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Temperature and salinity. Vertical mixing of water. Caspian Sea (largest lake)

Caspian Sea Is a unique ecological system. It is the largest lake on planet Earth. Diverse biosphere, beautiful nature and the richness of natural resources make it attractive in all aspects.

Caspian Sea: description, photo and video

Many people wonder what is the area of ​​the Caspian Sea. It is rather difficult to answer this question, since this parameter changes depending on the seasonality. For example, when the level of the water surface is at around 27 meters, then the reservoir covers an area of ​​370 thousand square kilometers. This is almost 45 percent of the volume of freshwater lakes on Earth.

The Caspian also has a heterogeneous depth. In the north, the maximum depth of the Caspian Sea only about 25 meters, and the average is within 4 meters. The southern region, on the contrary, is very deep - 1025 kilometers. This is the third indicator in the world among lakes, after Tanganyika and. Scientists cannot yet name the exact reasons for such fluctuations in the Caspian Sea. Among the most probable versions- climate and crustal change in the region.

Caspian Sea - Azerbaijan (Baku)

Since the lake is not only an industrial reservoir, but also a recreational one, the water temperature in the Caspian Sea is also of great interest. In winter, the lake experiences significant temperature fluctuations. On the southern side, it is kept at around 11 degrees, and on the northern side it can drop to 0.5 and below. Sometimes glaciation can be observed in this region.

In the summer period, which lasts here from early June to mid-September, the temperature is approximately the same throughout the reservoir. In the upper layers, the average values ​​are kept within the range of 26-27 degrees, and in shallow water, the reservoir can heat up to 32. The water is slightly salted, but the saturation depends on the regional factor and can vary. The largest concentration is in the west and south, and in the northern part, thanks to freshwater rivers, it is the smallest. The local climate is also changeable.

The lake is located in three climatic zones at once:

  • continental;
  • moderate;
  • subtropical.

Summers in the region are quite hot. The thermometer can reach up to 44 degrees Celsius. In winter, in the south, these indicators fluctuate up to +10, and in the north - up to -10. The Caspian Sea on the map has quite flat shores, but in fact, its borders are very indented by river estuaries, peninsulas and straits. The length of the coast, including the islands, is 7 thousand kilometers. In the north, the coast is low-lying, and there is a widespread swampy area caused by channels. In the east, limestones are widespread, flowing into semi-deserts.

There are about 50 islands in the lake. The biggest ones are:

  • Seals;
  • Boyuk-Zira;
  • Chechnya;
  • Ogurchinsky;
  • Ashur-Ada.

Among the numerous bays, Kara-Bogaz-Gol can be noted. Until the end of the 19th century, it was a kind of lagoon, but in 1980, the construction of a dam began here, because of this, the amount of water entering the lake decreased. To date, the strait has been restored.

What rivers flow into the Caspian Sea? The lake feeds a large number of rivers, the largest of which are:

  • Volga;
  • Sulak (Pro);
  • Terek;
  • Ural (Pro).

Every year they bring hundreds of cubic meters of fresh water to the lake.

The region has been actively developed for many centuries. Today in the Caspian Sea there are major ports linking trade routes. Of the Russian ones, the most important are Astrakhan and Makhachkala. Oil production is also carried out in the Caspian Sea. According to experts, the region's oil resources amount to about 10 billion tons. There are also gas reserves here.

Caspian lake is an great place for relax. Local beaches amaze everyone who comes here. The quality of recreation on the Caspian Sea is in no way inferior. A pleasant climate, comfortable beaches and fresh air - the Caspian Sea is ready to give all this to tourists. Those who decide to visit the Caspian Sea are able to pleasantly surprise the prices for vacations. For a low cost, you can get high quality service.

Among the cities that are popular are the following Caspian Sea resorts:

  • Makhachkala;
  • Kaspiysk;
  • Astrakhan;
  • Lagan;
  • Derbent;
  • Dagestan lights.

Derbent is very attractive from a historical point of view. Astrakhan lets you enjoy active rest and fishing, and Makhachkala attracts with comfortable and well-equipped beaches. Rest on the Caspian Sea in Russia allows you to restore health and relax from the bustle of the city. Among the foreign resorts, the most popular are Baku (Azerbaijan), Avaza (Turkmenistan) and Aktau.

