NOAA Atlas NESDIS 58 

CLIMATIC ATLAS OF THE ARCTIC SEAS 2004: 

Part I. Database of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and White 

Seas - Oceanography and Marine Biology 

Silver Spring, MD 

July 2004 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service 
World Data Center for Oceanography, Silver Spring

International Ocean Atlas and Information Series, Volume 9 

NOAA Atlas NESDIS 58 

CLIMATIC ATLAS OF THE ARCTIC SEAS 2004: 

Part I. Database of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and 

White Seas - Oceanography and Marine Biology 

G. Matishov, A. Zuyev, V. Golubev, N. Adrov, S. Timofeev, O.Karamusko, 

L. Pavlova, O. Fadyakin, A. Buzan, A. Braunstein, D. Moiseev 

(Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences) 

I. Smolyar, R. Locarnini, R. Tatusko, T. Boyer, S. Levitus 

(NOAA/NESDIS/NODC/Ocean Climate Laboratory) 

RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 

Academician Yu. Osipov, President 

Kola Scientific Center 

Academician V. Kalinnikov, President 

Murmansk Marine Biological Institute 

Academician G. Matishov, Director 

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Donald L. Evans, Secretary 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Jr., USN (Ret) 

Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmospheres 

National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service 

Gregory W. Withee, Assistant Administrator 

U N E S C O

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF SCIENTIFIC UNIO
ii

CONTENTS 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT .......................................................................... 31 

ABSTRACT............................................................................................ 32 

1. INTRODUCTION................................................................................. 33 

2. HISTORY OF OCEANOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATIONS IN THE ARCTIC............. 34 

3. BATHYMETRY AND SEA-BOTTOM TOPOGRAPHY 

 OF THE BARENTS-KARA SHELF............................................................ 38 

4. CLIMATOLOGY.................................................................................. 40 

5. DATABASE FOR ECOLOGICAL STUDIES................................................... 45 

 5.1 Data format ............................................................................ 45 

5.1.1 Plankton........................................................................ 45 

5.1.2 Benthos........................................................................ 46 

5.1.3 Ichthyology.................................................................... 46 

5.1.4 Marine mammals............................................................. 46 

5.1.5 Birds............................................................................ 46 

5.2 Exclusion of duplicates............................................................... 46 

5.3 Data access............................................................................. 47 

5.4 Data inventory........................................................................ 48 

6. ELECTRONIC BOOKS............................................................................ 50 

7. PHOTO GALLERY................................................................................. 52 

8. CONTENTS OF THE DVD DISK............................................................... 53 

9. SUMMARY AND FUTURE WORK............................................................ 54 

10. REFERENCES.................................................................................... 55 

APPENDIX A. Database characteristics............................................................................ 59 

APPENDIX B. Data distribution plots, 1810-2001............................................................ 71 
iii

DATABASE 

 

Time period: 1810-2001 

Number of stations: 433,179 

Атлас и данные, на которых он основан подготовлены для международного распространения

без ограничений на DVD диске, согласно принципов Мирового центра данных Международного совета научных объединений и Межгосударственной океанографической комиссии

ЮНЕСКО. 

The Atlas and associated data are being distributed internationally without restriction via DVD disk, 

in accordance with the principles of the World Data Center System of the International Council of 

Scientific Unions and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. 

Region Num. of stations 

Barents Sea: 219,077 

Norwegian Sea: 160,512 

White Sea: 20,348 

Central Arctic: 13,870 

Kara Sea: 13,591 

Laptev Sea: 5,781 

Country Num. of stations

Russia: 178,356 

Norway: 122,593 

Unknown: 54,386 

USA: 36,469 

United Kingdoms: 17,426 

Germany: 6,648 

Poland: 2,740 

Holland: 1,242 

Canada: 1,226 

Sweden: 383 

Japan: 340 

Finland: 221 

Iceland: 177 

France: 164 

Настоящая работа выполнена в рамках: 

- проектов “Спасение и архивация глобальных

океанографических данных” (GODAR) и “База

данных Мирового океана”, одобренных Межгосударственной океанографической комиссией

(IOC) ЮНЕСКО 

- Меморандума о взаимопонимании между

Российской академией наук и Национальной

администрацией по океану и атмосфере Министерства коммерции Соединенных Штатов

Америки о сотрудничестве в области Мирового

океана и полярных регионов

The present work is prepared within the framework of:

- “Global Oceanographic Data Archaeology and 

Rescue” (GODAR) and “World Ocean Database” 

projects endorsed by the Intergovernmental 

Oceanographic Commission (IOC) UNESCO 

- Memorandum of Understanding between the 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 

of the Department of Commerce of the United 

States of America and the Russian Academy of 

Sciences of the Russian Federation on Cooperation 

in the Area of the World Oceans and Polar Regions
iv
v
vi
31

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

 The Academy of Sciences of the Russian Federation (RAS) and the Kola Scientific 

Center along with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have prepared 

this product under the support of the NOAA Climate and Global Change Program and the 

NOAA Environmental Satellite and Data Information Management Program.

This work has also been carried out as part of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Global Oceanographic Data Archaeology and Rescue Project 

(GODAR) and the World Ocean Database Project, both of which have been successful in 

stimulating international exchange of historical and modern oceanographic data 

We are grateful to the NOAA Central Library (Silver Spring, MD, USA), the Slavic and 

Baltic Branches of the New York Public Library (USA), the New York Museum of Natural 

History Library (USA), the Dartmouth College Library (Hanover, NH, USA), the Slavic Library 

(Helsinki, Finland), and the public libraries of Moscow, Murmansk, and St. Petersburg (Russian 

Federation), which have served as important sources of data for this product. 

We appreciate the assistance of the staff of the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute 

(MMBI) and the NOAA Ocean Climate Laboratory during the creation of the database, and we 

wish to thank Valentina Suvorova-Harlowe (Yanuta) for translating this product from Russian 

into English. 

We would like to express special gratitude to Torgny Vinje, Norwegian Polar Institute, 

who provided us with the observational results obtained by Norwegian ships during the period 

1867-1912. 
32

ABSTRACT

This Atlas presents primary data on meteorology, oceanography, and hydrobiology from 

the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and White Seas, which were collected by scientists from different 

countries during the period 1810-2001. The data format that we use in the electronic (DVD) part 

of the atlas allows one to quantitatively access information for oceanographic variables as well 

as plankton, benthos, fish, sea birds, and marine mammals. The data are divided into one-degree 

squares with monthly climatic characteristics calculated for every square, which were used to 

plot monthly climatological charts of temperature and salinity. Access to the primary data is 

carried out through a graphical interface presented in the shape of a geographical chart. The 

Atlas also includes, in electronic format, selected copies of rare books and articles about the 

history of Arctic exploration and climate studies as well as photos and drawings, which provide 

information about the people and nature of the northern polar latitudes throughout the past two 

centuries. 
33

1. INTRODUCTION 

The natural resources of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, and White Seas are rich and diverse. 

For many decades, they have supported an enormous and lucrative fishing industry, and today 

this region continues to be a zone of intensive navigation by providing cargo transportation 

between the cities of Europe, Asia, and the Far East. In addition, the petroleum sector is actively 

exploring potential oil and gas fields for development. Consequently, the exploitation of natural 

resources in this region makes it necessary to study a broad range of environmental issues, 

among which is a priority to better understand the impact on these resources due to changes in 

climate. This is even more crucial since the Arctic is inhabited by a variety of human 

populations, many of whom derive their livelihood from the resources in the Arctic, and it boasts 

terrestrial and marine ecosystems that do not exist anywhere else. 

Climate studies of the Arctic have resulted in a large number of publications that describe 

various changes taking place within this region and which document and explain sources of 

variability in the Arctic climate system. However, because this has been an area of chronically 

poor data coverage, the ability to quantify high-latitude climate variability on interannual to 

inter-decadal temporal scales has been limited. Thus, this product will provide a more 

comprehensive series of oceanographic and biological observations in the Barents, White, Kara, 

and Laptev Seas, which can be used for long-term global change monitoring. 
34

2. HISTORY OF OCEANOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATIONS IN THE 

ARCTIC 

Systematic studies of the Barents, White, Kara, and Laptev Seas started in the second half 

of the 19th century. These studies were initiated to search for a fast and reliable way to deliver 

cargo between the ports of Europe, Russia, Asia, and America. Germany, Norway, France, the 

Netherlands, England, Russia, USA, and other countries sent their ships to the Arctic for scientific and commercial objectives. It is beyond the scope of this discussion to provide a comprehensive review of Arctic exploration, and the reader is directed to the “Electronic Library,” 

which provides partial and full texts of books that go into much more detail. However, it is 

appropriate to briefly consider the basic events in the history of studies of these seas. 

The first half of the 19th century was a period of intensive trade of marine and terrestrial 

animals found near Spitsbergen and the western part of the Kara Sea. Hundreds of ships from 

different countries took part in this trade. It was aboard an English whaleboat in April 19, 1810, 

that the first oceanographic measurements were made by William Scoresby at 76o

16’ N, 9o00’ E 

in the Arctic, both at the surface and at depth. This data is included in the1871 publication by 

Piterman et al., the full text of which appears in the “Electronic Library” section. The same 

publication contains meteorological and ocean-surface temperature data collected during the first 

German Arctic expedition (1868-1970) in the northeastern part of the Norwegian Sea and 

northwestern part of the Barents Sea. 

At present, there is a considerable amount of sea-surface temperature and meteorological 

data for the Kara and Barents Seas covering the period of 1867-1912. This is the result of 

carefully prepared ship logs by the captains of Norwegian commercial ships which utilized the 

Northeast Passage. The section for “Database/Cruises” on the DVD contains data from 168 

Norwegian cruises. 

Efforts to pass through the Northeast Passage and establish this as a viable trade route 

began in the 1590s with expeditions by Willem Barents. The next attempt was not until 1734-

43, when Vitus Bering explored the Siberian coast as part of the Great Nordic Expedition. Julius 

Von Payer, in an Austrian-Hungarian expedition in 1872-74, also attempted to sail through the 

Northeast Passage, but this expedition ended at Novaya Zemlya when ice trapped his ship. 

In 1875-76, the Swedish researcher, A.E. Nordenskiöld, aboard the ships Pröven and

Eemer, was the first to sail from Europe to the mouth of the Ob River in order to prove the 

possibility of cargo transportation from Europe to Siberia. In 1877, the first Russian cargo 

cruiser, Utrennyaya Zarya, sailed from the Yenisey River to St. Petersburg via the Kara and 

Barents Seas. In 1878-79, with better preparations, Nordenskiöld left aboard the Vega and

successfully traversed across the Barents Sea to the Pacific via the Kara Sea. During the cruises 

in the Barents and Kara Seas on the Pröven, Eemer, and Vega, meteorological observations and 

oceanographic measurements at both the surface of the water and at depth were conducted. 

