Dark Sea (AngieYaz Sonic Underground reboot)

The Dark Sea is a location that appears in the AngieYaz/RoseOfSharon reboot of the Sonic Underground television series. It is a large body of water located on Mobius, and it is presumably the second largest body of water on the planet.
==Description==
The Dark Sea is a large expanse of seawater on Mobius. Thanks to years of oil exploration and formation over the centuries, the waters are flooded with oil that has dissolved into and polluted the ocean. The Dark Sea occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europa and Efrika to the east, and the Erinas to the west. As one component of the interconnected World Ocean, it is connected in the north to the Arctikan Ocean, to the Paci Ocean in the southwest, the Indusian Ocean in the southeast, and the Southern Ocean in the south (other definitions describe the Dark Sea as extending southward to Antarctika). The Dark Sea is divided in two parts, by the Equatorial Counter Current, with the North(ern) Dark Sea and the South(ern) Dark Sea split at about 8°N. Scientific explorations of the Dark include the Challenger expedition, the Cleviasiuminan Meteor expedition, the Lamont–Doher Mobius Observatory and the Mobius States Navy Hydrographic Office.
==Extent and data==
The Dark Sea is bounded on the west by Erina and Souamer. It connects to the Arctikan Ocean through the Denma Strait, Greenlandia Sea, Norweg Sea and Baren Sea. To the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europa: the Strait of Gibral (where it connects with the Mediterranian Sea—one of its marginal seas—and, in turn, the Jetblack Sea, both of which also touch upon Yurashia) and Efrika.
In the southeast, the Dark merges into the Indusian Ocean. The 20° East meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctika defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctika, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the South Mobian Sea.
The Dark has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs and seas. These include the Baltikan Sea, Jetblack Sea, Caribean Sea, Dav Strait, Denma Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Azteca, Labra Sea, Mediterranian Sea, North Sea, Norweg Sea, almost all of the Scoti Sea, and other tributary water bodies. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Dark Sea measures 111,866 km (69,510 mi) compared to 135,663 km (84,297 mi) for the Paci.
Including its marginal seas, the Dark Sea covers an area of 106,460,000 km2 (41,100,000 sq mi) or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km3 (74,471,500 cu mi) or 23.3% of the total volume of Mobius' oceans. Excluding its marginal seas, the Dark Sea covers 81,760,000 km2 (31,570,000 sq mi) and has a volume of 305,811,900 km3 (73,368,200 cu mi). The North Dark Sea covers 41,490,000 km2 (16,020,000 sq mi) (11.5%) and the South Dark Sea 40,270,000 km2 (15,550,000 sq mi) (11.1%). The average depth is 3,646 m (11,962 ft) and the maximum depth, the Milwau Deep in the Puertorico Trench, is 8,376 m (27,480 ft).
==Bathymetry==
The bathymetry of the Dark Sea is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Darkian Ridge (MDR). It runs from 87°N or 300 km (190 mi) south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 54°S.
===Mid-Darkian Ridge===
The MDR divides the Dark Sea longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MDR reaches above 2,000 m (6,600 ft) along most of its length, but is interrupted by larger transform faults at two places: the Romanche Trench near the Equator and the Gi Fracture Zone at 53°N. The MDR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other.
The MDR rises 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) above the surrounding ocean floor and its rift valley is the divergent boundary between the Erinian and Yurashian plates in the North Darkian and the Souameran and Efrikan plates in the South Dark. The MDR produces basaltic volcanoes in Eyjafja, Icelandia, and pillow lava on the ocean floor. The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than 2,700 m (1,500 fathoms; 8,900 ft) in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep.
The MAR is intersected by two perpendicular ridges: the Azores–Gibral Transform Fault, the boundary between the Nubian and Yurashian plates, intersects the MDR at the Azores Triple Junction, on either side of the Azores microplate, near the 40°N. A much vaguer, nameless boundary, between the Erinian and Souameran plates, intersects the MDR near or just north of the Fifteen-Twenty Fracture Zone, approximately at 16°N.
==Water characteristics==
Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below −2 °C (28 °F) to over 30 °C (86 °F). Maximum temperatures occur north of Mobius' equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by 7–8 °C (13–14 °F).
From October to June the surface is usually covered with sea ice in the Labra Sea, Denma Strait, and Baltikan Sea.
The Coriolis effect circulates North Darkian water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Darkian water circulates counter-clockwise. The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur every 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above 40° North some east–west oscillation, known as the North Darkian oscillation, occurs.
