Oceanographic research of the Black Sea. Black Sea Black Sea in art
Under various wind conditions.
This manual can be used by navigators to select the most advantageous navigation routes, in design and construction organizations, in research institutions when solving various problems that require knowledge of the regime and taking into account currents, as well as in educational practice when training specialists in the field of hydrometeorology.
The atlas data cannot be used to take into account currents when sailing by dead reckoning, as well as to assess the regime of currents in coastal areas of the sea with depths less than 200 m.
When compiling the atlas, materials from oceanographic expeditions for the period 1951-1977 were used, as well as previously published manuals and the results of works and articles published in recent years on the regime of currents and winds in the Black Sea.
The atlas was compiled at the 453 Hydrometeorological Center (453 HMC) under the general leadership of the Head of the Hydrographic Service of the Red Banner Black Sea Fleet, Candidate of Naval Sciences, Rear Admiral L. I. Mitin and the Head of the Hydrometeorological Service of the Black Sea Fleet, Captain 1st Rank Engineer O. N. Bogatko, with the participation head of the hydrometeorological detachment, captain 2nd rank engineer V.N. Stetyukhno and captain 1st rank reserve engineer |V. I. Ryndenkova|.
The development of methodological issues, management of the processing and synthesis of materials, as well as the analysis of the results obtained were carried out by senior engineers of the 453rd GMC, retired captain 1st rank
| R.I. Ivanov), N.I. Zhidkova and retired lieutenant colonel-engineer K.V. ) Doctor of Physical and Mathematical Sciences S. G. Boguslavsky.
Processing, generalization and design of materials were carried out by employees of the 453rd State Medical Center and MHI of the USSR Academy of Sciences with the participation of senior researcher at the Southern Branch of the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences V. B. Titov.
The atlas was edited and prepared for publication in the 280th Central Cartographic Order of the Red Banner of Labor production of the Navy by M. A. Kislova.
Please report all reviews, suggestions and comments on the atlas to the Main Directorate of Navigation and Oceanography of the USSR Ministry of Defense at the address: 199034, city. Leningrad, B-34.
Explanations for the atlas
Highest speeds currents
Unstable wind direction and constant currents
Type No. 1, schemes No. 11 - 14
Northeast wind and wind currents
Types No. 21-27, schemes No. 21-27
East wind and wind currents
Types No. 31-35, schemes No. 31-35
Southeast wind and wind currents
Types No. 41-44, schemes No. 41-44
South and southwest winds and wind currents
Types No. 51-58, schemes No. 51-58
West wind and wind currents
Types No. 61-65, schemes No. 61-65
Northwest wind and wind currents
Types No. 71-75, schemes No. 71-75
North wind and wind currents
Types No. 81-86, schemes No. 81-86
Cyclonic wind and wind currents
Types No. 91-92, schemes No. 91-92
With the Russians coming to the shores of the Black and Azov Seas during the time of Peter I, a period of systematic study of these bodies of water begins. By order of Peter I in 1696, the depth of the Sea of Azov was measured, which turned out to be very shallow. The ship “Fortress” made many valuable observations and measurements on its way from Kerch to the Bosphorus. Based on these data, a map of the sea with depth marks was compiled and it was proven that there are great depths to the south of Kerch, and there are no shoals in the central part of the Black Sea, as was previously thought.
Based on observations made at the “Fortress”, which laid the foundation for the hydrographic study of the Black Sea, an atlas of the Black and Azov Seas with a navigation map of the route from Kerch to Constantinople was published in 1703.
After joining Crimean peninsula and the Northern Black Sea region to the Russian state, a powerful Black Sea fleet is being created, new ports are being built. Systematic hydrographic research also began. In 1820, a Franco-Russian expedition described the shores of the Black Sea. In 1825 – 1836 a special expedition led by E.P. Manganari maps in detail the Black Sea and Azov shores, as a result of which the first meaningful atlas of the coast was published in 1842.
Exploration of the coast and measurement of the depths of the Black Sea continues by order and direction of the famous Russian navigator and naval commander Admiral M.P. Lazarev. The Russian expedition (tenders “Pospeshny” and “Skory”) is accompanied by Turkish ships during research off the Turkish coast.