With the discovery of the Northeast Passage in the late 1870s and until 1936, regular 

commercial transport between Europe and across the Barents and Kara Seas took place. This is 

described in more detail by Khmiznikov in 1937, available in the “Electronic Library” section of 
35

the DVD. During this period, forecasts of ice conditions for the Barents and Kara Seas were of 

critical importance. The cost of ship and cargo insurance reflects the realities of forecasting ice 

conditions in the Barents and Kara Seas: in 1914, insurance costs were 6%-8% of the total 

expeditionary budget; in 1929 – 0.8% - 2.25% (Wieze, 1934; full text of this book is available in 

the “Electronic Library” section of the DVD). 

In 1879, Britain and The Netherlands explored the Barents and Kara Seas with expeditions conducted aboard the Isbjörn and the W. Barents, respectively, the latter performing meteorological observations and water-temperature measurements. From 1880-84, The Netherlands 

again used the W. Barents to conduct hydrological surveys over a considerable part of the 

Barents Sea. 

In 1882, the First International Polar Year (IPY I) commenced. It was organized at the 

initiative of Karl Weyprecht, the leader of the Austro-Hungarian expedition aboard the 

Tegetthoff to study Franz Josef Land in 1872-1874. The goal of IPY I was to organize an Arctic 

network of polar stations to conduct meteorological and magnetic observations on a regular 

basis. Twelve countries took part in IPY I, and they established 15 meteorological stations. 

Russia established meteorological stations at Malye Karmakuly, on Novaya Zemlya, and 

Sagatyr, located at the mouth of the Lena River (see the “Photo Gallery” section). In Siberia, 

there was a shortage of meteorological stations, so The Netherlands and Denmark established 

stations on Dickson Island and at Cape Chelyuskin (on the Taimyr Peninsula), respectively. 

The Netherlands sent the ship, Varna, to establish a meteorological station on Dickson 

Island. During the entire month of August 1882, the Varna tried to penetrate the ice-covered 

Kara Sea. By the end of August 1882, she became trapped by ice in the Kara Sea, and while she 

drifted, deep-sea temperature and density measurements were performed (Snellen, 1910; see the 

full text of this book in the “Electronic Library” section). 

While the Varna was drifting in the Kara Sea, the Danish steamship, Dijmphna, was sent 

to build a meteorological station on the Taimyr Peninsula. Unfortunately, the Dijmphna also 

became entrapped by ice, and it drifted together with the Varna (see “Photo Gallery”). The 

Varna sank in the Barents Sea on 24 July 1883, but not before the crew was able to escape to the 

nearby Dijmphna. Soon after, the crew of the Varna left the Dijmphna and headed out on the ice 

to make their way to Novaya Zemlya, taking along three sleds and four small boats. Near 

Yugorsky Shar, the crew met the ship, Nordenskiöld, which delivered them to Norway. The 

Dijmphna was liberated from the ice in the middle of September 1883; and in October, she 

arrived back in Norway. 

In 1893, the Fram expedition, led by F. Nansen, conducted meteorological and hydrological observations in the Barents and Kara Seas. In the same year, N. Knippovitch conducted a 

series of hydrological observations in the Barents Sea. From 1898-1914, motivated to further 

explore the North, Russia organized two large expeditions in the Barents, White, and Kara Seas. 

These expeditions, aboard the Andrey Pervozvanny, Pakhtusov, and Pomor, collected meteorological and hydrobiological data. 

In 1898, the Russian icebreaker, Yermak, set forth into the Barents Sea with the goal of 

reaching the North Pole. Although the Yermak was unable to fulfill this mission, it proved that 
36

icebreakers were able to overcome ice-covered seas that are inaccessible to regular ships. During 

the Yermak voyage, meteorological and hydrobiological data were collected (Makarov, 1901). 

In 1905 and 1907, a French-sponsored expedition on the Danish ship, Belgica, engaged 

in hydrological and hydrobiological studies in the Barents and Kara Seas. In the “Electronic 

Library” section, there is a full report of the 1907 expedition, including the meteorological data 

and sea-surface temperature measurements. 

The Russian polar researcher, V. Rusanov, set out in 1912 on the small boat, Hercules, 

with the intention of studying the Kara Sea. He began his journey from Archangel on 12 August 

1912, but he disappeared and his fortune remains unknown. The ship, Eclipse, was sent to 

search for Rusanov’s expedition. During its passage from the Barents to the Kara Sea, the 

Eclipse expedition carried out meteorological observations and sea-surface temperature 

measurements (Trzemestskiy, 1917). The full text of the report on this expedition is in the 

“Electronic Library” section.

Studies of the White Sea for navigation purposes started in the 17th century. The first 

charts containing data on ice conditions were published by the Russian Navy in the mid-18th

century. In 1881, a biological station was established on the Solovetsky Islands, and regular 

hydrobiological studies commenced for this region. In 1899, the station moved from the Solovetsky Islands to the Yekaterininsky Harbor in the Kola Bay, located in the southern part of the 

Barents Sea. At that time, the station officially became the Murmansk Marine Biological Station 

(MMBI). In the “Electronic Library” section, the full text of Deryugin’s description of hydrobiological studies (Deryugin, 1906) conducted by the MMBI during 1899-1905 is available. 

In the mid-1930s, a system of measuring along standard transects in the White Sea was 

adopted. Even today, these transects are used to conduct hydrological surveys; during World 

War II, there was no abatement in the hydrological studies along these transects. On the DVD, 

there are temperature and salinity profiles for the period 1941-1945. 

During the 1950s, the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences established a biological station in the Kandalaksha Bay in the White Sea. Since 1961 and up to the 

present, measurements are taken every ten days at one location. These include water temperature 

and salinity at 0, 5, 10, 15, 25, 50, and 65 m. In 1963, in addition to temperature and salinity 

measurements, observations of zooplankton began, which have also been collected every ten 

days. This data has been used to document marine environmental effects on zooplankton 

development in this region (Berger et al., 2003). 

The Laptev Sea was difficult to reach due to its distance from both the Atlantic and 

Pacific Oceans. However, Vitus Bering, Hariton Laptev, Dmitry Ovtsin, and others were among 

the first the first to reach this area during the Great North Expedition that was conducted from 

1734-42, during which the entire Siberian coast was surveyed and documented. In the 1820s, the 

Ust-Yana expedition, led by Pyotr Anzhu, succeeded in conducting a hydrographic survey of the 

Laptev Sea coast between the Olenyok and Indigirka rivers, and he also mapped the New 

Siberian Islands. 
37

In 1900, the Russian Academy of Sciences equipped Eduard Toll for an expedition 

aboard the ship, Zarya, to study the Novosibirsk Islands in the Laptev Sea. This expedition 

collected hydrobiological data that has been partially published. 

In the early 20th century, the Russian Government began to study the problem of promoting regular voyages from the Barents Sea to the Pacific Ocean. Two icebreakers, Taimyr and

Vaigach, were built for this purpose. During the period 1911-1915, these icebreakers made 

several voyages from Vladivostok to the west via the Bering Strait during which a wide 

spectrum of oceanographic and hydrobiological studies was conducted (Transehe, 1925. In the 

section, “Bathymetry” on the DVD, there is a chart of the Taimyr and Vaigach voyages). Most of 

the data from these expeditions is not yet published. 

In 1918, although he was unable to reach the North Pole, Roald Amundsen did succeed in 

sailing as far east as Cape Chelyuskin, on the Taimyr Peninsula, where he over wintered. The 

next year, Amundsen continued his journey eastward and became only the second person to sail 

through the Northeast Passage. 

In the 1920s, efforts to study the northern regions of the European and Asian parts of the 

Soviet Union began. For this purpose, the Government of the Soviet Union provided significant 

funds. A portion of these funds was used to build a network of meteorological stations along the 

ship route, from the Atlantic Ocean to America and Asia via the Bering Strait. Formerly known 

as the Northeast Passage, this route became identified as the Northern Sea Route. In the 1920s, 

building commenced on icebreakers and ice-class transport ships that would be able to penetrate 

the ice-encrusted seas. At the same time the number of scientific expeditions to the seas of the 

eastern sector of the Arctic increased. During the Second International Polar Year, 1932-33, the 

Soviet Union organized over ten expeditions that conducted studies from the Bering Sea to the 

Greenland Sea. During these expeditions, substantial amounts of meteorological, oceanographic, 

and hydrobiological data were collected. Part of this material is included in this database as well 

as contained in publications by Markhayev et al., 2003, Lappo et al., 2003. 

After World War II, a new stage began in studying the Arctic seas due to an increased 

interest in exploring fishery resources of the Barents and White Seas, oil and gas mining in the 

Barents and Kara Seas, and providing safe navigation along the Northern Sea Route. In this 

period, a variety of platforms were utilized to study the Arctic seas: scientific stations on 

floating ice fields (Romanov, et.al., 1997), airplanes (Konstantinov et al., 2000), and atomic 

icebreakers (Matishov et al., 2000). 

The oceanographic and hydrobiological data collected up to the present time can be used 

to solve a wide range of problems in various areas of oceanography, marine biology. The database presented here contains 433,179 stations for the period of 1810 to 2001. All the primary 

data is on a DVD disk. 
38

3. BATHYMETRY AND SEA-BOTTOM TOPOGRAPHY OF THE 

BARENTS-KARA SHELF 

During the 20th and 21st centuries, great success was achieved in studying complicated 

events and phenomena that determine the nature of seas and oceans as well as of glacial and 

periglacial shelves (Matishov, 1980). The dynamics, thermohaline structure, and hydrochemical 

cycle of polar sea waters are the function of climate, ice conditions, and other natural factors. Of 

special importance is the shelf topography. When traveling along the troughs, Atlantic and 

Arctic waters transport and redistribute biogenous, radioactive, and other substances (Matishov, 

1984; Zenkevich 1963; Bogorov, 1967; Nikiforov, Shpaiher, 1980; Matishov et al., 1982). 

 

Fridtjof Nansen (1904) was the first to start geomorphologic and oceanographic studies 

of the Arctic Ocean shelf. P.S. Vinogradov, V.M. Litvin, V.D. Rvachev, G.G. Matishov, and 

B.S. Senin (Vinogradov, 1964, 1979; Litvin, 1973, 1979; Matishov, 1987; Matishov, Rvachev 

1983) contributed much to the bathymetric cartography of the Arctic Ocean bottom. A series of 

bathymetric charts for the North Atlantic Ocean, Norwegian-Greenland basin, and the Barents, 

White, and Kara Seas were compiled during the 1950s to 1990s (Matishov, 1984, 1987, 1995). 

The charts are based on bathymetric plane tables and 200,000-scale Mercator projections, which 

were compiled using detailed sea-bottom echo-sounding profiles (see “Bathymetry” section on 

DVD). These charts are mainly from MMBI and the Knipovich Polar Research Institute of 

Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO). When compiling bathymetric charts for the Barents-Kara shelf and Franz-Josef Land, the data from sea-bottom seismic profiling was also used. 

The Barents Sea bottom has a very diverse topography. The average shelf depth is about 

250 m; with a maximum depth ranging 400-500 m. The outer edge of the shelf in the north and 

west of the Barents Sea stretches along the banks at 200- to 350-meter depths and along the 

troughs at 400- to 550-meter depths (Atlas, 1967, 1980; Dobrovolsky, Zologin, 1982; Suhovey, 

1986). Shallow areas of the shelf (less than 100 m depth) are mainly found in the southeastern 

part of the Sea, on the narrow coastal strip of the archipelagos, Novaya Zemlya and Spitsbergen, 

and on the Medvezhinsko-Nadezhdinsk upland. In other regions, only small sections of the seabottom – the tops of some banks and ridges – are at depths less than 80-100 m. The deep troughs 

and vast banks exert control, to a large extent, over vertical and horizontal water circulation. 

