The Black Sea is a inland sea located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is bordered by Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine. The Black Sea has an area of 421,000 square miles and a maximum depth of 7,937 feet. The sea is drained by the Danube, Dnieper, and Don rivers.
The Black Sea was formed about 60 million years ago when the Mediterranean Sea broke through the Bosphorus Strait and into the area that is now the Black Sea.
How was the Black Sea made?
The Black Sea was once a large freshwater lake, but is now connected to the Mediterranean Sea by the Bosphorus Strait. The change in salinity has had a profound effect on the ecology of the Black Sea.
The Black Sea Depression was filled solely with the outflows from the Danube, Dnieper, Dniester, Don and Kuban rivers, since these inputs were all freshwater, resulting in the formation of a vast freshwater lake known as the Black Sea Lake (Wilson 2001). The Black Sea Lake was eventually replaced by the modern Black Sea as the result of inflows of salt water from the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosporus Strait (Yanko-Hombach et al. 2007).
Why is the Black Sea not a sea
The Black Sea is an inland sea that is at sea level and open to the ocean. The reason it is often confused for a lake is that it is very far inland and not directly connected to the ocean.
The Greeks believed that the sea was the entrance to the kingdom of the dead. This is why they called the Black Sea the ‘Inhospitable Sea’. Travelers’ stories shared legends about the Inhospitable Sea, which mercilessly smashed and drowned ships.
Why is the Black Sea so special?
The Black Sea is the largest water body with a meromictic basin. This means that the movement of water between the lower and upper layers of the sea is a rare phenomenon. This is due to the high salt content of the water in the lower layers, which prevents the water from mixing.
The Black Sea deluge hypothesis is the hypothesis that a catastrophic inflow of Mediterranean seawater into the Black Sea freshwater lake occurred around 7600 years ago, c. 5600 BC. William Ryan, Walter Pitman, Petko Dimitrov, and their colleagues first published the hypothesis in 1997.
What was before the Black Sea?
The Black Sea was once a freshwater lake, well below sea level. About 7,000 years ago, according to geological evidence, the rising Mediterranean sea pushed a channel through what is now the Bosphorus, and then seawater poured in at about 200 times the volume of Niagara Falls.
The Black Sea is a popular summer destination for many looking for refuge from the heat; however, the Black Sea is anoxic, meaning there is only a small amount of dissolved oxygen in the water. The Black Sea has a unique feature, which might make people believe it is not swimmable; however, the Black Sea is COMPLETELY SAFE to swim in.
Can the Black Sea be drained
This is not possible. If anything, the water from the Black Sea would evaporate, thus concentrating the remaining water and making it more salty.
The Black Sea is home to the world’s biggest, most productive spiny dogfish sharks. However, this remarkable, global species is in danger of extinction. Spiny dogfish sharks are remarkable for their size, productivity, and ability to adapt to different habitats. However, they are also very valuable to commercial and recreational fisheries, which has led to overfishing and a decline in their populations. The Black Sea is one of the last strongholds for this species, but unless action is taken to reduce fishing pressure, they will likely go extinct in the not-so-distant future.
Why does the Black Sea have no tides?
The Black Sea is landlocked and as a result experiences very weak tides. The surrounding mountains and the fact that it is an enclosed body of water also contribute to the lack of tides. The Black Sea gets limited water exchange with the Mediterranean, so it does not experience the oceanic tides that are common in the Mediterranean.
The Black Sea is an important strategic location for Russia, as it is the only way in and out of the sea. Russia regularly sends its ships and submarines in and out of the sea, surging forces there or sending its Black Sea Fleet into the Mediterranean Sea for local operations.
Why is Black Sea so important to Russia
The Black Sea region is of great strategic importance to Russia. Russia sees the region as a key gateway to other important regions such as the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Africa. By controlling the Black Sea region, Russia hopes to maintain its position as a world power.
The Black Sea is a great place to swim in the summer months. The water is warm and the weather is usually perfect for swimming. There are many beaches to choose from and the water is clean and clear.
What creatures are in the Black Sea?
The Black Sea is home to a variety of marine life, including bottlenose dolphins, tuna, anchovy, herring, mackerel, and the white sturgeon. Sadly, the monk seal has become extinct in the Black Sea.
However, modern aircraft carriers are much heavier than the 15,000 ton limit imposed on warships by the Montreux Convention, which makes it impossible for non-Black Sea powers to transit them through the Straits. This is a significant strategic disadvantage for NATO, as the Black Sea is bordered by several countries with volatile situations, such as Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Why is there no oxygen in the Black Sea
The deep waters of the ocean are typically deprived of oxygen, due to the permanent stratification linked to salinity (the halocline). This lack of oxygen in turn affects the marine food chain, as most life in the ocean depends on oxygen to survive. Thus, the food chain typically develops above the halocline, in waters that are oxygenated.
The Black Sea is an interesting body of water in that all of the littoral states share it militarily, yet four of them have relatively small navies. This makes the sea a de facto maritime condominium between Turkey and Russia. While this may seem like a disadvantage for the smaller states, it actually allows them to focus their resources elsewhere.
Warp Up
The Black Sea was formed when water from the Mediterranean Sea flowed into a basin created by the collision of two tectonic plates.
The Black Sea was formed over the course of several hundred million years through the process of plate tectonics. The collision of the African and Eurasian plates created the Tethys Ocean, which eventually closed up and formed the Black Sea.