At the same time, the first studies of the chemical composition of black were carried out sea water with the accuracy available for the analytical methods of that time. The Russian chemist I. Gebel established (1842) that the salinity of the Black Sea is significantly lower than the salinity of the ocean: in a water sample taken far from the coast, south of the city of Feodosia, he obtained a dry residue equal to 17.666 g per 1 liter of water. In 1871 - 1876 F. Wrangel and F. Mandel were the first to measure the temperature and density of surface sea water off the coast of Crimea. Research has determined that the density of Black Sea water is lower than the density of ocean water, and this confirmed the opinion expressed by ancient authors about the greater freshwater content of the Black Sea compared to the Mediterranean Sea.
The beginning of systematic, detailed research of the Black Sea was laid by two scientific events at the end of the 19th century. – studying the Bosphorus currents (1881–1882) and conducting two oceanographic deep-measuring expeditions (1890–1891).
The understanding of the underwater relief of the central part of the Black Sea, in contrast to the depths of the coastal part, continued to remain extremely unsatisfactory. The assumption of the existence between Crimea and Turkish coast The underwater threshold dividing the Black Sea basin into the western and eastern halves gave rise to the Russian geologist I.I. Andrusov, who was working on the problems of the origin of the Black Sea and its geological history, to conceive a detailed study of the topography of the Black Sea bottom. IN late XIX V. on his initiative, a systematic and comprehensive study of the Black Sea was launched. On December 30, 1889, in Moscow, at the congress of Russian naturalists and doctors, in his extensive report, Andrusov proved the need to study the topography of the Black Sea bottom.
In 1890, the first depth-measuring expedition was carried out. Studies have shown that the bottom of the central part of the Black Sea is a flat basin. What was sensational was that all the samples taken from the bottom did not bring any living creatures; the vessels only carried the smell of hydrogen sulfide. This proved that the depths of the Black Sea were lifeless. It has been proven that in all parts of the sea at a depth of more than 200 m, the water contains hydrogen sulfide.
In the in-depth study of the physical and chemical characteristics of the Black Sea waters, a large role belongs to the Black Sea stations and research institutes: the Azov-Black Sea Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography in Kerch, the Institute of Biology south seas, Marine Hydrophysical Institute in Sevastopol.
Relief data and geological structure The Black Sea depression was clarified as a result of studies carried out in 1956 - 1958. Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences on the ships “Akademik S. Vavilov” and “Akademik Shirshov”. About 40 thousand km of echo sounding profiles and over 1000 km of seismic profiles were made. The Institute of Geophysics of the Academy of Sciences of the Georgian SSR also studied the Black Sea.
As a result of comprehensive research, a more accurate isobath map, geophysical maps, and geomorphological map of the Black Sea were compiled.
Under the leadership of the outstanding oceanologist V.P. Zenkovich, long-term studies of the dynamics and morphology of the coastal zone of the Black Sea basin were carried out. The doctrine of dynamics was created Crimean shores, which is currently being developed in Ukraine.
The relief of the Black Sea bottom and the sediments covering it are being studied using increasingly sophisticated methods. Much new and interesting information comes from analyzing samples taken from the bottom using a specially designed device called a “vibrating piston tube.”
The coastal underwater slope to a depth of 15 - 20 m was studied using aerial photography, and some areas were examined by scuba divers under the direct supervision of V.P. Zenkovich. Based on paleontological data and using radioactive carbon, the age of underwater terraces of the Black Sea shelf off the coast was determined.
In April and May 1969, American oceanologists, as a result of comprehensive studies of mainly the Black Sea basin on the ship Atlantis 2, determined the age of the three upper sedimentary layers: 3, 7, 25 thousand years, respectively. It was found that at the bottom of the Black Sea basin, modern sedimentation processes are 10 times more intense than at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. It turned out that the salinity of fossil waters in bottom sediments at a depth of up to 2 m is 7–8%, i.e. we can conclude that the sediments were formed under almost freshwater conditions.
In the summer of 1975, the special American vessel Glomar Challenger carried out three deep-sea drillings in the Black Sea: one in the deepest part of the Black Sea basin, the second 50 km northeast of the Bosphorus, the third 135 km southwest of Sevastopol. The most interesting data turned out to be the latest drilling: Pliocene deposits were discovered at a depth of 3185 m, and the thickness (thickness) of the Quaternary sediment layer was 1075 m.
