Timor Sea washes the northern coast of Australia and is characterized bypredominance of subequatorial climate. There are several large oil and gas fields in the water area. Many scientists attribute it to the list of the richest, most beautiful and interesting seas on the planet. About him and will be discussed further in more detail.
Speaking of that where is the timor seaFirst of all, it should be noted that itlocated in the Indian Ocean. On the map, it can be found between mainland Australia and the island of Timor, the name of which, in fact, was named. In the eastern part, it is bordered by the Arafur Sea, and in the west it gradually merges with the ocean. To the south is a large bay known as Joseph Bonaparte. An interesting feature is that Arafur and Timor Sea do not have a pronounced natural boundary. They have about the same temperature and salinity level of water. Anyway, these are two completely different reservoirs.
The total area of the sea is 432 thousandsquare kilometers. Most of it is located on the continental Australian shelf, which explains the low depth. Basically, its value does not reach 200 meters. Its deepest place is located in the northern part of the Timor Trench, whose depth is 3,310 meters. The passage of the same name passing through the water area carries into the Indian Ocean the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Moreover, the water area is located in the area of the tectonic plate split. All this in the complex created optimal conditions for the emergence of a huge number of typhoons. On the bottom covered with quartz and calcareous sands, there are many atolls, coral reefs and shoals.
The Timor Sea characterized by a winding coastline withsmall bays and picturesque bays. As a rule, the coast is low. There are four fairly large islands in the water area, two of which are in Australian ownership, and two more belong to Tiwi. Many continental rivers flow into the sea. The largest port is the city of Darwin, which is the capital of the Northern Territory of Australia.
Many scientists suggest that the Australian continent was inhabited by man precisely through The Timor Sea. Они считают, что это произошло в те времена, when the water level here was significantly lower, which led to the emergence of people from the Indonesian archipelago. Local legends say that they became the ancestors of the Australian aborigines. As for the first European immigrants, they are sailors from Holland, who after the development of the sea opened the Australian mainland.
Monsoon prevails over the water areasubequatorial climate. As noted above, there are often strong typhoons. About ten years ago, several of them even led to a temporary halt in the operation of oil refining platforms and the evacuation of their personnel by helicopters for security reasons. One of the tropical typhoons in 1974 severely destroyed the city of Darwin.
В период с декабря по март месяц над акваторией reigns tropical rain season. Despite this, even in winter the water temperature never drops below 25 degrees, and in summer it warms up to 30 degrees. Currents are seasonal. In winter, they move in a westerly direction, and in summer - to the east. It is impossible not to note the tides, which are quite high. Usually they reach the level of 4 meters, and in small closed bays and bays - up to 9 meters.
If a rich and diverse flora The Timor Sea can not boast, then this can not be said aboutanimal world. In particular, there are corals, clams of all known classes, sea worms, jellyfish, snakes, echinoderms, crayfish, shrimps, crabs and many other representatives of the fauna of the oceans. It should be noted and the diversity of fish, which has more than three hundred species. Among them there are several species of sharks, so you can swim in the sea only in certain places and very carefully.
Half a century ago The Timor Sea not considered valuable to people in terms ofuse of natural resources. Yes, and fishing here was very complicated due to adverse meteorological conditions. The situation has changed dramatically in the early seventies of the last century. At that time, impressive oil reserves were discovered on the shelf. The result was the emergence of many disputes regarding the division of territorial waters. Australia advantageous to divide the sea along the border of the continental shelf. This does not agree with the government of East Timor, which follows the policy of its former metropolis of Portugal, whose government believed that the water area should be divided in the middle. Anyway, today there are a large number of projects regarding the development of oil and gas fields. Some of them are already at the implementation stage.
It should be noted that human activity also at times has a detrimental effect on Timor Sea. A photo связанной с нефтью техногенной катастрофы, which occurred in September 2009 at the Montara field, is another proof of this. After the accident, up to 400 barrels of "black gold" poured into the water daily. After the investigation, the owner of the wells was named the culprit of the incident, and he was responsible for this.
