Important Facts For Prelims
Black Sea
- 25 Jun 2021
- 3 min read
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.
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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.
- International Rules of Passage through Sea:
- Under international law of the sea (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982), innocent passage permits a vessel to pass through another state’s territorial waters so long as this does not affect its security.