If we compare the height of Pliocene deposits in the Burgas Lowland and the upper limit of such deposits, reached when drilling in the sea southwest of Sevastopol, we obtain a difference of 3385 m. This shows that the modern Black Sea basin was formed in the middle or at the end of the Pliocene.
Since 1774, Crimea, separated from the Turkish Empire, became available for research. In 1782 V. Zuev crossed Steppe Crimea from Perekop to the city of Karasubazar (now Belogorsk) at the northern foot Crimean mountains. WITH Mountain Crimea Zuev took a quick look, visiting only some areas; He summarized the basic information from the words of people who had “experienced there.” But he was the first to draw attention to the asymmetry of the advanced part of the Crimean Mountains (the so-called cuesta): “The layers of the main mountains correspond... to the advanced ones and rise from the north by noon, rising at an angle of 17 degrees from the horizon.” And he noted that most of the Crimean rivers originate in northern slopes mountains, and the Chatyrdag massif is a watershed: to the east of it the rivers flow into the Sivash, to the west into the Black Sea.
In 1783, Crimea was included in Russia and Karl Ivanovich Gablitz was appointed vice-governor of the new Tauride province. For two years he explored the peninsula in detail and compiled its first scientific description. Gablitz correctly distinguished three orographic regions there: “flat”, mountainous and flat-hilly Kerch Peninsula with steep and high banks. He was the first to propose a three-part division of the Crimean Mountains, now generally accepted: the Northern, or External (according to the Table, “advanced”) ridges, the Middle, or Internal, and the Southern, or Main. The southern slopes are steeper than the northern ones, and there are open valleys between the mountains. South Ridge in the Chatyrdag area it is divided into two parts by a transverse valley; in the ridge he discovered traces of volcanic activity. K. Gablitz explored the Crimean rivers, noting their large slopes and the presence of waterfalls. He also described minerals, including Kerch iron ores.
Immediately after the annexation of Crimea, by order of Catherine II, a frigate under the command of military sailor Ivan Mikhailovich Bersenev headed to the peninsula to select a harbor near the south-west. west coast. Having inspected the bay near the village of Akhtiar in April 1783 (in ancient times the city of Chersonesus-Tavrichesky was located here, see Vol. 1, Chapter 5), I. Bersenev recommended it as a base for the ships of the future Black Sea Fleet. Soon a fortress and port were founded on its shores, named by Catherine II in 1784 “ Majestic city"(Sevastopol). In the same year, I. Bersenev, commanding four ships, described the western and southern coast Crimea from Cape Tarkhankut to Kerch Strait(500 km). In 1786 and 1787 K. Gablitz published two works about Crimea, adding to the second four maps of the south of European Russia. On them, the outlines of the peninsula are close to modern ones: probably K. Tablits used materials from I. Bersenev.
In 1793-1795 Crimea was visited by P. S. Pallas. He described the Southern Ridge in much more detail than K. Tables and identified the highest part of it - from Balaklava to Alushta. Highest point he considered the ridge to be Chatyrdag (1527 m; now Roman-Kosh, 1545 m). Then P.S. Pallas crossed to the Taman Peninsula and gave his first detailed description: “Taman represents a torn terrain, covered with hills and planes... Various branches of the Kuban and many bays and lowlands covered with water make Taman real island. The central [its] part... between the Kuban and Temryuk estuaries is more elevated...” P. S. Pallas described the mud hills of Taman and noted the presence of oil in some.
The work of I. Bersenev was continued by the English sailor in the British and then Russian service Joseph (Iosif Iosifovich) Billings, a participant in the third circumnavigation D. Cook. After the completion of the North-Eastern expedition (see Chapter 17), in the summer of 1797, I. Billings carried out hydrographic work off the Taman Peninsula, off the southern and western coasts of Crimea. And in the summer of the following year he described the northwestern coast of Crimea and Black Sea coast European Russia from Tarkhankut to the Dniester estuary and back - a section about 1 thousand km long, which in those days was of paramount importance for the Russian state. In 1799, I. Billings published the Atlas of the Black Sea; the maps he compiled were significantly superior to their predecessors in accuracy, as they were based on numerous astronomical points he identified.