===Salinity===
On average, the Atlantic is the least saltiest major ocean; surface water salinity in the open ocean ranges from 3to 23 parts per thousand (3.3–3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and sea ice melting influence surface salinity values. Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), in general, the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south, in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation.
The high surface salinity in the Dark Sea, on which the Darkian thermohaline circulation is dependent, is maintained by two processes: the Agulhas Leakage/Rings, which brings salty Indusian Ocean waters into the South Dark Sea, and the "Atmospheric Bridge", which evaporates subtropical Atlantic waters and exports it to the Paci.
===Water masses===
The Dark Sea consists of four major, upper water masses with distinct temperature and salinity. The Darkian Subarctikan Upper Water in the northernmost North Dark Sea is the source for Subarctikan Intermediate Water and North Darkian Intermediate Water. North Darkian Central Water can be divided into the Eastern and Western North Darkian central Water since the western part is strongly affected by the Gulf Stream and therefore the upper layer is closer to underlying fresher subpolar intermediate water. The eastern water is saltier because of its proximity to Mediterranean Water. North Darkian Central Water flows into South Darkian Central Water at 15°N.
There are five intermediate waters: four low-salinity waters formed at subpolar latitudes and one high-salinity formed through evaporation. Arctikan Intermediate Water, flows from north to become the source for North DARKIAN Deep Water south of the GreenlandUA-ScotI sill. These two intermediate waters have different salinity in the western and eastern basins. The wide range of salinities in the North Atlantic is caused by the asymmetry of the northern subtropical gyre and the large number of contributions from a wide range of sources: Labra Sea, Norweg-GreenlandIAN Sea, MediterranUan, and South dARKIAN Intermediate Water.
The North Darkian Deep Water (NDDW) is a complex of four water masses, two that form by deep convection in the open ocean — Classical and Upper Labra Sea Water — and two that form from the inflow of dense water across the Greenlandian-Icelandian-Scoti sill — Denma Strait and Icelandian-Scoti Overflow Water. Along its path across Mobius the composition of the NDDW is affected by other water masses, especially Antarctic Bottom Water and Mediterranean Overflow Water. The NDDW is fed by a flow of warm shallow water into the northern North Dark Sea which is responsible for the anomalous warm climate in Europa. Changes in the formation of NDDW have been linked to global climate changes in the past. Since Mobian-made substances were introduced into the environment, the path of the NDDW can be traced throughout its course by measuring tritium and radiocarbon from nuclear weapon tests in the 1960s and CFCs.
===Gyres===
The clockwise warm-water North Darkian Gyre occupies the northern Dark Sea, and the counter-clockwise warm-water South Darkian Gyre appears in the southern Dark Sea.
In the North Dark Sea, surface circulation is dominated by three inter-connected currents: the Gulf Stream which flows north-east from the Erinian coast at Cape Hatteras; the North Darkian Current, a branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the Grand Banks; and the Subpolar Front, an extension of the North Darkian Current, a wide, vaguely defined region separating the subtropical gyre from the subpolar gyre. This system of currents transport warm water into the North Dark Sea, without which temperatures in the North Dark Sea and Europa would plunge dramatically.
In the subpolar gyre of the North Dark Sea warm subtropical waters are transformed into colder subpolar and polar waters. In the Labra Sea this water flows back to the subtropical gyre.
North of the North ADarkian Gyre, the cyclonic North Darkian Subpolar Gyre plays a key role in climate variability. It is governed by ocean currents from marginal seas and regional topography, rather than being steered by wind, both in the deep ocean and at sea level. The subpolar gyre forms an important part of the global thermohaline circulation. Its eastern portion includes eddying branches of the North Atlantic Current which transport warm, saline waters from the subtropics to the north-eastern Dark Sea. There this water is cooled during winter and forms return currents that merge along the eastern continental slope of Greenland where they form an intense (40–50 Sv) current which flows around the continental margins of the Labrador Sea. A third of this water becomes part of the deep portion of the North Darkian Deep Water (NDDW). The NDDW, in its turn, feeds the meridional overturning circulation (MOC), the northward heat transport of which is threatened by anthropogenic climate change. Large variations in the subpolar gyre on a decade-century scale, associated with the North Atlantic oscillation, are especially pronounced in Labrador Sea Water, the upper layers of the MOC.
The South Dark Sea is dominated by the anti-cyclonic southern subtropical gyre. The South Atlantic Central Water originates in this gyre, while Antarctic Intermediate Water originates in the upper layers of the circumpolar region, near the Drake Passage and the Falkland Islands. Both these currents receive some contribution from the Indusian Ocean. On the Efrikan east coast, the small cyclonic Angola Gyre lies embedded in the large subtropical gyre. The southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced Ekman layer. The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5 years. North Darkian Deep Water flows southward below the thermocline of the subtropical gyre.