Among all the shelf-topography forms made by continental ice, typical forms are fjords, 

edge and cross troughs, and sea-bottom edge glacial formations. Detailed bathymetric charts 

clearly show a direct connection between the underwater valleys of the coastal shelf to the 

hydrological network of the continent. Underwater fjords are morphologically dense networks 

of trough-shaped valleys, which have cut up the rocky sea-bottom over tens and hundreds of 

meters. Such fjord systems as Porsangen, Lakse, Tana, and Varanger near the northern Norwegian coast are examples of comparatively wide (5-20 km) and deep (150-400 m) underwater 

fjords. These valleys rectilinearly stretch for 20-100 km from the shore towards the sea. 

The edge troughs stretch along the coastal shelf of northern Norway, Spitsbergen, 

Novaya Zemlya, and Franz Josef Land, representing a system of narrow (5-16 km), shallow 

(100-200 m), successively located valleys and wide (64 km) troughs (Voronin, East-Novaya 

Zemlya, South- Novaya Zemlya and North-Novaya Zemlya) with depths of 250-450 m. 
39

It is natural that almost along the entire length of the polar shelf, sub-parallel lateral 

troughs separate uplands and plateaus from each other. In particular, in the southeast Barents 

Sea, there is a network of troughs separating Moller Bay and the Gusinoye, as well as North- and 

South-Kanin Banks. They represent large valleys dissecting stratified and basalt shelf plains. 

The deep (300-500 m) troughs, Medvezhinsky, Finmarken, and Zuidkapp, as well as the 

Central depression, stretch for several hundreds of kilometers reaching a width of 100-200 km. 

On the slopes of the Central and Novaya-Zemlya upland, trade valleys are connected to each 

other via little breaks and cracks. The Perseus upland in the north of the Barents Sea is the most 

dissected. It consists of small, shallow (50-160 m) plateaus-horsts separated by graben-shaped 

troughs with incision depths of 100-200 m. 

On the surface of the Barents Sea shelf, there are large uplifts: Murman, Central, 

Nordkapp, Medvezhinsk-Nadezhdinsk. They serve as main water divides for all large currents 

and water mass circulation. The height of these flat-slopey sea-bottom uplifts is comparatively 

large, sometimes reaching 200-400 m. Their length can be as much as 2-5 hundreds of kilometers and width – 100-200 km. Usually, on terraces predetermined by breaks, flat slopes of these 

uplifts can reach a 2-4o

 steepness. 

The high-latitude (80-82o N) archipelago, Franz Josef Land, represents a complicated 

system of large (more than 1000 km2

) and small basalt islands with deep-water straits (400-650 

m) between them. All large islands are covered with glaciers in the shape of sheets or flat domes 

like Jackson dome (576 m) on Hooker Island, Vetrenny dome (509 m) on Gram-Bell Island, and 

Tindal dome (519 m) on Wilczek Land. Above the glaciers, there are rocky peaks like in the 

Wullerstorf Mountains (670 m) on the Wilczek Land Island. 

The complicated system of bathymetric edge and cross troughs of the Barents Sea shelf 

allows for the flow of warmer and more saline Atlantic waters to penetrate into the high Arctic. 

Warm waters of the Nordkapp and West Spitsbergen Currents flow in from the west and north 

along the troughs to the deep area of the Barents Sea and eventually interlock between Franz 

Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya. There is a high-latitude (72-82o N) water turnover of Atlantic 

water masses. Interacting with cold Arctic waters, they form a polar hydro-front (Nikiforov and 

Shpaiher, 1980). Underwater troughs outline biogeographical boundaries and serve as landmarks for the location of productive zones (Matishov, 1987). The intensity of water circulation 

as well as salt and heat transport along the sea-bottom valley system depends on inter-annual 

fluctuations of river runoff and sea-ice formation. 
40

A

B

C

D

E

A

B

C

D

E

60°E 90°E 65°N

120°E

150°E

65°N

30°E

0°E

75°N 85°N 85°N 75°N

Figure 1. Positions of the sections for which the mean monthly climatic fields of 

temperature and salinity have been created.

4. CLIMATOLOGY 

Based on the data contained in the section “Database” on the DVD, the following climatic fields have been created: 

• Mean monthly maps of temperature and salinity distributions for the Barents, White, Kara, 

and Laptev Seas for the levels 0 m, 25 m, 50 m, 100 m, and 200 m. 

• Mean monthly fields of temperature and salinity distributions along five sections (Figure 1) 

on the Barents, Kara, White, and Laptev Seas. 

 A sample map of sea-surface temperatures in September is shown in Figure 2. On the 

DVD, in the section “Climatology,” there are color maps of mean monthly temperature and 

salinity fields at the levels 0 m, 25 m, 50 m, 100 m, 200 m for the 5 sections (Figure 2). 

The procedure for building climatic fields (an objective data analysis) used in this study 

corresponds to a scheme proposed by Barnes (1973) and the calculation technique of spatial data 

distribution and map construction (Levitus and Boyer, 1994). This procedure consists of two 

stages. 

At the first stage, a grid was created in which the Barents, Kara, and Laptev Seas were 

divided into squares of 50 x 50 km. Temperature and salinity profiles at all points within this 
41

0°E

30°E 120°E

150°E

75°N 85°N 85°N 75°N

65°N 65°N 60°E 90°E

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

T (°C)

Figure 2. Sea-surface water temperature for September. 

grid were assembled for every month and individual year. Data unavailability was marked with 

a special code. 

At the second stage, calculations were made of mean monthly temperatures and salinities 

for each of the squares in the grid. Where there was a square with less than four years worth of 

data, this square was not used to compute the climatology. 

When building the climatic fields of temperature and salinity along sections A, B, C, D, 

and E, data were used that were located within a distance of 50 km on both sides of the section 

line. The further away the station from the section line, the lesser the effect of temperature and 

salinity values at this station on calculated climatic characteristics (Golubev and Zuyev, 2003). 

The mean monthly distribution maps for temperature and salinity on the surface and at 

different levels presented on the DVD clearly show an annual cycle of temperature and salinity 

variations, primarily for the Barents Sea. For this sea, there is a clearly observed annual cycle of 

air-temperature variations at individual points (Figure 3). In general, for the Barents Sea, in the 

corresponding time periods, there is a correlation between structures of the fields of air and water 

temperatures in winter and summer (Figure 4 and 5). 

The White, Kara, and Laptev Seas are covered with ice during the winter months, which 

significantly reduces the amount of data available for these months. Consequently, it is very 

difficult to determine the annual cycle of temperature and salinity variability in these seas. 

However, the annual cycle of the ice edge in the Barents, Kara, and Laptev Seas can be used as 

an indirect proxy to describe these cycles (Figure 6). 
42

Figure 3. Barents Sea: annual cycle of air temperature (o

C) as a function of geographical 

coordinate. 

20 E 60 E

80 N

70 N

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

 1. Averaged over 1952-1980 

 

-30

-20

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10

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 2. Averaged over 1936-1980 

 

-30

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-30

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4. Averaged over 1940-1980 

-30

-20

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 5. Averaged over 1936-1979 

-30

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6. Averaged over 1936-1980 

 

-30

-20

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 11. Averaged over 1947-1979 

 

-30

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 10. Averaged over 1947-1979 

-30

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-30

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 8. Averaged over 1936-1980 

-30

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-20

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10

1 3 5 7 9 11
43

 

 

 

 

 

20 E 40 E 60 E

9

8

7

5 6

4

3

2

1

0

20 E 40 E 60 E

80 N

75 N

70 N

0

1

2

3

4

5

6 7

8

 Air temperature above the sea surface. Temperature of the sea surface. 

Figure 5. Climatic fields of air and sea water temperature (o

C) during summer.

80 N

75 N

70 N

20 E 40 E 60 E 20 E 40 E 60 E

-2

-4

-6

-8

-10

-12

-14

-16

-18

-20

0 2 3 1 0 4

 Air temperature above the sea surface. Temperature of the sea surface. 

Figure 4. Climatic fields of air and sea water temperature (o

C) during winter. 
44

 January February March 

 

 April May June 

 July August September 

 

 October November December 

 Figure 6. Monthly mean positions of ice edge.

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

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150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E

65 N

85 N 75 N

0 E

60 E

120 E

75 N 85 N

150 E

90 E
45

5. DATABASE FOR ECOLOGICAL STUDIES 

5.1 Data format 

During the expeditions to the Arctic seas, a diverse amount of information was collected. 

In addition to the traditional meteorological and oceanographic information, cruise reports also 

contain data on sea mammals, birds, fish, benthos, plankton, geological data, and other information. This information can be used to help provide answers to a wide range of issues; therefore, 

it is worthwhile to include these other variables into the database. Let us consider the data 

format. 

The current approach for standardizing data is based on the format of parameter 

descriptions utilized at the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute. This format has a block 

structure that, with slight changes, is preserved in the data description. This format consists of 

two blocks: STATION and TYPE. The block STATION has information about the location 

and time of data collection. The block TYPE contains the data consisting of the following 

elements: Meteorology, Hydrology, Zooplankton, Phytoplankton, Benthos, Birds, Marine 

Mammals, Ichthyology, Geology, Paleontology, etc. The names of the elements indicate the 

type of the data they contain. On the DVD, in the folder DATA\CODE\, all the code tables can 

be found. This format is described in more detail in Matishov et al. (2000). 

When formatting older data, it is often necessary to establish the longitudinal/latitudinal 

coordinates of the stations since the cruise reports present these in local geographical terms (e.g.,

3 miles north of Kildin Island). This is very typical; many expeditions of the late 19th and the 

first half of the 20th centuries were conducted in the vicinity of the shore, and a mate could easily 

determine the ship’s location in terms of the shore outlines. Establishing the longitudinal -

latitudinal coordinates was required for 50-70% of all the stations on these earlier cruises. 

The error in determining the ship’s location is an integral part of the data-quality 

assessment. Therefore, the user of this database should know whether the coordinates were 

created from the qualitative information or they were determined by using instrumental methods. 

The parameter, COORD DETERM=DESCRIPTION, indicates the method of determining 

coordinates. If this parameter is empty, the ship’s coordinates were determined by instrumental 

methods. For example, on the DVD, in the file, DOC\Formats\Format1.csv, there is data from 

three stations. The coordinates of the first station were created from qualitative information. Let 

us consider examples of presenting different data types. 

5.1.1 Plankton 

On the DVD, in the file, DOC\Formats\Format2.csv, there are examples of presenting 

both the quantitative and qualitative data on zooplankton. In the file, 

DOC\Formats\Format3.csv, quantitative data on phytoplankton are presented. In Matishov et al. 

