Location of the reservoir

If you look into dictionaries and reference books, you can find out that the sea is called a part of the ocean, isolated by land or features of the underwater relief. Following the above definition, we can say that the Laptev Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean. Almost all experts note that this is one of the most severe Arctic seas. If the Barents and Kara Seas are under the influence of the warm Gulf Stream ocean current, then its influence does not reach these places. A long and severe winter favors the formation of large volumes sea ​​ice.

Climate features

The Laptev Sea is located at the same distance from both the Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean. Warm air masses practically do not penetrate into the Arctic latitudes. Even in the southern part of the water area negative temperatures stored for 9 months a year. In the north, this period is even longer - almost 11 months. The average January temperature ranges from 25 to 35 degrees below zero. The absolute minimum temperature recorded here is 61 0 C. At the same time, clear, cloudless weather is mostly preserved above the sea surface. This fact is explained by the fact that the Siberian anticyclone dominates in these latitudes.

Coastline

The rivers flowing into the Laptev Sea: Anabar, Khatanga, Olenyok, Lena, Yana - carry in their waters a large amount of silt, pebbles, sand and boulders. Plus, river waters significantly desalinate sea water at the confluence. So, at the mouth of the Lena, the salinity of the water is only 1%. While the average is 34%. At great depths, the bottom of the sea is covered with silt. This is due to the fact that rivers regularly carry significant volumes of soil into the sea. River precipitation is up to 25 centimeters per year. For this reason, coastal areas are characterized by relatively shallow depths: 20 - 50 meters.

ice conditions

Unlike other water bodies, most of the year the Laptev Sea is covered with ice. Ice formation begins in September on almost the entire territory. In winter, fast ice up to two meters thick forms on the shallows in the eastern part. The ice begins to melt in June-July. And by August, a significant part of the water area is freed from ice. In a warm, so to speak, period, the ice edge changes its position under the influence of winds and currents. The Taimyr ice mass descends into the sea. It carries a large amount of multi-year ice, which does not have time to melt during the short polar summer.

Flora and fauna

It is easy to guess that the temperature of the sea determines the qualitative composition of plants and animals that live in its waters. Phytoplankton is represented in a limited amount by algae and plants that are common in desalinated waters. Zoological plankton is represented by certain types of ciliates, rotifers and other organisms that are food for Arctic fish species. Among them are whitefish, omul, char, nelma and sturgeon. Of the mammals, walruses, seals and polar bears live here. Sea gulls nest near the coast.

Sea location

• The Laptev Sea (Yakut. Laptevtar Baigallar) is a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the Taimyr Peninsula and the Severnaya Zemlya Islands in the west and the New Siberian Islands in the east.

Physical location

The surface area of ​​the sea is 672,000 km². Depths up to 50 m prevail, the greatest depth is 3385 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. The coast is heavily indented. Large bays: Khatanga, Oleneksky, Faddey, Yansky, Anabarsky, Maria Bay, Pronchishcheva, Buor-Khaya. There are many islands in the western part of the sea, mostly off the coast. The islands of Komsomolskaya Pravda are located in the southwestern part of the sea.

Inhabitants and flowing rivers

• Rivers flow into the sea: Khatanga, Anabar, Olenyok, Lena, Yana. Some rivers form large deltas. The main port is Tiksi.

• Walrus, sea hare, seal live here.

Bottom relief.

The bottom of the Laptev Sea is a gently sloping continental shelf, abruptly ending to the ocean floor. The southern part of the sea is shallow, with depths of 20-50 meters. In shallow areas, the bottom is covered with sand and silt mixed with pebbles and boulders. Near the banks, river precipitation accumulates at a high rate, up to 20-25 centimeters per year. The continental slope is cut by the Sadko trough, passing in the north into the Nansen Basin with depths of over 2 kilometers, the maximum depth of the Laptev Sea is also noted here - 3385 meters ( 79°35 N 124°40′ o.d.). At great depths, the bottom is covered with silt.

temperature and salinity

Sea water temperatures are low. In winter, under the ice, the water temperature is -0.8 ... -1.8 °C. Above a depth of 100 meters, the entire layer of water has negative temperatures (up to -1.8 ° C). In summer, in ice-free areas of the sea, the uppermost layer of water can warm up to 4-6 °C, in bays up to 10 °C. In the deep-water zone of the sea at a depth of 250-300 meters, there are relatively warm waters coming from the Arctic waters of the Atlantic (up to 1.5 ° C). Below this layer, the water temperature becomes negative again until the very bottom, where the temperature is about −0.8 °C.

• The salinity of sea water at the surface in the northwestern part of the sea is 28 ppm, in the southern part - up to 15 ppm, near the mouths of rivers - less than 10 ppm. The salinity of surface waters is strongly influenced by the runoff of Siberian rivers and the melting of ice. With increasing depth, salinity increases rapidly, reaching 33 ppm

Posted Mon, 27/04/2015 - 06:59 by Cap

The Laptev Sea (Yakut. Laptevtar baygallar) is a marginal sea of ​​the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia in the south, the islands of Severnaya Zemlya in the west and.
The sea is named after Russian polar explorers, cousins ​​Dmitry and Khariton Laptev. In the past, it was known under various names, the last of which is the Nordenskjöld Sea.
The sea has a harsh climate with temperatures below 0 °C for more than nine months of the year, low salinity, sparse flora and fauna, and low population along the coast. Most of the time, with the exception of August and September, it is under ice.

map of the Laptev sea


For thousands of years, the sea coast was inhabited by the indigenous tribes of the Yukaghirs, and later the Evens and Evenks, who were engaged in fishing, hunting and nomadic reindeer herding. Then the shores were populated by Yakuts and Russians. The development of the territory by Russian explorers began in the 17th century from the south, along the channels of rivers flowing into the sea.

There are several dozen islands in the Laptev Sea, many of which contain well-preserved remains of mammoths.
The main human activities in this area are mining and navigation along the Northern Sea Route; fishing and hunting are practiced but have no commercial value. The largest settlement and port is Tiksi.

Length and boundaries
Basic physical and geographical features. Between the archipelago of Severnaya Zemlya and in the west lies the sea, which bears the name of the Laptev brothers. It is limited by natural boundaries and conditional lines. Its western border runs along the eastern from the Arctic Cape (Komsomolets Island), then through the Strait of the Red Army along the eastern shore of the island. October Revolution to m. Anuchin, through the Shokalsky Strait to m. Sandy on about. Bolshevik and along its eastern shore to Cape Vaigach, then along the eastern border of the Vilkitsky Strait and further along the mainland coast to the top of the Khatanga Bay.
The northern boundary of the sea runs from the Arctic Cape to the point of intersection of the meridian of the northern tip of the island. Kotelny (139 ° E) with the edge of the continental shelf (79 ° N, 139 ° E), the eastern border from the indicated point is to the western coast of the island. Kotelny, further along the western border of the Sannikov Strait, goes around the western shores of the Bolshoy and Maly Lyakhovsky Islands and then goes along the western border of the Dmitry Laptev Strait. The southern boundary of the sea runs along the mainland coast from Cape Svyatoy Nos to the top of the Khatanga Bay. Within these boundaries, the sea lies between the parallels 81°16′ and 70°42′ N. sh. and meridians 95°44′ and 143°30′ E. d.

By geographical position and hydrological conditions, different from the ocean with which the sea freely communicates, it belongs to the type of continental marginal seas. Within the accepted boundaries, the Laptev Sea has the following dimensions: area - 662 thousand km2, volume 353 thousand km3, average depth 533 m, maximum depth 3385 m.

The Laptev Sea on the coast of the northernmost sea

Physical location
The surface area of ​​the sea is 672,000 km².
The largest river flowing into the Laptev Sea (and the second largest of the Arctic rivers after the Yenisei) is the Lena with its large delta. Rivers also flow into the sea: Khatanga, Anabar, Olenyok, Yana.

The shores are strongly indented and form bays and bays of various sizes. The coastal landscape is varied, with low mountains.
Large bays: Khatanga, Oleneksky, Faddey, Yansky, Anabarsky, Maria Pronchishcheva Bay, Buor-Khaya.

In the western part of the sea and river deltas, there are several dozen islands with a total area of ​​3784 km². Frequent storms and currents due to melting ice lead to severe erosion of the islands, for example, the Semyonovsky and Vasilyevsky Islands, discovered in 1815, have already disappeared.
Most Komsomolskaya Pravda and Thaddeus.
The largest single islands: Bolshoy Begichev (1764 km²), Belkovsky (500 km²), Maly Taimyr (250 km²), Stolbovoy (170 km²), Starokadomsky Island (110 km²), and Sandy (17 km²)

Bottom relief
Depths up to 50 m prevail, the greatest depth is 3385 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. More than half of the sea (53%) is a flat continental shelf with an average depth of less than or slightly more than 50 meters, in addition, the bottom areas south of the 76th parallel are at a depth of less than 25 meters. In the northern part of the sea, the bottom abruptly breaks off to the ocean floor with depths of the order of one kilometer (22% of the sea area). In shallow areas, the bottom is covered with sand and silt mixed with pebbles and boulders. Near the banks, river precipitation accumulates at a high rate, up to 20-25 centimeters per year. At great depths, the bottom is covered with silt.
The continental slope is cut by the Sadko Trough, which passes in the north into the Nansen Basin with depths of more than 2 kilometers, the maximum depth of the Laptev Sea is also noted here - 3385 meters (79°35′ N 124°40′ E).

polar lights in the Laptev Sea

Climate
The climate of the Laptev Sea is arctic continental and, due to its remoteness from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, is one of the most severe among the Arctic seas. Polar night and polar day last about 3 months a year in the south and 5 months in the north. The air temperature remains below 0 °C 11 months a year in the north and 9 months in the south.
The average temperature in January (the coldest month) varies from place to place between -31°C and -34°C, with a minimum of -50°C. In July the temperature rises to 0°C (max 4°C) in the north and 5°C (max 10°C) in the south, however it can reach 22-24°C on the coast in August. A maximum of 32.7 °C was recorded in Tiksi. Strong winds, blizzards and snowstorms are common in winter. Snow falls even in summer and alternates with fogs. Winds in winter blow from the south and southwest at an average speed of 8 m/s and subside by spring. In summer, they change direction to the north, and their speed is 3-4 m/s. Relatively weak wind speeds lead to low convection in surface waters, which occurs only to a depth of 5-10 meters.

