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The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Southern Ocean). |
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The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Southern Ocean). |
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* note: includes [Baffin Bay]?, [Barents Sea]?, [Beaufort Sea]?, [Chukchi Sea]?, [East Siberian Sea]?, [Greenland Sea]?, [Hudson Bay]?, [Hudson Strait]?, Kara Sea, [Laptev Sea]?, Northwest Passage, and other tributary water bodies |
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* note: includes [Baffin Bay]?, [Barents Sea]?, [Beaufort Sea]?, [Chukchi Sea]?, [East Siberian Sea]?, [Greenland Sea]?, [Hudson Bay]?, [Hudson Strait]?, Kara Sea, [Laptev Sea]?, Northwest Passage, and other tributary bodies of water |
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central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the [Beaufort Gyral Stream]?, but nearly straight-line movement from the [New Siberian Islands]? (Russia) to [Denmark Strait]? (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% [continental shelf]? (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges ([Alpha Cordillera]?, [Nansen Cordillera]?, and [Lomonosov Ridge]?) |
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central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the [Beaufort Gyral Stream]?, but nearly straight-line movement from the [New Siberian Islands]? (Russia) to [Denmark Strait]? (between Greenland and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50% [continental shelf]? (the highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges ([Alpha Cordillera]?, [Nansen Cordillera]?, and [Lomonosov Ridge]?) |
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ice islands occasionally break away from northern [Ellesmere Island]?; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May |
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ice islands occasionally break away from northern [Ellesmere Island]?; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost on islands; virtually ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May |
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endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack |
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endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack; seasonal hole in [ozone layer]? over the North Pole |
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The greatest inflow of water comes from the Atlantic by way of the Norwegian Current, which then flows along the Eurasian coast. Water also enters from the Pacific via the Bering Strait. The East Greenland Current carries the major outflow.Temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes. Ice covers most of the ocean surface year-round, causing subfreezing temperatures much of the time. The Arctic is a major source of very cold air that inevitably moves toward the equator, meeting with warmer air in the middle latitudes and causing rain and snow. Little marine life exists where the ocean surface is covered with ice throughout the year. Marine life abounds in open areas, especially the more southerly waters. The ocean's major ports are the Soviet cities Murmansk and Arkhangelsk (Archangel). The Arctic Ocean is strategically important as the shortest route between North America and the Russia. |
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The greatest inflow of water comes from the Atlantic by way of the Norwegian Current, which then flows along the Eurasian coast. Water also enters from the Pacific via the Bering Strait. The East Greenland Current carries the major outflow. Temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes. Ice covers most of the ocean surface year-round, causing subfreezing temperatures much of the time. The Arctic is a major source of very cold air that inevitably moves toward the equator, meeting with warmer air in the middle latitudes and causing rain and snow. Little marine life exists where the ocean surface is covered with ice throughout the year. Marine life abounds in open areas, especially the more southerly waters. The ocean's major ports are the Russian cities of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk (Archangel). The Arctic Ocean is strategically important as the shortest route between North America and Russia. |
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