(2000), there is a detailed description of these formats. 
46

5.1.2. Benthos 

The format of the benthos data is identical to that for the plankton data because they 

contain the same elements: a) describing the methods for data collection and processing; b) 

determining the taxonomic composition of a sample; c) determining weight and/or numerical 

characteristics of every taxonomic type. On the DVD, in the file DOC\Formats\Format4.csv, 

there are qualitative (Station 1) and quantitative (Station 2) data on benthos. 

5.1.3. Ichthyology 

The results of trawling serve as the basis for the formation of an ichthyology database. 

Fish caught by a trawl are sorted by species; for every species, X, its percentage in the trawl is 

determined. Along with this basic information, a biological analysis of 100-300 fish is accomplished. The result of this analysis is the identification of more than twenty parameters characterrizing fish condition such as weight, length, etc. (Karamushko and Alexandrov, 2003; Karamushko, 2002). Ichthyology data can be found on the DVD in the file, DOC\Formats\Format5.csv. 

5.1.4. Mammals 

Observations of mammals from ships contain information about the ship’s location, time, 

and the number of mammals observed for each species (Mishin, 2002; Matishov et al., 2000; 

Matishov et al., 2000a). Data on marine mammals is provided on the DVD in the file, 

DOC\Formats\Format6.csv. 

5.1.5. Birds 

Let us consider the data format of the observations of birds, which was collected from 

aircraft (Krasnov et al., 2002; Krasnov and Barrette, 2000). At any discrete moment of time, an 

airplane location is characterized by its coordinates, altitude, direction (course), and flight speed. 

The results of visual observations of birds are presented with the list of species, where the numbers for every species are indicated. An example of this data is contained on the DVD in the file, 

DOC\Formats\Format7.csv. 

5.2. Exclusion of duplicates 

Our starting database for the White, Barents, Kara, and Laptev Seas included 1,506,481

stations obtained from different sources. Some of the data are outside the region represented in 

this atlas. These sources included the libraries in Russia, USA, Norway, Finland, and Canada as 

well as the databases of: 

• Murmansk Marine Biological Institute 

• World Ocean Database 2001 (Conkright et al., 2002) 

• BarKode (Golubev and Zuyev, 1999). 

• Oceanographic data (surface marine reports) from Norwegian commercial ships for 

1867-1912 were provided by Torgny Vinje (Norwegian Polar Institute). 
47

The probability of obtaining the same data increases repeatedly with this large number of 

information sources. Therefore, a search and exclusion of duplicates became an essential task. 

Difficulties in defining duplicates are caused by the fact that a portion of the data arrives not in 

their original format, but in a slightly processed format, created by an unknown technique. Let 

us consider a few examples of this data processing. 

Example 1. The coordinates of one of the two comparable stations are presented in the original 

format as degrees, minutes, and seconds. The coordinates of the second station are given in a 

decimal system, where minutes and seconds are transformed into hundredths or tenths of a 

degree. In this case, the conversion of the true values of the coordinates can equate to a 

discrepancy of a few miles. Therefore, we cannot ascertain with 100% confidence that the 

coordinates of the two stations coincide. 

Example 2. For one of the stations, the values of the parameters are presented at the observed 

levels, where the measurements were actually made. For the other station, they are interpolated 

to standard levels. The interpolation method is, as a rule, unknown. Therefore, for comparison, 

the station with observed levels was interpolated to standard levels. As the result, the values of 

the parameters from the two comparable stations will differ slightly from each other. 

Example 3. Every country has its own traditions in choosing units by which oceanographic parameters are measured. When combining data obtained from different countries, it is necessary to 

convert the data into a unified measurement system. This conversion is, thus, a source of 

additional uncertainty when comparing data. This is true especially for hydrochemical data. 

 As a result of these differences in data processing, two primarily similar stations, 

obtained from different sources, can differ in coordinates, time of measurements at the station, 

and in the values themselves of the parameters themselves. In addition, the problem of duplicate 

exclusion becomes increasingly complicated because of the large amount of data to be analyzed. 

To identify “near-duplicates” a system of priorities was established: a) sources of information; b) parameters; and c) composition of observations. Among the sources of information 

that have the highest priority are cruise reports, ship logs, and expedition diaries. Of the lowest 

priority are sources of information which are a priori, i.e. known that the data contained therein 

were repeatedly transformed and do not contain the entire set of parameters such as vessel name, 

country code, etc. Among the parameters of highest priority are temperature, salinity, and 

oxygen. Elimination of duplicates and “near-duplicates” stations reduced the number of stations 

to 433,179. 

5.3. Data access 

A provision was made to enable the user to access the data via two ways (see section, 

DATA, on the DVD). The first method provides data access according to the cruises. This 

category of data includes: 

• 186 cruises by the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute during 1952-2001; 
48

• 30 cruises during which scientists of the Murmansk Marine Biological Institute collected 

ichthyology data; 

• 50 cruises sponsored by different institutions during 1870-1963. This data was obtained 

from various libraries; 

• 168 cruises by Norwegian commercial ships during the period 1867 - 1912. 

These cruises provide access to 62,453 stations within the Barents, White, Kara, and Laptev 

Seas. 

The second method provides access to the data organized by one-degree squares. The 

structure of this data access is as follows: First, the entire set of stations is divided into 12 

subsets in accordance to the month when the observations were performed. Second, the monthly 

set of stations is sorted by one-degree squares. In this case, the name of the file indicates the 

coordinates of a one-degree square and the month. For instance, the name of the file, 

GN710351.cvs, indicates that it contains the data for January (the last digit in the file name), and 

the coordinates of the station are within 71-72o N and 035-036o E. To designate months that 

contain two digits, letters are used: A for October, B for November, and C for December. For 

instance, the name of the file, GN72135B.cvs, indicates that it contains the data for November, 

and the coordinates of the station are within 72-73o N and 135-136o E. 

For every month, a distribution map of stations is generated that allows a user to access 

data from a square to which the cursor points. For this purpose, it is necessary to place the 

cursor on the desired square and right-click on the mouse. All data are presented in the CSV 

format, which can easily be exported into Excel or another database application. 

5.4. Inventory 

Figure 7 depicts the main characteristics of the primary data contained in this Atlas. 

Appendix A presents the data by describing the distribution of the number of stations by month 

for every individual year for temperature, salinity, oxygen, and plankton, as well as a summary 

table for all parameters. Appendix B shows maps of station distributions throughout the period 

between 1810 and 2001 for every individual year. The DVD disk contains monthly climatological maps and sections of temperature and salinity. 
49

Figure 7. Characteristics of the database. 

Time period: 1810-2001 

Number of stations: 433,179 

January: 16,512 

February: 19,621 

March: 30,363 

April: 34,424 

May: 41,612 

June: 59,163 

July: 47,791 

August: 62,710 

September: 55,726 

October: 29,953 

November: 17,620 

December: 17,684 

Regions 

Barents Sea 219,077 

Norwegian Sea: 160,512 

White Sea: 20,348 

Central Arctic: 13,870 

Kara Sea: 13,591 

Laptev Sea: 5,781 

Countries 

Russia: 178,356 

Norway: 122,593 

Unknown: 54,386 

USA: 36,469 

United Kingdoms: 17,426 

Germany: 6,648 

Poland: 2,740 

Holland: 1,242 

Canada: 1,226 

Sweden: 383 

Japan: 340 

Finland: 221 

Iceland: 177 

France: 164 

Number of stations vs. year

0

5000

10000

15000

20000

25000

1870 1900 1950 2000
50

6. ELECTRONIC BOOKS 

This section of the DVD includes electronic versions of various books about the history 

of Arctic exploration, as well as cruise reports and articles, which contain original data and 

descriptions of measurement techniques. Most of these publications are considered “rare” books 

and are, thus, not easily accessible to the public. The quality of some of the text in the PDF files 

is far from adequate, which is due to imperfect book scanning technology (a digital camera was 

used). However, the authors considered it appropriate to include these books as they make an 

important contribution to this Atlas. Below is the list of publications presented in electronic 

format on the DVD. 

1. Benard, C., 1911: La conquete du pole; histoire des missions arctiques depuis les temps les 

plus recules jusqu'a nos jours: Stations scientifiques, cartographie -- meteorologie. (France) 

2. Bogorov, V.G., 1939: Weight and Ecological Features of Macroplankton Organisms of the 

Barents Sea. (Russia) 

3. Bruevitch, S.V., 1931: Hydrochemistry Studies at the State Oceanographic Institute of the 

USSR in the Barents Sea in 1927-30. (Russia) 

4. Bruevitch, S.V., 1960: Hydrochemical Studies of the White Sea. (Russia) 

5. Deryugin, K.M., 1924: The Barents Sea along the Kola Meridian. (Russia) 

6. Deryugin, K.M., 1925: Exploration of the Barents and White Seas and Novaya Zemlya, 

1921-1924. (Russia) 

7. Deryugin, K.M., 19XX: History of the Murmansk Marine Biological Station. (Russia) 

8. Duc d'Orleans, 1909: La Ravance de la Banquise: Un ete de derive dans la mer ke Kara. 

(France) 

9. Gorbunov, P.. P., M.M. Yermolayev, P.A. Polisadov, R.L. Samoilovitch, V.V. Timonov, 

1929: Journal of the Novaya Zemlya Expedition of 1925. (Russia) 

10. Khmiznikov, P.K., 1937: Description of Navigation on the Laptev Sea and in the Western 

Part of the East Siberian Sea: 1878-1935. (Russia) 

11. Kreps, E. and N. Verjbinskaya, 1930: Seasonal Changes in the Phosphate and Nitrate 

Content and Hydrogen Ion Concentration in the Barents Sea. (Russia) 

12. Linko, A.K., 1907: Expedition on Scientific and Commercial Studies near the Murman 

Coast: Studies on Composition and Life of Plankton of the Barents Sea. (Russia) 

13. Maidel, B., (date unknown): Report on Studies during the Expedition along the Murman 

Bank in the Summer of 1870. (Russia) 

14. Manteifel, B.P., 1939: Zooplankton of Riparian Waters of West Murman. (Russia) 

15. Peterman, A., W. von Freeden, A. Mühry, 1871: Studies on the Eastward and Northward 

Gulf-Stream Extensions (Germany) 

16. Rabot, C. and P. Wittenburg, 1924: The Polar Regions: 1914-1924. (Russia) 

17. Rudnev, D. and N. Kulik, 1915: Contributions to the Knowledge of the Northern Sea Route 

between Europe and the Ob and Yenisey Rivers. (Russia) 

18. Samoilovitch, R., 1928: Exploration of Novaya Zemlya and the Barents Sea Performed by 

the Institute for the Exploration of the North. (Russia) 

19. Schultz, B., 1930: Die Hydrographie des Barentsmeeres. (Germany) 

20. Snellen, M., 1910: Rapport sur L'Expedition Polaire Neerlandaise qui a Hiverne dans la 

Mer de Kara en 1882/83. (Holland) 

21. Tarbeyev, D., 1940: The Laptev Sea and its Coast. (Russia) 
51

22. Trzhemesky, I., 1917: Hydrometeorological Observations of Hydrographic Expeditions: 

Observations by Dr. I. Trzhemesky on the Schooner "Eclipse" in 1914-1915 (Russia) 

23. U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office, 1969: Oceanographic Survey Results: Kara Sea, 

Summer and Fall 1965. (USA) 

24. Vorobiev, V.I., 1940: The Kara Sea. Izd. Glavsevmorputi (Russia) 

25. Wieze, V.Yu., 1934: History of Exploration of the Soviet Arctic: Barents and Kara Seas 

(Second Complete Edition). (Russia) 

26. Willaume-Jantzen, 1889: Observations Meteorologiques de la Dijmphna, Mer de Kara. 

(Denmark) 

27. Zaitsev, G.N., 1967: New Data on Mean Annual Water Temperatures at the Kola Meridian 

for 1922-44. (Russia) 

28. Zhdanko, M.Ye., 18(9)5: Essay of Hydrographic Studies of the Arctic Ocean in the 

Summer of 1894 (Russia) 

29. Zenkevitch, L., 1931: On the Aeration of Bottom Waters through Vertical Circulation. 

(Russia) 
52

7. PHOTO GALLERY 

The books on the history of Arctic studies and the photo archive of the Murmansk 

Marine Biological Institute served as a source of graphical material for the section “PHOTO 

GALLERY” on the DVD. Detailed information about all the images is available (see PHOTO 

GALLERY/Sources of Photos). All material is divided into the following categories: 

The First International Polar Year 1882-1883 

• Expeditions by The Netherlands and Denmark in the Kara Sea 

• Russian meteorological stations in the Barents and Laptev Seas 

Ships in the Arctic 

Polar Bears in the Barents and Kara Seas 

The Kola Peninsula
53

8. CONTENTS OF THE DVD DISK 

 The main sections of the DVD are as follows: 

• The directory DATA contains the data files. 