Pont Aksinsky, Scythian, Russian, Black Sea... How many names have they called this dark water! From time immemorial, people have settled on its banks, drawing gifts from Poseidon from the meager depths. The Black Sea washes the shores of Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Abkhazia and Georgia. Great is its transport and strategic importance for these countries, and their history is inextricably linked with the eternal struggle for ownership of the Black Sea region. The only large peninsula, Crimean, is surrounded by a salty embrace, like a prisoner. Every year thousands of tourists come to the shores of the ancient sea, which can now rightly be called Russian.
There is a sea in which I swam and drowned
And luckily pulled ashore
There is the air that I breathed as a child
And I couldn’t breathe enough
And I couldn’t breathe enough
By the Black Sea...
L.Utesov
During ona's time
Being inland sea swimming pool Atlantic Ocean, The Black Sea is connected by the Bosphorus Strait with the Marmara Strait, the Dardanelles with the Aegean and Mediterranean and the Kerch with Seas of Azov. The area of its water surface is 436,400 km².
One of the hypotheses for the emergence of the Black Sea states that 7,500 years ago the reservoir was the deepest on Earth freshwater lake. At the end of the Ice Age, the level of the World Ocean rose, and the Bosphorus Isthmus was broken. 100 thousand km² of fertile land was flooded. The emergence of the Black Sea was accompanied by the mass death of everything freshwater world lake, as a result of the decomposition of the remains of which hydrogen sulfide contamination of its depths occurred.
The origin of the name is related to the properties and character of the newly formed reservoir. The ancient Greeks called it Pont Aksinsky, which translated means “Inhospitable Sea”. The name “Scythian” is also found in ancient chronicles. In Strabo's Geography, it is suggested that the sea was nicknamed inhospitable due to difficulties with navigation, as well as the hostility of the tribes inhabiting its shores. However, the same Strabo mentions that in antiquity a body of water was simply called “sea” (pontos). In the X-XIV centuries, in ancient Russian, Arab and Western sources it is referred to as the “Russian Sea”, which is associated with its active use Scandinavian sailors- Varangians-Rus. In the “Tale of Bygone Years” there is a mention of this particular option: “And the Dnieper will flow into the Pontic Sea in three torrents, and the hedgehog sea will be called Ruskoe”...
Another version of the origin of the name “Black” is associated with the observation of sailors. It is based on the fact that anchors lowered into sea water deeper than 150 meters long time, became covered with a black coating due to the action of hydrogen sulfide.
The ancient Greeks were the first to study the Black Sea, who founded settlements on the shores of Crimea in ancient times. Already in the 4th century BC they made up peripluses - ancient sailing directions of the sea. Greek and Roman authors, for example Pliny the Elder, very accurately described the size of the sea, its depth, analyzed and observed local climate. Ancient geographers talked about the seasonal migrations of fish, noted the influence of the rivers flowing into it, in particular, they paid attention to the desalination of sea waters.
In the 6th-7th centuries, the Slavs became frequent guests of the Black Sea. During the times of Kievan Rus water spaces they begin to plow the nasads (an undecked vessel with high sides). According to the chronicles, hundreds of ships took part in the campaign of the legendary Oleg to Constantinople in 907 and the Bulgarian campaign of Svyatoslav Igorevich in 968-971.
Hydrographic work in the Black Sea began during the reign of Peter the Great. When equipping the ship “Fortress” for sailing from Azov to Constantinople in 1696, Peter gave the order to carry out cartographic work along the route of its movement. Thus, a “direct drawing of the Black Sea from Kerch to Tsar Grad” was compiled, and depth measurements were also taken.
At the turn of the 18th-19th centuries, Russian scientists, academicians Peter Pallas and Middendorf, studied the properties of the waters and fauna of the Black Sea. Scientific expeditions are regularly carried out at this time.
In 1817, F. F. Bellingshausen published the first map of the Black Sea, and in 1842 - the first atlas.
The initiative to create permanent scientific stations on the Black Sea belongs to the outstanding Russian scientist and traveler N. N. Miklouho-Maclay. In 1871, the first biological station opened in Sevastopol. Today it is the Institute of Biology of the South Seas, which is engaged in systematic research of the living world of the Black Sea.