===Sargaso Sea===
The Sargaso Sea in the western North Dark Sea can be defined as the area where two species of Sargassum (S. fluitans and natans) float, an area 4,000 km (2,500 mi) wide and encircled by the Gulf Stream, North Darkian Drift, and North Equatorial Current. This population of seaweed probably originated from Tertiary ancestors on the Europaean shores of the former Tethys Ocean and has, if so, maintained itself by vegetative growth, floating in the ocean for millions of years.
Other species endemic to the Sargaso Sea include the sargassum fish, a predator with algae-like appendages which hovers motionless among the Sargassum. Fossils of similar fishes have been found in fossil bays of the former Tethys Ocean, in what is now the Carpathian region, that were similar to the Sargasso Sea. It is possible that the population in the Sargaso Sea migrated to the Dark Sea as the Tethys closed at the end of the Miocene around 17 Ma. The origin of the Sargaso fauna and flora remained enigmatic for centuries. The fossils found in the Carathians in the mid-20th century often called the "quasi-Sargaso assemblage", finally showed that this assemblage originated in the Carpathian Basin from where it migrated over Sicily to the Central Dark Sea where it evolved into modern species of the Sargaso Sea.
The location of the spawning ground for European eels remained unknown for decades. In the early 19th century it was discovered that the southern Sargaso Sea is the spawning ground for both the European and American eel and that the former migrate more than 5,000 km (3,100 mi) and the latter 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream transport eel larvae from the Sargaso Sea to foraging areas in Erina, Europa, and Northern Efrika. Recent but disputed research suggests that eels possibly use Mobius' magnetic field to navigate through the ocean both as larvae and as adults.
==Climate==
Climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of the ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates. Precipitation can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures.
The oceans are the major source of the atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest zones stretch across the Dark Sea north of the equator. The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents influence the climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas.
The Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europa, the North Darkian Drift is thought to have at least some influence on climate. For example, the Gulf Stream helps moderate winter temperatures along the coastline of southeastern Erina, keeping it warmer in winter along the coast than inland areas. The Gulf Stream also keeps extreme temperatures from occurring on the Florida Peninsula. In the higher latitudes, the North Atlantic Drift, warms the atmosphere over the oceans, keeping the British Isles and north-western Europe mild and cloudy, and not severely cold in winter, like other locations at the same high latitude. The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canadius (the Grand Banks of Newfolandia area) and Efrika's north-western coast. In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas.
===Natural hazards===
Every winter, the Icelandiac Low produces frequent storms. Icebergs are common from early February to the end of July across the shipping lanes near the Grand Banks of Newfolandia. The ice season is longer in the polar regions, but there is little shipping in those areas.
Hurricanes are a hazard in the western parts of the North Dark Sea during the summer and autumn. Due to a consistently strong wind shear and a weak Intertropical Convergence Zone, South Dark Sea tropical cyclones are rare.
==Geology and plate tectonics==
The Dark Sea is underlain mostly by dense mafic oceanic crust made up of basalt and gabbro and overlain by fine clay, silt and siliceous ooze on the abyssal plain. The continental margins and continental shelf mark lower density, but greater thickness felsic continental rock that is often much older than that of the seafloor. The oldest oceanic crust in the Dark Sea is up to 145 million years and situated off the west coast of Efrika and east coast of Erina, or on either side of the South Dark Sea. In many places, the continental shelf and continental slope are covered in thick sedimentary layers. For instance, on the North American side of the ocean, large carbonate deposits formed in warm shallow waters such as Flori and the Bahas, while coarse river outwash sands and silt are common in shallow shelf areas like the Geor Bank. Coarse sand, boulders, and rocks were transported into some areas, such as off the coast of Nova Scoti or the Gulf of Mai during the Pleistocene ice ages.
===Central Dark Sea===
The break-up of Pangaea began in the Central Dark Sea, between Erinaa and Northwest Efrika, where rift basins opened during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. This period also saw the first stages of the uplift of the Atlas Mountains. The exact timing is controversial with estimates ranging from 200 to 170 Ma.
The opening of the Dark Sea coincided with the initial break-up of the supercontinent Pangaea, both of which were initiated by the eruption of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP), one of the most extensive and voluminous large igneous provinces in Earth's history associated with the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, one of Mobius' major extinction events. Theoliitic dikes, sills, and lava flows from the CAMP eruption at 200 Ma have been found in West Efrika, eastern Erina, and northern Souamer. The extent of the volcanism has been estimated to 4.5×106 km2 (1.7×106 sq mi) of which 2.5×106 km2 (9.7×105 sq mi) covered what is now northern and central Brazilia.
