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73-757: John was an ethnic Greek , a native of Rossano in Calabria . His father, John (c. 620 – 686), was the curator of the Palatine Hill for the Byzantine emperor . This makes John the first pope to be the son of a Byzantine official. His mother was called Blatta (c. 627 – 687). John VII was selected to succeed John VI , another Greek, on 1 March 705. He had good relations with the Lombards, who then ruled much of Italy. However, his relations with Emperor Justinian II were far from smooth. Papal relations with Byzantium had soured over

146-514: A halocline that stops at the Cold Intermediate Layer (CIL). This layer is composed of cool, salty surface waters, which are the result of localized atmospheric cooling and decreased fluvial input during the winter months. It is the remnant of the winter surface mixed layer. The base of the CIL is marked by a major pycnocline at about 100–200 metres (330–660 ft), and this density disparity

219-617: A Venezia. Atti del convegno internazionale di studio, Venezia, 5-8 Novembre 1998 (Venice, 2002), pp. 185–95 Black Sea Unrecognised states: The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia , east of the Balkans , south of the East European Plain , west of the Caucasus , and north of Anatolia . It is bounded by Bulgaria , Georgia , Romania , Russia , Turkey , and Ukraine . The Black Sea

292-644: A council of the apostolic church, and to confirm such of them as he approved, and quash and reject those which were adverse. But he, terrified in his human weakness, sent them back to the prince by the same metropolitans without any emendations at all. John VII died 18 October, 707 and was buried in the Chapel of the Blessed Virgin Mary which had been added on to St. Peter's. He was succeeded by Sisinnius . Several monuments in Rome are connected with John. The most notable

365-811: A different literal meaning (see below), is still widely used: The Black Sea is one of four seas named in English after common color terms – the others being the Red Sea , the White Sea and the Yellow Sea . The earliest known name of the Black Sea is the Sea of Zalpa, so called by both the Hattians and their conquerors, the Hittites . The Hattic city of Zalpa was "situated probably at or near

438-583: A form of the Greek language combining ancient Doric and Byzantine Greek elements. Some believe that the origins of the Griko language may ultimately be traced to the colonies of Magna Graecia. Greeks were the dominant population element of some regions in the south of Italy, especially Calabria, the Salento, parts of Lucania and Sicily until the 12th century. Over the past centuries the Griko have been heavily influenced by

511-484: A marked vertical stratification and a warm, shallow mixed layer. Day length and insolation intensity also control the extent of the photic zone . Subsurface productivity is limited by nutrient availability, as the anoxic bottom waters act as a sink for reduced nitrate , in the form of ammonia . The benthic zone also plays an important role in Black Sea nutrient cycling, as chemosynthetic organisms and anoxic geochemical pathways recycle nutrients which can be upwelled to

584-569: A strongly stratified vertical structure. Because of the extreme stratification, it is classified as a salt wedge estuary . Inflow from the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosporus and Dardanelles has a higher salinity and density than the outflow, creating the classic estuarine circulation. This means that the inflow of dense water from the Mediterranean occurs at the bottom of the basin while

657-433: A threat to health—and perhaps even life—for people living on the Black Sea coast. There have been isolated reports of flares on the Black Sea occurring during thunderstorms, possibly caused by lightning igniting combustible gas seeping up from the sea depths. The Black Sea supports an active and dynamic marine ecosystem, dominated by species suited to the brackish , nutrient-rich, conditions. As with all marine food webs,

730-516: A very thick convective bottom layer. The Black Sea undersea river is a current of particularly saline water flowing through the Bosporus Strait and along the seabed of the Black Sea. The discovery of the river, announced on August 1, 2010, was made by scientists at the University of Leeds and is the first of its kind to be identified. The undersea river stems from salty water spilling through

803-492: A weaker mixed assemblage of community development below the seasonal thermocline during summer months, and surface-intensified autumn production. This pattern of productivity is augmented by an Emiliania huxleyi bloom during the late spring and summer months. Since the 1960s, rapid industrial expansion along the Black Sea coastline and the construction of a major dam on the Danube have significantly increased annual variability in