Tiksi Bay Laptev Sea

HYDROLOGY OF THE SEA
Hydrological characteristic.
Large continental runoff in general, distribution of fresh water over vast expanses of the sea, along with other factors (climate severity, free water exchange with the Arctic Ocean, year-round existing ice over large areas) significantly affect the hydrological conditions of the Laptev Sea. This is primarily manifested in the magnitudes of the distribution and spatio-temporal variability of oceanological characteristics in the sea under consideration.

For most of the year, the water temperature is close to the freezing point. In cold seasons, it quickly decreases in autumn, and in winter on the surface it changes over the sea from -0.8° (near Mostakh Island) to -1.7° (near Cape Chelyuskin). Similar values ​​are observed at this time in other regions. In the first months of spring warming, ice melts, so the water temperature remains almost the same as in winter. Only in coastal areas, especially near estuarine areas, which are cleared of ice earlier than others, does the water temperature increase. Its magnitude generally decreases from south to north and from east to west. In summer, the surface of the sea warms up. In August, in the south (Buor-Khaya Bay), the water temperature on the surface can reach +10° and even +14°, in the central regions it is +3-5°, at the northern tip of about. Boiler and at Cape Chelyuskin + 0.8-1.0 °. In general, the western part of the sea, where the cold waters of the Arctic basin come, is characterized by lower water temperatures (+2–3°) than the eastern part, where the bulk of warm river waters are concentrated, so the surface temperature here can reach +6–8°.

The vertical distribution of water temperature is not the same in cold and warm seasons. Its change with depth is clearly expressed only in summer. In winter, in areas with depths of up to 50-60 m, the water temperature is the same from the surface to the bottom. In the coastal zone it is -1.0-1.2°, and in the open sea is about -1.6°. At great depths, at levels of 50-60 m, the water temperature rises by 0.1-0.2°. This is due to the influx of other waters, since at the same time the salinity increases slightly.

In the north, in the regions of a deep trench, the negative temperature extends from the surface to about 100 m. From here it begins to rise to 0.6-0.8°. This temperature persists up to about 300 m, and below it again slowly decreases to the bottom. High temperatures in the 100–300 m layer are associated with the penetration of warm Atlantic waters into the Laptev Sea from the Central Arctic Basin.

In summer, the upper layer 10–15 m thick warms up well and has a temperature of 8–10° in the southeastern part and 3–4° in the central part. Deeper than these horizons, the temperature drops sharply, reaching -1.4-1.5° at a horizon of 25 m. These values, or those close to them, persist to the very bottom. In the western part of the sea, where the heating is less than in the east, such sharp differences in temperature are not observed.

The salinity in the Laptev Sea varies and varies in space and time. Its differences are very large (from 1 to 34‰), but desalinated waters with a salinity of 20–30‰ predominate. The distribution of salinity over the surface is very complex. In general, it increases from the southeast to the northwest and north.

In winter, with minimal river runoff and intense ice formation, salinity is the highest. At the same time, it is higher in the west than in the east. At m. Chelyuskin it is almost 34‰, and at about. Boiler room only 25‰. At the beginning of spring, salinity remains quite high, but in June, with the beginning of ice melting, it begins to decrease. In summer, at maximum runoff, salinity is characterized by low values ​​(see Fig. 26, b). The southeastern part of the sea is the most desalinated. In the Buor-Khaya bay, salinity drops to 5‰ and lower, to the north of it it is slightly higher, up to 10–15‰. More saline waters (30–32‰) spread in the west of the sea. They are located somewhat north of the line about. Petra - m. Anisy. Thus, desalinated waters wedge out to the north in the eastern part of the sea, and salty waters descend in a wide tongue to the south in the western part of the sea.

In autumn, river runoff decreases, and in October ice formation begins and salinization of surface waters occurs. Salinity generally increases with depth. However, its vertical distribution has seasonal differences in different areas of the sea. In winter, in shallow waters, it increases from the surface to 10-15 m, and then remains almost unchanged to the bottom. At great depths, a noticeable increase in salinity does not begin from the surface itself, but from the underlying horizons, from which it slowly increases to the bottom. The spring type of the vertical distribution of salinity, different from the winter type, sets in from the time of intensive ice melting. At this time, salinity sharply decreases in the surface layer and retains rather high values ​​at the lower horizons.

In summer, in the zone of influence of river waters, the upper layer of 5-10 m is very strongly desalinated; below, a very sharp increase in salinity is observed. In a layer from 10 to 25 m, the salinity gradient in some places reaches 20‰ per 1 m. From here, the salinity either remains unchanged or gradually increases by tenths of a ppm. In the northern part of the sea, salinity increases relatively rapidly from the surface to 50 m, from here to 300 m it rises more slowly, ranging from 29 to 33–34‰, and hardly changes deeper.

In autumn, in the southern regions, salinity values ​​increase with depth, and the summer jump gradually levels off. In the north, the same salinity covers the upper layer, and below it increases with depth. The temperature and salinity of water determine its density, and in the Laptev Sea, salinity has a great influence on the density. In accordance with the change in salinity and temperature in space and time, the density of water also changes. It increases from southeast to northwest. In winter and autumn, the water is denser than in summer and spring. Density increases with depth. In winter and early spring, it is almost the same from the surface to the bottom. In summer, the jump in salinity and temperature on the horizon of 10-15 m determines here a sharply pronounced jump in density. In autumn, salting and cooling of surface waters increases their density.

Density stratification of waters is clearly seen from late spring to early autumn; it is most pronounced in the southeastern and central regions of the sea and near the ice edge. The different degree of water overstratification along the vertical causes unequal opportunities for the development of mixing in different areas of the Laptev Sea. Laptev sea

Wind mixing in the ice-free spaces of this sea is poorly developed due to the relatively calm wind conditions in the warm season, the large ice cover of the sea and the stratification of its waters. During spring and summer, the wind mixes only the uppermost layers up to 5-7 m thick in the east and up to 10 m thick in the western part of the sea.

Strong autumn-winter cooling and intense ice formation cause active, but uneven development of convection from place to place. It starts in the northeast and north, then occurs in the central part, in the south and southeast of the sea. Due to the relatively low degree of stratification and early ice formation, density mixing penetrates most deeply (up to horizons of 90–100 m) in the north of the sea, where its distribution is limited by the density structure of the waters. In the central regions, convection reaches the bottom (40–50 m) by the beginning of winter, and in the southern part, subject to the influence of continental runoff, even at shallow (up to 25 m) depths, it spreads to the bottom only towards the end of winter as a result of a significant increase in salinity during due to winter ice formation, which is explained here by the stratification of water in depth.

The natural features of the Laptev Sea determine the markedly pronounced heterogeneity of its waters. Due to a certain similarity between the considered and the Kara Seas, their hydrological structure and the mechanism of its formation are similar and are shown in the section on the Kara Sea. Thus, in the Laptev Sea (similar to the Kara Sea), arctic surface waters with their characteristic characteristics and seasonal stratification in temperature and salinity predominate. In zones of strong influence of coastal runoff, as a result of the mixing of river and surface Arctic waters, water with a relatively high temperature and low salinity is formed. At their interface (horizon 5-7 m) large gradients of salinity and density are created. In the north, in a deep trench under the surface Arctic water, warm Atlantic waters are common, but their temperature is somewhat lower than in the Kara Sea trenches. They penetrate here 2.5-3 years after the start of their journey near Svalbard. In the deeper Laptev Sea compared to the Kara Sea, the horizons from 800–1000 m to the bottom are occupied by cold bottom water with a temperature of −0.4–0.9° and almost uniform (34.90–34.95‰) salinity. Its formation is associated with the sinking of the chilled waters of the sea along the continental slope to great depths. The decisive role in the hydrological conditions of the Laptev Sea belongs to the processes occurring in the surface Arctic waters and in the zones of their mixing with river waters.

