Riiser Larsen Sea

The Riiser-Larsen is located in the Southern Ocean, at the south end of the Indian Ocean and off eastern Antarctica. The Riiser-Larsen is taken as a marginal sea of the Southern Ocean and was named after an explorer from Norway whose name was Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen. However the name of the sea is not acceptable in the British or US world atlases but it is still recognized in Russian maps.

Riiser-Larsen Sea Facts for Kids

Interesting Riiser-Larsen Facts:

• The Riiser-Larsen Sea covers a total area which is estimated to be approximately 1,138,000 square kilometer.
• The Riiser-Larsen Sea is usually covered by ice during most of the time of the year and has a seabed which is regarded to be fairly flat.
• The International Hydrographic Organization has not yet documented the name Riiser-Larsen Sea in the IHO list which clearly demonstrates that there are still disputes concerning the name of the sea.
• The depth of the waters of the Riiser-Larsen Sea is more than 3,000 meters in most of the areas of the sea.
• The Riiser-Larsen Sea’s rock layer is believed to be one of the oldest in the region around Antarctica and the wearing out during this period has resulted to formation of the largest Steep-sided valleys found in the continent of Antarctica.
• The steep-sided valleys found in the Riiser-Larsen Sea is divided into two that is surface steep-sided valleys and the buried steep-sided valleys whereby the size of the buried ones is twice and much older than the surface ones.
• The Riiser-Larsen Sea is believed to be among the first Antarctic marginal basins that were affected by the expansion of the ice sheet.
• It is believed that the buried steep-sided valleys were formed as a result of the icebergs that had already been grounded reaching the continental shelf edge resulting in a rise of residues transportation.
• The Riiser-Larsen Sea’s continental shelf is fairly narrow and is observed to have formed some rocky terraces which are found 750 meters below the sea and are taken to be the possible maximum extent of seafloor reaching the icebergs.
• The Riiser-Larsen Sea is separated from the Mozambique Basin by the Southwest Indian Ridge.
• There is a major believe that the Riiser-Larsen Sea, Weddell Sea, West Somali Basin and Mozambique Basin all opened up during the Jurassic period which was characterized by wet and warm climatic conditions that triggered massive growth of vegetation and increase in human and animal population. This opening is believed to have been caused by rifting that was as a result of breaking up of Gondwana.
• The Riiser-Larsen Sea is bordered by other seas on its corner. For example on its west it is bordered by Lazarev Sea while on its east it is bordered by the Cosmonauts Sea. It lies between 14 degrees East and 30 degrees east where else its northern border is said to be the 65th parallel south.
• The ice shelf found on the Riiser-Larsen Sea has a total length of about 250 miles which is approximately 400 km. The ice shelf stretches from Cape Norvegia in the north all the way to Lyddan Island and Stancomb-Wills Glacier in the south.

In addition to these facts the following questions are also important:

Question: When was the Riiser-Larsen named and who named it?

Answer: 1962, by the Soviet Antarctic Expedition.

Question: Which areas borders the Riiser-Larsen Sea on the South and on the east?

Answer: ? On the South there is Princess Astrid Coast and Princess Ragnhild Coast of Queen Maud Land. On the East it is bordered by Erskine Iceport, GodelIceport and the former Belgian Roi-Baudouin Station.