Black Sea

Why in news?

Russia's increased attacks on the Black Sea ports in Ukraine are delaying vital aid reaching Palestinians and stopping crucial grain supplies from being delivered to the global south, the British Prime Minister said recently.

Black Sea

Geographical Location

• The Black Sea, also known as theEuxine Sea, is one of the major water bodies and a famous inland sea of the world.
• The area surrounding the Black Sea is commonly referred to as the Black Sea Region.
• 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.
• The Black Sea drains into the Mediterranean Sea, via the Aegean Sea and various straits.

Straits

• Kerch Strait:The Black Sea and the Sea of Azov are connected by the Kerch Strait.
• It is between the Crimean peninsula of Kerch and the Russian peninsula of Taman.
• It gets its name from the city of Kerch (a city on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea).
• Bosphorus strait:The Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara are joined by the Bosphorus Strait.
• Dardanelles strait:The Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara are joined by the Dardanelles Strait.

Limited Oxygen Levels

• TheBlack Sea's deeperwaters have lower levels of oxygen due to its unique geological and hydrological conditions.
• The lack of oxygen in the lower layers creates a distinct environment, and it is one of the world's largest anoxic basins, meaning it has areas with very little dissolved oxygen.
• Islands: It contains several islands, with the largest ones beingSnake Island(Ukraine), Giresun Island (Turkey) and St. Ivan Island (Bulgaria).

Trade through the Black Sea

• At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, the Black Sea is an important artery for commodity flow.
• The Black Sea is used to transport crude oil, refined oil, agricultural goods, and iron and steel.
• The Bloomberg report says that Ukraine and Russia trade more than a quarter of the world’s wheat, almost a fifth of its corn, and most of its sunflower oil.