Where Is The Chukchi Sea?

Today we are going to talk about Chukchi Sea. This type of sea is considered to be the marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. The Chukchi Sea is named after the native Chukchi people who inhabit the shores of the sea as well as the Chukotka Peninsula. The International Date Line runs from northwest to southeast over the sea of ​​this type. The Chukchi Sea has significant biodiversity. The Chukchi Sea supports a population of more than 2,000 polar bears. So let us gather a little more information about Chukchi Sea.

The Chukchi Sea is sometimes referred to as the Chukotsk Sea and the Chuuk Sea. The Bering Strait forms the southern boundary of the Chukchi Sea and connects this sea with the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. The main seaport of this type is Uelen in Russia. The Chukchi Sea is displaced eastward to escape the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug on Range Island as well as the Russian mainland.

History

In 1648 a man named Semyon Dezhnyov moved from the Colima River in the Arctic Ocean to the Anadyr River in the Pacific Ocean but his route was not practical and it was not used for the next 200 years. In 1728 a man named Vitus Bering and in 1779 Captain James Cook entered the Chukchi Sea from the Pacific Ocean.

Karluk, then abandoned by expedition leader Vilhjalmur Stefansson in 1913, was swept away by ice in the northern part of this type of sea and sank near Herald Island. In July 2009, a large mass of organic matter was found floating in the Chukchi Sea off the coast of northwestern Alaska.

An analysis by the U.S. Coast Guard has identified the Chukchi Sea as the giant body of an algal peacock. On October 15, 2010, Russian scientists opened a polar research center in the Arctic Ocean.

Where Is The Chukchi Sea?

The polar bear, which lives on this type of sea ice pack, is considered one of the five genetically distinct Eurasian populations of the species. The ocean provides critical habitat for a variety of creatures, from walruses, ice seals and whales to many seabirds and polar bears. The Chukchi Sea supports many phytoplankton at sea ice and therefore the Chukchi Sea serves as a crucial nutrient base for all marine Arctic wildlife.

The shallow sea called Chukchi also contains some mollusks, crustaceans and other marine invertebrates. This type of sea supports more than 2,000 polar bears and is considered to be 10% of the world's population and half of all polar bears found in the Americas. The polar bears that live on the Chukchi Sea are seen relying seamlessly on sea ice for their cubs to rest, hunt, breed and nursing.

There are also many different species of seals living in this type of sea. The Chukchi Sea includes ribbon seals, ringed seals, spotted seals and bearded seals. Different species of whales seen on the Chukchi Sea include endangered humpbacks, fin whales and gray whales.

Migratory bow whales endangered by Pacific walruses and beluga whales of the Western Arctic and also migrate to the coast. In addition, this type of sea serves as a food, breeding and nursing ground for many seabirds, shorebirds and sponges. The Chukchi Sea is known as the site of many "important bird areas''. And the Chukchi Sea Bay, with more than 15 avian species in its shores and rivers. Some of the notable birds that live on the Chukchi Sea include the Kittlitz’s Murrelets, the Spectators, the Northern Fulmar, and the Yellow-Bill Loon.

Geography

The Chukchi Sea has an estimated area of ​​595,000 km2 and is also navigable for only four months of the year. The Chukchi Sea is generally found to be relatively shallow. The main geological feature of this type of sea floor is the 700 km long Hop Basin, which is bounded northeast by the Herald Arch. Depths of less than 50 m occupy 56% of the total area of ​​the Chukchi Sea.

Its deepest point in the northern part of the Chukchi Sea is 1,256 meters. The Chukchi Sea is covered with sea ice for most of the year. But during that time the ocean could only move eastward and westward from the shallow strait of the Bering and southward along the Siberian coast and showing an icy current.

There are far fewer islands in this sea than in any other in the Arctic. A few small islands on the Chukchi Sea are located off the coast of Siberia and Alaska. People live on the seashore and on the Chukotka Peninsula. The people of Chukchi Sea have traditionally engaged in walrus, fishing and whaling.

This type of sea shore is found to be weakly indented and forms some large bays including Klyuchevskaya Bay. The Alaskan rivers that flow into the sea include the Noatak, Kobuk, Wulik, Kivalina, Utukok and other rivers. The main islands of the Chukchi Sea include Herald Island and Wrangel Island. Some other smaller islands are located off the coast of Alaska and Siberia.

Chukchi Sea Shelf

This shelf of the sea is considered to be the western part of the continental shelf of the United States and the eastern part of the shelf of the continents of Russia. Inside the Chukchi Sea Shelf, the 50-mile Chukchi Corridor serves as the route for the world's largest marine mammal migration. Varieties of documents migrated from here include beluga whales, bowhead whales, Pacific walrus and bearded seals.

Economy

It is estimated that this type of ocean has more than 30 billion barrels of oil and natural gas reserves. Several oil companies are competing for leases to explore for oil reserves in the Chukchi Sea region. This type of sea is also known as an important port and main docking point for many ships.

The Chukchi Sea also serves as an important link point for America's Pacific ports and other Far Eastern ports. The largest Russian port on the seas is Uelen and is of economic importance as it is used to transport many valuable materials such as oil, wood and building materials. In 2015, the Obama administration's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conditionally approved shale oil to be drilled in seawater.

Phytoplankton

In 2012, scientists from the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory published findings describing the discovery of the world's largest marine phytoplankton algal peacock. It was believed by these scientists that plankton grows only after the melting of seasonal ice and yet some algae of the Chukchi Sea were found under a few meters of intact sea ice.