Caspian Sea on the map

Where is the Caspian Sea? It is spread over the continent of Eurasia. It is interesting that its eastern coast is located in Asia, and the western one in Europe. Conventionally, the sea is divided into several parts:

  • North Caspian;
  • South Caspian;
  • Middle Caspian.

Of these, only the North Caspian is a sea shelf. It contains only 1 percent of the total water volume and ends at the Chechen Island, located near the Kizlyar Bay.

Which countries is washed by the Caspian Sea? There are 5 states on the shore of the lake:

  • Azerbaijan;
  • Iran;
  • Turkmenistan;
  • Kazakhstan;
  • Russia.

The largest coastline runs through the territory of Kazakhstan, in second place, according to this indicator, is Russia. The coast of Azerbaijan has the smallest extent, but it is he who owns the most big port- Baku.

There are also other large settlements on the coast of the salt reservoir:

  • Anzali (Iran) - 111 thousand people;
  • Aktau (Kazakhstan) - 178 thousand people;
  • Atyrau (Russia) - 183 thousand people

Astrakhan also belongs to the coastal cities of the Caspian, although the city is located 69 kilometers from the coast. Among the rest Russian cities on the seashore one can note Makhachkala, Derbent and Kaspiysk.

Caspian Sea or Lake?

The Caspian Sea is geographic feature, the essence of which is not entirely correlated with its name.

Why is the Caspian Sea considered a lake? Caspian Sea is a closed and closed reservoir. It receives water from rivers, has no connection with the oceans and other seas. The water here, although salty, is much lower than that of other seas. International maritime laws do not apply to the Caspian Sea.

On the other hand, the Caspian Sea is quite large in size, which differs from the traditional ideas about lakes. Even Baikal, and even more so, is inferior to it in area. There are no other lakes in the world whose coastline simultaneously belongs to five states. The bottom structure is also very similar to the oceanic type. With a high degree of probability, the waters of the Caspian Sea flowed into the Mediterranean Sea many centuries ago, but due to drying out and tectonic processes, they were separated.

The Caspian Sea is rich in islands, the size of which, even by international standards, is quite large.

The nature of the Caspian Sea

One of the most interesting riddles Caspian Sea - the population of seals on the territory of the lake, which are a small species of those that live in the cold northern waters. However, their appearance on the coast at least indicates that the local places are beginning to recover from the ecological point of view after the negative consequences of oil production.

Vegetable and animal world The Caspian Sea is very diverse. The underwater ecosystem boasts big amount crustaceans, molluscs, gobies, herring and sprat. Many species are endemic, meaning they live only in this region and nowhere else.

Freshwater species also live in the waters of the lake. They were able to adapt to salt water. These are primarily carp and perch fish. At the end of the Ice Age, Arctic fish and invertebrates entered the area. In the 40s of the last century, the waters of the Caspian were deliberately inhabited by mullet, nereis and abra, which are a forage base for sturgeon.







Fish processing plants operate in the vicinity of the Caspian Sea, as well as purification stations designed to ensure water circulation cycles. Also, systematic work is underway to breed many varieties of underwater abodes of industrial value. The region is of great interest for fishing tourism. This holiday is especially popular in Astrakhan region on the Caspian Sea.

The flora of the lake is represented by over 700 plant species. Some of them grow on land, others in water. The phytoplankton of the Caspian Sea consists of both marine and freshwater algae. According to rough estimates, about 440 species of algae live in the reservoir.

Historical facts

The Caspian coast was once home to ancient civilization, which subsequently disappeared. There is an opinion that in the vicinity of Dagestan, the waters hide from human eyes Itil - the capital city of the Khazar Kaganate, which completely disappeared in the 12th century. In Derbent, there is still a wall from the ancient settlement that goes to a depth of 300 meters. For what purposes it was built and who built it is a mystery.

Another one interesting feature Caspian Sea - Sabail citadel, located under water in the Baku Bay. The building was flooded in an earthquake in 1306. In 1723, the top of the tallest tower became visible above water surface- this was the result of a decrease in the water level. Today, the fortress is again hidden in the depths of the Caspian, although in sunny weather it can be seen in the water column.

The territory of the Caspian Sea was a bone of contention between the neighboring countries. Disputes over the allocation of property and resources of the lake have been going on for 22 years. In 2018, countries finally came to a common denominator. On August 12, the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea was signed. Prior to this, in the legal field, regulation was carried out on the basis of the Soviet-Iranian agreements, defining the Caspian as a closed reservoir, and each border state had an independent right to a 10-mile zone. The rest of the lake was divided equally.

