Marginal Sea

a sea adjacent to a continent and partly enclosed by peninsulas or islands. Marginal seas are usually located on the continental shelf and slope, and only a few have sections in deep-water parts of the ocean. All their characteristics, for example, the nature of bottom deposits, climatic and hydrological conditions, and organic life, are strongly influenced by both the continent and the ocean. Typical marginal seas include the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi, Norwegian, and Bellingshausen seas.