Flora and fauna
The population of the Black Sea is noticeably poorer than, say, the Mediterranean. You won't find starfish, urchins, octopuses or cuttlefish here. However, the world of the “inhospitable” sea is only sparse at first glance. It is home to 2,500 species of animals, of which 500 are unicellular species, 160 are vertebrate fish and mammals, 500 are crustacean species, 200 are molluscs...
No less interesting flora sea, which includes 270 species of multicellular green, brown, red bottom algae. The low salinity of the water and the constant presence of hydrogen sulfide at depths of more than 200 meters complicate and sometimes make life here impossible. However, the Black Sea has become a home for shallow-water and coastal species. At its bottom, mussels, oysters, scallops thrive, as well as the predator rapana, brought to the Crimea by ships with Far East. Crabs hide in the crevices of coastal rocks and among stones; by the way, shrimp lovers also have something to eat!
The Black Sea is favored by jellyfish various types gobies, mullet, red mullet, mackerel, horse mackerel, herring and garfish. Sturgeon and salmon are found here.
Mammals are represented by two species of dolphins: the white-sided and bottlenose dolphins, the Azov-Black Sea porpoise, and the white-bellied seal.
There is even a shark in the Black Sea, although it is rare. Katrana is also called the “spiny shark” because of its dorsal fins equipped with large spines. The fish uses them to protect themselves from attacks. For humans, a katran injection is not fatal, although it is quite painful. The miniature shark is quite shy; it very rarely approaches the shore. But who you really should be afraid of is the “sea dragon”. This fish also has spines on its dorsal fin and gill covers. However, it is worth remembering that these thorns contain a strong and dangerous poison for humans.
Well, the most romantic creature that lives in the Black Sea is called the night light. This planktonic species of algae is endowed with phosphorus. It is the night light in August that makes the Black Sea glow with amazing shades of blue and green.
Black Sea in art
Without the Black Sea there was no Aivazovsky, or rather his masterpiece canvases depicting all his incarnations and states. Storms and calms, sunsets and sunrises, peaceful idylls and fiery sea battles, the painter created many works inspired by the Crimean coast.
During Soviet times, Crimea was a mecca for filmmakers. “Scarlet Sails”, “Amphibian Man”, “The Diamond Arm”, “Ivan Vasilyevich Changes Profession”, “Assa” and many other legendary films were filmed against the backdrop of the Black Sea. Among them, Sergei Eisenstein’s film “Battleship Potemkin,” filmed in 1925, gained worldwide fame.
The Black Sea theme runs through the works of many writers, poets and musicians. Mikhail Bulgakov, Konstantin Paustovsky and Valentin Kataev dedicated their works to the sea. The song “By the Black Sea” by Leonid Utesov is probably known not only by people of the older generation, but also by young people, since its meaning, glorifying beauty, love and tenderness, is eternal.
On August 2, 1981, the eruption began at 3 am, with a volume of up to 8-10 thousand cubic meters. and was accompanied for three hours, according to the shepherd I.I. Roan, roar, push, but without flame. The year 1982 was marked by a similar eruption of the hill breccia. Ejections of large masses of hill breccia were accompanied by roars and tremors. On May 6, 2001, a paroxysmal catastrophic eruption of the Karabetova Gora mud volcano occurred, accompanied by a strong roar, tremors, bursts of flame, columns of thick smoke and dust up to 100 m high. At the site of the center of the explosion, a rounded massif of hill breccia up to 500 cubic meters was formed. and a volume of up to 800 cubic meters, as well as pockets of brick-red slag. The dry volcanic gases selected later were studied for their chemical and carbon isotope compositions. The gases studied are mixtures of hydrocarbons from methane and its homologues to iso- and normal pentanes and hexanes, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, as well as helium, and in single samples - molecular hydrogen. On June 19, 2004, the eruption repeated with a violent release of hill breccia of about 47 thousand cubic meters. In the 19th century on Karabetovaya Mountain, researchers identify 5 powerful eruptions, and in the second half of the 20th century - 4. The crater of the volcano (more precisely, a crater plateau), in plan, has the appearance of an oval, elongated with a long axis from southwest to northeast by 1380 m, the width of the crater 860 m. Its surface is complicated by cones of mud hills (salz), mud flows, bulging domes and closed basins, sometimes occupied by lakes. Based on the color of the mud, stages can be very clearly distinguished and the relative times of eruptions can be determined. In the eastern part of the crater plateau there is mud lake. In its center there is a constant release of gases. Liquid mud flows in a stream along a well-developed hollow into the nearest ravine. Near the lake there is a small active mud hill. It looks like a boot. In the upper part of the “boot” there is a crater hole 40 cm long and 10 cm wide. The height of the “boot” is 65 cm.