The general circulation of the waters of the Laptev Sea is not yet sufficiently clear in detail, especially with regard to movement in the lower horizons, vertical components, etc. There are quite definite ideas about constant currents on the sea surface. In general, this sea is characterized by cyclonic circulation of surface waters. It is formed by a coastal stream moving along the mainland from west to east, where it is reinforced by the Lena current. With further movement, most of it deviates to the north and northwest and, in the form of the New Siberian Current, goes beyond the sea, connecting with the Transarctic Current. At the northern end of Severnaya Zemlya, the East Taimyr current branches off, which moves south along the eastern shores of Severnaya Zemlya and closes the cyclonic ring in the sea. A small part of the waters of the coastal flow goes through the Sannikov Strait into the East Siberian Sea.

sunbathing on the Laptev Sea

ICE CONDITION
For most of the year (from October to May), the entire Laptev Sea is covered with ice of various thicknesses and ages (see Fig. 28). Ice formation begins at the end of September and takes place simultaneously throughout the sea. In winter, extremely extensive fast ice up to 2 m thick develops in its shallow eastern part. The boundary of fast ice distribution is a depth of 20–25 m, which in this area of ​​the sea runs at a distance of several hundred kilometers from the coast. The fast ice area is approximately 30% of the area of ​​the entire sea. In the western and northwestern parts of the sea, fast ice is small, and in some winters it is completely absent. To the north of the landfast zone there are drifting ice.

With the almost constant removal of ice from the sea to the north in winter, behind the fast ice, significant areas of polynyas and young ice. The width of this zone varies from tens to several hundreds of kilometers. Its individual sections are called the East Severozemelskaya, Taimyr, Lena and Novosibirsk polynyas. The last two, at the beginning of the warm season, reach enormous sizes (thousands of square kilometers) and become centers for the sea to be cleared of ice. The melting of ice begins in June-July, and by August large expanses of the sea are freed from ice. In summer, the ice edge often changes its position under the influence of winds and currents. The western part of the sea is generally more arctic than the eastern part. From the north, a spur of the oceanic Taimyr ice mass descends into the sea, in which heavy multi-year ice. It persists until new ice formation, depending on the prevailing winds, moving now to the north, then to the south. The local Yansky ice massif, formed by landfast ice, usually melts in place by the second half of August or is partially carried away to the north beyond the sea.

Andrey Island Laptev Sea

Flora and fauna
Flora and fauna are scarce due to the harsh climate. The vegetation of the sea is represented mainly by diatoms, of which there are more than 100 species. For comparison, green, blue-green algae and flagellates - about 10 species of each. The total concentration of phytoplankton is 0.2 mg/l. Also in the sea there are about 30 species of zooplankton with a total concentration of 0.467 mg/l. The flora of the coast consists mainly of mosses, lichens and several species of flowering plants, including polar poppy, saxifrage, rump and small populations of polar and creeping willows. Vascular plants are rare and are represented mainly by saxifrage and saxifrage. Nonvascular, on the contrary, are very diverse: mosses of the genera Ditrichum, Dicranum, Pogonatum, Sanionia, Bryum, Orthothecium and Tortula, as well as lichens of the genera Cetraria, Thamnolia, Cornicularia, Lecidea, Ochrolechia and Parmelia.
In the sea, 39 species of fish have been recorded, most of them typical of the brackish water environment. The main ones are different kinds graylings and whitefish, such as muksun, whitefish, omul. Sardine, Bering Sea omul, polar smelt, navaga, arctic cod, flounder, arctic char and nelma are also common.
Mammals constantly live here: walrus, sea hare, seal, harp seal, lemming, arctic fox, reindeer, wolf, ermine, polar hare and polar bear. Beluga whales make seasonal migrations to the coast (for flying). Walruses from the Laptev Sea are sometimes classified as a separate subspecies of Odobenus rosmarus laptevi, but this issue remains controversial.
Several dozen species of birds live here. Some of them are sedentary and live here permanently, such as snow bunting, sea sandpiper, snowy owl and black goose. While others roam the polar regions or migrate from the south, creating large colonies on the islands and the coast of the mainland. The latter include auk, common kittiwake, common guillemot, ivory gull, murre, charadriiformes and arctic gull. Also found are skuas, terns, fulmar, glaucous gull, pink gull, long-tailed duck, eiders, loons and ptarmigan.
In 1985, the Ust-Lena Nature Reserve was organized in the delta of the Lena River. In 1993, they were also included in its buffer zone. The territory of the reserve is 14,330 km². It contains numerous species of plants (402 species of vascular plants), fish (32 species), birds (109 species) and mammals (33 species), many of which are listed in the Red Books of the USSR and Russia.

Khatanga Bay Laptev Sea

History and development
The coast of the Laptev Sea has long been inhabited by aboriginal tribes of northern Siberia, such as the Yukagirs and Chuvans. The traditional occupations of these tribes were fishing, hunting, nomadic reindeer herding, and hunting for wild deer. Starting from the 2nd century, the gradual assimilation of the Yukaghirs by Evens and Evenks began, and from the 9th century by much more numerous Yakuts, and later by Koryaks and Chukchis. Many of these tribes moved north from the territories of Lake Baikal, avoiding clashes with the Mongols. All these tribes practiced shamanism, but the languages ​​were different. In the XVII-XIX centuries, the number of Yukaghirs decreased due to epidemics and civil strife.

Development by Russians
Russians began to explore the coast of the Laptev Sea and nearby islands around the 17th century, rafting Siberian rivers. Many early expeditions appear to have been undocumented, as evidenced by graves found on the islands by their official discoverers. In 1629, the Siberian Cossacks sailed through the entire Lena in boats and reached its delta. They left a record that the river flows into the sea. In 1633, another group reached the delta of the Olenyok River.
In 1712, Yakov Permyakov and Mercury Vagin explored the eastern part of the Laptev Sea and Bolshoi Lyakhovsky Island, which they had discovered two years earlier. When repeated, they, however, were killed by the rebellious Cossacks of their detachment. In the spring of 1770, the industrialist Ivan Lyakhov succeeded. Having discovered a fossil mammoth bone there, on his return he asked for a monopoly right to collect it and, as a result, received it by a special decree of Catherine II. During his sleigh trip, he described several other islands, including Kotelny, named by him because of the copper cauldron found on it. In 1775 he compiled detailed map Big Lyakhovsky Island.

As part of the Great Northern Expedition, two detachments were engaged in the study of the Laptev Sea:
On June 30, 1735, at the head of the Lena-Yenisei detachment, Vasily Pronchishchev set off from Yakutsk down the Lena on the dubel-boat Yakutsk with a crew of more than 40 people. He explored the eastern coast of the Lena Delta, plotted it on a map, stopped for the winter at the mouth of the Olenyok River. Despite the difficulties, in 1736 he managed to advance by oars to the north beyond the 77th latitude, almost to Cape Chelyuskin, the extreme northern point of the mainland. However, due to poor visibility, travelers were unable to see the land.
On the way back, Pronchishchev himself and his wife, Tatyana Pronchishcheva, died: on August 29, Pronchishchev went on reconnaissance on a boat and broke his leg. Returning to the ship, he lost consciousness and soon died of a fat embolism. The wife (her participation in the expedition was unofficial) survived her husband by only 14 days and died on September 12 (23), 1736. The bay of Maria Pronchishcheva (“Maria” - due to an error made in the preparation of the publication of maps) in the Laptev Sea was named after her.
In December 1737, Khariton Laptev was appointed the new leader of the detachment. Under his leadership, the detachment again reached Taimyr, transferred the wintering to Khatanga, and after the ship was crushed by ice, continued to describe the coast of Taimyr from land. One of the groups of this detachment, under the leadership of Semyon Chelyuskin, managed to get by land to the northern tip of the peninsula, which now bears his name.
At the head of the Lena-Kolyma detachment, Dmitry Laptev (who replaced P. Lassineus, who died during the winter in 1736) on the Irkutsk boat described the sea coast from the Lena delta to the strait into the East Siberian Sea, later named after him.

A detailed mapping of the coast of the Laptev Sea was carried out by Peter Anzhu, who in 1821-1823 traveled about 14,000 km across this territory on sledges and boats, in search of Sannikov Land and thus demonstrating that large-scale coastal exploration can be carried out without ships. The Anzhu Islands (the northern part of the New Siberian Islands) were named in his honor. In 1875, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was the first to sail across the entire Laptev Sea on the steamship Vega.
In 1892-1894 and again in 1900-1902, Baron Eduard Toll explored the Laptev Sea on two separate expeditions. He carried out geological and geographical research on the Zarya ship on behalf of the Imperial St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. During his second expedition, Toll went missing somewhere on the New Siberian Islands under unclear circumstances. He managed to note large, economically significant accumulations of perfectly preserved mammoth bone on the beaches, in reservoirs, river terraces and riverbeds of the New Siberian Islands. Later Scientific research showed that these clusters formed over a period of about 200,000 years.

Name etymology
Historical names: Tatar, Lena (on the maps of the XVI-XVII centuries), Siberian, Arctic (XVIII-XIX centuries). In 1883, the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen named the sea after the Nordenskjöld.
In 1913, at the suggestion of the oceanographer Yu. M. Shokalsky, the Russian Geographical Society approved the current name - in honor of the cousins ​​\u200b\u200bof Dmitry and Khariton Laptev, but it was officially fixed only by a decision of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR of June 27, 1935.

camp in the Olenyok Bay Laptev Sea

Pyasina, Upper and Lower Taimyr, Khatanga.