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876-620: Is supplied by major rivers, principally the Danube , Dnieper and Dniester . Consequently, while six countries have a coastline on the sea, its drainage basin includes parts of 24 countries in Europe. The Black Sea, not including the Sea of Azov , covers 436,400 km (168,500 sq mi), has a maximum depth of 2,212 m (7,257 ft), and a volume of 547,000 km (131,000 cu mi). Most of its coasts ascend rapidly. These rises are

949-442: Is a current of particularly saline water flowing through the Bosporus Strait and along the seabed of the Black Sea, the first of its kind discovered. Current names of the sea are usually equivalents of the English name "Black Sea", including these given in the countries bordering the sea: Such names have not yet been shown conclusively to predate the 13th century. In Greece , the historical name "Euxine Sea", which holds

1022-507: Is about 1,175 km (730 mi). Important cities along the coast include (clockwise from the Bosporus ) Burgas , Varna , Constanța , Odesa , Sevastopol , Novorossiysk , Sochi , Poti , Batumi , Trabzon and Samsun . The Black Sea has a positive water balance , with an annual net outflow of 300 km (72 cu mi) per year through the Bosporus and the Dardanelles into

1095-636: Is an ethnic minority known as the Griko people , who live in the Southern Italian regions of Calabria ( Province of Reggio Calabria ) and Apulia , especially the peninsula of Salento , within the ancient Magna Graecia region, who speak a distinctive dialect of Greek called Griko . They are believed to be remnants of the ancient and medieval Greek communities, who have lived in the south of Italy for centuries. A Greek community has long existed in Venice as well,

1168-464: Is connected to the Sea of Azov by the Kerch Strait . The water level has varied significantly over geological time. Due to these variations in the water level in the basin, the surrounding shelf and associated aprons have sometimes been dry land. At certain critical water levels, connections with surrounding water bodies can become established. It is through the most active of these connective routes,

1241-465: Is currently estimated at 60,000 members. After World War II , a large number of Greeks immigrated to countries abroad, mostly to the United States , Canada , Australia , New Zealand , The United Kingdom , Argentina , Brazil , Norway , Germany , United Arab Emirates , and Singapore . however, a smaller number of diaspora migrants from Greece entered Italy from World War II onwards, today

1314-670: Is home to a small Greek-speaking minority, which arrived from the Peloponnese between 1533 and 1534 when fleeing the expansion of the Ottoman Empire . They were officially recognised in 2012. The Griko people are a population group in Italy of ultimately Greek origin which still exists today in the Italian regions of Calabria and Apulia . The Griko people traditionally spoke the Griko language ,

1387-580: Is subject to interannual variability. Outside of the Rim Current, numerous quasi-permanent coastal eddies are formed as a result of upwelling around the coastal apron and "wind curl" mechanisms. The intra-annual strength of these features is controlled by seasonal atmospheric and fluvial variations. During the spring, the Batumi eddy forms in the southeastern corner of the sea. Beneath the surface waters—from about 50 to 100 metres (160 to 330 ft)—there exists

1460-727: Is the Santa Maria Antiqua church at the foot of the Palatine Hill . Traces of an episcopal palace Episcopium associated with John have been discovered upon the Palatine. John VII also constructed the Oratory of John VII in Old St Peter's Basilica , dedicated to the Theotokos . Fragments of the mosaic decoration can be found in the Vatican Grottoes . Furthermore, a sizeable icon, known as

1533-454: Is the major mechanism for isolation of the deep water. Below the pycnocline is the Deep Water mass, where salinity increases to 22.3 PSU and temperatures rise to around 8.9 °C (48.0 °F). The hydrochemical environment shifts from oxygenated to anoxic, as bacterial decomposition of sunken biomass utilizes all of the free oxygen. Weak geothermal heating and long residence time create

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1606-521: Is therefore anoxic . This anoxic layer is responsible for the preservation of ancient shipwrecks which have been found in the Black Sea, which ultimately drains into the Mediterranean Sea , via the Turkish Straits and the Aegean Sea. The Bosporus strait connects it to the small Sea of Marmara which in turn is connected to the Aegean Sea via the strait of the Dardanelles . To the north, the Black Sea