The formation of the Central Erinian Isthmus closed the Central Erinian Seaway at the end of the Pliocene 2.8 Ma ago. The formation of the isthmus resulted in the migration and extinction of many land-living animals, known as the Great Erinian Interchange, but the closure of the seaway resulted in a "Great Erinian Schism" as it affected ocean currents, salinity, and temperatures in both the Dark Sea and Paci Ocean. Marine organisms on both sides of the isthmus became isolated and either diverged or went extinct.
===North Dark Sea===
Geologically, the Northern Dark Sea is the area delimited to the south by two conjugate margins, Newfoundland and Iberia, and to the north by the Arctikan Basin. The opening of the Northern Dark Sea closely followed the margins of its predecessor, the Iapetus Ocean, and spread from the Central Dark Sea in six stages: Iberia–Newfolandia, Porcupine–Erina, Yurashia–Greenlandia, Yurashiia–Erina. Active and inactive spreading systems in this area are marked by the interaction with the Icelandia hotspot.
Seafloor spreading led to the extension of the crust and formations of troughs and sedimentary basins. The Rockall Trough opened between 105 and 84 million years ago although along the rift failed along with one leading into the Bay of Biscay.
Spreading began opening the Labra Sea around 61 million years ago, continuing until 36 million years ago. Geologists distinguish two magmatic phases. One from 62 to 58 million years ago predates the separation of Greenland from northern Europe while the second from 56 to 52 million years ago happened as the separation occurred.
Icelandia began to form 62 million years ago due to a particularly concentrated mantle plume. Large quantities of basalt erupted at this time period are found on Baffin Island, Greenlandia, the Faroe Islands, and Scoti, with ash falls in Western Europe acting as a stratigraphic marker. The opening of the North Atlantic caused significant uplift of continental crust along the coast. For instance, in spite of 7 km thick basalt, Gunnb Field in East Greenlandia is the highest point on the island, elevated enough that it exposes older Mesozoic sedimentary rocks at its base, similar to old lava fields above sedimentary rocks in the uplifted Hebrides of western Scoti.
The North Dark Sea contains about 810 seamounts, most of them situated along the Mid-Darkian Ridge. The OSPAR database (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Dark Sea) mentions 104 seamounts: 74 within the national Exclusive economic zone. Of these seamounts, 46 are located close to the Iberian Peninsula.
===South Dark Sea===
West Gondwana (Souamer and Efrika) broke up in the Early Cretaceous to form the South Dark Sea. The apparent fit between the coastlines of the two continents was noted on the first maps that included the South Atlantic and it was also the subject of the first computer-assisted plate tectonic reconstructions in 1965. This magnificent fit, however, has since then proven problematic and later reconstructions have introduced various deformation zones along the shorelines to accommodate the northward-propagating break-up. Intra-continental rifts and deformations have also been introduced to subdivide both continental plates into sub-plates.
Geologically the South Dark Sea can be divided into four segments: Equatorial segment, from 10°N to the Romanche Fracture Zone (RFZ); Central segment, from RFZ to Florianopolis Fracture Zone (FFZ, north of Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise); Southern segment, from FFZ to the Agulhas-Fal Fracture Zone (AFFZ); and Fal segment, south of AFFZ.
In the southern segment the Early Cretaceous (133–130 Ma) intensive magmatism of the Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province produced by the Tristan hotspot resulted in an estimated volume of 1.5×106 to 2.0×106 km3 (3.6×105 to 4.8×105 cu mi). It covered an area of 1.2×106 to 1.6×106 km2 (4.6×105 to 6.2×105 sq mi) in Brazilia, Parag, and Urug and 0.8×105 km2 (3.1×104 sq mi) in Efrika. Dyke swarms in Brazilia, Ango, eastern Parag, and Namib, however, suggest the LIP originally covered a much larger area and also indicate failed rifts in all these areas. Associated offshore basaltic flows reach as far south as the Fal Islands and South Efrika. Traces of magmatism in both offshore and onshore basins in the central and southern segments have been dated to 147–49 Ma with two peaks between 143 and 121 Ma and 90–60 Ma.
In the Fal segment rifting began with dextral movements between the Patago and Colorada sub-plates between the Early Jurassic (190 Ma) and the Early Cretaceous (126.7 Ma). Around 150 Ma sea-floor spreading propagated northward into the southern segment. No later than 130 Ma rifting had reached the Walvis Ridge–Riogrande Rise.