• The directory DOC contains text files from the section, Documentation. 

• The directory HTML contains files that enable the HTML medium to work. 

• The directory STAT contains statistics for the one-degree squares. 

The key element of this Atlas is the primary data from the Barents, White, Kara, and 

Laptev Seas. Primary data (433,179 stations for 1810-2001) are on the DVD in CSV format. 

Access to the information on the DVD occurs via an HTML menu. From this menu, the main 

sections of the DVD are as follows: 

Documentation: This section includes the text of the Atlas in Russian and English. 

Bathymetry: This section includes bathymetric maps of the Arctic Seas published during the 

period 1905-2001. 

Inventory: This section contains individual distribution maps of stations for each month for the 

parameters of temperature, salinity, oxygen, pH, alkalinity, nitrates, phosphates, and silicates. 

Database: This section provide access to the primary data and statistics. 

Climatology: This section includes monthly climatic fields of temperature and salinity presented 

as maps and sections. 

Electronic Books: This section contains the full text of books, articles, and cruise reports 

Photo Gallery: This section contains graphical materials about the Arctic and history of its 

exploration. 

Citation and Authors: This section contains referencing information, list of authers and 

addresses. 
54

9. SUMMARY AND FUTURE WORK 

This Atlas is a continuation of a series of joint work that has been conducted for more 

than 12 years by Russian and US scientists to create a more comprehensive database from 

various expeditions to the eastern Arctic Seas. A top priority of this cooperation has been to 

make the primary data available to the international scientific community without restriction. In 

the future, it is anticipated that the database will be expanded to include all Arctic seas and that 

procedures for data quality control will be improved. 
55

10. REFERENCES 

Atlas of Lithological-Paleogeographical Maps of the USSR, 1967: V. 4, Moscow: Nauka, 70 pp. 

Atlas of the Oceans, Arctic Ocean, 1980: Vol. 3, Leningrad: Ministry of Defense-Navy, 190 pp. 

Barnes, S.L., 1973: Mesoscale objective map analysis using weighted time series observations. 

NOAA Technical Memorandum ERL NSSL-62, 60pp 

Berger, V. Ja., A.D. Naumov, N.V. Usov, M.A. Zubaha, I. Smolyar, R. Tatusko, S. Levitus, 

2003: 36-Year Time Series (1963-1998) of Zooplankton, Temperature, and Salinity in the 

White Sea. NOAA Atlas NESDIS 57, U.S. Gov. Printing Office, Washington, D.C. 352 pp. 

Bogorov, V.G., 1967: Biological Transformation and Metabolism in the Ocean. Oceanology, 

7(5), pp. 839- 859. 

Conkright, M.E., J. I. Antonov, O.K. Baranova, T. P. Boyer, H. E. Garcia, R. Gelfeld, D. Johnson, R. A. Locarnini, P. P. Murphy, T. D. O’Brien, I. Smolyar, C. Stephens, 2002: World 

Ocean Database 2001. Volume 1: Introduction. NOAA Atlas NESDIS 42. S. Levitus, Ed., 

U.S. Gov. Printing Office, Washington D.C., 160pp. 

Derygin, K. M., 1906: Murmansk Marine Biological Station 1899-1905. Transactions of of the 

St. Petersburg Society of Naturalists, Vol. XXXVII, No. 4, 227 pp. 

Dobrovolsky, A.D., and B.S. Zalogin, 1982: Seas of the USSR. Moscow: MGU, 190 pp. 

D'Orleans, Louis Philippe Robert, 1907: Croisière Océanographique accomplie a bord de la 

Belgica dans la mer du Grönland. Brussels: Imprimerie Scientifique Charles Bulens, 568 

pp. 

D’Orleans, Louis Philippe Robert, 1909: La Revanche de la Banquise. Un été de dérive dans la 

mer de Kara Juin-Septembre 1907. Paris: Librarie Plon, 288+ pp. 

Frolov, Yu.S., 1971: New Fundamental Data on World Ocean Morphology. Leningrad: Vestnik 

LGU. Vol. 1. N 6, 85-90 pp. 

Golubev, V., and A. Zuyev, 1999: Barents and Kara Seas Oceanographic Database: BarKode.

Ed. C. Oelke. Oslo: International ACSYS/CLIC Project Office, 215 pp. 

Golubev, V., and A. Zuyev, 2003: Large-Scale Variability of Temperature and Salinity of the 

Western Barents Sea. Ed. by K. Pavlov. Technical Report. Murmansk-Tromso: Murmansk 

Marine Biological Institute and Norwegian Polar Institute, 52 pp. 

Khmiznikov, P.K., 1937: Description of vessel voyages in the Laptev Sea and in the western 

East Siberian Sea from 1878-1935. Leningrad: Izd-vo Glavsevmorputi, 180 pp. 
56

Konstantinov, Y.B., and K.I. Grachev, 2000: High-Latitude Aerial Expeditions “North” (1937, 

1941-1993). Ed. by Sokolov, B.T., St. Petersburg: Gidrometeoizdat, 176 pp. 

Krasnov, Yu.V., and R.T. Barrett, 2000: Basic Principles of Organizing the Monitoring of Sea 

Birds of the Barents Sea. Russian Ornithology, Vol. 113, pp. 3-32. 

Krasnov, Yu.V., Yu.I. Goryayev, A.A. Shavykin, N.G. Nikolayeva, M.V. Gavrilo, and V.I. 

Chernook, 2002: Atlas of Birds of the Pechora Sea: Distribution, Population, Dynamics, 

Protection Issues. Apatity, 166 pp. 

Karamushko, O.V., 2002: Modern Studies of Barents Sea Ichthyofauna as the Basis for 

Preventing Damage of Bioresources. Nature Use in Euro-Arctic Region: Experience of the 

20th Century and Prospects. Apatity: KNC RAN, pp. 193–198. 

Karamushko, O.V., and D.I. Alexandrov, 2002: Diversity of Fish Communities of the Southeastern Part of the Barents Sea in the Summer Period. Ichthyology Issues, Vol. 43, No 4, pp. 

464–468. 

Lappo, S., Y. Egorov, M. Virsis, Y. Nalbandov, E. Makovetskaya, L. Virsis, I. Smolyar, S. 

Levitus, 2003: History of the Arctic Exploration 2003: Cruise Reports, Data. CD-ROM, 

International Ocean Atlas and Information Series, Vol. 8, World Data Center for 

Oceanography, Silver Spring. 

Levitus, S. and T. Boyer, 1994: NOAA ATLAS NESDIS 4. World Ocean Atlas 1994. Vol. 4. 

Temperature. US Government Printing Office, Washington DC. 118pp. 

Litvin, V.M.,1973: Geomorphology of the Bottom of the Norwegian-Greenland Basin. Problems 

of Arctic and Antarctic. Vol. 42, Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, pp. 19-27. 

Litvin, V.M., 1979: Topography of the Bottom of the Norwegian-Greenland Basin. Topography 

and Bottom Sediments of the Norwegian-Greenland Basin. Transactions of PINRO, Vol. 

XLII, Murmansk: PINRO, pp. 5-37. 

Makarov, S.O., 1901: Yermak in the Ice. St. Petersburg, 507 pp. 

Markhaseva, E., A. Golikov, T. Agapova, A.Beig, I. Smolyar, 2002: Zooplankton of the Arctic 

Seas 2002. CD-ROM, International Ocean Atlas and Information Series, Vol. 6, World Data 

Center for Oceanography, Silver Spring. 

Matishov G., A. Zuyev, V.Golubev, N. Adrov, V. Slobodin, S. Levitus, I. Smolyar, 1998: 

Climatic Atlas of the Barents Sea 1998: Temperature, salinity, oxygen. NOAA Atlas NESDIS 

