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Themajor port ofArkhangelsk is located on the White Sea. For much of Russia's history this was Russia's main centre of international maritime trade, conducted by thePomors ("seaside settlers") fromKholmogory. In the modern era it became an importantSoviet naval and submarine base. TheWhite Sea–Baltic Canal connects the White Sea with theBaltic Sea.
The White Sea is one of the four seas named (not only in English) after commoncolour terms—the others being theBlack,Red andYellow seas.
The seabed of the central part and Dvina Bay is covered insilt and sand, whereas the bottom of the northern part, theKandalaksha Gulf and Onega Bay is a mixture of sand and stones. Ice age deposits often emerge near the sea shores. Northwestern coasts are tall and rocky but the slope is much weaker at the southeastern side.[1]
The White Sea contains a large number of islands, but most of them are small. The main island group is theSolovetsky Islands, located almost in the middle of the sea, near the entrance to Onega Bay.Kiy Island in Onega Bay is significant due to a historic monastery. Velikiy Island, located close to the shore, is the largest island in the Kandalaksha Gulf.[2]
The White Sea is a water-filled depression in the block of a continental shelf known as theBaltic Shield. Its bottom is very uneven and contains the Kandalaksha Hollow in the northwest and the Solovetsky Islands in the south. Also, the Onega Bay has many small underwater elevations. The opening and thegorlo of the sea are rather shallow, with depths about 50 metres or less. There is an underwater ridge in the northern part of thegorlo, resulting in maximum depths of 40 metres in that part. This hinders water exchange between the White and Barents seas.[2][3] The exchange is assisted by thetides, which are semidiurnal (rising twice a day), with the amplitude increasing from 1 metre on the south to 10 metres in Mezen Bay. Currents are rather weak in the open seas with the speed below 1 km/h, but they significantly strengthen in the bays.[1] The tidal waves are much faster than the regular currents and reach the speeds of 9 km/h in Mezen Bay, 3.6 km/h in Onega Bay and 1.3 km/h in the Kandalaksha Gulf.[3]
Rivers bring annually about 215 km3 of fresh water, on average, mostly to the Onega, Mezen and Dvina bays. The Northern Dvina alone may contribute up to 171 km3 in some years, with the Mezen, Onega, Kem and Vyg rivers adding up to 38.5, 27.0, 12.5 and 11.5 km3, respectively. About 40% of this volume is brought during the snow melting in May, and the inflow is minimal in February–March. This inflow raises and lowers the sea level that promotes the water exchange with the Barents Sea. As a result, annually, about 2,000 km3 and 2,200 km3 flow in and out of the White Sea, respectively. The inflow of fresh water in spring decreases the surface salinity in the top 5–10-metre layer to 23‰ (parts per thousand) in the eastern and 26–27‰ in the western parts of the sea, reaching 10–12‰ in Dvina Bay; it also increases the content ofsilicon andsilicates in water, which is a characteristic feature of the White Sea.[3]
Storms are the strongest in October–November. Shallow sea depths reduce the wave height to the average of 1 metre, sometimes reaching 3–5 metres. The sea is quiet in July–August.[3]
Two satellite photos of the White Sea taken on 23 April 2000 (top) and 3 May 2001 (bottom)
The climate varies betweenpolar andsubarctic with frequent fogs and clouds. Winds are predominantly southwestern in winter with speeds of 4–8 m/s. They bring cold air from the south, establishing the temperature of about −15 °C (February) over most of the sea. The northern part is warmer at about −9 °C, sometimes reaching −6 °C, due to the warm air masses from the Atlantic. Arctic anticyclones, however, change winds to the northeastern ones, bringing much colder weather with temperatures of about −25 °C. Summers are cold, cloudy and relatively humid, with northeastern winds and frequent rains. Average July temperatures are 8–10 °C. Occasional southeastern winds bring warm air from Europe, raising the temperature to 17–19 °C and sometimes even to 30 °C. Annual precipitations increase from 282 mm in the north 529 in the south.[1][3]