1679-477: Is thought the climate conditions established in western Europe mediate the heat and precipitation fluxes reaching Central Europe and Eurasia, regulating the formation of winter cyclones , which are largely responsible for regional precipitation inputs and influence Mediterranean sea surface temperatures (SSTs). The relative strength of these systems also limits the amount of cold air arriving from northern regions during winter. Other influencing factors include

1752-632: The Madonna della Clemenza and housed in Santa Maria in Trastevere , is believed to have been commissioned under the patronage of John. He also restored the monastery of Subiaco , destroyed by the Lombards in 601. Greeks in Italy Greeks in Italy have been present since the migrations of traders and colonial foundations in the 8th century BC, continuing down to the present time. Nowadays, there

1825-604: The Aegean Sea . While the net flow of water through the Bosporus and Dardanelles (known collectively as the Turkish Straits ) is out of the Black Sea, water generally flows in both directions simultaneously: Denser, more saline water from the Aegean flows into the Black Sea underneath the less dense, fresher water that flows out of the Black Sea. This creates a significant and permanent layer of deep water that does not drain or mix and

1898-713: The Early Middle Ages , new waves of Greeks came to Magna Graecia from Greece and Asia Minor, as Southern Italy remained governed by the Eastern Roman Empire . Although most of the Greek inhabitants of Southern Italy became de-Hellenized and no longer spoke Greek, remarkably a small Griko -speaking minority still exists today in Calabria and mostly in Salento . Griko is the name of a language combining ancient Doric , Byzantine Greek , and Italian elements, spoken by people in

1971-585: The Kartvelian tribe of Speris or Saspers . Other modern names such as Chyornoye more and Karadeniz (both meaning Black Sea) originated during the 13th century. A 1570 map Asiae Nova Descriptio from Abraham Ortelius 's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum labels the sea Mar Maggior (Great Sea), compare Latin Mare major . English writers of the 18th century often used Euxine Sea ( / ˈ j uː k s ɪ n / or / ˈ j uː k ˌ s aɪ n / ). During

2044-581: The Ottoman Empire , it was called either Bahr-e Siyah ( Perso-Arabic ) or Karadeniz ( Ottoman Turkish ), both meaning "Black Sea". The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Black Sea as follows: On the Southwest. The Northeastern limit of the Sea of Marmara [A line joining Cape Rumili with Cape Anatoli (41°13'N)]. In the Kertch Strait . A line joining Cape Takil and Cape Panaghia (45°02'N). The area surrounding

2117-749: The Pontic Mountains to the south, bar the southwest-facing peninsulas, the Caucasus Mountains to the east, and the Crimean Mountains to the mid-north. In the west, the coast is generally small floodplains below foothills such as the Strandzha ; Cape Emine , a dwindling of the east end of the Balkan Mountains ; and the Dobruja Plateau considerably farther north. The longest east–west extent

2190-571: The Quinisext Council of 692. Scholarly debate contests John VII's stance on the canons. He did not ratify them, and they were deeply unpopular in Italy. Nonetheless, he was criticized, most unusually, by the Liber pontificalis for not signing them: He [Emperor Justinian II] despatched two metropolitan bishops, also sending with them a mandate in which he requested and urged the pontiff [John VII] to gather

2263-572: The 8th and 7th centuries BC, for various reasons, including demographic crisis (famine, overcrowding, climate change, etc.), the search for new commercial outlets and ports, and expulsion from their homeland, Greeks began a large colonization drive, including southern Italy. In this same time, Greek colonies were established in places as widely separated as the eastern coast of the Black Sea and Massalia ( Marseille ). They included settlements in Sicily and

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2336-573: The Black Sea Depression they are terrigenous non-carbonate silts , and at the foot of the continental slope turbidite sediments. The Black Sea is the world's largest body of water with a meromictic basin. The deep waters do not mix with the upper layers of water that receive oxygen from the atmosphere. As a result, over 90% of the deeper Black Sea volume is anoxic water. The Black Sea's circulation patterns are primarily controlled by basin topography and fluvial inputs, which result in