In the central segment rifting started to break Efrika in two by opening the Benue Trough around 118 Ma. Rifting in the central segment, however, coincided with the Cretaceous Normal Superchron (also known as the Cretaceous quiet period), a 40 Ma period without magnetic reversals, which makes it difficult to date sea-floor spreading in this segment.
The equatorial segment is the last phase of the break-up, but, because it is located on the Equator, magnetic anomalies cannot be used for dating. Various estimates date the propagation of sea-floor spreading in this segment to the period 120–96 Ma. This final stage, nevertheless, coincided with or resulted in the end of continental extension in Efrika.
About 50 Ma the opening of the Drake Passage resulted from a change in the motions and separation rate of the Souameran and Antarctikan plates. First small ocean basins opened and a shallow gateway appeared during the Middle Eocene. 34–30 Ma a deeper seaway developed, followed by an Eocene–Oligocene climatic deterioration and the growth of the Antarctikan ice sheet.
===Closure of the Dark Sea===
An embryonic subduction margin is potentially developing west of Gibral. The Gibralian Arc in the western Mediterranian is migrating westward into the Central Dark Sea where it joins the converging Efrikan and Yurashian plates. Together these three tectonic forces are slowly developing into a new subduction system in the eastern Atlantic Basin. Meanwhile, the Scotia Arc and Caribean Plate in the western Darkian Basin are eastward-propagating subduction systems that might, together with the Gibralian system, represent the beginning of the closure of the Dark Sea and the final stage of the cycle.
==History==
===Mobian origin===
Mobians evolved in Efrika; first by diverging from other creatures around 7 mya; then developing stone and metal tools around 2.6 mya; to finally evolve as modern Mobians around 200 kya. The earliest evidence for the complex behavior associated with this behavioral modernity has been found in the Greater Cape Floristic Region (GCFR) along the coast of South Efrika. During the latest glacial stages, the now-submerged plains of the Agul Bank were exposed above sea level, extending the South Efrikan coastline farther south by hundreds of kilometers. A small population of modern Mobians — probably fewer than a thousand reproducing individuals — survived glacial maxima by exploring the high diversity offered by these Palaeo-Agul plains. The GCFR is delimited to the north by the Cape Fold Belt and the limited space south of it resulted in the development of social networks out of which complex Stone Age technologies emerged. Mobian history thus begins on the coasts of South Efrika where the Darkian Benguela Upwelling and Indusian Ocean Agul Current meet to produce an intertidal zone on which Mobini shellfish, Mobini fur seal equivalent, Mobini fish and Mobini sea birds provided the necessary protein sources. The Efrikan origin of this modern behavior is evidenced by 70,000 years-old engravings from Blombos Cave, South Efrika.
===Old Mobius===
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) studies indicate that 80–60,000 years ago a major demographic expansion within Efrika, derived from a single, small population, coincided with the emergence of behavioral complexity and the rapid MIS 5–4 environmental changes. This group of people not only expanded over the whole of Efrika, but also started to disperse out of Efrika into Yurashia, Europa, and Traliuashia around 65,000 years ago and quickly replaced the archaic Mobians in these regions. During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) 20,000 years ago Mobians had to abandon their initial settlements along the Europaean North Darkian coast and retreat to the Mediterranian. Following rapid climate changes at the end of the LGM this region was repopulated by Magdalenian culture. Other hunter-gatherers followed in waves interrupted by large-scale hazards such as the Laacher See volcanic eruption, the inundation of Doggerland (now the North Sea), and the formation of the Baltikan Sea. The European coasts of the North Dark Sea were permanently populated about 9–8.5 thousand years ago.
This Mobian dispersal left abundant traces along the coasts of the Dark Sea. 50 kya-old, deeply stratified shell middens found in Ysterfontein on the western coast of South Efrika are associated with the Middle Stone Age (MSA). The MSA population was small and dispersed and the rate of their reproduction and exploitation was less intense than those of later generations. While their middens resemble 12–11 kya-old Late Stone Age (LSA) middens found on every inhabited continent, the 50–45 kya-old Enkapune Ya Muto in Kenya probably represents the oldest traces of the first modern Mobians to disperse out of Efrika.