How the Caspian Sea was divided? The new agreement gives each state 15 miles of territorial sea. Also, the bottom of the Caspian Sea is divided into sectors, as is the case with the seas, and the sovereignty of the water column is established according to the principle of a lake.

For the current day Caspian Sea is an economically important region. Without it, it is impossible to imagine Eurasia, including Russia. Everyone should visit the Caspian Sea, and the protection of the reservoir should be carried out at the state level. Only through joint efforts can this natural pearl be preserved.

The Caspian Sea is one of the most amazing enclosed bodies of water on Earth.

Over the centuries, the sea has changed more than 70 names. The modern originated from the Caspians - tribes inhabiting the central and southeastern part of Transcaucasia 2 thousand years BC.

Geography of the Caspian Sea

The Caspian Sea is located at the junction of Europe with Asia and along geographic location divided into the South, North and Middle Caspian. Average and Northern part the sea belongs to Russia, the southern one belongs to Iran, the eastern one belongs to Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan, the south-western one belongs to Azerbaijan. For many years, the Caspian states have been dividing the Caspian waters among themselves, and quite sharply at that.

Lake or sea?

In fact, the Caspian Sea is the world's largest lake, but it has a number of marine features. These include: large body of water, strong storms with high waves, ebbs and flows. But the Caspian does not have a natural connection with the World Ocean, which makes it impossible to call it a sea. At the same time, thanks to the Volga and artificially created channels, such a connection appeared. The salinity of the Caspian Sea is 3 times lower than the usual sea salt, which does not allow attributing the reservoir to the seas.

There were times when the Caspian Sea was indeed part of the World Ocean. Several tens of thousands of years ago, the Caspian was connected with the Sea of ​​Azov, and through it with the Black and Mediterranean. As a result of long-term processes taking place in the earth's crust, the Caucasus Mountains were formed, which isolated the reservoir. For a long time, the connection between the Caspian and Black Seas was carried out through the strait (Kumo-Manych depression) and gradually ceased.

Physical quantities

Area, volume, depth

The area, volume and depth of the Caspian Sea are not constant and directly depend on the water level. On average, the area of ​​the reservoir is 371,000 km², the volume is 78 648 km³ (44% of all world reserves of lake waters).

(Depth of the Caspian Sea in comparison with lakes Baikal and Tanganyika)

The average depth of the Caspian Sea is 208 m, the northern part of the sea is considered to be the shallowest. The maximum depth is 1025 m, noted in the South Caspian depression. In terms of depth, the Caspian is second only to Baikal and Tanganyika.

The length of the lake from north to south is about 1200 km, from west to east on average 315 km. Length coastline- 6600 km, with islands - about 7 thousand km.

The shores

Basically, the coast of the Caspian Sea is low and smooth. In the northern part, it is heavily indented by the river channels of the Urals and Volga. The swampy local shores are very low. Eastern shores adjoin semi-desert zones and deserts, covered with limestone deposits. The most winding shores are in the west in the area of ​​the Absheron Peninsula, and in the east in the area of ​​the Kazakh Bay and Kara-Bogaz-Gol.

Sea water temperature

(The temperature of the Caspian Sea in different time of the year)

The average water temperature in winter in the Caspian Sea ranges from 0 ° С in the northern part to + 10 ° С in the south. In the water area of ​​Iran, the temperature does not drop below +13 ° C. With the onset of cold weather, the shallow northern part of the lake is covered with ice, which lasts for 2-3 months. The thickness of the ice cover is 25-60 cm, at especially low temperatures it can reach 130 cm. In late autumn and winter, drifting ice floes can be observed in the north.

In summer, the average sea surface temperature is + 24 ° C. Most of the sea warms up to + 25 ° C ... + 30 ° C. Warm water and beautiful sandy, occasionally shell and pebble beaches create excellent conditions for a full beach holiday... In the eastern part of the Caspian Sea near the city of Begdash in summer months the abnormally low water temperature remains.

The nature of the Caspian Sea

Islands, peninsulas, bays, rivers

The Caspian Sea includes about 50 large and medium-sized islands with a total area of ​​350 km ². The largest of them are Ashur-Ada, Garasu, Gum, Dash and Boyuk-Zira. The largest peninsulas are: Agrakhansky, Apsheronsky, Buzachi, Mangyshlak, Miankale and Tyub-Karagan.

