Barents Sea the Norwegian Sea to the west, and the archipelagos of Svalbard to the northwest, Franz Josef Land to the northeast and Novaya Zemlya to the east. The islands of Novaya Zemlya, an extension of the northern end of the Ural Mountains, separate the Barents Sea from the Kara Sea. Despite being part of the Arctic Ocean, the Barents Sea has been characterized as "turning into the Atlantic" because of its status as "the Arctic warming hot spot." Hydrologic changes due to global warming have led to a reduction in sea ice and in stratification of the water column, which could
Russian Arctic National Park Russian Arctic National Park Russian Arctic National Park () is a national park of Russia, which was established in June 2009. It was expanded in 2016, and it covers a large and remote area of the Arctic Ocean, the northern part of Novaya Zemlya (Severny Island), and Franz Josef Land. After expansion in 2016, approximately 74,000 km, 16,000 km in land area and 58,000 km in sea area were added to the National Park. In 2009 the total area of the national park was 14,260 km, including 6,320 km on the land and 7,940 km of the Arctic Ocean. The