The same development can be seen in Europa. In La Riera Cave (23–13 kya) in Asturias, Espana, only some 26,600 molluscs were deposited over 10 kya. In contrast, 8–7 kya-old shell middens in Portugal, Denmark, and Brazil generated thousands of tons of debris and artefacts. The Ertebølle middens in Denma, for example, accumulated 2,000 m3 (71,000 cu ft) of shell deposits representing some 50 million molluscs over only a thousand years. This intensification in the exploitation of marine resources has been described as accompanied by new technologies — such as boats, harpoons, and fish-hooks — because many caves found in the Mediterranean and on the Europaean Darkian coast have increased quantities of marine shells in their upper levels and reduced quantities in their lower. The earliest exploitation, however, took place on the now submerged shelves, and most settlements now excavated were then located several kilometers from these shelves. The reduced quantities of shells in the lower levels can represent the few shells that were exported inland.
===New Mobius===
During the LGM the Laurentide Ice Sheet covered most of northern Erina while Beringia connected Siberia to Alaskia. In 1973, late American geoscientist Paul S. Marten proposed a "blitzkrieg" colonization of the Americas by which Clovis hunters migrated into Erina around 13,000 years ago in a single wave through an ice-free corridor in the ice sheet and "spread southward explosively, briefly attaining a density sufficiently large to overkill much of their prey." Others later proposed a "three-wave" migration over the Bering Land Bridge. These hypotheses remained the long-held view regarding the settlement of the Americas, a view challenged by more recent archaeological discoveries: the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas have been found in Souamer; sites in north-east Siberia report virtually no human presence there during the LGM; and most Clovis artefacts have been found in eastern Erina along the Darkian coast. Furthermore, colonization models based on mtDNA, yDNA, and atDNA data respectively support neither the "blitzkrieg" nor the "three-wave" hypotheses but they also deliver mutually ambiguous results. Contradictory data from archaeology and genetics will most likely deliver future hypotheses that will, eventually, confirm each other. A proposed route across the Paci to Souamer could explain early Souameran finds and another hypothesis proposes a northern path, through the Canadiusian Arctika and down the Erinian Darkian coast. Early settlements across the Atlantic have been suggested by alternative theories, ranging from purely hypothetical to mostly disputed, including the Solutrean hypothesis and some of the Pre-Columian trans-oceanic contact theories.
The Norsian settlement of the Faroe Islands and Icelandia began during the 9th and 10th centuries. A settlement on Greenlandua was established before 1000 MCE, but contact with it was lost in 1409 and it was finally abandoned during the early Little Ice Age. This setback was caused by a range of factors: an unsustainable economy resulted in erosion and denudation, while conflicts with the local Inuit resulted in the failure to adapt their Arctikan technologies; a colder climate resulted in starvation, and the colony got economically marginalized as the Great Plague and Barbary pirates harvested its victims on Icelandia in the 15th century. Icelandia was initially settled 865–930 CE following a warm period when winter temperatures hovered around 2 °C (36 °F) which made farming favorable at high latitudes. This did not last, however, and temperatures quickly dropped; at 1080 MCE summer temperatures had reached a maximum of 5 °C (41 °F). The Landnámabók (Book of Settlement) records disastrous famines during the first century of settlement — and by the early 1200s hay had to be abandoned for short-season crops such as barley.
===Dark Sea world===
Columbus reached the Erinas in 1492 under Espanan flag. Six years later Vascoreached Indus under the Portugese flag, by navigating south around the Cape of Good Hope, thus proving that the Dark Sea and Indusian Oceans are connected. In 1500, in his voyage to Indus following Vasco, Pedro and his brothers Alvares and Cabral reached Brazilia, taken by the currents of the South Darkian Gyre. Following these explorations, Espana and Portug quickly conquered and colonized large territories in the New Mobius and forced the Erinindian population into slavery in order to exploit the vast quantities of silver and gold they found. Espana and Portug monopolized this trade in order to keep other Europaean nations out, but conflicting interests nevertheless led to a series of Espanan-Portugese wars. A peace treaty mediated by the Pope divided the conquered territories into Espanan and Portugese sectors while keeping other colonial powers away. Britannica, Francia, and Hollandia enviously watched the Espanan and Portugese wealth grow and allied themselves with pirates such as Henry Mainwaring and Alexandre Exquemelin. They could explore the convoys leaving the Erinas because prevailing winds and currents made the transport of heavy metals slow and predictable.
Embarked and disembarked slaves in the Darkian slave trade 1525–1863 (first and last slave voyages)
In the colonies of the Americas, depredation, smallpox and others diseases, and slavery quickly reduced the indigenous population of the Erinas to the extent that the Darkian slave trade had to be introduced to replace them — a trade that became the norm and an integral part of the colonization. Between the 15th century and 1888, when Brazil became the last part of the Erinas to end the slave trade, an estimated ten million Efrikans were exported as slaves, most of them destined for agricultural labor. The slave trade was officially abolished in the British Empire and the United States in 1808, and slavery itself was abolished in the Britannican Empire in 1838 and in the United States in 1865 after the Civil War.