There is liquid mud in the crater of the hills. Its fresh flows can be traced to the bottom of the ravine. Next to this salsa there is a dome of dried mud more than 0.5 m high. According to local residents and travelers, the largest, most active and beautiful volcano Taman can be called Karabetova Sopka. It erupts twice a year - in spring and autumn. There is an outpouring of mud, and catastrophic eruptions, judging by literary sources, are repeated approximately every 15-20 years. The slopes of the volcano, composed of hill breccia, are subject to intense erosion. Perhaps not a single uplift of the Taman Peninsula is dissected as much by ravines as Karabetka. At the top of the volcano, steps are clearly visible, corresponding to periods of active outpouring of the hill breccia, as a result of which the plateau seemed to be built on, and the mountain grew upward. Maya Ivanovna Lyut, director of Tamansky, spoke about the impressive volcanic eruption on Karabetka in June 1985 local history museum. - "... in the pre-sunset time of August 19, 1984, the population of the village of Taman was seriously alarmed by the behavior of a restless neighbor, the shepherds of the sheep flocks were especially worried. At first, something rumbled inside Karabetka, so much so that cold sweat covered their skin, and everyone An incomprehensible anxiety overwhelmed the observers, and everyone followed the development of events. In a matter of minutes, a flame shot up over the volcano and, at the same time, a roar of deafening force was heard, very similar to the shooting of a large-caliber artillery device. Columns of flame shot up and went out. and the volcano threw out huge stones over considerable distances. This continued for a little over an hour. At the same time, an outpouring of clay breccia and small stones occurred; such emissions, increasing in intensity, were repeated several times. Chaos was noticeable not only on the volcano.
Karabetka’s long stay in a “lethargic sleep” put people in a carefree mood, but then the administration became alarmed. And many did not go to bed and tried not to use electricity. Of course, they called Temryuk and prepared for evacuation. But closer to midnight, it seemed that everything had calmed down, the activity of the eruption had decreased, but the eruption of the mud-stone flow continued for several more days, gradually fading...” It is convenient to start the journey to the Karabetka volcano from the monument “MIG-17 Airplane”, erected to the pilots who heroically defended the sky during the Second World War. At the entrance to the village of Taman, from a fighter plane, the volcano is visible in all its glory, the distance in a straight line is 4 km, but the approach is 5-6 km due to the fact that walking in a straight line on rough terrain is very difficult. The ascent will take 2-4 hours, depending on the preparedness of the group, goals and time of stay. Considering that traveling around the Taman Peninsula is generally fraught with difficulties, we must keep some circumstances in mind. The summer heat oppresses the traveler, from 11 to 19 hours. drops of rare rains evaporate without reaching the surface of the earth. There are no springs or sources of fresh water; all estuaries are brackish or very salt water; There are so many salts dissolved in the water of volcanic lakes that it is strictly forbidden to drink it. That's why drinking water You need to carry it with you, as well as fuel, if you mean making a fire. To summarize the story about land volcanoes, we note that by decision of the Regional Executive Committee of the Temryuk Council of Deputies No. 354 dated July 1, 1978, Karabetova Mountain was approved as a natural monument. This decision was supported by the Krasnodar City Commission on July 14, 1980. The ancient Greeks revered the god of fire, metallurgy and blacksmithing, Hephaestus. He, like his Roman colleague Vulcan, loved to organize their forges - workshops in grottoes, inside volcanoes - fire-breathing mountains. That is why volcanoes received their name, which has become a household name: after the god of fire - Vulcan.