2409-526: The Black Sea belong to Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine: Short-term climatic variation in the Black Sea region is significantly influenced by the operation of the North Atlantic oscillation , the climatic mechanisms resulting from the interaction between the north Atlantic and mid-latitude air masses. While the exact mechanisms causing the North Atlantic Oscillation remain unclear, it

2482-585: The Black Sea features a range of trophic groups, with autotrophic algae, including diatoms and dinoflagellates , acting as primary producers. The fluvial systems draining Eurasia and central Europe introduce large volumes of sediment and dissolved nutrients into the Black Sea, but the distribution of these nutrients is controlled by the degree of physiochemical stratification, which is, in turn, dictated by seasonal physiographic development. During winter, strong wind promotes convective overturning and upwelling of nutrients, while high summer temperatures result in

2555-608: The Black Sea is commonly referred to as the Black Sea Region . Its northern part lies within the Chernozem belt (black soil belt) which goes from eastern Croatia ( Slavonia ), along the Danube (northern Serbia, northern Bulgaria ( Danubian Plain ) and southern Romania ( Wallachian Plain ) to northeast Ukraine and further across the Central Black Earth Region and southern Russia into Siberia . The littoral zone of

2628-806: The Black Sea is often referred to as the Pontic littoral or Pontic zone . The largest bays of the Black Sea are Karkinit Bay in Ukraine; the Gulf of Burgas in Bulgaria; Dnieprovski Bay and Dniestrovski Bay, both in Ukraine; and Sinop Bay and Samsun Bay, both in Turkey. The largest rivers flowing into the Black Sea are: These rivers and their tributaries comprise a 2-million km (0.77-million sq mi) Black Sea drainage basin that covers wholly or partially 24 countries: Unrecognised states: Some islands in

2701-517: The Bosporus Strait from the Mediterranean Sea into the Black Sea, where the water has a lower salt content. Because of the anoxic water at depth, organic matter, including anthropogenic artifacts such as boat hulls, are well preserved. During periods of high surface productivity, short-lived algal blooms form organic rich layers known as sapropels . Scientists have reported an annual phytoplankton bloom that can be seen in many NASA images of

2774-483: The Bosporus is located at 36.5 m (120 ft) below present sea level (deepest spot of the shallowest cross-section in the Bosporus, located in front of Dolmabahçe Palace ) and has a wet section of around 38,000 m (410,000 sq ft). Inflow and outflow current speeds are averaged around 0.3 to 0.4 m/s (1.0 to 1.3 ft/s), but much higher speeds are found locally, inducing significant turbulence and vertical shear. This allows for turbulent mixing of

2847-489: The Catholic Church and Latin culture and as a result, many Griko have become largely assimilated into mainstream Italian culture , though once numerous, the Griko are now limited, most of them having become absorbed into the surrounding Italian element. The Griko language is severely endangered due to language shift towards Italian and large-scale internal migration to the cities in recent decades. The Griko community

2920-1176: The Greek diaspora community consists of some 30,000 people, the majority of whom are located in Rome and Central Italy . Jonathan Harris, 'Being a Byzantine after Byzantium: Hellenic Identity in Renaissance Italy', Kambos: Cambridge Papers in Modern Greek 8 (2000), 25-44 Jonathan Harris, Greek Emigres in the West, 1400–1520 (Camberley, 1995) Jonathan Harris and Heleni Porphyriou, 'The Greek diaspora: Italian port cities and London, c. 1400–1700', in Cities and Cultural Transfer in Europe: 1400–1700 , ed. Donatella Calabi and Stephen Turk Christensen (Cambridge, 2007), pp. 65–86 Heleni Porphyriou, 'La presenza greca in Italia tra cinque e seicento: Roma e Venezia', La città italiana e I luoghi degli stranieri XIV-XVIII secolo , ed. Donatella Calabi and Paolo Lanaro (Rome, 1998), pp. 21–38 M.F. Tiepolo and E. Tonetti, I Greci

2993-424: The Greek inhabitants of Southern Italy became entirely Latinized during the Middle Ages (as many ancient colonies like Paestum had already been in the 4th century BC), pockets of Greek culture and language remained and survived into modern times. This is due to the fact that the migration routes between southern Italy and the Greek mainland never entirely ceased to exist. Thus, for example, Greeks sought refuge in

