Editing Kara Sea (section)

==Geography==

===Extent===
[[Image:Kara Sea islands.PNG|thumb|Main islands and island groups in the central and eastern regions of the Kara Sea.]]
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] defines the limits of the Kara Sea as follows:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition|year=1953|publisher=International Hydrographic Organization|access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf|archive-date=8 October 2011}}</ref>

:''On the West.'' The Eastern limit of [[Barents Sea]] <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Cape Kohlsaat]] to [[Cape Zhelaniya]] (Desire); West and Southwest coast of [[Novaya Zemlya]] to Cape Kussov Noss and thence to Western entrance Cape, Dolgaya Bay ({{Coord|70|15|N|58|25|E|display=inline}}) on [[Vaygach Island|Vaigach Island]]. Through Vaigach Island to Cape Greben; thence to Cape Belyi Noss on the mainland].

:''On the North.'' Cape Kohlsaat to [[Arctic Cape|Cape Molotov]] ({{Coord|81|16|N|93|43|E|display=inline}}) (Northern extremity of [[Severnaya Zemlya]] on [[Komsomolets Island]]).

:''On the East.'' Komsomolets Island from Cape Molotov to South Eastern Cape; thence to Cape Vorochilov, [[October Revolution Island|Oktiabrskaya Revolutziya Island]] to Cape Anuchin. Then to Cape Unslicht on [[Bolshevik Island]]. Bolshevik Island to Cape Yevgenov. Thence to Cape Pronchisthehev on the main land (see Russian chart No. 1484 of the year 1935).

===Islands===

[[File:Kara Sea structural map.png|thumb|Kara Sea [[geological map|structural map]]]]
There are many islands and island groups in the Kara Sea. Unlike the other marginal seas of the Arctic, where most islands lie along the coasts, in the Kara Sea many islands, like the [[Arkticheskiy Institut Islands]], the [[Izvesti Tsik Islands]], the [[Kirov Islands]], [[Uedineniya Island|Uedineniya]] or Lonely Island, [[Wiese Island]], and [[Voronina Island]] are located in the open sea of its central regions.

The largest group in the Kara Sea is by far the [[Nordenskiöld Archipelago]], with five large subgroups and over ninety islands. Other important islands in the Kara Sea are [[Bely Island]], [[Dikson Island]], [[Taymyr Island]], the [[Kamennyye Islands]] and [[Oleni Island]]. Despite the high latitude, all islands are [[unglaciated]] except for [[Ushakov Island]] at the extreme northern limit of the Kara Sea.<ref>[http://nag.iasc.info/images/publications/magics/iasc_mb1996.pdf Arctic Glaciers; Ushakov Island]</ref>

=== Current patterns ===
Water circulation patterns in the Kara Sea are complex. The Kara Sea tends to be [[sea ice]] covered between September and May,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last1=Harms|first1=I. H.|last2=Karcher|first2=M. J.|date=15 June 1999|title=Modeling the seasonal variability of hydrography and circulation in the Kara Sea|journal=Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans|language=en|volume=104|issue=C6|pages=13431–13448|doi=10.1029/1999JC900048|bibcode=1999JGR...10413431H|url=https://epic.awi.de/id/eprint/3691/1/Har1999g.pdf|doi-access=free}}</ref> and between May and August heavily influenced by [[Fresh water|freshwater]] run-off (roughly 1200&nbsp;km<sup>3</sup> yr<sup>−1</sup><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Pavlov|first1=V.K.|author2-link=Stephanie Pfirman|last2=Pfirman|first2=S.L.|date=1995|title=Hydrographic structure and variability of the Kara Sea: Implications for pollutant distribution|journal=Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography|language=en|volume=42|issue=6|pages=1369–1390|doi=10.1016/0967-0645(95)00046-1|bibcode=1995DSRII..42.1369P|doi-access=free}}</ref>) from the Russian rivers (e.g., [[Ob River|Ob]], [[Yenisei River|Yenisei]], [[Pyasina River|Pyasina]], [[Pur River|Pur]], and [[Taz River|Taz]]). The Kara Sea is also affected by the water inflow from the [[Barents Sea]], which brings 0.6 [[Sverdrup|Sv]] in August and 2.6 [[Sverdrup|Sv]] in December.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Schauer|first1=Ursula|last2=Loeng|first2=Harald|last3=Rudels|first3=Bert|last4=Ozhigin|first4=Vladimir K|last5=Dieck|first5=Wolfgang|date=2002|title=Atlantic Water flow through the Barents and Kara Seas|journal=Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers|language=en|volume=49|issue=12|pages=2281–2298|doi=10.1016/S0967-0637(02)00125-5|bibcode=2002DSRI...49.2281S}}</ref> The [[Advection|advected]] water originates from the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], but it was cooled and mixed with freshwater in the [[Barents Sea]] before it reaches the Kara Sea.<ref name=":0" /> Simulations with the Hamburg shelf ocean model (HAMSOM) suggest that no typical water current pattern consists in the Kara Sea throughout the year. Depending on the freshwater run-off, the dominant wind patterns, and the [[sea ice]] formation, the water currents change.<ref name=":0" />

===Connections to global weather===
{{excerpt|Arctic sea ice decline#Barents Sea ice}}