(Tyuleniy Island in the Caspian Sea, which is part of the Dagestan Nature Reserve)

The largest bays of the Caspian include: Agrakhanskiy, Kazakhskiy, Kizlyarskiy, Dead Kultuk and Mangyshlakskiy. In the east is salt Lake Kara-Bogaz-Gol, formerly a lagoon connected to the sea by a strait. In 1980, a dam was built on it, through which water from the Caspian goes to Kara-Bogaz-Gol, where it then evaporates.

130 rivers flow into the Caspian Sea, located mainly in its northern part. The largest of them are: Volga, Terek, Sulak, Samur and Ural. The average annual runoff of the Volga is 220 km ³. 9 rivers have delta-shaped mouths.

Flora and fauna

The Caspian Sea is home to about 450 species of phytoplankton, including algae, aquatic and flowering plants. Of the 400 species of invertebrates, worms, crustaceans and molluscs predominate. There are many small shrimps in the sea, which are the object of the fishery.

More than 120 fish species live in the Caspian Sea and the delta. The objects of fishing are sprat ("Kilkin fleet"), catfish, pike, bream, pike perch, kutum, mullet, roach, rudd, herring, white fish, pike perch, goby, grass carp, burbot, asp and pike perch. Stocks of sturgeon and salmon are depleted today, but the sea is the largest supplier of black caviar in the world.

Fishing in the Caspian Sea is allowed all year round, except for the period from late April to late June. There are many fishing bases along the coast with all the amenities. Fishing in the Caspian Sea is a great pleasure. In any part of it, including in large cities, the catch is unusually rich.

The lake is famous for a wide variety of waterfowl. Geese, ducks, loons, gulls, waders, eagles, geese, swans and many others arrive in the Caspian during the migration or nesting period. The largest number of birds - over 600 thousand individuals - is observed in the mouths of the Volga and the Urals, in the bays of Turkmenbashi and Kyzylagach. During the hunting season, a huge number of fishermen come here not only from Russia, but also from countries of near and far abroad.

There is only one mammal living in the Caspian Sea. This is the Caspian seal or seal. Until recently, seals swam close to the beaches, everyone could admire the amazing animal with round black eyes, the seals behaved very friendly. Now the seal is on the verge of extinction.

Cities on the Caspian Sea

The largest city on the coast of the Caspian Sea is Baku. The number of one of the most the most beautiful cities the world is over 2.5 million people. Baku is located on the picturesque Absheron Peninsula and is surrounded on three sides by the waters of the warm and oil-rich Caspian Sea. Less big cities: the capital of Dagestan - Makhachkala, Kazakh Aktau, Turkmen Turkmenbashi and Iranian Bender-Anzeli.

(Baku Bay, Baku - a city on the Caspian Sea)

Interesting Facts

Scientists are still debating whether to call a body of water a sea or a lake. The level of the Caspian Sea is gradually decreasing. The Volga delivers most of the water to the Caspian. 90% of black caviar is mined in the Caspian Sea. Among them, the most expensive is the albino beluga caviar "Almas" ($ 2,000 per 100 g).

Companies from 21 countries are taking part in the development of oil fields in the Caspian Sea. According to Russian estimates, offshore hydrocarbon reserves amount to 12 billion tons. American scientists argue that a fifth of the world's hydrocarbon reserves are concentrated in the depths of the Caspian. This is more than the combined reserves of oil producing countries such as Kuwait and Iraq.

The Caspian Sea is called the most big lake on our planet. It is located between Europe and Asia and is called the sea for its size.

Caspian Sea

The water level is 28m below the level. The water in the Caspian Sea has a lower salinity in the north in the delta. The highest salinity is observed in the southern regions.

The Caspian Sea covers an area of ​​371 thousand km2, the greatest depth is 1025 meters (South Caspian depression). The coastline is estimated from 6500 to 6700 km, and if we take it together with the islands, then more than 7000 km.

The seashore is mostly low and smooth. If you look at the northern part, there are many islands, water channels cut by the Volga and the Urals. In these places, the coast is swampy and covered with thickets. From the east, a semi-desert and desert area with limestone shores approaches the sea. The area of ​​the Kazakh Bay, the Absheron Peninsula and the Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay have winding shores.

