Facts about Black Sea Unique Properties
- 05
Ancient preserved shipwrecks have been found in the Black Sea's anoxic deep waters, where the absence of oxygen prevents the wood-boring organisms that normally destroy submerged timber.
- 04
Isolated from the Mediterranean by the shallow Bosphorus strait, the Black Sea retains a distinct two-layer water structure with virtually no mixing between its oxygenated surface and anoxic deep zones.
- 03
Below about 150–200 meters depth, the Black Sea contains one of the largest known reservoirs of dissolved hydrogen sulfide on Earth, making deep waters toxic to most aerobic life.
- 02
Unlike most seas connected to oceans, the Black Sea receives more freshwater from rivers than it loses to evaporation, making its surface waters unusually low in salinity.
- 01
The Black Sea is one of the world's most notable meromictic bodies of water, with its deep layers permanently oxygen-free and rich in hydrogen sulfide.