Black Sea | 25 Jun 2021

Why in News

In a recent event, Russia alleged that the British warship had breached its territorial waters in Black Sea which Britain and most of the world say belong to Ukraine.

  • Russia seized and annexed the Crimea peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 and considers areas around its coast to be Russian waters.

Key Points

  • Geographical Location of Black Sea:
    • The Black Sea, also known as the Euxine Sea, is one of the major water bodies and a famous inland sea of the world.
    • This marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, located between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.
    • It is surrounded by the Pontic, Caucasus, and Crimean Mountains in the south, east and north respectively.
    • The Turkish straits system - the Dardanelles, Bosporus and Marmara Sea - forms a transitional zone between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
    • The Black Sea is also connected to the Sea of Azov by the Strait of Kerch.
    • The bordering countries of Black Sea are: Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania.
  • Anoxic Water:
    • There is a significant absence of oxygen in the water.
    • The Black Sea happens to be the largest water body with a meromictic basin, which means the movement of water between the lower and upper layers of the sea is a rare phenomenon to find anywhere in the world.
    • The anoxic condition is also caused due to the presence of the process of Eutrophication in the sea.

Anoxic Waters

  • Anoxic waters are areas of sea water, fresh water, or groundwater that are depleted of dissolved oxygen and are a more severe condition of hypoxia.
  • This condition is generally found in areas that have restricted water exchange.

Source:TH