Siberian Shelf Siberian Shelf The Siberian Shelf, one of the Arctic Ocean coastal shelves (such as the Milne Ice Shelf), is the largest continental shelf of the Earth, a part of the continental shelf of Russia. It extends from the continent of Eurasia in the general area of North Siberia (hence the name) into the Arctic Ocean. It stretches to offshore. It is relatively shallow, with average depth of 100 m. A number of islands are within the shelf, including the Wrangel Island, Novaya Zemlya, and the New Siberian Islands. It is encompassed by the Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and East Siberian
East Siberian Sea scarce due to the harsh climate. The summer plankton bloom is short but intense, producing 5 million tonnes of plankton in August and September, whereas the annual production is 7 million tonnes. The nutrients in water are mostly provided by river discharges and coastal erosion. The plankton species are dominated by the Pacific species of copepods. The sea shores and icefields host ringed seals ("Phoca hispida"), bearded seals ("Erignathus barbatus") and walruses ("Odobenus rosmarus") along with their predator, polar bear ("Ursus maritimus"). Birds include seagulls, uria and cormorants. Sea waters are often visited by bowhead whale ("Balaena mysticetus"), gray whale