About the White Sea

The White Sea is a small shallow sea influenced by strong tidal mixing and completely belongs to Russia. River runoff (and thus the flux of terrestrial matter and fresh water) is significant compared to the sea volume (~4%/year).

Total area: 91000 sq.km.

Mean depth: 67 m.

Average depth: 340 m. (Kandalaksha Bay).

The White Sea is semi-enclosed with the single liquid boundary with the Barents Sea.

The water mass circulation is dominated by high tides incoming from the Barents Sea.

The White Sea is ice-covered from late autumn to late spring.

The area is important due to a number of human activities including fisheries, mollusk farms, mining, tourism, and maritime shipping. The Northern Sea Route begins in the White Sea, and tidal energy plants take advantage of the extremely high tides in some of its bays (e.g., 11 m. in Mezen Bay). Furthermore, the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities on the ecosystem are still a matter of debate. [cited from Chernov et al, J Marine Sys 2018]

Borders between parts of the White Sea, according to the Sailing Directions

Voronka (68°10'N 39°45'E cape Svyatoy Nos - 68°40'N 43°16' E cape Kanin Nos, capes Konushin, Voronov, and river Ponoy)
Gorlo (66°31'N 42°16'E cape Voronov - 66°58'N 41°18'E river Ponoy; 66°04'N 38°15'E village Tetrino - 65°29'N 39°43'E cape Zimnegorskiy)
Kandalakshskiy bay (66°21N 35°49'E cape Ludoshny - 65°58'N 34°43'E cape Kirbeynavolok)
Dvinskiy bay (65°29'N 39°43'E cape Zimnegorskiy - 65°10'N 37°02'E cape Gorbolukskiy)
Onezhskiy bay (65°09'N 34°42'E cape Marknavolok - 65°10'N 37°02'E cape Gorbolukskiy)
Mezenskiy bay (66°31'N 42°16'E cape Voronov - 67°12'N 43°47'E cape Konushin)
Bassein (capes Ludoshny - Kirbeynavolok - Marknavolok - Gorbolukskiy - Zimnegorskiy - Tetrino)

Further reading

The White Sea and its Watershed under Influences of Climate and Antropogenic Impact / Eds N. Filatov, A. Terzhevik, Petrozavodsk, 2007, 335 p. [In Russian].
Filatov N.N. et al. White Sea. Its Marine Environment and Ecosystem Dynamics Influenced by Global Change. Springer-Praxis, 2005, 472 p.
The White Sea. Reference book ”Seas of the USSR”. Hydrometeorology and hydrochemistry of seas of the USSR. Vol.II, N.1: Hydrometeorological conditions. Hydrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1991. [In Russian].
The White Sea. Reference book ”Seas of the USSR”. Hydrometeorology and hydrochemistry of seas of the USSR. Vol.II, N.2: Hydrochemical conditions and oceanological base for bioproductivity. Hydrometeoizdat, Leningrad, 1991. [In Russian].
Berger V.Ya. Production potential of the White Sea. Zoological Institute, Saint-Petersburg, 2007. [In Russian].
Maksimova M.P. Ecosystem of the White sea and problems of its studying (scientific report). NWPI KRC RAS, Petrozavodsk, 2012. [In Russian].
Tolstikov A.V. Variability of the surface layer temperature of the White Sea. GEOS, Moscow, 2016. [In Russian].
Zimin A.V. Submesoscale processes and phenomena in the White Sea. PhD thesis, Saint-Petersburg, 2016. [In Russian].

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