The southern shores of Severnaya Zemlya are only 55 kilometers from the northern tip of Asia - Cape Chelyuskin - and on a clear day they are visible. Now it is well known that Russian navigators quite early, at the end of the 16th - beginning of the 17th century, in the Laptev Sea by the Strait separating Severnaya Zemlya from the mainland. Perhaps these brave sailors had to see a high, bizarre mountainous country, and we owe the first information about it to them. True, in the old geographical maps this country has fantastic outlines. But what's in it! After all, the continents had no less fantastic forms on the world maps of the 15th and 16th centuries; Greenland had no less bizarre outlines on maps of the 16th and even 18th centuries, despite the fact that it became known to Europeans in the 9th, 10th, and especially in the 11th and 12th centuries.

is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. Administratively, it is part of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) municipal district of the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
The area of ​​the archipelago is about 37 thousand km². Uninhabited.
On Severnaya Zemlya there is the northernmost island point of Asia - the Arctic Cape on Komsomolets Island.

Story
The archipelago was discovered on September 4, 1913 by a hydrographic expedition of 1910-1915 by Boris Vilkitsky. First named by the expedition members the word "Taiwai" (according to the first syllables of the expeditionary icebreakers "Taimyr" and "Vaigach"). The archipelago received the official name "Land of Emperor Nicholas II" in honor of the then reigning Russian emperor on January 10 (23), 1914, when it was announced by order No. 14 of the Minister of Marine. Disputes continue about who was the initiator of this name. It is known that Boris Vilkitsky was his supporter both before the appearance of Order No. 14 and two decades later. Initially it was assumed that the archipelago is a single island.

On January 11, 1926, the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, by its resolution, renamed the Land of Emperor Nicholas II into Severnaya Zemlya. The island of Tsesarevich Alexei was renamed the island of Little Taimyr. Subsequently, in 1931-1933, the islands forming the archipelago were discovered, which received from the Soviet discoverers (Nikolai Urvantsev and Georgy Ushakov) the names Pioneer, Komsomolets, Bolshevik, October Revolution, Schmidt.

On December 1, 2006, the Duma of the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug adopted a resolution proposing the former name of the Land of Emperor Nicholas II, as well as renaming the island of Maly Taimyr into the island of Tsesarevich Alexei, the island of the October Revolution - into the island of St. Alexandra, the island of Bolshevik - into St. Olga Island, Komsomolets Island to St. Mary Island, Pioner Island to St. Tatiana Island, and Domashny Island to St. Anastasia Island.

However, after the unification of the Krasnoyarsk Territory and the Taimyr (Dolgano-Nenets) Autonomous Okrug, the Legislative Assembly of the Krasnoyarsk Territory did not support this initiative.

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SOURCE OF INFORMATION AND PHOTO:
Team Nomads
Shamraev Yu. I., Shishkina L. A. Oceanology. L.: Gidrometeoizdat, 1980
http://tapemark.narod.ru/more/14.html
Ust-Lensky State Nature Reserve
M. I. Belov In the footsteps of polar expeditions. Part II. On archipelagos and islands
Lyakhov Ivan, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
http://znayuvse.ru/geografiya/zagadka-zemli-sannikova
Dmitry Laptev, Khariton Laptev, Great Soviet Encyclopedia
Vize V. Yu. Laptev Sea // Seas of the Soviet Arctic: Essays on the history of research. - 2nd ed. - L .: Publishing House of the Glavsevmorput, 1939. - S. 180-217. — 568 p. - (Polar Library). — 10,000 copies.
History of the discovery and development of the Northern Sea Route: In 4 volumes / Ed. Ya. Ya. Gakkelya, A. P. Okladnikova, M. B. Chernenko. - M.-L., 1956-1969.
Belov M. I. Scientific and economic development of the Soviet North in 1933-1945. - L .: Hydrometeorological Publishing House, 1969. - T. IV. — 617 p. — 2,000 copies.
http://www.photosight.ru/
photo E. Gusev, S. Anisimov, L. Schwartz.

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The sea has a harsh climate with temperatures below 0 °C for more than nine months of the year, low salinity, sparse flora and fauna, and low population along the coast. Most of the time, with the exception of August and September, it is under ice.

There are several dozen islands in the Laptev Sea, many of which contain well-preserved remains of mammoths.

The main human activities in this area are mining and navigation along the Northern Sea Route; fishing and hunting are practiced but have no commercial value. The largest village and port is Tiksi.

Length and boundaries

In the north. A line connecting Cape Molotov and the northern tip of Kotelny Island.

At the same time, according to IBCAO (), the northern boundary of the sea (between the islands of Komsomolets and Kotelny) passes through the intersection point of the meridian of the northern tip of about. Boiler house with the edge of the continental shelf ( ).

Physical location

The surface area of ​​the sea is 672,000 km².

The largest river flowing into the Laptev Sea (and the second largest of the Arctic rivers after the Yenisei) is the Lena with its large delta. Rivers also flow into the sea: Khatanga, Anabar, Olenyok, Yana.

Bottom relief

Depths up to 50 m prevail, the greatest depth is 3385 meters, the average depth is 540 meters. More than half of the sea (53%) is a flat continental shelf with an average depth of less than or slightly more than 50 meters, in addition, bottom areas south of the 76th parallel are at a depth of less than 25 meters. In the northern part of the sea, the bottom abruptly breaks off to the ocean floor with depths of the order of one kilometer (22% of the sea area). In shallow areas, the bottom is covered with sand and silt mixed with pebbles and boulders. Near the banks, river precipitation accumulates at a high rate, up to 20-25 centimeters per year. At great depths, the bottom is covered with silt.

The continental slope is cut by the Sadko trough, passing in the north into the Nansen Basin with depths of over 2 kilometers, the maximum depth of the Laptev Sea is also noted here - 3385 meters ( ).

Climate

Hydrological regime

The sea is characterized by low water temperature. In winter, under the ice, the water temperature ranges from -0.8 ° C in the southeastern part to -1.8 ° C. Above a depth of 100 meters, the entire layer of water has negative temperatures (up to -1.8 ° C). In summer, in ice-free areas of the sea, the uppermost layer of water can warm up to 4-6 ° C, in bays up to 8-10 ° C, but remains close to 0 ° C under ice.

In the deep-water zone of the sea at a depth of 250-300 meters, there are relatively warm waters coming from the Arctic waters of the Atlantic (up to 1.5 ° C). It takes them 2.5-3 years to reach the Laptev Sea from their place of origin in the Svalbard region. Below this layer, the water temperature again becomes negative until the very bottom, where it is about −0.8 °C.

Seasonal fluctuations in sea level are relatively small - sea levels rise by 40 cm in summer near river deltas and fall in winter. Surge fluctuations in sea level are significant - up to 2 meters, and in the bays reach 2.5 meters. Observed throughout the year, but more often in autumn, with the advent of strong winds permanent direction. In general, sea levels rise with north winds and fall with south winds.

Due to relatively light winds and shallow depths, the Laptev Sea is relatively calm, with waves usually within 1 meter. In July-August, waves up to 4-5 m high can be observed in the open sea, and in autumn they can reach 6 meters.

ice cover

The frosty winters of the Arctic cause significant formation of sea ice, which covers the sea for almost the entire year. The development of ice is also facilitated by the shallowness of the sea and the low salinity of its surface waters. As a result, the Laptev Sea is the largest source of Arctic sea ice. With an average outflow of 483,000 km² per year (for the period 1979-1995), it produces more sea ice than the Kara, Barents and East Siberian seas combined. During this period, the annual outflow varied between 251,000 km² in 1984-85 and 732,000 km² in 1988-89. The sea exports significant amounts of ice for nine months: from October to June.

Ice formation begins in September in the north and in October in the south. Hundreds of kilometers from the shore deep into the sea, fast ice is formed with a thickness of up to 2 meters or more. This coastal ice thus covers about 30% of the sea area. Under the action of relatively warm southerly winds, ice drifts northward to form polynyas, some of which extend hundreds of kilometers. In areas not occupied by fast ice, floating ice is observed, and icebergs are observed on the northwestern margin of the sea. From the northern edge of the fast ice to the drifting ice, there is the so-called Great Siberian Polynya, which persists annually.

The ice cover begins to melt in late May - early June, forming fragmented ice agglomerates, mainly in the east of the sea.

The intensity of ice formation varies greatly from year to year, from an ice-free sea to a completely ice-covered sea.

Flora and fauna

Flora and fauna are scarce due to the harsh climate. The vegetation of the sea is represented mainly by diatoms, of which there are more than 100 species. For comparison, green, blue-green algae and flagellates - about 10 species of each. The total concentration of phytoplankton is 0.2 mg/l. Also in the sea there are about 30 species of zooplankton with a total concentration of 0.467 mg/l. The flora of the coast consists mainly of mosses, lichens and several species of flowering plants, including the polar poppy, saxifrage, grit, and small populations of polar and creeping willows. Vascular plants are rare and are represented mainly by saxifrage and saxifrage. Non-vascular, on the contrary, are very diverse: mosses of the genera Ditrichum, Dicranum, Pogonatum, Sanionia, Bryum, Orthothecium and Tortula, as well as lichens of the genera Cetraria, Thamnolia, Cornicularia, Lecidea, Ochrolechia and Parmelia.