In winter, from October–November to April–May, the sea freezes, with the average January water temperatures of −1.9 °C in the north, between −1.3 and −1.7 °С in the centre, and between −0.5 and −0.7 °С in the bays. These variations are due to the distribution of water salinity across the sea, which increases from 24 to 26‰ in the centre to 30.5‰ in thegorlo, reaching 34.0–34.5‰ toward the Barents Sea. The freezing period varies from year to year as shown in the satellite image to the right.[1] The ice is not stationary, but 90% of it is floating and is continuously removed to the Barents Sea. Ice thickness is usually about 40 cm but may reach 150 cm in cold winters.[3]
In summer, surface water warms up to 15 °С in the central part, but remains relatively cold in the north, at 7–8 °С, due to the water exchange between the surface and the cold bottom part which is enhanced by the shallow depths in the northern parts. Deep sea (about 100 m or more) is characterised by stable temperature (−1.4 °С) and salinity (30‰).[1][3] The depth distribution of water temperature is very inhomogeneous across the sea. For example, at the exit from Dvina Bay, water temperature drops to 0 °C at the depth of only 12–15 m, but the same temperature is reached at 65 m at the exit from the Kandalaksha Gulf.[3]
Residents ofNovgorod knew of the White Sea from at least the 11th century and rapidly explored its commercial significance for navigation and its coastal forests rich infur animals. One of the earliest settlements near the sea shores grew up in the late 14th century atKholmogory, on theNorthern Dvina. From there, in 1492, a merchant fleet laden with grain and carrying ambassadors ofIvan III of Russia sailed to Denmark, marking the establishment of the first international seaport inRussia.[5]
The first foreign ship to arrive in Kholmogory was the EnglishEdward Bonaventure commanded byRichard Chancellor in 1553.[6] Together with two other ships under the command ofHugh Willoughby, his crew had sought a northern route to theIndies, especially India and China. The expedition, sponsored by KingEdward VI of England and a group of about 240 English merchants, had London's authorisation to establish trade connections. The ships of Willoughby were separated and the other two were lost at sea, butEdward Bonaventure managed to pass the White Sea and reach Kholmogory, from where Chancellor was escorted to Moscow to meet the RussianTsar,Ivan IV. Returning from Russia in 1554, Chancellor brought back a detailed description of Moscow and the Russian north, which were largely unknown to Europe, as well as a letter from the Tsar expressing desire to establish trade relations with England. In 1555Queen Mary issued a charter authorising theMuscovy Company to trade with Russia via the White Sea route.[7][8]
Dutch ships soon followed the English, and the port of Kholmogory became busy with shipments of fur and fish. Local and foreign shops and factories were established in the city at that time. The port was reinforced with a fortress which sustained a siege by the Polish-Lithuanian army in 1613. Increasing traffic overloaded the port, which relied on shallow river-waters and had limited ship-capacity. However, instead of expanding the old port, Ivan IV established a new one down-river in 1584, called New Kholmogory, which from 1596 began to become known as Arkhangelsk.[5][9]
Between the 15th and early 18th centuries, the White Sea served as the major trade route in and out of Russia. This role decreased later after the foundation ofSaint Petersburg (1703), which opened a more direct ice-free connection between Russia and the bulk of Western Europe via the Baltic Sea. From the 1920s, most northern Russian sea shipments diverted from the White Sea to the new port ofMurmansk (officially founded in 1916), where the waters did not freeze in winter.[1]
The entire water area of the White Sea is theterritorial waters of the Russian Federation. Any movement of foreign vessels on the White Sea is carried out in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation.[10]
^Compare:March, G. Patrick (1996). "3: Ivan IV and the MuscoviteDrang nach Osten".Eastern Destiny: Russia in Asia and the North Pacific. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger Publishers. p. 26.ISBN9780275956486. Retrieved8 February 2017.It was in pursuit of a northeast passage that the English under the leadership of Richard Chancellor arrived in Kholmogory in 1553.
^Filatov N., Pozdnyakov D., Johannessen M.O.,, Pettersson H.L.,, Bobylev P.L., 2005, White Sea: Its Marine Environment and Ecosystem Dynamics Influenced by Global Change, pp.174, Praxis Publishing, Springer, retrieved on 06-05-2014
