Editing Barents Sea (section)

==History==
[[File:Walvisvangst bij de kust van Spitsbergen - Dutch whalers near Spitsbergen (Abraham Storck, 1690).jpg|thumb|Dutch whalers near [[Svalbard]], 1690]]

===Name===
The Barents Sea was formerly known to Russians as '''Murmanskoye More''', or the "Sea of Murmans" (i.e., their term for Norwegians). It appears with this name in sixteenth-century maps, including [[Gerard Mercator]]'s ''Map of the Arctic'' published in his 1595 atlas. Its eastern corner, in the region of the [[Pechora River]]'s estuary, has been known as '''Pechorskoye Morye''', that is, [[Pechora Sea]]. It was also known as '''Pomorsky Morye''', after the first inhabitants of its shores, the [[Pomors]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Баренцево море: где находится, описание, история |url=https://iskatel.com/places/barentsevo-more |access-date=2023-07-07 |website=iskatel.com |language=ru}}</ref>

This sea was given its present name by Europeans in honour of [[Willem Barentsz]], a [[Netherlands|Dutch]] navigator and explorer. Barentsz was the leader of early expeditions to the far north, at the end of the sixteenth century.

The Barents Sea has been called by sailors "''The Devil's Dance Floor''" due to its unpredictability and difficulty level.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/warming-to-cap-art-4559364|title=Warming to cap art|last=Administrator|first=journallive|date=2006-08-15|work=journallive|access-date=2017-10-05|language=en|archive-date=2017-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171005202032/http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/warming-to-cap-art-4559364|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Ocean rowers call it "''Devil's Jaw''". In 2017, after the first recorded complete man-powered crossing of the Barents Sea from [[Tromsø]] to [[Longyearbyen]] in a rowboat by the Polar Row expedition, captain [[Fiann Paul]] was asked by [[TV 2 (Norway)|Norwegian TV2]] how a rower would name the Barents Sea. Fiann responded that he would name it "Devil's Jaw", adding that the winds you constantly battle are like breath from the devil's nostrils while he holds you in his jaws.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tv2.no/a/9269125/|title=Tor (36) nådde Svalbard på supertid, this is the link to the news summary, full video news was broadcast on 29 July in the News section, available on youtube|last=AS|first=TV 2|work=TV 2|access-date=2017-10-05|language=no-nb}}</ref>

[[File:MurmanskHarbour.jpg|thumb|The harbour of the [[Murmansk Fjord]].]]

===Modern era===
Seabed mapping was completed in 1933; the first full map was produced by Russian marine geologist [[Maria Klenova]].

The Barents Sea was the site of a notable [[World War II]] engagement which later became known as the [[Battle of the Barents Sea]]. Under the command of [[Oskar Kummetz]], German warships sank minelayer HMS ''Bramble'' and destroyer {{HMS|Achates|H12|6}} but lost destroyer {{ship|German destroyer|Z16 Friedrich Eckoldt||2}}. Also, the German cruiser {{Ship|German cruiser|Admiral Hipper||2}} was severely damaged by British gunfire. The Germans later retreated and the British convoy arrived safely at Murmansk shortly afterwards.

During the [[Cold War]], the [[Soviet Red Banner Northern Fleet]] used the southern reaches of the sea as a ballistic missile submarine [[bastion (naval)|bastion]], a strategy that [[Russia]] continued. [[Nuclear waste|Nuclear contamination]] from dumped Russian naval [[nuclear reactor|reactors]] is an [[natural environment|environmental]] concern in the Barents Sea.