In the sea, 39 species of fish have been recorded, most of them typical of the brackish water environment. The main ones are various types of graylings and whitefishes, such as muksun, whitefish, and omul. Sardine, Bering Sea omul, polar smelt, saffron cod, polar cod, flounder, arctic char and nelma are also common.

Mammals are permanent residents here: walrus, sea hare, seal, harp seal, hoofed lemming, arctic fox, reindeer, wolf, stoat, polar hare and polar bear. Seasonal migrations to the coast (for flying) are made by the white whale. The walruses of the Laptev Sea are sometimes classified as a separate subspecies. Odobenus rosmarus laptevi, however, this issue remains controversial.

Several dozen species of birds live here. Some of them are sedentary and live here permanently, such as snow bunting, sea sandpiper, polar owl and black goose. While others roam the polar regions or migrate from the south, creating large colonies on the islands and the coast of the mainland. The latter include the auk, kittiwake, common guillemot, ivory gull, murre, charadriiformes, and arctic gull. Also found are skuas, terns, fulmar, glaucous gull, rosy gull, long-tailed duck, eiders, loons and ptarmigan.

In 1985, the Ust-Lena Reserve was organized in the delta of the Lena River. In 1993, all the islands of the Novosibirsk archipelago were also included in its buffer zone. The territory of the reserve is 14,330 km². It contains numerous species of plants (402 species of vascular plants), fish (32 species), birds (109 species) and mammals (33 species), many of which are listed in the Red Books of the USSR and Russia.

History and development

The coast of the Laptev Sea has long been inhabited by aboriginal tribes of northern Siberia such as the Yukagirs and Chuvans. The traditional occupations of these tribes were fishing, hunting, nomadic reindeer herding, and hunting for wild deer. Starting from the 2nd century, the gradual assimilation of the Yukaghirs by Evens and Evenks began, and from the 9th century by much more numerous Yakuts, and later by Koryaks and Chukchis. Many of these tribes moved north from the territories of Lake Baikal, avoiding clashes with the Mongols. All of these tribes practiced shamanism, but the languages ​​were different. In the XVII-XIX centuries, the number of Yukaghirs decreased due to epidemics and civil strife.

Development by Russians

Russians began to explore the coast of the Laptev Sea and nearby islands around the 17th century, rafting down the Siberian rivers. Many early expeditions appear to have been undocumented, as evidenced by graves found on the islands by their official discoverers. In 1629, the Siberian Cossacks sailed through the entire Lena in boats and reached its delta. They left a record that the river flows into the sea. In 1633, another group reached the delta of the Olenyok River. In the same year, the Russian pioneers Ivan Rebrov and Ilya Perfilyev sailed by sea on the cochs from the mouth of the river. Lena to the river. Yana, where they set up a prison. In 1636, Rebrov set off from the mouth of the Yana and reached the mouth of the river. Indigirka, thus passing from the Laptev Sea to the East Siberian Sea.

At the head of the Lena-Kolyma detachment, Dmitry Laptev (who replaced P. Lassineus, who died during the winter in 1736) on the Irkutsk boat described the sea coast from the Lena delta to the strait into the East Siberian Sea, later named after him.

A detailed mapping of the coast of the Laptev Sea and the New Siberian Islands was carried out by Peter Anzhu, who in 1821-1823 covered about 14,000 km across this territory on sledges and boats, in search of Sannikov Land and thus demonstrating that large-scale coastal exploration can be carried out without ships. The Anzhu Islands (the northern part of the New Siberian Islands) were named in his honor. In 1875, Adolf Erik Nordenskiöld was the first to sail across the entire Laptev Sea on the steamship Vega.

In 1892-1894 and again in 1900-1902, Baron Eduard Toll explored the Laptev Sea on two separate expeditions. He carried out geological and geographical research on the Zarya ship on behalf of the Imperial Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences. During his second expedition, Toll went missing somewhere on the New Siberian Islands under unclear circumstances. He managed to note large, economically significant accumulations of perfectly preserved mammoth bone on the beaches, in reservoirs, river terraces and riverbeds of the New Siberian Islands. More recent scientific studies have shown that these clusters formed over a period of about 200,000 years.

Name etymology

Historical names: Tatar, Lena (on the maps of the XVI-XVII centuries), Siberian, Arctic (XVIII-XIX centuries). In 1883, the polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen named the sea after Nordenskjöld.

In the scientific monograph “The Ice of the Kara and Siberian Seas” published by the Imperial Academy of Sciences in 1906 by Lieutenant A.V. Kolchak, the author, discussing the name of the Siberian Sea, disputed the term “Nordenskiöld Sea” “accepted by some geographers”:

... Some geographers adopted the term "Nordenskiöld Sea" after Nordenskiöld's voyage on the "Vega" in 1878. that there is no sufficient reason for its adoption, t.to. the first voyage on this sea, along the same coastal route that the Vega was on, was made in 1735 and 1736. Lieutenant Pronchishchev on the dubel-boat "Yakutsk", and the second - Lieutenant Khariton Laptev on the same ship in 1739 and 1740.

Economic activity

The coast of the sea is administratively divided between regions Russian Federation: The Republic of Sakha (Anabarsky, Bulunsky and Ust-Yansky uluses) in the east and the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenets region) in the west. There are few coastal villages, and they themselves are small: with a typical population of several hundred people or less. The only exception is Tiksi (5023 people as of 2013), which is the administrative center of the Bulunsky ulus. The Laptev Sea is the only Russian sea where there is not a single inhabited island with a permanent population, excluding polar stations and military installations.

Fishing and navigation

Hunting and fishing are not widespread and are concentrated mainly in river deltas. For the Khatanga Bay and the deltas of the Lena and Yana, fishery data are available from 1981 to 1991, which give figures of about 3,000 tons of fish per year. Hunting for marine mammals is practiced only by indigenous people. In particular, walrus hunting is allowed only to scientific expeditions and local tribes who need it for their existence.

Despite the freezing of the sea, navigation is the main human activity in the region and the main port is Tiksi. During Soviet times, there was a local navigation boom on the coast of the Laptev Sea, thanks to the first polar convoys that ran along the Northern Sea Route, as well as the creation in 1932 of the main department of the Northern Sea Route. The route was difficult even for icebreakers, so the icebreaker "Lenin" and its caravan of five ships were covered with ice in the Laptev Sea in September 1937, made a forced wintering and were freed from ice by the icebreaker "Krasin" in August 1938. The main goods transported were timber, fur and building materials.

After the collapse Soviet Union navigation on the northern seas fell into disrepair during the 1990s. More or less regular transportation of goods was carried out only from Murmansk to Dudinka in the west and between Vladivostok and Pevek in the east. There was practically no shipping in the ports between Dudinka and Pevek.

Currently, the Northern Sea Route is the most important way to deliver goods to remote regions of Russia - the north of the Krasnoyarsk Territory, Yakutia and Chukotka. During 2010-2013, the number of satisfied applications for permission to navigate in the waters of the Northern Sea Route, including ships in transit from Europe to Far East and in South East Asia, ships serving gas fields in high latitudes, and others.

There is an operating airport in Tiksi.

Mining

Scientific activity

Pollution

Another major source of pollution is sunken and floating decomposing wood that has been in the water as a result of decades of continuous rafting. As a result, the concentration of phenols in the Laptev Sea is the highest among all Arctic water basins.

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Notes

An excerpt characterizing the Laptev Sea

The words lined up in an unusual way, but such amazing warmth emanated from them, as if the book really spoke to me ... I heard a soft, affectionate, very tired female voice that tried to tell me its story ...
If I understood correctly, it was someone's short diary.
– My name is Esclarmonde de Pereille… I am a child of the Light, the “daughter” of Magdalene… I am Qatar. I believe in Good and in Knowledge. Like my mother, my husband, and my friends, - the story of a stranger sounded sad. – Today I live my last day on this earth… I can't believe it!.. The servants of Satan gave us two weeks. Tomorrow, at dawn, our time ends...
My throat was seized with excitement ... It was exactly what I was looking for - a real eyewitness story !!! The one who survived all the horror and pain of destruction ... Who felt the death of relatives and friends firsthand. Who was the true Qatar!..
Again, as with everything else, the Catholic Church lied shamelessly. And this, as I now understand, was done not only by Caraffa ...
Spilling mud on someone else's, hated for them faith, the clergy (most likely, on the orders of the then Pope) in secret from everyone collected any information found about this faith - the shortest manuscript, the most read book ... Everything that (killing) was easy to find so that later, secretly, as deeply as possible, study all this and, if possible, use any revelation that is understandable to them.
For everyone else, it was shamelessly announced that all this “heresy” was burned to the very last leaf, since it carried the most dangerous teachings of the Devil ...