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3066-411: The Magna Graecia region. There is rich oral tradition and Griko folklore , limited now, though once numerous, to only a few thousand people, most of them having become absorbed into the surrounding Italian element. Records of Magna Graecia being predominantly Greek-speaking date as late as the 11th century (the end of the Byzantine empire what is commonly known as the Eastern Roman Empire). Recall that

3139-417: The Mani region of the Peloponnese. The Maniots were known for their proud military traditions and for their bloody vendettas (another portion of these Greeks moved to Corsica; cf. the Corsican vendettas). When the Italian Fascists gained power in 1922, they persecuted the Greek-speakers in Italy. Today the Italian Greek is included in UNESCO 's Red Book of Endangered Languages . The city of Messina

3212-423: The Mid-Black Sea High, which includes the Andrusov Ridge, Tetyaev High, and Archangelsky High, extending south from the Crimean Peninsula . The basin includes two distinct relict back-arc basins which were initiated by the splitting of an Albian volcanic arc and the subduction of both the Paleo - and Neo- Tethys oceans, but the timings of these events remain uncertain. Arc volcanism and extension occurred as

3285-448: The N:P:Si ratio in the basin. Coastal areas, accordingly, have seen an increase in the frequency of monospecific phytoplankton blooms, with diatom-bloom frequency increasing by a factor of 2.5 and non-diatom bloom frequency increasing by a factor of 6. The non-diatoms, such as the prymnesiophytes Emiliania huxleyi (coccolithophore), Chromulina sp., and the Euglenophyte Eutreptia lanowii , can out-compete diatom species because of

3358-454: The Neo-Tethys Ocean subducted under the southern margin of Laurasia during the Mesozoic . Uplift and compressional deformation took place as the Neotethys continued to close. Seismic surveys indicate that rifting began in the Western Black Sea in the Barremian and Aptian followed by the formation of oceanic crust 20 million years later in the Santonian . Since its initiation, compressional tectonic environments led to subsidence in

3431-464: The Rim Current. The Rim Current has a maximum velocity of about 50–100 cm/s (20–39 in/s). Within this feature, two smaller cyclonic gyres operate, occupying the eastern and western sectors of the basin. The Eastern and Western Gyres are well-organized systems in the winter but dissipate into a series of interconnected eddies in the summer and autumn. Mesoscale activity in the peripheral flow becomes more pronounced during these warmer seasons and

3504-445: The Roman empire had become so vast that it was divided into two parts for administrative purposes. The migration of Byzantine Greek scholars and other emigres from Byzantium during the decline of the Byzantine empire (1203–1453) and mainly after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 until the 16th century, is considered by modern scholars as crucial in the revival of Greek and Roman studies, arts and sciences, and subsequently in

3577-406: The Turkish Straits, that the Black Sea joins the World Ocean . During geological periods when this hydrological link was not present, the Black Sea was an endorheic basin , operating independently of the global ocean system (similar to the Caspian Sea today). Currently, the Black Sea water level is relatively high; thus, water is being exchanged with the Mediterranean. The Black Sea undersea river

3650-425: The basin, interspersed with extensional phases resulting in large-scale volcanism and numerous orogenies , causing the uplift of the Greater Caucasus , Pontides , southern Crimean Peninsula and Balkanides mountain ranges. During the Messinian salinity crisis in the neighboring Mediterranean Sea , water levels fell but without drying up the sea. The collision between the Eurasian and African plates and

3723-412: The centre of the Black Sea reaches a maximum depth of 2,212 metres (7,257.22 feet) just south of Yalta on the Crimean Peninsula . The Paleo- Euxinian is described by the accumulation of eolian silt deposits (related to the Riss glaciation ) and the lowering of sea levels ( MIS 6, 8 and 10). The Karangat marine transgression occurred during the Eemian Interglacial (MIS 5e). This may have been

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3796-419: The coastal areas of the southern part of the Italian peninsula. The Romans called the area of Sicily and the foot of the boot of Italy Magna Graecia (Latin, "Greater Greece"), since it was so densely inhabited by Greeks . The ancient geographers differed on whether the term included Sicily or merely Apulia and Calabria — Strabo being the most prominent advocate of the wider definitions. During