26, U.S. Gov. Printing Office, Washington D.C., 130 pp 

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59

APPENDIX A. Database characteristics 
60

Inventory of all variables 

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1810 2 2 

1811 1 1 2 

1813 1 1 

1816 1 1 

1817 1 1 

1867 196 9 70 112 79 80 546 

1868 51 284 204 539 

1869 142 37 179 

1870 100 246 447 807 832 624 204 3,260 

1871 13 164 712 1,035 968 773 64 3,729 

1872 5 1 70 326 370 296 201 62 44 1,375 

1873 57 90 64 69 134 118 144 142 818 

1874 6 33 62 149 291 495 146 1,182 

1875 138 102 88 27 185 156 39 735 

1876 11 51 181 179 186 186 200 126 120 124 1,364 

1877 124 112 142 120 300 217 185 185 28 1,413 

1878 1 52 174 188 275 196 886 

1879 46 57 103 

1880 47 17 3 19 6 92 

1881 33 86 119 

1882 40 148 68 5 5 266 

1883 1 19 101 196 36 138 160 3 654 

1884 169 223 226 139 161 167 145 1,230 

1885 59 59 

1886 7 242 212 70 81 10 622 

1887 3 4 72 60 58 197 

1888 45 167 541 479 353 374 319 11 2,289 

1889 1 114 174 316 228 324 136 86 1,379 

1890 58 162 551 595 597 446 232 2,641 

1891 27 142 186 163 100 101 85 804 

1892 14 144 224 124 4 4 514 

1893 48 204 223 75 13 25 5 2 1 1 597 

1894 3 132 192 123 149 91 65 7 1 763 

1895 13 53 250 210 138 136 1 2 2 805 

1896 1 2 2 24 206 139 76 77 25 552 

1897 3 86 64 186 179 106 278 34 936 

1898 25 84 400 369 235 258 235 3 1 1,610 

1899 24 28 53 93 400 616 241 487 86 4 7 1 2,040 

1900 7 4 15 17 391 585 292 278 240 10 10 4 1,853 

1901 2 14 39 209 717 688 620 1,006 423 93 90 93 3,994 

1902 93 84 3 51 203 232 211 322 139 11 8 7 1,364 

1903 3 21 2 7 157 249 164 271 170 6 26 14 1,090 

1904 115 169 181 118 345 479 416 551 322 135 239 250 3,320 

1905 90 84 105 91 254 425 298 259 184 19 3 1,812 

1906 218 199 50 170 144 33 814 

1907 50 143 134 170 66 563 

1908 24 169 95 53 83 39 463 

1909 150 261 335 395 275 113 1 1,530 

1910 19 120 178 263 363 413 152 1,508 

1911 136 229 259 335 170 107 1,236 

1912 81 156 265 294 256 112 1,164 

1913 7 22 81 107 211 282 147 72 929 

1914 66 129 108 1 10 314 
61

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1915 3 24 27 

1916 1 1 2 

1918 17 23 26 12 78 

1919 2 2 

1920 4 2 6 

1921 10 162 84 256 

1922 1 63 12 3 7 86 

1923 14 9 2 15 48 340 96 9 3 536 

1924 37 53 184 188 206 24 12 704 

1925 11 3 117 84 214 228 101 14 772 

1926 1 1 1 42 526 987 544 6 32 7 2,147 

1927 2 14 103 109 228 147 21 6 630 

1928 20 30 41 82 19 116 47 17 1 4 377 

1929 26 25 78 60 157 77 89 294 2 36 24 868 

1930 6 48 135 38 78 75 87 118 19 12 3 619 

1931 1 1 22 174 87 33 188 268 156 53 983 

1932 51 56 11 81 136 511 237 151 3 86 1,323 

1933 99 82 84 70 163 63 40 273 208 47 19 78 1,226 

1934 23 26 85 153 127 172 227 258 391 16 18 18 1,514 

1935 60 38 10 91 88 41 72 92 10 502 

1936 14 100 117 122 76 78 151 222 111 40 18 71 1,120 

1937 28 132 112 114 175 68 95 104 90 66 14 17 1,015 

1938 28 70 246 217 173 179 142 49 160 59 86 123 1,532 

1939 58 121 136 116 199 382 80 39 129 137 48 16 1,461 

1940 32 82 52 49 94 45 146 123 120 13 16 3 775 

1941 3 25 39 42 25 52 3 161 57 37 444 

1942 1 22 1 80 408 416 616 392 123 2,059 

1943 6 15 403 273 190 21 2 46 2 958 

1944 3 46 114 5 311 168 200 101 267 46 1,261 

1945 39 2 207 44 61 193 12 7 565 

1946 7 36 77 39 27 107 102 182 94 77 53 4 805 

1947 2 11 10 3 3 204 141 254 73 58 43 15 817 

1948 4 50 59 115 273 336 296 82 198 53 23 1,489 

1949 10 33 121 40 130 125 155 137 93 58 36 18 956 

1950 69 26 183 152 150 161 107 113 130 225 85 21 1,422 

1951 23 113 180 282 285 258 105 103 264 225 41 75 1,954 

1952 124 50 276 140 123 324 1,424 237 60 117 103 214 3,192 

1953 25 87 164 221 238 148 322 462 494 286 119 165 2,731 

1954 169 321 335 118 391 615 297 517 606 318 130 174 3,991 

1955 221 280 366 359 304 462 769 600 539 270 284 217 4,671 

1956 418 65 322 308 250 399 371 508 560 465 174 314 4,154 

1957 269 193 534 414 515 356 960 1,060 664 552 290 387 6,194 

1958 214 307 519 432 699 600 504 547 654 817 347 497 6,137 

1959 447 354 401 818 648 806 973 809 608 724 362 364 7,314 

1960 348 310 408 200 315 784 305 678 740 330 390 272 5,080 

1961 196 373 655 545 192 524 636 914 774 734 238 246 6,027 

1962 373 581 525 328 390 393 340 573 789 450 518 222 5,482 

1963 220 184 514 305 246 672 1,030 1,234 416 426 418 369 6,034 

1964 209 192 462 304 259 628 398 651 499 286 151 240 4,279 

1965 140 106 127 197 243 396 330 469 593 469 263 140 3,473 

1966 134 137 162 257 176 577 268 417 857 184 239 63 3,471 

1967 291 127 187 236 419 363 239 979 1,083 477 510 67 4,978 
62

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1968 146 129 283 379 491 582 275 458 454 239 108 58 3,602 

1969 76 161 105 413 508 1,499 521 611 447 473 173 96 5,083 

1970 172 164 293 506 618 850 1,057 748 581 461 141 94 5,685 

1971 205 222 349 429 307 146 272 1,070 1,069 474 28 174 4,745 

1972 41 132 118 174 323 566 429 908 1,487 550 163 240 5,131 

1973 280 300 578 817 450 682 436 866 892 800 111 370 6,582 

1974 186 237 321 248 298 650 850 885 411 248 177 112 4,623 

1975 152 170 315 457 466 833 284 812 777 455 277 67 5,065 

1976 373 296 518 475 612 1,017 613 924 724 462 367 583 6,964 

1977 406 504 286 510 836 2,002 734 1,460 691 559 652 667 9,307 

1978 301 269 444 720 493 562 515 650 1,012 726 417 362 6,471 

1979 487 346 695 359 586 1,276 613 829 1,310 513 132 234 7,380 

1980 524 259 944 835 1,463 699 608 1,364 1,127 490 182 246 8,741 

1981 445 392 557 1,342 1,263 474 630 1,425 1,199 899 141 175 8,942 

1982 394 568 1,498 1,142 1,599 571 869 1,145 949 438 542 359 10,074 

1983 715 832 884 937 1,216 687 1,423 898 1,200 917 232 285 10,226 

1984 612 601 1,327 1,086 1,699 2,696 2,308 3,742 1,923 852 353 1,052 18,251 

1985 808 894 1,654 2,285 2,854 1,472 1,170 1,607 3,046 1,249 1,091 1,025 19,155 

1986 704 870 818 1,718 806 697 1,250 1,423 1,637 1,127 896 1,275 13,221 

1987 768 783 1,090 1,355 882 1,416 1,040 1,940 3,694 1,064 998 1,074 16,104 

1988 641 869 696 1,063 1,179 980 918 1,451 1,350 807 552 562 11,068 

1989 520 726 909 1,175 1,181 952 826 1,611 1,375 1,424 787 947 12,433 

1990 838 1,504 1,077 1,111 1,584 1,741 861 1,238 1,374 980 591 546 13,445 

1991 106 106 141 262 108 365 532 544 444 253 85 85 3,031 

1992 64 493 1,187 1,172 780 890 1,090 2,088 1,119 1,303 1,036 842 12,064 

1993 700 825 1,185 944 706 9,538 1,570 1,656 1,802 995 623 577 21,121 

1994 553 804 894 770 631 1,067 909 1,485 1,865 917 439 366 10,700 

1995 476 644 546 36 268 344 379 774 319 108 42 4 3,940 

1996 21 6 11 72 79 76 120 140 101 62 14 21 723 

1997 21 51 99 228 365 493 81 181 16 38 3 1,576 

1998 33 43 267 69 38 99 185 146 179 45 74 1,178 

1999 21 76 70 48 109 69 195 45 150 117 80 31 1,011 

2000 8 46 82 18 36 42 37 26 48 25 48 21 437 

2001 14 82 49 19 1 20 119 37 341 

Total 16,512 19,621 30,363 34,424 41,612 59,163 47,791 62,710 55,726 29,953 17,620 17,684 433,179 
63