This is where the true records of Qatar were located!!! Together with the rest of the "heretical" wealth, they shamelessly hid in the lair of the "most holy" Popes, at the same time ruthlessly destroying the owners who once wrote them.
My hatred for the Pope grew and grew stronger every day, although it seemed impossible to hate more ... Right now, seeing all the shameless lies and cold, calculating violence, my heart and mind were outraged to the last human limit! .. I did not I could think calmly. Although once (it seemed that it was a very long time ago!), Having just fallen into the hands of Cardinal Caraffa, I promised myself not to succumb to feelings for anything in the world ... in order to survive. True, I didn’t know then how terrible and merciless my fate would be ... Therefore, even now, despite my confusion and indignation, I forcibly tried to somehow gather myself and again returned to the story of a sad diary ...
The voice that called itself Esclarmonde was very quiet, soft and infinitely sad! But at the same time, there was an incredible determination in him. I did not know her, this woman (or girl), but something very familiar slipped through her determination, fragility, and doom. And I realized - she reminded me of my daughter ... my sweet, brave Anna! ..
And suddenly I wanted to see her wildly! This strong, sad stranger. I tried to tune in... The real reality habitually disappeared, giving way to unprecedented images that came to me now from its distant past...
Directly in front of me, in a huge, poorly lit ancient hall, on a wide wooden bed lay a very young, exhausted pregnant woman. Almost a girl. I realized that this was Esclarmonde.
Some people crowded around the high stone walls of the hall. They were all very thin and emaciated. Some were quietly whispering about something, as if they were afraid to frighten off a happy resolution with a loud conversation. Others nervously walked from corner to corner, obviously worried either for the unborn child, or for the young woman in labor herself ...
A man and a woman stood at the head of a huge bed. Apparently, Esclarmonde's parents or close relatives, since they were very similar to her ... The woman was about forty-five years old, she looked very thin and pale, but she carried herself independently and proudly. The man showed his condition more openly - he was frightened, confused and nervous. Endlessly wiping the perspiration that appeared on his face (although it was damp and cold in the room!), He did not hide the slight trembling of his hands, as if his surroundings did not matter to him at the moment.
Next to the bed, on the stone floor, a long-haired young man was kneeling, all of whose attention was literally nailed to the young woman in labor. Seeing nothing around and not taking his eyes off her, he continuously whispered something to her, hopelessly trying to calm her down.
I was interested in looking future mother, when all of a sudden a sharp pain slashed all over my body! .. And I immediately, with all my being, felt how cruelly Esclarmonde suffered! for which she was not yet ready.
Convulsively grabbing hands young man Esclarmonde whispered softly:
“Promise me… Please, promise me… you will be able to save him… Whatever happens… promise me…”
The man did not answer, only affectionately stroked her thin hands, apparently not finding the saving words needed at that moment.
He should be born today! He must! .. - the girl suddenly shouted desperately. - He cannot die with me! .. What should we do? So tell me what should we do?
Her face was incredibly thin, haggard and pale. But neither thinness, nor terrible exhaustion could spoil the refined beauty of this surprisingly tender and bright face! Only his eyes now lived on it ... Clean and huge, like two gray-blue springs, they shone with infinite tenderness and love, not breaking away from the anxious young man ... And in the very depths of these wonderful eyes lurked a wild, black hopelessness ...
What was it?!.. Who were all these people who came to me from someone's distant past? Was it the Cathars?! And is it not because my heart sank so mournfully over them that an inevitable, terrible misfortune hung over them? ..
The mother of the young Esclarmonde (and it must have been her) was obviously agitated to the limit, but, as best she could, she tried not to show this to her already completely exhausted daughter, who at times “went away” from them into oblivion, not feeling anything and not answering … And only she lay there like a sad angel, who left her tired body for a while... On the pillows, scattered in golden-brown waves, long, wet, silky hair shone... The girl, indeed, was very unusual. Some strange, spiritually doomed, very deep beauty shone in her.
Esclarmonde was approached by two thin, stern but pleasant women. Approaching the bed, they tried to gently persuade the young man to leave the room. But he, without answering, only shook his head negatively and turned back to the woman in labor.
The lighting in the hall was sparse and dark - a few smoking torches hung on the walls on either side, casting long, swaying shadows. Once upon a time, this hall must have been very beautiful ... Wonderfully embroidered tapestries still proudly hung on the walls ... And the high windows were protected by cheerful multi-colored stained-glass windows, enlivening the last dim evening light that poured into the room. Something very bad must have happened to the owners to make such a rich room look so abandoned and uncomfortable now ...
I couldn't understand why this strange story completely captivated me?!. And what was the most important thing in it: the event itself? Someone who was there? Or one not yet born small man?.. Unable to tear myself away from the vision, I longed to find out as soon as possible how this strange, probably not very happy, alien story would end!
Suddenly, the air thickened in the papal library - the North suddenly appeared.
- Oh! .. I felt something familiar and decided to return to you. But I didn’t think that you would watch this… You don’t need to read this sad story, Isidora. It will only bring you more pain.
– Do you know her?.. Then tell me who these people are, Sever? And why does my heart hurt so much for them? Surprised by his advice, I asked.
“These are Cathars, Isidora… Your beloved Cathars… on the night before the burning,” Sever said sadly. “And the place that you see is their last and most expensive fortress for them, which held out longer than all the others. This is Montsegur, Isidora… The Temple of the Sun. The home of Magdalene and her descendants… one of which is just about to be born into the world.
– ?!..
- Do not be surprised. The father of that child is a descendant of Beloyar, and, of course, Radomir. His name was Svetozar. Or by the Light of Dawn, if you prefer. This (as they always have) is a very sad and cruel story ... I do not advise you to watch it, my friend.
North was focused and deeply sad. And I understood that the vision that I was watching at that moment did not give him pleasure. But in spite of everything, he, as always, was patient, warm and calm.
- When did this happen, Sever? Are you saying that we are seeing the real end of Qatar?
Sever looked at me for a long time, as if pitying.... As if not wanting to hurt even more... But I stubbornly continued to wait for an answer, not giving him the opportunity to remain silent.
“Unfortunately, it is, Isidora. Although I would very much like to answer you something more joyful ... What you are now observing happened in 1244, in the month of March. On the night when the last refuge of Cathar fell ... Montsegur. They held out for a very long time, ten long months, freezing and starving, infuriating the army of His Holiness the Pope and His Majesty the King of France. There were only one hundred real warrior knights and four hundred other people, among whom were women and children, and more than two hundred Perfect. And the attackers were several thousand professional warrior knights, real killers who received the green light to destroy the disobedient "heretics" ... to ruthlessly kill all the innocent and unarmed ... in the name of Christ. And in the name of the "holy", "all-forgiving" church.
And yet, the Cathars held out. The fortress was almost inaccessible, and in order to capture it, it was necessary to know the secret underground passages, or passable paths, known only to the inhabitants of the fortress or the inhabitants of the district who helped them.

But, as it usually happened with the heroes, betrayal appeared “on the stage”... The army of killer knights, out of patience, going crazy from empty inaction, asked for help from the church. And of course, the church immediately responded, using its most proven method for this - giving one of the local shepherds a large fee for showing the path leading to the "platform" (the so-called nearest platform on which it was possible to arrange a catapult). The shepherd sold out, ruining his immortal soul... and the sacred fortress of the last remaining Cathars.

