Transcript THE LIFE OF THE BLACKSEA COAST GUIDEBOOK created by …

GENERAL INFORMATION
The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the
Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the
Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait
connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles
connects it to the Aegean Sea region of the Mediterranean. These
waters separate eastern Europe and western Asia. The Black Sea also
connects to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.
The Black Sea has an area of 436,400 km2 (168,495.0 sq mi),[1] a
maximum depth of 2,206 m (7,238 ft),[2] and a volume of 547,000 km³
(133,500 cu mi).[3] The Black Sea forms in an east-west trending
elliptical depression which lies between Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania,
Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.[4] It is constrained by the Pontic
Mountains to the south, the Caucasus Mountains to the east and
features a wide shelf to the north-west. The longest east-west extent is
about 1,175 km.
In the past, the water level has varied significantly.
Depending on the water level in the basin, varying
surrounding shelf and associated aprons are aerially
exposed. At certain critical depths, it is possible for
connections with surrounding water bodies to become
established. It is through the most active of these
connective routes, the Turkish Straits, that the Black
Sea joins the global ocean system. When this
hydrological link is not present, the Black Sea is a lake,
operating independently of the global ocean system.
Currently the Black Sea water level is relatively high,
thus water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean.
The Turkish Straits connect the Black and Aegean Seas
and comprise the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara and
the Dardanelles.
ECOLOGY
The Black Sea
supports a complex
ecology in its upper
waters, characterised
by quasi-endemic
species which thrive
in the fresher surface
waters, as well as
cosmopolitan
stenohaline and
euryhaline species.
The fluvial systems
draining Eurasia and
central Europe
introduce large
volumes of nutrients
in the Black Sea, but
distribution of these
nutrients is
controlled by the
degree of
physiochemical
stratification, which
is in turn dictated by
seasonal
physiographic
development.[13]
Phytoplankton
blooms occur in
surface waters
throughout the year,
most reliably in the
form of a Diatom
bloom during
March.[14] However,
subsurface
productivity is
limited by nutrient
availability, as the
anoxic bottom waters
act as a sink for
reduced nitrate, in
the form of ammonia.
Some
chemosynthetic
productivity occurs in
the hypolimnion,
estimated at ~10% of
photosynthetic
productivity.[15]
HISTORY
The Black Sea was a busy waterway on the
crossroads of the ancient world: the Balkans
to the West, the Eurasian steppes to the
north, Caucasus and Central Asia to the
East, Asia Minor and Mesopotamia to the
south, and Greece to the south-west. The
oldest processed gold in the world, arguably
left by Old Europeans, was found in Varna,
and the Black Sea was supposedly sailed by
the Argonauts. The land at the eastern end
of the Black Sea, Colchis, (now Georgia),
marked for the Greeks an edge of the known
world. The steppes to the north of the Black
Sea have been suggested as the original
homeland (Urheimat) of the speakers of the
Proto-Indo-European language, (PIE) the
progenitor of the Indo-European language
family, by some scholars (see Kurgan; others
move the heartland further east towards the
Caspian Sea, yet others to Anatolia).
Numerous ancient ports line Black Sea's
coasts, some older than the pyramids[24].
Ancient trade routes in the region are
currently being extensively studied by
American, Bulgarian, and other scientists. It
is widely believed that the Black Sea is
packed with archaeology to be found.
Perhaps the most promising areas in
deepwater archaeology are the quest for
submerged prehistoric settlements in the
continental shelf and for ancient shipwrecks
in the anoxic zone, which are expected to be
exceptionally well preserved due to the
absence of oxygen.
The Black Sea has witnessed the rivalries of
Hittites, Carians, Thracians, Greeks,
Persians, Cimmerians, Scythians, Romans,
Byzantines, Goths, Huns, Avars, Bulgars,
Slavs, Varangians, Crusaders, Venetians,
Genovese, Tatars, Ottomans, and Russians.
The Black Sea was a significant naval
theatre of World War I and saw both naval
and land battles during World War II.