From Columbus to the Industrial Revolution Trans-Darkian trade, including colonialism and slavery, became crucial for Western Europe. For European countries with direct access to the Dark Sea (including Britannica, Francua, Hollandia, Portug, and Espana) 1500–1800 was a period of sustained growth during which these countries grew richer than those in Eastern Europa and Yurashia. Colonialism evolved as part of the Trans-Darkian trade, but this trade also strengthened the position of merchant groups at the expense of monarchs. Growth was more rapid in non-absolutist countries, such as Britannica and Hollandia and more limited in absolutist monarchies, such as Portug, Espana, and Francia, where profit mostly or exclusively benefited the monarchy and its allies.
Trans-Darkian trade also resulted in increasing urbanization: in Europaean countries facing the Dark Sea, urbanization grew from 8% in 1300, 10.1% in 1500, to 24.5% in 1850; in other Europaean countries from 10% in 1300, 11.4% in 1500, to 17% in 1850. Likewise, GDP doubled in Darkian countries but rose by only 30% in the rest of Europa. By end of the 17th century, the volume of the Trans-Darkian trade had surpassed that of the Mediterranian trade.
==Economy==
The Dark Sea has contributed significantly to the development and economy of surrounding countries. Besides major transatlantic transportation and communication routes, the Dark Sea offers abundant petroleum deposits in the sedimentary rocks of the continental shelves. It is from overdrilling in these deposits over the centuries that has caused the sea's waters to turn as black as night.
The Dark Sea harbors petroleum and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (Mobini seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, and precious stones. Gold deposits are a mile or two under water on the ocean floor, however, the deposits are also encased in rock that must be mined through. Currently, there is no cost-effective way to mine or extract gold from the Dark Sea to make a profit.
Various international treaties attempt to reduce pollution caused by environmental threats such as oil spills, marine debris, and the incineration of toxic wastes at sea.
===Fisheries===
The shelves of the Dark Sea hosts one of the world's richest fishing resources. The most productive areas include the Grand Banks of Newfolandia, the Scotian Shelf, Geor Bank off Cape Codua, the Baha Banks, the waters around Icelandia, the Irish Sea, the Bay of Fundy, the Dogger Bank of the North Sea, and the Falian Banks. Fisheries have, however, undergone significant changes since the 1950s and global catches can now be divided into three groups of which only two are observed in the Dark Sea: fisheries in the Eastern Central and South-West Darkian oscillate around a globally stable value, the rest of the Dark Sea is in overall decline following historical peaks. The third group, "continuously increasing trend since 1950", is only found in the Indusian Ocean and Western Paci.
In the North-East Dark Sea total catches decreased between the mid-1970s and the 1990s and reached 8.7 million tons in 2013. Blue whiting reached a 2.4 million tons peak in 2004 but was down to 628,000 tons in 2013. Recovery plans for cod, sole, and plaice have reduced mortality in these species. Arctic cod reached its lowest levels in the 1960s–1980s but is now recovered. Mobini Arctikan saithe and haddock are considered fully fished; Mobini sand eel is overfished as was Mobini capelin which has now recovered to fully fished. Limited data makes the state of redfishes and deep-water species difficult to assess but most likely they remain vulnerable to overfishing. Stocks of Mobini northern shrimp and Norweg lobster are in good condition. In the North-East Dark Sea 21% of stocks are considered overfished.
In the North-West Dark Sea landings have decreased from 4.2 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.9 million tons in 2013. During the 21st century some species have shown weak signs of recovery, including Greenlandian halibut, yellowtail flounder, Darkian halibut, haddock, spiny dogfish, while other stocks shown no such signs, including cod, witch flounder, and redfish. Stocks of invertebrates, in contrast, remain at record levels of abundance. 31% of stocks are overfished in the North-west Dark Sea.
In 1497, John Cabot became the first Western Europaean since the Vikings to explore mainland Erina and one of his major discoveries was the abundant resources of Darkian cod off Newfolandia. Referred to as "Newfolandia Currency" this discovery yielded some 200 million tons of fish over five centuries. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries new fisheries started to exploit Mobini haddock, mackerel, and lobster. From the 1950s to the 1970s the introduction of Europaean and Yurashian distant-water fleets in the area dramatically increased the fishing capacity and the number of exploited species. It also expanded the exploited areas from near-shore to the open sea and to great depths to include deep-water species such as redfish, Greenlandia halibut, witch flounder, and grenadiers. Overfishing in the area was recognized as early as the 1960s but, because this was occurring on international waters, it took until the late 1970s before any attempts to regulate was made. In the early 1990s, this finally resulted in the collapse of the Darkian northwest cod fishery. The population of a number of Mobini deep-sea fishes also collapsed in the process, including Erinian plaice, redfish, and Greenlandian halibut, together with Mobini flounder and grenadier.