Bottom relief

The bottom relief is divided into three main forms. The shelf is in the northern part, the average depth here is from 4 to 9 m, the maximum is 24 m, which gradually increases and reaches 100 m. The continental slope in the middle part drops to 500 m. The Mangyshlak sill separates the northern part from the middle. Here is one of the most deep places Derbent depression (788 m).

2. Heraz, Babol, Sefudrud, Gorgan, Polerud, Chalus, Tejen - https: //site/russia/travel/po-dagestanu.html;

4. Atrek - Turkmenistan;

Samur - is located on the border between Azerbaijan and Russia, Astarachay on the border of Azerbaijan and Iran.

The Caspian Sea belongs to five states. From the west and north-west, the length of the coast, 695 km, is the territory of Russia. Most of the 2,320 km of coastline belongs to Kazakhstan in the east and northeast. Turkmenistan has 1200 km in the southeastern part, Iran owns 724 km in the south and Azerbaijan owns 955 km of the coastline on the south-western side.

In addition to the five states that have access to the sea, Armenia, Turkey, and Georgia also belong to the Caspian basin. The Volga connects the sea with the World Ocean (Volga-Baltic route, White Sea-Baltic channel). There is a connection with the Azov and Black Seas through the Volga-Don Canal, with the Moscow River (Moscow Canal).

The main ports are Baku in Azerbaijan; Makhachkala; Aktau in Kazakhstan; Olya in Russia; Noushehr, Bander-Torkemen and Anzali in Iran.

The most large bays Caspian Sea: Agrakhan, Kizlyar, Kaidak, Kazakh, Dead Kultuk, Mangyshlak, Hasan-Kuli, Turkmenbashi, Kazakh, Gyzlar, Anzeli, Astrakhan, Gyzlar.

Until 1980, Kara-Bogaz-Gol was a lagoon-bay, which was connected to the sea by a narrow strait. Now it is a salt lake, separated from the sea by a dam. After the construction of the dam, the water began to decrease sharply, so a culvert had to be built. Through it, up to 25 km3 of water gets into the lake annually.

Water temperature

The greatest temperature fluctuations are observed during the winter period. In shallow water it reaches 100 in winter. The difference between summer and winter temperature reaches 240. On the coast in winter it is always 2 degrees lower than in the open sea. Optimum water heating occurs in July-August, in shallow water the temperature reaches 320. But at this time, north-western winds raise cold water layers (upwelling). This process begins in June and reaches its intensity in August. The temperature at the surface of the water is dropping. The temperature difference between the layers disappears by November.

The climate in the northern part of the sea is continental, in the middle part it is temperate, in the south it is subtropical. On east coast the temperature is always higher than in the west. Once on the east coast, 44 degrees were recorded.

The composition of the Caspian waters

The salinity is about 0.3%. This is a typical desalinated pool. But the further south you go, the higher the salinity. In the southern part of the sea, it already reaches 13%, and in Kara-Bogaz-Gol more than 300%.

Storms are frequent in shallow areas. They arise due to changes in atmospheric pressure. Waves can reach 4 meters.

The water balance of the sea depends on river flows and precipitation. Among them, the Volga makes up almost 80% of all other rivers.

In recent years, there has been a rapid pollution of water with oil products and phenols. Their level has already exceeded the permissible level.

Minerals

Back in the 19th century, the beginning of the extraction of hydrocarbons was laid. These are the main Natural resources... There are also mineral and balneological biological resources. Nowadays, in addition to gas and oil production on the shelf, sea-type salts (astrakhanite, mirabalite, halite), sand, limestone, and clay are mined.

Fauna and flora

The fauna of the Caspian Sea is up to 1800 species. Of these, 415 are vertebrates, 101 are fish species, there is a world stock of sturgeon. Freshwater fish such as carp, pike perch, roach also live here. They catch carp, salmon, pike, bream in the sea. The Caspian Sea is the habitat of one of the mammals - the seal.

Of the plants, blue-green algae, brown, red, can be noted. Zostera and ruppia also grow, they are referred to as flowering algae.

Plankton brought into the sea by birds begins to bloom in the spring, the sea is literally covered with greenery, and rhizosalination colors during flowering most territory of the sea in yellow-green color. The congestion of rhizosollenia is so dense that even waves can calm down. In some places near the coast, literally meadows of algae have grown.

Both local and migratory birds can be seen on the coast. In the south, geese and ducks winter, birds such as pelicans, herons, and flamingos arrange nesting grounds.