Inventory of temperature stations 

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1810 3 3 

1811 1 1 2 

1813 1 1 

1816 1 1 

1817 1 1 

1867 42 1 43 

1869 5 1 6 

1870 33 90 314 657 705 597 200 2,596 

1871 4 120 641 960 848 712 63 3,348 

1872 5 1 25 295 334 294 197 62 39 1,252 

1873 42 89 64 69 134 112 141 142 793 

1874 3 29 58 114 226 381 81 892 

1875 138 101 68 27 183 129 28 674 

1876 11 44 156 166 182 176 188 124 120 4 1,171 

1877 155 121 175 175 26 652 

1878 44 143 159 270 196 812 

1879 46 57 103 

1880 6 3 19 6 34 

1882 5 5 10 

1883 1 19 80 73 12 138 160 3 486 

1884 128 115 207 139 161 167 140 1,057 

1885 59 59 

1886 7 242 207 70 81 10 617 

1887 3 4 72 60 58 197 

1888 45 166 520 359 336 370 284 8 2,088 

1889 1 114 174 287 225 301 135 86 1,323 

1890 34 103 482 591 596 446 227 2,479 

1891 26 141 186 163 100 101 85 802 

1892 2 98 183 124 4 4 415 

1893 1 1 13 13 25 5 2 1 1 62 

1894 132 192 123 149 91 65 7 1 760 

1895 53 250 143 88 40 1 2 2 579 

1896 1 2 4 187 139 76 77 25 511 

1897 3 86 64 186 179 106 278 34 936 

1898 25 84 400 369 235 257 235 3 1 1,609 

1899 24 28 53 92 387 610 229 439 85 4 7 1 1,959 

1900 7 4 6 17 371 553 258 261 240 10 10 4 1,741 

1901 2 14 39 209 655 676 619 1,005 415 93 90 93 3,910 

1902 82 84 3 51 191 211 207 322 139 11 8 7 1,316 

1903 3 20 2 7 157 249 163 270 170 6 26 14 1,087 

1904 115 167 181 114 341 475 415 545 322 134 151 158 3,118 

1905 2 1 13 1 183 338 290 258 184 19 3 1,292 

1906 212 199 50 170 144 33 808 

1907 50 139 134 170 66 559 

1908 24 169 94 53 83 25 448 

1909 150 261 333 394 274 111 1 1,524 

1910 19 120 178 263 363 413 152 1,508 

1911 136 229 259 335 170 107 1,236 

1912 81 156 265 294 253 97 1,146 

1913 7 22 81 107 211 269 145 62 904 

1914 66 128 108 1 303 

1916 1 1 2 

1918 17 23 26 12 78 

1919 2 2 

1920 4 2 6 
64

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1921 10 158 81 249 

1922 63 12 3 7 86 

1923 14 9 2 15 48 164 91 9 3 355 

1924 37 53 184 187 206 24 12 703 

1925 11 3 117 84 210 227 101 14 767 

1926 1 1 1 42 522 987 544 6 32 7 2,143 

1927 2 14 103 109 228 147 21 6 630 

1928 19 30 41 82 19 116 46 17 1 4 375 

1929 26 25 78 60 157 77 89 294 2 36 24 868 

1930 6 48 135 38 78 75 87 117 19 12 3 618 

1931 1 1 22 174 87 33 188 268 156 53 983 

1932 51 56 11 81 136 508 237 150 3 86 1,319 

1933 99 82 84 70 163 63 40 273 208 47 19 78 1,226 

1934 23 26 85 152 127 171 227 257 389 16 18 18 1,509 

1935 60 38 10 91 88 41 72 92 10 502 

1936 14 100 117 122 75 78 151 178 90 33 18 71 1,047 

1937 28 132 112 112 175 68 95 104 90 66 14 17 1,013 

1938 28 70 246 217 170 179 140 49 160 59 86 123 1,527 

1939 58 121 136 116 197 380 78 36 126 133 48 16 1,445 

1940 32 82 52 49 94 45 146 123 120 13 16 3 775 

1941 3 25 39 42 25 52 3 161 57 37 444 

1942 1 22 1 80 407 411 612 392 123 2,049 

1943 6 15 403 271 190 21 2 46 2 956 

1944 3 46 114 4 310 168 199 100 262 46 1,252 

1945 39 2 207 44 61 193 12 7 565 

1946 7 36 77 39 27 107 102 182 94 76 53 4 804 

1947 2 11 10 3 3 203 141 254 73 58 43 15 816 

1948 4 50 59 115 272 336 294 80 198 53 23 1,484 

1949 10 33 121 40 130 125 155 137 93 58 36 18 956 

1950 69 26 183 152 150 160 107 113 130 224 85 21 1,420 

1951 23 112 180 282 285 258 105 103 264 225 41 75 1,953 

1952 124 50 273 140 123 324 1,423 236 60 78 40 199 3,070 

1953 25 87 147 193 234 148 322 432 492 286 119 165 2,650 

1954 164 321 314 102 387 578 204 517 563 280 107 141 3,678 

1955 205 113 361 298 218 340 675 572 511 263 284 205 4,045 

1956 393 64 321 308 218 389 345 478 506 411 124 288 3,845 

1957 225 162 509 325 428 332 926 993 657 516 274 387 5,734 

1958 176 287 517 397 613 560 490 545 654 816 347 497 5,899 

1959 447 352 401 747 568 696 928 762 518 651 362 363 6,795 

1960 348 310 408 200 315 784 278 675 740 330 390 272 5,050 

1961 196 373 655 545 192 521 604 914 774 734 238 246 5,992 

1962 373 581 525 328 390 393 327 573 789 442 518 222 5,461 

1963 220 184 514 305 246 672 1,023 1,231 413 426 418 369 6,021 

1964 209 191 462 304 259 626 390 649 499 274 151 239 4,253 

1965 140 106 127 197 242 395 327 467 593 468 263 140 3,465 

1966 134 137 160 256 174 576 268 417 857 184 239 63 3,465 

1967 291 127 187 232 412 357 231 969 1,071 475 510 67 4,929 

1968 146 129 269 355 474 566 263 456 454 238 108 58 3,516 

1969 76 161 105 413 508 1,494 521 611 444 471 173 96 5,073 

1970 172 164 285 463 556 791 999 702 535 409 139 94 5,309 

1971 205 220 349 429 305 146 272 1,070 1,067 474 28 174 4,739 

1972 41 132 118 156 323 565 429 908 1,487 550 162 240 5,111 

1973 280 300 578 817 450 676 383 841 892 799 111 370 6,497 

1974 186 237 321 247 298 650 793 882 411 248 177 112 4,562 

1975 152 170 315 456 466 833 284 808 777 454 277 67 5,059 

1976 373 296 516 472 611 1,016 611 924 724 461 366 583 6,953 

1977 406 503 286 509 836 2,002 734 1,459 691 559 652 666 9,303 

1978 301 269 442 720 492 562 515 648 1,011 726 417 362 6,465 
65

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1979 487 346 695 359 583 1,274 613 829 1,310 513 132 233 7,374 

1980 524 259 944 835 1,463 699 606 1,360 1,124 490 182 246 8,732 

1981 445 392 556 1,342 1,262 474 630 1,425 1,198 899 141 174 8,938 

1982 394 568 1,482 1,142 1,598 571 868 1,143 949 438 541 359 10,053 

1983 715 832 883 936 1,216 687 1,422 898 1,199 917 232 285 10,222 

1984 612 600 1,327 1,086 1,698 2,696 2,308 3,741 1,922 852 353 1,048 18,243 

1985 808 893 1,654 2,285 2,849 1,470 1,167 1,607 3,045 1,249 1,087 1,019 19,133 

1986 704 856 806 1,712 803 696 1,250 1,422 1,635 1,127 896 1,275 13,182 

1987 768 783 1,090 1,354 878 1,401 1,032 1,931 3,693 1,063 997 1,074 16,064 

1988 641 869 694 1,050 1,173 973 918 1,451 1,349 807 550 560 11,035 

1989 520 714 903 1,168 1,170 942 826 1,608 1,372 1,423 785 947 12,378 

1990 838 1,501 1,074 1,111 1,581 1,735 861 1,238 1,374 978 591 545 13,427 

1991 106 106 140 262 108 364 510 443 433 253 85 85 2,895 

1992 64 487 1,115 1,104 718 791 1,007 2,003 1,041 1,247 992 810 11,379 

1993 700 796 1,124 889 646 9,465 1,528 1,611 1,746 934 599 557 20,595 

1994 552 796 884 735 604 1,036 897 1,421 1,826 880 427 362 10,420 

1995 475 621 528 36 268 269 377 766 289 108 42 3 3,782 

1996 20 6 10 70 78 76 94 140 101 31 13 20 659 

1997 20 51 94 188 298 375 81 166 16 38 3 1,330 

1998 33 43 265 69 37 91 185 146 179 29 74 1,151 

1999 21 64 70 48 109 69 189 37 149 103 48 3 910 

2000 4 34 53 2 3 17 4 1 1 22 29 1 171 

2001 11 55 49 17 1 20 82 37 272 

Total 16,136 19,047 29,082 32,289 39,474 57,427 46,166 61,227 54,754 29,351 17,234 17,257 419,444 
66

Inventory of salinity stations 

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

1876-96 1 1 2 2 5 11

1897 3 2 1 29 216 251

1898 6 17 17 16 1 57

1899 18 23 31 27 4 66 22 166 357

1900 2 3 55 33 4 10 2 109

1901 2 14 37 16 45 47 113 98 10 382

1902 7 20 20 149 22 11 8 6 243

1903 2 21 2 7 21 17 14 129 78 6 26 14 337

1904 9 42 38 12 27 33 52 124 46 2 23 16 424

1905 1 12 1 10 19 7 3 17 3 73

1906 42 26 64 24 156

1907 3 2 5

1908 1 1 1 3

1909 1 1

1910 28 24 18 12 82

1911 1 1

1912 37 97 7 141

1913 7 22 37 11 59 129 1 266

1914 1 1

1918 17 23 26 12 78

1919 2 2

1921 10 150 75 235

1922 1 61 12 74

1923 3 9 2 15 41 165 26 261

1924 37 53 184 181 199 24 678

1925 8 3 114 84 209 217 99 14 748

1926 1 1 1 38 514 977 478 6 32 7 2,055

1927 2 13 102 108 225 135 21 4 610

1928 20 30 41 82 19 108 45 17 4 366

1929 24 25 76 42 157 73 88 254 2 36 10 787

1930 42 116 37 78 75 87 115 19 12 3 584

1931 1 1 21 173 76 33 188 268 155 44 960

1932 51 56 10 81 136 492 198 145 3 86 1,258

1933 98 82 83 70 163 62 40 239 191 36 19 78 1,161

1934 23 26 85 152 127 172 225 258 389 15 18 18 1,508

1935 60 38 10 90 74 41 71 92 10 486

1936 8 76 88 110 61 53 146 178 77 33 14 56 900

1937 19 106 90 100 168 68 78 79 79 66 5 17 875

1938 24 43 224 190 139 133 110 39 160 39 46 106 1,253

1939 36 102 109 86 154 300 72 36 121 114 46 11 1,187

1940 12 53 29 25 78 36 135 119 100 13 11 3 614

1941 3 12 17 10 20 20 3 160 57 37 339

1942 1 22 1 80 407 415 614 392 123 2,055

1943 6 15 278 226 190 21 2 46 2 786

1944 3 46 89 4 264 138 193 89 260 46 1,132

1945 27 151 38 60 169 4 449

1946 36 77 31 4 87 88 181 82 77 11 2 676

1947 2 11 6 3 3 200 137 250 73 45 33 15 778

1948 4 44 57 100 201 248 280 79 194 51 23 1,281

1949 10 26 121 40 126 92 146 100 93 46 36 18 854

1950 36 25 132 152 107 88 48 67 107 136 35 21 954
67

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

1951 23 63 119 270 128 159 72 28 84 105 34 31 1,116

1952 40 44 205 50 90 137 258 155 53 46 40 67 1,185

1953 25 75 84 149 155 143 155 363 403 184 56 43 1,835

1954 48 65 173 102 222 424 289 251 530 160 40 80 2,384

1955 102 113 288 244 203 188 295 400 296 233 230 171 2,763

1956 221 61 279 278 176 187 255 281 394 391 129 206 2,858

1957 214 159 449 298 302 223 661 759 531 334 175 258 4,363

1958 148 249 411 365 504 444 447 456 544 671 310 468 5,017

1959 419 347 393 700 558 620 857 686 434 541 316 344 6,215

1960 342 309 402 192 315 727 207 566 638 253 365 258 4,574

1961 196 373 644 542 192 510 584 830 731 687 238 233 5,760

1962 340 579 514 327 375 346 311 478 703 355 457 215 5,000

1963 131 92 459 280 246 647 756 550 261 337 395 369 4,523

1964 208 191 461 304 258 598 344 535 394 206 97 204 3,800

1965 105 104 127 191 193 367 256 353 513 332 192 139 2,872

1966 130 129 159 256 160 551 87 309 559 87 161 17 2,605

1967 164 102 187 181 369 317 228 912 984 470 504 67 4,485

1968 107 106 235 343 325 472 197 417 396 219 100 57 2,974

1969 60 136 86 398 450 958 213 529 371 417 156 50 3,824

1970 148 123 279 444 545 604 491 630 442 308 136 82 4,232

1971 184 130 271 389 282 122 214 424 467 311 25 173 2,992

1972 14 102 68 100 213 344 307 228 356 391 69 194 2,386

1973 257 275 527 752 386 610 202 597 708 265 51 268 4,898

1974 106 141 190 80 82 398 322 383 156 197 35 43 2,133

1975 77 84 255 232 335 527 227 667 529 353 112 24 3,422

1976 315 250 430 419 414 903 457 681 539 399 267 295 5,369

1977 318 357 182 355 285 937 613 725 617 470 496 493 5,848

1978 217 138 293 547 290 449 305 519 860 640 326 184 4,768

1979 314 243 648 324 286 818 480 432 1,171 395 86 185 5,382

1980 494 223 656 538 1,224 589 521 1,015 936 428 113 190 6,927

1981 376 336 402 1,060 1,124 409 333 1,080 831 763 70 78 6,862

1982 378 456 760 1,082 1,403 415 667 887 831 342 470 284 7,975

1983 604 765 698 877 1,114 585 1,206 732 1,007 720 184 175 8,667

1984 482 510 870 986 1,585 2,404 1,622 2,755 1,450 722 226 428 14,040

1985 624 723 1,489 2,148 2,233 729 504 896 1,545 596 391 173 12,051

1986 157 200 102 908 307 129 435 434 444 587 336 808 4,847

1987 219 363 523 417 257 504 229 792 1,509 385 335 626 6,159

1988 179 228 227 521 164 108 239 360 239 600 211 245 3,321

1989 509 484 687 820 620 405 558 1,125 1,135 805 423 738 8,309

1990 738 1,366 815 907 946 1,178 549 689 1,043 857 496 431 10,015

1991 1 15 103 204 93 307 405 262 292 225 85 78 2,070

1992 64 283 153 340 120 17 43 340 58 198 160 92 1,868

1993 144 126 119 188 110 8,673 818 821 749 420 58 37 12,263

1994 90 387 457 386 168 379 276 631 1,166 296 35 41 4,312

1995 147 97 33 25 256 263 362 747 269 69 1 1 2,270

1996 1 1 1 44 44 49 86 128 16 48 10 10 438

1997 13 41 90 188 298 375 77 164 3 38 1,287

1998 32 39 123 63 36 91 170 134 179 29 40 936

1999 21 58 61 41 88 69 189 35 148 94 42 3 849

2000 1 11 32 2 3 17 4 2 1 22 2 1 98

2001 9 38 17 17 1 20 82 184

Total 10,551 12,653 18,813 22,416 22,114 34,784 24,053 35,151 33,436 19,970 10,096 10,178 254,215
68