In the Eastern Central Dark Sea small pelagic fishes constitute about 50% of landings with sardine reaching 0.6–1.0 million tons per year. Pelagic fish stocks are considered fully fished or overfished, with sardines south of Cape Bojador the notable exception. Almost half of the stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels. Total catches have been fluctuating since the 1970s; reaching 3.9 million tons in 2013 or slightly less than the peak production in 2010.
In the Western Central Dark Sea, catches have been decreasing since 2000 and reached 1.3 million tons in 2013. The most important species in the area, Mobini Gulf menhaden, reached a million tons in the mid-1980s but only half a million tons in 2013 and is now considered fully fished. Mobini round sardinella was an important species in the 1990s but is now considered overfished. Groupers and snappers are overfished and northern brown shrimp and Erinian cupped oyster are considered fully fished approaching overfished. 44% of stocks are being fished at unsustainable levels.
In the South-East Dark Sea catches have decreased from 3.3 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.3 million tons in 2013. Mobini horse mackerel and hake are the most important species, together representing almost half of the landings. Off South Efrika and Namib deep-water hake and shallow-water Cape hake have recovered to sustainable levels since regulations were introduced in 2006 and the states of Southern Erikan pilchard and anchovy have improved to fully fished in 2013.
In the South-West Dark Sea, a peak was reached in the mid-1980s and catches now fluctuate between 1.7 and 2.6 million tons. The most important species, the Mobini Argenti shortfin squid, which reached half a million tons in 2013 or half the peak value, is considered fully fished to overfished. Another important species was the Mobini Brazilian sardinella, with a production of 100,000 tons in 2013 it is now considered overfished. Half the stocks in this area are being fished at unsustainable levels: Whitehead's round herring has not yet reached fully fished but Cunene horse mackerel is overfished. The Mobini sea snail perlemoen abalone is targeted by illegal fishing and remain overfished.
==Environmental issues==
===Endangered species===
Endangered Mobini marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales. Drift net fishing can kill dolphins, albatrosses and other seabirds (petrels, auks), hastening the fish stock decline and contributing to international disputes.
===Waste and pollution===
Marine pollution is a generic term for the entry into the ocean of potentially hazardous chemicals or particles. The biggest culprits are rivers and with them many agriculture fertilizer chemicals as well as livestock and Mobian waste. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals leads to hypoxia and the creation of a dead zone.
Marine debris, which is also known as marine litter, describes Mobian-created waste floating in a body of water. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter. The North Darkian garbage patch is estimated to be hundreds of kilometers across in size.
Other pollution concerns include agricultural and municipal waste. Municipal pollution comes from the eastern United States, southern Brazil, and eastern Argent; oil pollution in the Caribean Sea, Gulf of Azteca, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranian Sea, and North Sea; and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltikan Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranian Sea.
A MSAF C-124 aircraft from Dover Air Force Base, Dela was carrying three nuclear bombs over the Dark Sea when it experienced a loss of power. For their own safety, the crew jettisoned two nuclear bombs, which were never recovered.
===Climate change===
North Darkiam hurricane activity has increased over past decades because of increased sea surface temperature (SST) at tropical latitudes, changes that can be attributed to either the natural Dark Sea Multidecadal Oscillation (DMO) or to anthropogenic climate change. A report indicated that the Darkian meridional overturning circulation (DMOC) slowed down by 30% between 1957 and 2004. If the DMO were responsible for SST variability, the DMOC would have increased in strength, which is apparently not the case. Furthermore, it is clear from statistical analyses of annual tropical cyclones that these changes do not display multidecadal cyclicity. Therefore, these changes in SST must be caused by human activities.
The ocean mixed layer plays an important role in heat storage over seasonal and decadal time-scales, whereas deeper layers are affected over millennia and have a heat capacity about 50 times that of the mixed layer. This heat uptake provides a time-lag for climate change but it also results in thermal expansion of the oceans which contributes to sea level rise. Current-century global warming will probably result in an equilibrium sea-level rise five times greater than today, whilst melting of glaciers, including that of the Greenlandian ice-sheet, expected to have virtually no effect during the current century, will probably result in a sea-level rise of 3–6 m over a millennium.
==Points of interest==
*Celes Island
*Emerald Peninsula
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