Located in the centre of theEast-Atlantic flyway, the Pechora Sea supports about 600 taxa[3] and the Barents Sea's highest totalbiomass.[3] It is the site of the yearly migration of one of the largest salmon stocks in Northern Europe.[3] Compared to the rest of the Barents Sea, the Pechora Sea is unique for its morecontinental climate, lowersalinity, shallowness, separation from the open sea, and large input from rivers,[5][3] as well as a low level of human interference, historically.[6] Its temperate characteristics are not typical of the Arctic.[5]
Historically, before the adjacent Barents Sea was named as such, the Pechora Sea's own name was already established. The rest of the present-day Barents Sea was known then asSea of Murmansk (Murmanskoye Morye).
The Pechora Sea was used as a starting point of the exploration of the then unknown icy seas lying to the east. The earliest recorded voyage across the Pechora Sea through theYugorsky Strait was made by early Russian explorer Uleb, fromVeliky Novgorod. Uleb's passing into the Kara Sea was recorded in 1032.
RussianPomors, the coastal dwellers of theWhite Sea shores, have explored the Sea and the coast ofNovaya Zemlya since the 11th century. The Arctic's first shipping line, the Great Mangazea Route, from the White Sea to theOb River and theYenisei Gulf began operating in the latter part of the 16th century. This line opened up the way to Siberia's riches and it worked until 1619, when it was closed for military and political reasons, for fear of possible penetration by Europeans intoSiberia.
The Pechora Sea's average depth is 6 m (20 ft), and its deepest point reaches 210 m (690 ft).[4] The mean depth ranges from 11 m (36 ft) in the Bay to 190 m (620 ft) south ofNovaya Zemlya.[7] The Atlantic-influencedKolguyev Current, which influences the temperature and salinity of the central part of the Sea, flows eastwards.[2] There are a few islands[quantify] close to the coast, the largest of which isDolgiy Island.
The Sea's shallowness makes it distinct from the rest of the Barents Sea. Over its 205,607 km2 (79,385 sq mi) area,[3] the average depth in the Sea is around 50 m (160 ft).[3] This shallowness prevents theupwelling of nutrients from the Atlantic,[3] contributing to the Sea's lowpelagic productivity.
As with the neighbouringKara Sea, the Pechora Sea's hydrologic situation is unique for its high input from rivers and heavy continental outflow.[5][3] The Pechora River alone discharges about 130 km3 (31 cu mi) of freshwater into the Pechora Sea from thePechora River—the Pechora Sea's main source of inflow—supplying the Sea with asediment load of 6.1×106 tonnes (6.1×109 kg; 1.34×1010 lb) yearly.[2]
Compared to other seas around the world, the Arctic Ocean's river-heavy source ofinflow is significant, giving the Pechora Sea less Arctic-like characteristics than would be expected at latitudes so far from theequator. The Pechora Sea together with the bordering Kara Sea (separated by thejet stream) make up more than a third of the Arctic Ocean's totalrunoff from continental sources[5] (as opposed to mostlysaltwater sources like most oceans). This high input from rivers makes this area of the Arctic Ocean unique.[5]
Ice formation is boosted by the Sea's low salinity. The temperature ranges from −1.0 to 1.5 °C (30.2 to 34.7 °F) below 150 m (490 ft); 0.5 to 2 °C (32.9 to 35.6 °F) at the central part of the Sea; and 5 to 8 °C (41 to 46 °F) in summer and autumn at the southern part of the Sea.[2]
Its salinity ranges from 8 to 18 ‰ in the bay, 18 to 26 ‰ in the southern portion, and 34 ‰ in the central part,[2] increasing with distance from themouth of the Pechora River.[8]
Counteracting the Sea's continental position is the influx of nutrients supplied by the Pechora River,[3] which gives the Sea 4,570 km3 (1,100 cu mi) of sediment and 12,500 tonnes (12,500,000 kg; 13,800 short tons) of other suspended matter.[3]
The Sea's cold continental climate,[3] a result of its location in the dead centre of the continent, gives favourable conditions to ice formation.[3] As a result of this continental position and abundance of ice, the Sea's water column is stratified, its sediment is heterogeneous[9] and its pelagic productivity is low.[3]
It supports a uniquebenthic ecosystem. The productive benthic environment fostered by the Pechora River holds more than 600fauna.[3] At the Kara and Yugorsky Straits, the total biomass is more than 500 mg/m2 (0.00010 lb/ft2), the highest in the Barents Sea. This benefits benthic organisms such as walruses. The Pechora River, the main input for the Pechora Sea, has an average yearly runoff of 130 km3 (31 cu mi). The Pechora Sea has 70 fish species,[3] the most abundant beingBoreogadus saida.[3] This species is important for thecryopelagic ecosystem.
The fisheries of the Barents Sea, in particular thecod fisheries, are of great importance for both Norway and Russia. There is a diversity of benthicfauna on the Pechora Sea floor.[10] In addition, there is agenetically distinctpolar bear population associated with the Barents Sea.[11] TheKarskaya group ofbeluga whales migrate into Pechora Sea for wintering.[12] Various species such aswalruses are threatened by possible pollutions.[13][14]
There are about 600 taxa in the Pechora Sea.[3] Variousanadromous fishes inhabit the Sea. One of the largest Northern European stocks of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) as well as other fish populations from surrounding areas migrate throughout the Pechora Sea each autumn tospawn, a process which they complete under the ice.[3] Additionally, the only stock ofCoregonus autumnalis in Northern Europe, and one of the region's largest, spawns in the Pechora's estuary.[3]
The Pechora Sea is the main 'staging and moulting ground forking eiders.Long-tailed ducksscoters and most other waterfowl species use the Sea as a stopover point.[3]
In current times[as of?] there is some oil drilling in the Pechora Sea at the Dolginskoye andPrirazlomnoye oil fields. The negative ecological impact of such industrial exploitation in the Pechora Sea coast is significant.[17] According toGreenpeace[18] and theWorld Wildlife Fund Gasprom is not prepared to deal adequately with a spill associated with oil production.[19] As such, in September, 2013, Greenpeace staged a confrontation with the Russian Coast Guard in which Greenpeace activists approached and attempted to scale a Gasprom drilling platform.
Dahle, Salve; Denisenko, Stanislav G.; Denisenko, Nina V.; Cochrane, Sabine J. (28 August 1998)."Benthic fauna in the Pechora Sea"(PDF).Sarsia.83. Bergen:183–210.ISSN0036-4827. Retrieved18 September 2023.
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