The Caspian Sea contains almost 90% of the world's sturgeon stocks. But lately, the ecology has been deteriorating, you can often find poachers who hunt sturgeon for expensive caviar.

States are investing a lot of money to improve the situation. They purify wastewater, build fish breeding factories, despite these measures, it is necessary to limit the production of sturgeon.

, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Azerbaijan

Geographical position

Caspian Sea - view from space.

The Caspian Sea is located at the junction of two parts of the Eurasian continent - Europe and Asia. The length of the Caspian Sea from north to south is about 1200 kilometers (36 ° 34 "-47 ° 13" N), from west to east - from 195 to 435 kilometers, on average 310-320 kilometers (46 ° -56 ° c. d.).

The Caspian Sea is conventionally divided by physical and geographical conditions into 3 parts - the North Caspian, the Middle Caspian and the South Caspian. The conditional border between the North and Middle Caspian runs along the line about. Chechnya - Cape Tyub-Karagan, between the Middle and South Caspian - along the line of about. Residential - Cape Gan-Gulu. Northern, Middle and South Caspian is 25, 36, 39 percent, respectively.

Caspian Sea coast

Coast of the Caspian Sea in Turkmenistan

The territory adjacent to the Caspian Sea is called the Caspian region.

Peninsulas of the Caspian Sea

  • Ashur-Ada
  • Garasu
  • Zyanbil
  • Hara-Zira
  • Sengi-Mugan
  • Chygyl

Bays of the Caspian Sea

  • Russia (Dagestan, Kalmykia and the Astrakhan region) - in the west and north-west, the length of the coastline is about 1930 kilometers
  • Kazakhstan - in the north, north-east and east, the length of the coastline is about 2320 kilometers
  • Turkmenistan - in the southeast, the length of the coastline is about 650 kilometers
  • Iran - in the south, the length of the coastline is about 1000 kilometers
  • Azerbaijan - in the south-west, the length of the coastline is about 800 kilometers

Cities on the coast of the Caspian Sea

On Russian coast cities are located - Lagan, Makhachkala, Kaspiysk, Izberbash and the southernmost city of Russia Derbent. Astrakhan is also considered a port city of the Caspian Sea, which, however, is not located on the shores of the Caspian Sea, but in the Volga delta, 60 kilometers from the northern coast of the Caspian Sea.

Physiography

Area, depth, volume of water

The area and volume of water in the Caspian Sea varies significantly depending on the fluctuations in the water level. With a water level of -26.75 m, the area is approximately 371,000 square kilometers, the volume of water is 78,648 cubic kilometers, which is approximately 44% of the world's lake water reserves. The maximum depth of the Caspian Sea is in the South Caspian depression, 1025 meters above its surface. In terms of maximum depth, the Caspian Sea is second only to Baikal (1620 m) and Tanganyika (1435 m). The average depth of the Caspian Sea, calculated according to the bathygraphic curve, is 208 meters. At the same time, the northern part of the Caspian is shallow, its maximum depth does not exceed 25 meters, and the average depth is 4 meters.

Water level fluctuations

Vegetable world

The flora of the Caspian Sea and its coast is represented by 728 species. Of the plants in the Caspian Sea, algae predominate - blue-green, diatoms, red, brown, charovy and others, from flowering plants - zostera and ruppia. By origin, the flora belongs mainly to the Neogene age, however, some plants were introduced into the Caspian Sea by humans deliberately or on the bottoms of ships.

History of the Caspian Sea

Origin of the Caspian Sea

Anthropological and cultural history of the Caspian Sea

Finds in the Huto y cave south coast The Caspian Sea testifies that people lived in these parts about 75 thousand years ago. The first mentions of the Caspian Sea and tribes living on its coast are found at Herodotus. Approximately in the V-II centuries. BC NS. the tribes of the Saks lived on the coast of the Caspian. Later, during the period of the settlement of the Turks, during the IV-V centuries. n. NS. Talysh tribes (Talysh) lived here. According to ancient Armenian and Iranian manuscripts, Russians sailed in the Caspian Sea from the 9th-10th centuries.

