THE KARA SEA 223 



Schokalsky and Vilkitsky Straits, which separate the islands of Severnaya 

 Zemlya. 



In the northern part of the Sea (north of 80° N latitude) towards the Arctic 

 basin there is an increase of depth. The middle zone of the sea, extending 

 from southwest to northeast and in the northern part due north, forms a 

 wide plateau, with depths of 50 to 200 m, which rises in two wide submarine 

 terraces from the Novaya Zemlya trough to the Yamal and Taimyr shallows. 



Currents 



The Kara Sea is connected with the Laptev Sea through the deep Vilkitsky 

 and Schokalsky Straits. Huge masses of river water, of the order of 1,500 

 km 3 annually, flow into it, forming a layer of fresh water about 2 m deep over 

 the whole surface. The waters of the Ob and Yenisey rivers in their main 

 mass are carried to the northeast, along the western coast of Taimyr. Part of 

 these waters turn north and northwest to the northern end of Novaya Zemlya 

 and then, partly swerving west and southwest, they create a cyclonic rotation 

 of the waters of the southern part of the Sea between Yamal and Novaya 

 Zemlya (Fig. 93). Skirting Novaya Zemlya, and also penetrating in smaller 

 amounts through the straits of Novaya Zemlya, the 'Atlantic' waters of 

 higher salinity enter the Kara Sea, and flow from the west, out of the Barents 

 Sea, sinking down below the much less saline surface waters. Larger volumes 

 of more saline and less cooled 'Atlantic' waters enter the Kara Sea from the 

 north, in the depths, at some hundreds of metres, between Franz Joseph 

 Land and Severnaya Zemlya and from the northeast out of the Laptev Sea 

 through Vilkitsky and Schokalsky Straits. 



Temperature and saline conditions 



The surface waters of the Kara Sea in the region of the Ob- Yenisey shallows 

 have a salinity of 7 to 10% and, in the warmest season, a temperature of 5° 

 to 8°. As one moves westwards and northwards the salinity increases, reach- 

 ing 32 to 34% . The deeper layers are considerably more saline and colder. 

 One of the Malygin's stations in September 1921 opposite the Ob estuary 

 (Table 96) may be given as an example. The ranges of temperature and salinity 

 for the central part of the southern half of the Sea in the centre of the cyclonic 

 rotation are given in Table 97 for August 1921. 



Table 96 



