Laptev Sea Laptev Sea The Laptev Sea (; ) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is located between the northern coast of Siberia, the Taimyr Peninsula, Severnaya Zemlya and the New Siberian Islands. Its northern boundary passes from the Arctic Cape to a point with co-ordinates of 79°N and 139°E, and ends at the Anisiy Cape. The Kara Sea lies to the west, the East Siberian Sea to the east. The sea is named after the Russian explorers Dmitry Laptev and Khariton Laptev; formerly, it had been known under various names, the last being Nordenskiöld Sea (), after explorer
East Siberian Sea the ice cover transforms into drifting ice having the thickness of 2–3 m. The southern winter winds shift this ice northwards, making polynyas near the sea centre. There are no icebergs in the sea. Ice melting typically starts around May, first around the delta of the major Kolyma River. In absence of industry, sea water is rather clean. Minor contaminations are found near the Novosibirsk and Wrangel islands (up to 80 µg/L), due to occasional oil spills, and in Chaunskaya Bay due to the local thermal power station and activities at the major port Pevek. Flora and fauna are relatively