My heart was beating wildly with indignation. Trying not to succumb to the surging hopelessness, I continued to ask Sever, as if I still did not give up, as if I still had the strength to watch this pain and the savagery of the atrocity that had once occurred ...
Who was Esclarmonde? Do you know anything about her, Sever?
“She was the third and youngest daughter of the last lords of Montsegur, Raymond and Corba de Pereille,” Sever replied sadly. “You saw them at the head of Esclarmonde in your vision. Esclarmonde herself was a cheerful, affectionate and beloved girl. She was explosive and mobile, like a fountain. And very kind. Her name in translation meant - Light of the World. But acquaintances affectionately called her "flash", I think, for her seething and sparkling character. Just do not confuse it with another Esclarmonde - Qatar also had the Great Esclarmonde, Dame de Foix.
She was called Great by the people themselves, for her steadfastness and unshakable faith, for love and help to others, for the protection and Faith of Qatar. But this is already another, although very beautiful, but (again!) very sad story. Esclarmonde, whom you "watched", became the wife of Svetozar at a very young age. And now she was giving birth to his child, which the father, according to an agreement with her and with all the Perfect Ones, had to somehow take away from the fortress that same night in order to save it. Which meant that she would only see her child for a few short minutes while his father was preparing to escape... But, as you have already seen, the child was still not born. Esclarmonde was losing strength, and from this she panicked more and more. A whole two weeks, which, according to general estimates, should have certainly been enough for the birth of a son, came to an end, and for some reason the child did not want to be born ... Being in a complete frenzy, exhausted by attempts, Esclarmonde almost did not believe, that she will still be able to save her poor child from a terrible death in the flames of a fire. Why did he, an unborn baby, have to experience this?! Svetozar did his best to calm her down, but she was no longer listening, completely immersed in despair and hopelessness.
Having adjusted, I again saw the same room. About ten people gathered around Esclarmonde's bed. They stood in a circle, all equally dressed in dark, and from their outstretched hands a golden glow gently flowed into the woman in labor. The flow grew thicker, as if the people around her were pouring all their remaining Life Power into her...
It's the Cathars, right? I asked quietly.
– Yes, Isidora, they are Perfect. They helped her survive, helped her baby be born into the world.
Suddenly Esclarmonde screamed wildly... and at the same moment, in unison, a heart-rending cry of a baby was heard! A bright joy appeared on the emaciated faces surrounding her. People laughed and cried, as if a long-awaited miracle had suddenly appeared to them! Although, probably, it was so?.. After all, a descendant of Magdalene, their beloved and revered guiding Star, was born!.. A bright descendant of Radomir! It seemed that the people who filled the hall completely forgot that at sunrise they would all go to the fire. Their joy was sincere and proud, like a stream of fresh air in the expanses of Occitania scorched by fires! Greeting the newborn in turn, they, smiling happily, left the hall until only Esclarmonde's parents and her husband, her most beloved person in the world, remained around.
With happy, sparkling eyes, the young mother looked at the boy, unable to utter a word. She perfectly understood that these moments would be very short, because, wanting to protect the newborn son, his father would have to immediately pick him up in order to try to escape from the fortress before morning. Before his unfortunate mother climbs the fire with the others....
– Thank you!.. Thank you for your son! - not hiding the tears rolling down his tired face, whispered Svetozar. – My bright-eyed joy... come with me! We will all help you! I can't lose you! He doesn't know you yet!.. Your son doesn't know how kind and beautiful his mother is! Come with me, Esclarmonde!
He pleaded with her, knowing in advance what the answer would be. He just couldn't leave her to die. After all, everything was calculated so perfectly! .. Montsegur surrendered, but asked for two weeks, ostensibly to prepare for death. In reality, they were waiting for the appearance of the descendant of Magdalene and Radomir. And they calculated that after his appearance, Esclarmonde would have enough time to get stronger. But, apparently, they say correctly: “we assume, but fate disposes” ... So she ordered cruelly ... allowing the newborn to be born only on the last night. Esclarmonde had no strength left to go with them. And now she was going to end her short, completely unlived life on the terrible fire of "heretics" ...
The Pereyles, embracing each other, sobbed. They so wanted to save their beloved, bright girl! .. They so wanted her to live!
My throat caught - how familiar was this story! .. They should have seen how their daughter would die in the flames of a fire. Just as I will probably have to watch the death of my beloved Anna...
The Perfect Ones reappeared in the stone hall - it's time to say goodbye. Esclarmonde screamed and tried to get out of bed. Her legs gave way, not wanting to hold her ... The husband grabbed her, not letting her fall, squeezing her tightly in the last embrace.
“You see, my love, how can I go with you?” Esclarmonde whispered softly. - You go! Promise you will save him. Promise me please! I will love you there too... And my son.
Esclarmonde burst into tears... She so wanted to look courageous and strong!.. But her fragile and affectionate woman's heart let her down... She didn't want them to leave!.. She didn't even have time to recognize her little Vidomir! It was much more painful than she naively imagined. It was a pain from which there was no escape. She was in so much pain!!!
Finally, kissing her little son for the last time, she let them go into the unknown... They left to survive. And she stayed to die... The world was cold and unfair. And there was no room in it even for Love ...
Wrapped in warm blankets, the four stern men stepped out into the night. These were her friends - Perfect: Hugo (Hugo), Amiel (Amiel), Poitevin (Poitevin) and Svetozar (which is not mentioned in any of the original manuscripts, everywhere it simply says that the name of the fourth Perfect remained unknown). Esclarmonde tried to go after them... Her mother would not let her go. It no longer made sense - the night was dark, and the daughter would only interfere with those leaving.

Such was their fate, and it was necessary to meet it with your head held high. As difficult as it may be...
The descent down which the four Perfects left was very dangerous. The rock was slippery and almost vertical.
And they descended on ropes tied around the waist, so that, in case of trouble, everyone's hands would remain free. Only Svetozar felt defenseless, as he supported the child tied to him, who, drunk with poppy decoction (so as not to scream) and arranged on his father's wide chest, slept sweetly. Did this kid ever know what his first night in this cruel world was like? .. I think he did.

He lived a long and difficult life, this little son of Esclarmonde and Svetozar, whom his mother, who saw him for only a moment, called Vidomir, knowing that her son would see the future. Will be a wonderful Vidun...
- Just as slandered by the church as the rest of the descendants of Magdalene and Radomir, he will end his life at the stake. But unlike many who died early, at the time of his death he will be exactly seventy years and two days old, and his name on earth will be Jacques de Molay (Jacques de Molay) ... the last Grand Master of the Order of the Templars. And also the last head of the bright Temple of Radomir and Magdalene. The Temple of Love and Knowledge, which the Roman Church was never able to destroy, because there were always people who sacredly kept it in their hearts.
(The Templars died slandered and tortured by the servants of the king and the bloodthirsty Catholic Church. But the most absurd thing was that they died in vain, since at the time of their execution they had already been acquitted by Pope Clement! .. Only this document was somehow “lost”, and no one saw it until 2002, when it was "accidentally" suddenly discovered in the Vatican Archives under the number 217, instead of the "correct" number 218 ... And this document was called - Parchment of Chinon (Parchement of Chinon), a manuscript from the city, in which Jacques de Molay spent the last years of his imprisonment and torture).

(If someone is interested in the details of the real fate of Radomir, Magdalene, Cathars and the Templars, please see the Additions after the chapters of Isidora or a separate (but still in preparation) book "Children of the Sun" when it is posted on the website www.levashov.info for free copying).

I stood completely shocked, as it was almost always after the next story of the North ...
Was that tiny, newly born boy really the famous Jacques de Molay?! How many different bizarre legends I heard about this mysterious man!.. How many miracles were connected with his life in the stories I once loved!
(Unfortunately, the wonderful legends about this mysterious man have not survived to this day... He, like Radomir, was made a weak, cowardly and spineless master who "failed" to save his great Order...)
– Can you tell us a little more about him, Sever? Was he such a powerful prophet and miracle worker as my father once told me? ..
Smiling at my impatience, Sever nodded in the affirmative.
– Yes, I will tell you about him, Isidora... I have known him for many years. And I talked to him many times. I loved this man very much ... And I missed him very much.
I did not ask why he did not help him during the execution? It didn't make sense, since I already knew his answer.
– What are you?! Have you spoken to him? Please, will you tell me about this, Sever?!. I exclaimed.
I know I was like a child in my excitement... But it didn't matter. Sever understood how important his story was for me, and patiently helped me.
“Only I would like to know first what became of his mother and the Cathars. I know that they died, but I would like to see it with my own eyes... Help me, please, Sever.
And again, reality disappeared, returning me to Montsegur, where wonderful brave people lived their last hours - students and followers of Magdalene ...

Cathars.
Esclarmonde lay quietly on the bed. Her eyes were closed, she seemed to be sleeping, exhausted by losses ... But I felt - it was just protection. She just wanted to be alone with her sadness... Her heart suffered endlessly. The body refused to obey... Just a few moments ago, her hands were holding a newborn son... Embracing her husband... Now they are gone into the unknown. And no one could say with certainty whether they would be able to get away from the hatred of the "hunters" who filled the foot of Montsegur. Yes, and the whole valley, as far as the eye covered ... The fortress was the last stronghold of the Cathars, after it there was nothing left. They suffered a complete defeat ... Exhausted by hunger and winter cold, they were helpless against the stone "rain" of catapults that rained down on Montsegur from morning to night.

“Tell me, Sever, why didn’t the Perfect Ones defend themselves?” After all, as far as I know, no one was better than them in "movement" (I think they mean telekinesis), "breath" and much more. Why did they give up?!
“There are reasons for this, Isidora. In the very first attacks of the crusaders, the Cathars did not yet give up. But after the complete destruction of the cities of Albi, Beziers, Minerva and Lavour, in which thousands of civilians died, the church came up with a move that simply could not work. Before they attacked, they announced to the Perfects that if they surrendered, not a single person would be harmed. And, of course, the Cathars surrendered... From that day on, the fires of the Perfect Ones began to blaze all over Occitania. People who devoted their whole lives to Knowledge, Light and Good were burned like garbage, turning the beautiful Occitania into a desert scorched by bonfires.
Look, Isidora... Look, if you want to see the truth...
I was seized by a real sacred horror! .. For what the North showed me did not fit within the framework of normal human understanding! .. It was Hell, if it ever truly existed somewhere ...
Thousands of knights-murderers dressed in sparkling armor cold-bloodedly massacred people rushing about in horror - women, old people, children ... Everyone who fell under the strong blows of the faithful servants of the "forgiving" Catholic Church ... Young men who tried to resist immediately fell dead , hacked with long knightly swords. Heart-rending cries sounded everywhere... the clash of swords was deafening. There was a suffocating smell of smoke, human blood and death. The knights mercilessly hacked everyone: whether it was a newborn baby, which, begging for mercy, was held out by an unfortunate mother ... or there was a weak old man ... All of them were immediately mercilessly hacked to death ... in the name of Christ !!! It was sacrilege. It was so wild that my hair really moved on my head. I was trembling all over, unable to accept or simply comprehend what was happening. I really wanted to believe that this was a dream! That such a reality could not be! But, unfortunately, it was still a reality ...
HOW could they explain the perpetrated atrocity?! HOW could the Roman Church FORGIVE (???) those committing such a terrible crime?!
Even before the start of the Albigensian Crusade, in 1199, Pope Innocent III “graciously” declared: “Anyone who professes a belief in God that does not coincide with church dogma should be burned without the slightest regret.” Crusade on Qatar was called "For the Cause of Peace and Faith"! (Negotium Pacis et Fidei)...
Right at the altar, a handsome young knight tried to crush the skull of an elderly man... The man did not die, his skull did not give in. The young knight calmly and methodically continued to beat, until the man finally twitched for the last time and calmed down - his thick skull, unable to stand it, split ...
The young mother, terrified, held out the child in a prayer - in a second, she had two even halves in her hands ...
A little curly-haired girl, crying with fright, gave the knight her doll - her most precious treasure ... The head of the doll flew off easily, and after it the head of the hostess rolled like a ball on the floor ...
Unable to bear it any longer, sobbing bitterly, I collapsed on my knees... Were these PEOPLE?! HOW could one call a person who did such evil?!
I did not want to watch it any further!.. I had no more strength left... But the North ruthlessly continued to show some cities with churches blazing in them... These cities were completely empty, not counting the thousands of corpses thrown right on streets, and overflowing rivers of human blood, drowning in which the wolves feasted ... Horror and pain fettered me, not allowing me to breathe even for a minute. Don't let me move...