You can’t ignore the heavy breathing of the earth, I mean mud volcanoes, located under the sea water of the Taman and Temryuk bays and the waters of the Kerch Strait. Most often, the Golubitsky mud underwater volcano (between the Golubitskaya station and the town of Temryuk, 200 m from the coast) erupted with explosive phenomena documented in the literature. On September 5, 1799, an underground rumble, crackling, and column of fire and black smoke were heard. The breccia that erupted within two hours created an island of mud with a diameter of 100 m and a height of 2 m. The eruption coincided with the Lower Kuban earthquake of 1799. On May 10, 1814, July 4, 1862 and October 22, 1880, a mud volcanic island also appeared, accompanied by a column pair. In 1906, the eruption of a sea volcano was accompanied by smoke, the ejection of large stones and the formation of an island. In 1924, for several days at the very beginning of July, the volcano again made itself known by creating an ever-increasing island. On July 15, the peak of the eruption - a column of fire, smoke, and ejection of stones was observed for an entire hour. The size of the island is 81 x 58 m. According to the observations of the keeper of the Temryuk lighthouse I.D. Polovoy in 1929, explosive emissions destroyed the coastal mud baths. Then the volcano erupted with the appearance of an island and the release of mud and water to a height of up to 100 m in 1945, 1950 - 1953, 1963, 1966, 1981, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2002. etc. The Temryuksky mud volcano (Peresyp, Kazbek Bank) has been “operating” since 1979 annually with explosive emissions, up to 100 m high, of stones, smoke, water and the appearance of an island. The sea volcano Tizdar (Peresypsky) is located five km north of the coast. On March 26, 2002, he created an island 500 m to the sea. Recently, it has been “working” annually, indicated by a buoy. The waters of the Kerch Strait hide many secrets: sunken ships, ancient settlements and, of course, numerous unidentified geological mysteries. Among them, one of the most interesting is the mud volcanoes of the strait. The debate among scientists has not subsided for a long time.
Some say that there are no volcanoes (Academician N.I. Andrusov and others), others claim their existence. So to the north of the strait there are several rounded shallows, the nature of which is unclear, but they are probably mud volcanoes. The author of one of the first local history essays about Kerch is Kh.Kh. Zenkovich, published in 1894, described in it the appearance of a small island in Kerch Bay in 1880, which was washed away two weeks later. Its exact location is unknown, and its occurrence was then associated with “volcanic forces.” The Blevaka mud volcano is located on the Chushka spit, 7 km from its base. According to researchers V.V. Belousova, E.V. Felitsyn and L.A. Yarotsky - Blevak - a cone of semi-liquid mud 3 m high above sea level. When examined in 1986, the volcano consisted of two hills connected at the base, 2 m high above the water, with a base diameter of each about 20 m. Five griffins were located on the gentle slopes, spewing liquid mud. In the summer of 1995, an island (25 x 30 m) was observed at the site of the volcano, only half a meter above the water, overgrown with reeds. Blevaka is considered a relatively inactive volcano. It lies approximately at the latitude of Mount Gorelaya. Near it you can smell hydrogen sulfide. To the west of Cape Tuzla there is a mud volcano, first described by Shepel S.A. According to him, in 1914 a steamship ran aground in the strait. It turned out that in a zone of 9-meter depths a cone-shaped 4-meter sandbank unexpectedly appeared, soil samples of which were represented by hill breccia. Subsequent geological studies showed the constant presence of certain anomalies (appearance of spots, etc.) in the area where this eroded sandbank is supposed to be located. Not long ago, geologists discovered a mud volcano on the Taman underwater slope southeast of the Kerch Strait. According to fishermen, another mud volcano is known in the Black Sea, southwest of Cape Skirda on the Kerch Peninsula. The mud volcano Peklo Azovskoe is very powerful and large.
Its main part is located in the sea, and on the coastal beach profile fragments of iron ore of Cimmerian-Sarmatian age were found, i.e. there is an ore-bearing structure. Most of Taman's volcanoes have nicknames that were given to them by the sharp-tongued Black Sea Cossacks when they settled in Kuban. Observing the “restless neighbors,” they called them rotten mountains, burnt graves, hills, and vomits. Most of these nicknames stuck firmly to the Taman volcanoes, since they all fell “not on the eyebrow, but on the eye.” Volcano Miska, in the city of Temryuk, got its name from the shape of the crater. Vomit - for a sharp release of dirt, reminiscent of spitting. Blue Beam - for its location in a recessed place. It is also called the Azov Hill and Tizdar after the name of the mountain located about a kilometer from it, etc. Finishing the story about volcanoes, let us briefly touch on the mud volcano of Mount Goreloy or Kuku-Oba, as it was called earlier. The mountain is located opposite the shore (beach) of the village of Taman, across the bay and is a regular pointed hill, reminiscent of the tents of ancient nomads. Now the volcano is sleeping. Its explosive eruption in March 1794 was described in detail by academician P.S. Pallas. First, “a column of black smoke rose from the middle of the hill and then a column of fire rose, which from a distance seemed 50 fathoms high in girth.” The flames were visible for about three hours. For three days, mud “two human heights high” flew out of the crater. The eruption was accompanied by thunderclaps. “...in March, a surveyor found at the top of the Kuku-Oba hill a hole 10 to 12 fathoms made by the eruption and an abyss inward about one arshin (an arshin is 71.26 cm - author) and a half in diameter, he saw steam still escaping and mud and oil flowing out of the hole.” P. Alekseev, in his notes published in 1880, indicates that “the amazement of archaeologists was great when, according to the most precise instructions of Strabo, instead of the tomb of King Satyr, they found the Kuku-Oba mud volcano.