3869-451: The current centre of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Italy and Malta , which in addition was a Byzantine province until the 10th century and held territory in Morea and Crete until the 17th century. Alongside this group, a smaller number of more recent migrants from Greece lives in Italy, forming an expatriate community in the country. Today many Greeks in Southern Italy follow Italian customs and culture, experiencing assimilation. In

3942-401: The dark color of the water or climatic conditions. Some scholars understand the name to be derived from a system of colour symbolism representing the cardinal directions , with black or dark for north, red for south, white for west, and green or light blue for east. Hence, "Black Sea" meant "Northern Sea". According to this scheme, the name could only have originated with a people living between

4015-498: The development of Renaissance humanism . These emigres were grammarians, humanists, poets, writers, printers, lecturers, musicians, astronomers, architects, academics, artists, scribes, philosophers, scientists, politicians and theologians. In the decades following the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople many Greeks began to settle in territories of the Republic of Venice , including in Venice itself. In 1479 there were between 4000 and 5000 Greek residents in Venice . Moreover, it

4088-480: The estuary of the Marrassantiya River, the modern Kızıl Irmak , on the Black Sea coast." The principal Greek name Póntos Áxeinos is generally accepted to be a rendering of the Iranian word * axšaina- ("dark colored"). Ancient Greek voyagers adopted the name as Á-xe(i)nos , identified with the Greek word áxeinos (inhospitable). The name Πόντος Ἄξεινος Póntos Áxeinos (Inhospitable Sea), first attested in Pindar ( c.  475 BC ),

4161-441: The highest sea levels reached in the late Pleistocene . Based on this some scholars have suggested that the Crimean Peninsula was isolated from the mainland by a shallow strait during the Eemian Interglacial. The Neoeuxinian transgression began with an inflow of waters from the Caspian Sea . Neoeuxinian deposits are found in the Black Sea below −20 m (−66 ft) water depth in three layers. The upper layers correspond with

4234-518: The late 1980s. Additionally, an alien species—the warty comb jelly ( Mnemiopsis leidyi )—established itself in the basin, exploding from a few individuals to an estimated biomass of one billion metric tons. The change in species composition in Black Sea waters also has consequences for hydrochemistry, as calcium-producing coccolithophores influence salinity and pH, although these ramifications have yet to be fully quantified. In central Black Sea waters, silicon levels also reduced significantly, due to

4307-409: The legal status of the Greek colony by the Venetian authorities. In 1539 the Greeks of Venice were permitted to begin building their own church, the San Giorgio dei Greci which still stands in the centre of Venice in the present day on the Rio dei Greci . Greek diaspora Constantinople and Asia Minor : Africa : Other regions : Other groups : Other languages Although most of

4380-407: The limited availability of silicon, a necessary constituent of diatom frustules. As a consequence of these blooms, benthic macrophyte populations were deprived of light, while anoxia caused mass mortality in marine animals. Overfishing during the 1970s further compounded the decline in macrophytes, while the invasive ctenophore Mnemiopsis reduced the biomass of copepods and other zooplankton in

4453-431: The north of the basin is up to 190 km (120 mi) wide and features a shallow apron with gradients between 1:40 and 1:1000. The southern edge around Turkey and the eastern edge around Georgia , however, are typified by a narrow shelf that rarely exceeds 20 km (12 mi) in width and a steep apron that is typically 1:40 gradient with numerous submarine canyons and channel extensions. The Euxine abyssal plain in

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4526-434: The northern (black) and southern (red) seas : this points to the Achaemenids (550–330 BC). In the Greater Bundahishn , a Middle Persian Zoroastrian scripture, the Black Sea is called Siyābun . In the tenth-century Persian geography book Hudud al-'Alam , the Black Sea is called Georgian Sea ( daryā-yi Gurz ). The Georgian Chronicles use the name zğua sperisa ზღუა სპერისა (Sea of Speri) after