Inventory of oxygen stations 

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1893 1 1 

1902 3 3 

1904 1 2 1 10 2 14 1 31 

1905 3 3 6 

1906 2 18 20 

1921 7 27 10 44 

1923 2 1 1 5 9 

1924 2 30 27 31 90 

1925 4 52 3 1 60 

1926 22 22 

1927 13 57 21 91 

1928 8 15 7 8 2 40 

1929 19 45 5 4 13 7 26 8 127 

1930 26 37 12 16 10 101 

1931 4 50 4 38 49 38 5 188 

1932 23 34 5 34 31 62 59 27 2 277 

1933 10 22 28 29 85 13 23 43 42 11 306 

1934 13 55 53 63 44 86 81 6 3 11 415 

1935 26 17 38 25 4 14 61 10 195 

1936 6 51 67 53 28 21 1 13 240 

1937 9 18 46 46 113 7 239 

1938 30 94 94 34 42 17 12 37 16 19 64 459 

1939 33 68 68 69 85 142 9 11 59 4 3 551 

1940 11 28 19 18 62 18 14 18 7 9 7 3 214 

1941 3 5 11 9 11 38 3 7 87 

1942 14 14 

1944 2 15 25 1 17 60 

1945 18 18 

1946 17 37 18 1 10 14 31 5 2 135 

1947 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 3 19 

1948 19 12 28 81 10 50 3 6 5 1 215 

1949 1 2 47 4 32 13 37 40 20 196 

1950 30 37 32 42 37 5 26 27 5 241 

1951 19 5 2 31 47 42 3 44 27 6 3 229 

1952 5 47 10 75 37 31 3 10 17 19 254 

1953 4 16 32 64 65 75 48 34 38 49 30 17 472 

1954 21 18 44 65 34 67 31 52 88 47 20 63 550 

1955 15 44 47 73 31 83 52 83 32 53 17 14 544 

1956 33 9 31 55 10 54 25 50 51 54 27 25 424 

1957 19 21 18 31 38 70 64 84 23 14 3 8 393 

1958 10 19 34 120 106 129 64 90 103 150 7 832 

1959 49 34 16 160 91 53 16 78 93 89 43 6 728 

1960 5 4 63 20 14 65 42 71 73 29 11 397 

1961 17 4 8 54 4 164 62 7 81 119 14 534 

1962 13 1 17 50 16 64 8 69 91 142 22 493 

1963 8 3 4 17 20 5 117 54 85 15 17 345 

1964 35 24 82 109 19 62 46 78 45 31 13 9 553 

1965 1 6 10 66 91 101 52 46 140 73 107 60 753 

1966 40 41 44 84 42 104 31 58 176 33 58 15 726 

1967 16 38 39 42 64 100 58 227 172 103 52 24 935 
69

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total 

1968 60 51 80 137 111 254 86 44 38 42 16 10 929 

1969 17 22 31 82 58 182 36 119 76 129 115 8 875 

1970 118 77 171 70 82 200 70 158 81 165 27 14 1,233 

1971 79 113 190 308 200 39 63 115 129 170 12 145 1,563 

1972 3 69 41 34 106 142 92 91 132 65 13 96 884 

1973 100 40 224 161 189 263 81 283 139 139 17 7 1,643 

1974 45 47 86 7 67 215 23 106 34 57 1 4 692 

1975 33 1 167 146 257 290 123 109 251 166 50 1 1,594 

1976 91 21 130 144 150 285 47 87 28 52 10 17 1,062 

1977 53 64 7 39 64 223 100 185 26 113 23 16 913 

1978 32 17 38 60 78 170 92 163 102 89 16 18 875 

1979 38 53 56 76 51 212 32 97 76 69 67 14 841 

1980 64 26 33 69 179 160 125 20 46 168 29 21 940 

1981 29 41 22 60 52 125 18 96 58 185 39 51 776 

1982 21 33 91 26 99 147 99 113 112 39 127 80 987 

1983 59 29 49 82 43 52 21 12 111 251 47 31 787 

1984 18 37 4 33 24 55 59 194 94 80 67 21 686 

1985 32 27 9 28 55 42 23 3 78 206 2 3 508 

1986 72 42 2 68 18 42 67 33 91 186 133 64 818 

1987 94 109 9 24 61 98 99 113 150 172 38 19 986 

1988 21 42 41 104 45 4 3 146 55 124 68 10 663 

1989 40 9 89 37 24 55 50 73 63 193 26 21 680 

1990 35 19 9 28 4 92 46 35 55 158 25 506 

1991 13 60 63 20 81 84 52 44 117 24 25 583 

1992 22 37 43 15 24 99 64 47 351 

1993 12 8 16 37 39 16 36 32 196 

1994 10 13 17 37 58 122 257 

1995 17 40 47 133 31 65 333 

1996 6 20 2 4 32 

1997 7 3 17 28 2 41 98 

1998 22 20 52 17 111 

1999 33 5 38 

2001 69 69 

Total 1,517 1,615 2,881 3,576 3,409 5,403 2,839 4,487 4,202 4,722 1,603 1,131 37,385 

Inventory of plankton stations 

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

1913 2 10 12

1914 10 10

1915 3 24 27

1921 5 12 17

1925 15 4 19

1927 14 2 16

1929 11 3 14

1930 11 9 20

1931 15 15

1932 5 6 8 19

1936 77 34 12 123

1938 1 1

1939 2 2 3 3 4 14
70

Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total

1952 51 75 16 142

1953 3 14 34 81 10 27 30 22 15 16 12 264

1954 10 41 33 24 72 21 10 90 51 29 74 455

1955 20 210 10 120 109 158 101 41 55 15 14 853

1956 50 16 32 15 42 5 69 57 58 86 63 35 528

1957 48 54 44 114 108 24 34 90 6 43 16 5 586

1958 44 32 41 152 68 56 41 7 6 447

1959 36 31 159 88 120 51 84 160 117 846

1960 31 31

1962 54 54

1963 10 35 5 2 2 1 55

1964 2 2 3 4 2 1 4 2 3 2 3 2 30

1965 1 1 3 3 3 3 2 4 1 4 2 1 28

1966 2 3 4 3 2 3 3 3 1 3 1 28

1967 2 2 4 6 9 9 11 13 15 5 3 2 81

1968 1 3 18 26 18 18 16 3 3 3 1 1 111

1969 1 2 4 3 2 4 3 2 4 1 1 27

1970 1 1 8 45 64 61 61 48 47 55 3 1 395

1971 1 1 1 3 3 3 3 3 3 21

1972 18 2 3 3 2 28

1973 3 3 55 27 3 3 1 95

1974 1 1 1 1 2 4 3 3 3 1 1 21

1975 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 3 2 4 1 1 23

1976 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 3 3 3 3 24

1977 1 1 2 4 3 4 3 3 3 1 25

1978 1 1 1 2 3 3 3 3 2 3 2 25

1979 1 1 1 1 3 2 4 3 2 4 3 1 26

1980 2 2 3 2 3 3 3 2 3 1 24

1981 1 1 1 3 2 8 27 3 2 2 50

1982 1 2 2 10 10 3 3 3 2 36

1983 1 1 2 2 3 3 2 3 4 21

1984 1 2 3 3 3 7 3 2 4 1 13 42

1985 2 1 21 3 3 3 3 3 3 15 24 81

1986 1 22 14 11 27 32 6 3 3 3 1 1 124

1987 3 4 7 8 7 33 12 10 4 4 1 93

1988 1 1 22 41 4 4 3 19 3 3 4 1 106

1989 12 5 7 41 31 32 40 44 6 4 1 223

1990 1 1 5 4 2 3 3 3 2 4 1 29

1991 1 2 1 1 2 15 33 104 14 3 1 177

1992 16 1 2 28 3 30 4 1 85

1993 2 74 34 13 22 2 2 149

1994 5 5 5 30 31 29 9 6 1 121

1995 15 3 19 27 2 4 1 1 72

1996 1 1 7 33 23 10 40 19 3 3 1 1 142

1997 1 39 13 71 127 3 18 3 1 276

1998 32 1 28 4 15 3 3 3 34 2 125

1999 29 23 6 23 16 45 7 8 157

2000 8 45 9 3 4 20 4 3 32 3 5 7 143

2001 7 55 4 1 84 37 188

Total 261 595 317 933 807 937 1,090 1,055 798 708 283 236 8,020
71

APPENDIX B. Data distribution plots of all variables 
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World Data Center for Oceanography, Silver Spring 

Ocean Climate Laboratory, NODC/NESDIS/NOAA 

International Ocean Atlas and Information Series 

Volume 1: Climatic Atlas of the Barents Sea 1998: Temperature, Salinity, Oxygen 

 (with Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Russia) 

Volume 2: Biological Atlas of the Arctic Seas 2000: Plankton of the Barents and Kara Seas 

 (with Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Russia) 

 

Volume 3: Hydrochemical Atlas of the Sea of Okhotsk 2001 

 (with All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, Russia) 

 

Volume 4: Atlas of Temperature-Salinity Frequency Distributions: North Atlantic Ocean 

 (with P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanography, Russia) 

 

Volume 5: Russian Marine Expeditionary Investigations of the World Ocean 

 (with All-Russian Research Institute of Hydrometeorological Information 

 World Data Center for Oceanography, Obninsk, Russia) 

 

Volume 6: Zooplankton of the Arctic Seas 2002 

 (with Laboratory of Marine Research, Zoological Institute, Russia) 

Volume 7: 36-Year Time Series (1963-1998) of Zooplankton, Temperature, 

and Salinity in the White Sea 

 (with White Sea Biological Station, Zoological Institute, Russia) 

Volume 8: History of the Arctic Exploration 2003: Cruise reports, primary data 

(with P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanography, Russia) 

Volume 9: Climatic Atlas of the Arctic Seas 2004: Part I. Database of the Barents, 

Kara, Laptev and White Seas - Oceanography and Marine Biology 

(with Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Russia)