JULES VERNE - ABOUT THE MUD VOLCANOES OF TAMAN
During the eruption of this volcano in 1794, fragments of an ancient statue were thrown out." The volcano of Mount Goreloy, attracting the ancients with its location, was for them a kind of trap, leading to the destruction of settlements during catastrophic eruptions. In July 1794, Akhtanizovskaya vomit was examined by academician P.S. Pallas, who found shards of ancient vessels, amphorae, reeds and roots in the mud. He suggested that before the formation of the hill there was a burial mound or a place of sacrifice... Which of the great science fiction writers wrote about the mud volcanoes of Taman? or as they are also called mud hills, sopukhs, macalubs, saizs, pseudo-volcanoes, rotten hills, burnt graves, vomits, etc. - wrote none other than Jules Verne himself in 1882 in the novel “Stubborn Keraban”. The biography shows that the writer has not traveled much and, of course, has not been to our area. So the good thing about fiction is that you can write about something you have never seen. The author begins: “Taman is a rather miserable little town.” Li, is very reminiscent of Lermontov: “Taman is the worst little town of all the coastal cities of Russia.” However, the heroes of the novel crossed the town in a carriage, without stopping, and then set off along south coast Taman Bay - an area extremely rich for hunting. In the evening, “at dinner time,” the travelers stopped at one of the stations with a mediocre hotel, “but there was enough food in it.” They set off on their further journey Caucasus Mountains already dark night. “It was around 11 pm when a strange sound woke them up from their half-asleep state. It was a kind of whistling sound, comparable to the sound that seltzer water makes when it comes out of a bottle, but ten times stronger. One would think that compressed steam was bursting through a pipe from some boiler.”
When asked what was happening, the coachman replied that mud volcanoes had awakened, and suggested that the passengers leave the carriage and walk 5-6 versts behind the carriage, as the horses might run away. It was very dark, but if this had happened during the day, “one could have seen: the steppe over a huge area seemed to be swelling with small eruption cones, similar to the huge anthills of Equatorial Africa. Of these cones, correctly designated by the scientific name "mud volcanoes" (although volcanic activity does not participate in this phenomenon in any way), water, gas and bitumen escaped. Under the pressure of hydrogen mixed with carbon, a mixture of silt, gypsum, limestone, pyrite, even oil bursts out with force. These swellings gradually increase in size, rupture and spew out their contents, and then settle... These erupting cones in large quantities cover the surface of the Taman Peninsula. They are also found in similar areas of the Kerch Peninsula,” but there they were away from the road. Now someone has warned that in order to avoid an explosion you should not light a cigarette. “Smoking in this steppe is as dangerous as in a powder magazine,” they walked in the darkness and very carefully. The horses neighed in front, reared up, and with another blinding flash that illuminated a whole mile away, the driver could not hold the team. “The frightened horses bolted, the carriage sped off at great speed. Everyone stopped. After this dark night, the steppe presented a sight that could be terrifying. The flame that arose on one cone spread to neighboring ones. They began to explode one after another as violently as fireworks batteries with intersecting fiery jets. The plain was now brightly lit. In this light, hundreds of thick fire-breathing hummocks became visible, blazing with gas and spewing out liquid contents - some with the ominous sheen of oil, others with a variety of colors due to the presence of white sulfur, pyrite or iron carbonate.
To be continued in part 9