How should the “people” who gave such orders feel? I don't think they felt anything at all, for black were their ugly, callous souls.

Suddenly I saw a very beautiful castle, the walls of which were damaged in places by catapults, but basically the castle remained intact. The entire courtyard was littered with the bodies of people drowning in pools of their own and other people's blood. Everyone's throat was slit...
– This is Lavaur, Isidora... A very beautiful and rich city. Its walls were the most protected. But the leader of the Crusaders, Simon de Montfort, who had gone berserk from unsuccessful attempts, called for help all the rabble he could find, and... 15,000 "soldiers of Christ" who had come to the call attacked the fortress... Unable to withstand the onslaught, Lavur fell. All the inhabitants, including 400 (!!!) Perfects, 42 troubadours and 80 defending knights, fell brutally at the hands of the "holy" executioners. Here, in the courtyard, you see only the knights who defended the city, and also those who held weapons in their hands. The rest (except for the burned Qatars) were slaughtered and simply left to rot in the streets... In the city basement, the killers found 500 hidden women and children - they were brutally killed right there... without going outside...
Some people brought into the courtyard of the castle, chained, pretty, well-dressed young woman. Around began drunken whooping and laughter. The woman was roughly grabbed by the shoulders and thrown into the well. Deaf, plaintive groans and cries were immediately heard from the depths. They continued until the crusaders, by order of the leader, filled the well with stones...
– It was Lady Giralda... The owner of the castle and this city... Without exception, all subjects loved her very much. She was soft and kind... And she carried her first unborn baby under her heart. - Sever finished hard.
Then he looked at me, and apparently immediately realized that I simply had no more strength left ...
The horror ended immediately.
Sever sympathetically approached me, and, seeing that I was still trembling violently, gently laid his hand on my head. He stroked my long hair softly whispering words of comfort. And I gradually began to come to life, coming to my senses after a terrible, inhuman shock ... A swarm of unasked questions was intrusively swirling in my tired head. But all these questions now seemed empty and irrelevant. Therefore, I preferred to wait what the North would say.
– Forgive me for the pain, Isidora, but I wanted to show you the truth... So that you would understand the burden of Katar... So that you would not think that they easily lost the Perfect...
“I still don’t get it, Sever! Just as I couldn't understand your truth... Why didn't the Perfect Ones fight for their lives?! Why didn't they use what they knew? After all, almost every one of them could exterminate an entire army with just one movement! .. Why was it necessary to surrender?
“I guess that was what I talked to you about so often, my friend… They just weren't ready.
“Not ready for what?!” I exploded out of old habit. Are you ready to save your life? Not ready to save other suffering people?! But all this is so erroneous!.. It is not true!!!
“They weren’t warriors like you are, Isidora. Sever spoke softly. – They did not kill, believing that the world should be different. Considering that they could teach people to change... Teach Understanding and Love, teach Goodness. They hoped to give people Knowledge... but not everyone, unfortunately, needed it. You are correct in saying that the Cathars were strong. Yes, they were perfect Mages and wielded great power. But they did not want to fight with FORCE, preferring to fight with the WORD over strength. That is what destroyed them, Isidora. That's why I'm telling you, my friend, they weren't ready. And to be extremely precise, it was the world that was not ready for them. The earth, at that time, respected precisely force. And the Cathars carried Love, Light and Knowledge. And they came too early. People weren't ready for them...
- Well, what about those hundreds of thousands that throughout Europe carried the Faith of Qatar? What were drawn to Light and Knowledge? There were a lot of them!
– You are right, Isidora... There were many of them. But what happened to them? As I told you earlier, Knowledge can be very dangerous if it comes too soon. People must be ready to receive it. Not resisting and not killing. Otherwise this Knowledge will not help them. Or even worse - falling into someone's dirty hands, it will destroy the Earth. I'm sorry if it upset you...
- And yet, I do not agree with you, Sever ... The time you are talking about will never come to Earth. People will never think the same way. This is fine. Look at nature - every tree, every flower is different from each other... And you want people to be similar!.. Too much evil, too much violence was shown to man. And those who have a dark soul do not want to work and KNOW when it is possible to just kill or lie to get what they need. It is necessary to fight for Light and Knowledge! And win. This is what should be missing. normal person. The earth can be beautiful, North. We just have to show her HOW she can become pure and beautiful...
Sever was silent, watching me. And I, in order not to prove anything more, tuned in to Esclarmonde again ...
How could this girl, almost a child, endure such deep grief?.. Her courage was amazing, forcing respect and pride in her. She was worthy of the Magdalene family, although she was only the mother of her distant descendant.
And my heart ached again for the wonderful people whose lives were cut short by the same church that falsely proclaimed “forgiveness”! And then I suddenly remembered the words of Caraffa: “God will forgive everything that is happening in his name”! .. The blood froze from such a God ... And I wanted to run wherever my eyes look, just not to hear and not see what is happening “for the glory” of this monsters!..
Before my eyes again stood the young, exhausted Esclarmonde... An unfortunate mother who had lost her first and last child... And no one could really explain to her why they did this to them... Why did they, kind and innocent, go to death...
Suddenly, a thin, out of breath boy ran into the hall. He obviously came running straight from the street, as steam poured out of his wide smile.
- Madam, Madam! They got saved!!! Good Esclarmonde, there is a fire on the mountain! ..

Esclarmonde jumped up, about to run, but her body turned out to be weaker than the poor thing could have imagined ... She collapsed straight into her father's arms. Raymond de Pereille picked up his daughter, light as a feather, in his arms and ran out the door ... And there, gathered on top of Montsegur, stood all the inhabitants of the castle. And all eyes looked only in one direction - to where a huge fire was burning on the snowy peak of Mount Bidorta! .. Which meant - four fugitives reached the desired point!!! Her brave husband and newborn son were saved from the brutal paws of the Inquisition and could happily continue their lives.
Now everything was in order. All was good. She knew that she would ascend the fire calmly, since the people dearest to her lived. And she was truly pleased - fate took pity on her, allowing her to find out .... Allowing her to calmly go to her death.

The Laptev Sea is located on the continental plate of the Eurasian continent. Its borders are the Kara Sea, the basin of the Arctic Ocean and the East Siberian Sea. It owes its name to the Laptev brothers, who devoted their lives to exploring the North. Its other names - Nordenskiöld and Siberian - are less relevant. The area of ​​the sea is 672,000 sq. km., depths up to 50 meters predominate everywhere. Only a fifth of the bottom is submerged by more than 1000 meters. The maximum depth was recorded in the Nansen Basin and is equal to 3385 m. The bottom of the sea is silty in deep places and sandy-silty in shallower ones.

Due to the huge number of rivers flowing into the Nordenskiöld, the surface of the sea has a low concentration of salt. Most of the water the Laptev Sea receives from Khatanga and Lena - the main arteries of Siberia. The sea temperature is rarely above zero. This is one of the harshest places on the planet.

But life did not disregard this part of our planet. Despite the fact that the surface of the sea is almost always covered with ice and despite the small amount of sunlight, vegetation can be found on the coast. The flora here is represented by various diatoms and other microscopic algae. Planktonic microorganisms can also be found.

The coastline is heavily indented. The steep banks are dotted with birds that come here to raise their offspring. Gulls, guillemots, guillemots and many other birds hatch their chicks here. Bird eggs attract small predators such as arctic foxes, who are not averse to indulging in the delicacy. also attract larger animals such as the polar bear. Along the mainland along the coast there are also stars, mollusks and other small inhabitants of the deep sea.

There are about 40 species of fish in the Laptev Sea - these are cod, omul, and many others. Mining is not possible due to the ice crust on the surface. Sport fishing is also poorly developed due to the remoteness of the sea from residential areas.

Mammals here are represented by walruses, minke whales, seals and beluga whales. Their extraction is also absolutely undeveloped for the reasons described above. Nothing is known about the existence of sharks in the waters of the Laptev Sea. But we can assume that such conditions are quite suitable for polar sharks. In warmer times, from neighboring seas, it can get here

Recently, a large number of projects related to offshore and gas began to appear. This is due to the low depths over most of the area of ​​the entire sea. A good study of the bottom in seismic terms provides excellent prerequisites for conclusions about the high content of oil and gas. Shallow depths allow drilling not from special offshore platforms, but from man-made islands.

Currently, the oil companies Lukoil and Rosneft are planning to drill the first wells in the Laptev Sea. Each, in turn, will have to bring foreign partners to the shelf. It remains only to wait for the moment when the development of the Laptev Sea will nevertheless begin.