in the Barents Sea is mainly controlled by Russia and Norway, so as to know the amount of fish leaving the ecosystem due to fishing.

Barents Sea Facts for Kids

• The Barents Sea is formerly known by Russians in the middle ages as the Murman sea. The name Murmanskoye Morye, the sea of murmans ( Norwegians). It is shown in various sixteen century maps.
• The Barents Sea takes its name from Dutch explorer Williem Barentsz. A Dutch navigator who was the leader of a journey to the far north at the end of the sixteenth century.
• It is a shallow self sea, with an average depth of 750ft. And an important site for fishing and hydrocarbon exploration. Although there haven’t been much success in terms of oil and gas, but the fishing from the Barents Sea have been highly productive.
• The Barents Sea is separated from Kara sea by the island of novaya zemlya, an extension of the northen end of the Ural mountain.
• There are three types of water masses in the Barents Sea which are warm, salty Atlantic water, cold artic water.
• Salty Atlantic water has a temperature of >3° and salinity of > 35%, cold artic water temperature of <0° and salinity of < 35%, meanwhile warm but not very salty coastal water has a temperature of >3° and salinity < 34.7%. These are all types of water masses found in the Barents Sea.
• Islands in the Barents Sea include chaichy and Timanets.
• The Barents Sea is located in the Arctic ocean. It has a surface area of 1,400,000 km²
• The Barents Sea is one of Europe’s last large, clean and undisturbed eco system.
• The Barents Sea allows for biological diversification, and you can find numerous colonies of seabirds like puffins and guillermot. There are also some sea animals like walrus, bowhead whales, and polar bears.
• There are oil available in the Barents Sea which the petroleum industry is trying to exploit.
• There have been reduction in the sea ice and in stratification of water column, which could lead to major changes in Eurasia. This is caused by hydrologic changes because of global warming.

Question: What was the Barents Sea formerly known as by the Russians? And in what time?

Answer: The Murman sea. In the middle ages.

Question: What does the term Murman means?

Answer: Norwegians

Question: What are the places that surrounds the Barents Sea, and to what direction?

Answer: Kola peninsula in the south, shelf edge in the west, archipelagos of Svalbard to the northwest, Franz Josef land to the northeast, novaya and zemlya to the east.

Question: Who was the Barents Sea named after?

Answer: Dutch explorer Williem Barentsz

Question: What are the three types of water masses in Barents Sea?

Answer: warm, salty Atlantic water, cold artic water.

Question: What are the examples of seabirds and animals in the Barents Sea?

Answer: seabirds: puffins and guillermot. Animals: walrus, bowhead whales, and polar bears.