4599-454: The outflow of fresher Black Sea surface-water into the Sea of Marmara occurs near the surface. According to Gregg (2002), the outflow is 16,000 cubic metres per second (570,000 cubic feet per second) or around 500 cubic kilometres per year (120 cubic miles per year), and the inflow is 11,000 m /s (390,000 cu ft/s) or around 350 km /a (84 cu mi/a). The following water budget can be estimated: The southern sill of

4672-448: The peak of the Khvalinian transgression, on the shelf shallow-water sands and coquina mixed with silty sands and brackish-water fauna, and inside the Black Sea Depression hydrotroilite silts. The middle layers on the shelf are sands with brackish-water mollusc shells. Of continental origin, the lower level on the shelf is mostly alluvial sands with pebbles, mixed with less common lacustrine silts and freshwater mollusc shells . Inside

4745-488: The photic zone, enhancing productivity. In total, the Black Sea's biodiversity contains around one-third of the Mediterranean's and is experiencing natural and artificial invasions or "Mediterranizations". The main phytoplankton groups present in the Black Sea are dinoflagellates , diatoms , coccolithophores and cyanobacteria . Generally, the annual cycle of phytoplankton development comprises significant diatom and dinoflagellate-dominated spring production, followed by

4818-404: The region in the 16th and 17th centuries in reaction to the conquest of the Peloponnese by the Ottoman Turks, especially after the fall of Coroni (1534). The Greeks from Coroni - the so-called Coronians - belonged to the nobility and brought with them substantial movable property. They were granted special privileges and given tax exemptions. Another part of the Greeks that moved to Italy came from

4891-437: The region. As a result of these characteristics the Black Sea has gained interest from the field of marine archaeology , as ancient shipwrecks in excellent states of preservation have been discovered, such as the Byzantine wreck Sinop D , located in the anoxic layer off the coast of Sinop, Turkey . Modelling shows that, in the event of an asteroid impact on the Black Sea, the release of hydrogen sulfide clouds would pose

4964-402: The regional topography , as depressions and storm systems arriving from the Mediterranean are funneled through the low land around the Bosporus, with the Pontic and Caucasus mountain ranges acting as waveguides, limiting the speed and paths of cyclones passing through the region. The Black Sea is divided into two depositional basins—the Western Black Sea and Eastern Black Sea—separated by

5037-419: The sea was called the "Inhospitable Sea Πόντος Ἄξεινος Póntos Áxeinos by the inhabitants of the Pontus region of the southern shoreline before Greek colonisation due to its difficult navigation and hostile barbarian natives (7.3.6), and that the name was changed to "hospitable" after the Milesians colonised the region, bringing it into the Greek world. Popular supposition derives "Black Sea" from

5110-408: The two layers. Surface water leaves the Black Sea with a salinity of 17 practical salinity units (PSU) and reaches the Mediterranean with a salinity of 34 PSU. Likewise, an inflow of the Mediterranean with salinity 38.5 PSU experiences a decrease to about 34 PSU. Mean surface circulation is cyclonic ; waters around the perimeter of the Black Sea circulate in a basin-wide shelfbreak gyre known as

5183-422: The westward escape of the Anatolian block along the North Anatolian and East Anatolian faults dictates the current tectonic regime, which features enhanced subsidence in the Black Sea basin and significant volcanic activity in the Anatolian region. These geological mechanisms, in the long term, have caused the periodic isolations of the Black Sea from the rest of the global ocean system. The large shelf to

5256-506: Was considered an ill omen and was euphemized to its opposite, Εὔξεινος Πόντος Eúxeinos Póntos (Hospitable Sea), also first attested in Pindar. This became the commonly used designation in Greek, although in mythological contexts the "true" name Póntos Áxeinos remained favoured. Strabo 's Geographica (1.2.10) reports that in antiquity, the Black Sea was often simply called "the Sea" ( ὁ πόντος ho Pontos ). He thought that

5329-556: Was one of the economically strongest Greek communities of that time outside the Ottoman Empire . In November 1494 the Greeks in Venice asked permission and were permitted to found a confraternity, the Scuola dei Greci , a philanthropic and religious society which had its own committee and officers to represent the interests of the flourishing Greek community. This was the first official recognition of

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