Exploration of the Caspian Sea

The exploration of the Caspian Sea was started by Peter the Great, when, on his order, in 1714-1715, an expedition was organized under the leadership of A. Bekovich-Cherkassky. In the 1720s, hydrographic research was continued by the expedition of Karl von Verden and F.I.Soimonov, and later by I.V. Tokmachev, M.I.Voinovich and other researchers. At the beginning of the 19th century, instrumental survey of the coast was carried out by I.F.Kolodkin, in the middle of the 19th century. - instrumental geographic survey under the direction of N. A. Ivashintsev. Since 1866, for more than 50 years, expeditionary research on the hydrology and hydrobiology of the Caspian has been conducted under the leadership of N.M. Knipovich. In 1897, the Astrakhan Research Station was founded. In the first decades of Soviet power in the Caspian Sea, geological research by I.M.Gubkin and other Soviet geologists was actively carried out, mainly aimed at finding oil, as well as research on the study of the water balance and fluctuations in the level of the Caspian Sea.

Economy of the Caspian Sea

Mining of oil and gas

Many oil and gas fields are being developed in the Caspian Sea. The proven oil resources in the Caspian Sea are about 10 billion tons, the total oil and gas condensate resources are estimated at 18-20 billion tons.

Oil production in the Caspian Sea began in 1820, when the first oil well was drilled on the Absheron shelf near Baku. In the second half of the 19th century, oil production began in industrial volumes on the Apsheron Peninsula, then in other territories.

Shipping

Shipping is well developed in the Caspian Sea. On the Caspian Sea there are ferry crossings, in particular, Baku - Turkmenbashi, Baku - Aktau, Makhachkala - Aktau. The Caspian Sea has a shipping connection with Sea of ​​Azov across the Volga, Don and Volga-Don canal.

Fishing and seafood production

Fishing (sturgeon, bream, carp, pike perch, sprat), caviar and seal fishing. More than 90 percent of the world's sturgeon catch is carried out in the Caspian Sea. In addition to industrial production, illegal production of sturgeon and their caviar is flourishing in the Caspian Sea.

Recreational resources

The natural environment of the Caspian coast with sandy beaches, mineral waters and curative mud in the coastal zone creates good conditions for relaxation and treatment. At the same time, in terms of the development of resorts and tourism industry, the Caspian coast is noticeably inferior to the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus. At the same time, in recent years, the tourism industry has been actively developing on the coast of Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan and Russian Dagestan. Azerbaijan is actively developing resort area in the Baku region. At the moment, a world-class resort has been created in Amburan, another modern tourist complex is being built in the area of ​​the village of Nardaran, recreation in the sanatoriums of the villages of Bilgah and Zagulba is very popular. A resort area is also developing in Nabran, in the north of Azerbaijan. However, high prices, generally low level of service and lack of advertising lead to the fact that there are almost no foreign tourists in the Caspian resorts. The development of the tourism industry in Turkmenistan is hindered by a long-term policy of isolation, in Iran - by Sharia law, which makes it impossible for foreign tourists to spend mass vacations on the Caspian coast of Iran.

Ecological problems

Environmental problems of the Caspian Sea are associated with water pollution as a result of oil production and transportation on the continental shelf, the influx of pollutants from the Volga and other rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea, the life of coastal cities, as well as flooding of certain objects due to the rise in the level of the Caspian Sea. Predatory hunting of sturgeon and their caviar, rampant poaching lead to a decrease in the number of sturgeon and to forced restrictions on their production and export.

International status of the Caspian Sea

Legal status of the Caspian Sea

After the collapse of the USSR, the division of the Caspian Sea for a long time was and still remains the subject of unresolved disagreements related to the division of the resources of the Caspian shelf - oil and gas, as well as biological resources. For a long time, negotiations were going on between the Caspian states on the status of the Caspian Sea - Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan insisted on dividing the Caspian along the median line, Iran on dividing the Caspian one fifth of each between all the Caspian states.

With regard to the Caspian, the key is the physical and geographical circumstance that it is a closed inland water body that does not have a natural connection with the World Ocean. Accordingly, the norms and concepts of international maritime law should not be automatically applied to the Caspian Sea, in particular, the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. economic zone "," continental shelf ", etc.

The current legal regime of the Caspian Sea was established by the Soviet-Iranian treaties of 1921 and 1940. These treaties provide for freedom of navigation throughout the sea, freedom of fishing with the exception of ten-mile national fishing zones and a ban on ships flying the flag of non-Caspian states in its waters.

Negotiations on the legal status of the Caspian are ongoing.

Delimitation of sections of the seabed of the Caspian Sea for the purpose of subsoil use

The Russian Federation signed an agreement with Kazakhstan on delimiting the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea in order to exercise sovereign rights to subsoil use (dated July 6, 1998 and the Protocol to it dated May 13, 2002), an agreement with Azerbaijan on delimiting adjacent sections of the bottom of the northern part of the Caspian Sea (dated September 23, 2002), as well as the trilateral Russian-Azerbaijani-Kazakh agreement on the junction point of the delimitation lines of the adjacent sections of the Caspian seabed (dated May 14, 2003), which established geographical coordinates dividing lines limiting the seabed areas within which the parties exercise their sovereign rights in the field of exploration and production of mineral resources.

Expert answer

On Sunday, August 12, in Kazakhstan's Aktau, the presidents of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan signed the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea. Previously, its status was regulated by the Soviet-Iranian treaties, in which the Caspian Sea was defined as a closed (inland) sea, and each Caspian state had sovereign rights to a 10-mile zone and equal rights to the rest of the sea.

Now, according to the new convention, each country has its own territorial waters (zones 15 miles wide). In addition, the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea will not apply to the Caspian Sea, the seabed will be delineated into sectors, as is done by neighbors in the seas, and sovereignty over the water column will be established on the basis of the principle that it is a lake.

Why is the Caspian not considered a lake or a sea?

To be considered a sea, the Caspian must have access to the ocean, this is one of the most important conditions, according to which a body of water can be called a sea. But the Caspian does not have an outlet to the ocean, therefore it is considered a closed body of water, not connected to the World Ocean.

The second feature that distinguishes sea waters from lakes is their high salinity. The water in the Caspian Sea is indeed salty, but in terms of its salt composition, it occupies an intermediate position between the river and the ocean. In addition, salinity in the Caspian Sea increases towards the south. The Volga delta contains from 0.3 ‰ of salts, and in the eastern regions of the South and Middle Caspian the salinity reaches 13-14 ‰. And if we talk about the salinity of the World Ocean, then it averages 34.7 ‰.

Due to the specific geographic and hydrological characteristics, the reservoir has received a special legal status. The summit participants made a decision according to which the Caspian is an inland water body that has no direct connection with the World Ocean, and therefore cannot be considered a sea, and at the same time, due to its size, water composition and bottom features, it cannot be considered a lake.

What has been achieved since the signing of the Convention?

The new treaty expands opportunities for cooperation between countries, and also involves limiting any military presence of third countries. According to political scientist, director of the Institute new states Alexey Martynov, the main achievement of the last summit is that its participants managed to stop any talk about the possible construction of NATO military bases and infrastructure facilities in the Caspian Sea.

“The most important thing that has been achieved is to fix that the Caspian will be demilitarized for all Caspian states. There will be no other military personnel other than those representing the countries that signed the Caspian Agreement. It is principled and main question, which was important to fix. Everything else, that which is divided in proportion to the zone of influence, zone of extraction of biological resources, zone of production of shelf resources was not so important. As we remember, in the past twenty years, the military has actively sought to the region. The United States even wanted to build its own military base", - says Martynov.

In addition to distributing the shares of each country in the oil and gas fields of the Caspian basin, the Convention also provides for the construction of pipelines. As stated in the document, the rules for their laying provide for the consent of only neighboring countries, and not all countries of the Caspian Sea. After the signing of the agreement, Turkmenistan, in particular, announced that it was ready to lay pipelines along the seabed of the Caspian, which would allow it to export its gas through Azerbaijan to Europe. The consent of Russia, which previously insisted that the project could only be implemented with the permission of all five Caspian states, is no longer required. The gas pipeline is planned to be connected in the future to the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline, through which natural gas will go through the territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Greece.

“Turkmenistan is not a foreign country to us, but our partner, a country that we consider very important for us on the territory of the post-Soviet space. We cannot be against them receiving an additional impetus for development through such pipeline projects. Gas has long been coming from Turkmenistan and other countries through a different pipeline system, somewhere it even mixes with Russian, and there is nothing wrong with that. If this project works, then everyone will benefit, including Russia. The project should by no means be regarded as some kind of competition. The European market is so big and insatiable, I mean the energy market, that there is enough room for everyone, ”Martynov says.

Today, almost all Turkmen gas is supplied to China, where Russia also intends to supply blue fuel. For this purpose, in particular, a large-scale project for the construction of the Power of Siberia gas pipeline is being implemented. Thus, the geography of gas supplies from both countries can expand - Turkmenistan will gain access to the European market, and Russia will be able to increase its gas supplies to China.