Arctic Ocean
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Arctic Ocean |
The
Arctic Ocean, located mostly in the
Arctic north polar region, is the smallest of the world's five
oceans and the shallowest. Even though the
International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean,
oceanographers may call it
the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or simply
the Arctic Sea, classifying it as one of the
mediterranean seas of the
Atlantic Ocean. Much of the ocean is covered by
sea ice, either during the colder months or year-round.
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. The Arctic Ocean is important as the shortest air route between the Pacific coast of North America and Europe overflies it.
The Arctic Ocean occupies a roughly circular basin and covers an area of about 14,056,000 square km (5,440,000 mi²), slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the
United States. The coastline length is 45,389 kilometers (28,203 mi). Nearly landlocked, it is surrounded by the land masses of
Eurasia,
North America,
Greenland, and several islands. It includes
Baffin Bay,
Barents Sea,
Beaufort Sea,
Chukchi Sea,
East Siberian Sea,
Greenland Sea,
Hudson Bay,
Hudson Strait,
Kara Sea,
Laptev Sea,
White Sea and other tributary bodies of water. It is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the
Bering Strait and to the
Atlantic Ocean through the Greenland Sea. Its geographic coordinates are:
An underwater
mid-ocean ridge, the
Lomonosov Ridge, divides the deep sea
North Polar Basin into two basins: the
Eurasian, or
Nansen, Basin, (after
Fridtjof Nansen) which is between 4,000 and 4,500 meters (13,000 and 15,000 ft) deep, and the
North American, or
Hyperborean, Basin, which is about 4,000 meters (13,000 ft) deep. The
topography of the ocean bottom is marked by
fault-block ridges,
plains of the abyssal zone, ocean deeps, and basins. The average depth of the Arctic Ocean is 1,038 meters (3,407 ft). [
1]. The deepest point is in the Eurasian Basin deepest point, at 5,450 meters (17,881 ft).
The Arctic Ocean contains a major chokepoint in the southern Chukchi Sea, which provides northern access to the
Pacific Ocean via the
Bering Strait between North America and Russia. The Arctic Ocean also provides the shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia. There are several floating research stations in the Arctic, operated by the U.S. and Russia.
Fridtjof Nansen was the first to make a naval crossing of the Arctic Ocean in
1896.The first surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean was led by
Wally Herbert in
1969, in a dogsled expedition from
Alaska to
Svalbard with air support.
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Extent of the Arctic ice-pack in September, 1978-2002 |
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Extent of the Arctic ice-pack in February, 1978-2002 |
The ocean is contained in a
polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges. Winters are characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers are characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow.
There is considerable seasonal variation in how much
pack ice covers the Arctic Ocean. Much of the ocean is also covered in snow for about 10 months of the year. The maximum snow cover is in March or April—about 20 to 50 centimeters (8 to 20 in) over the frozen ocean.
Petroleum and gas fields, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates,
fish,
seals and
whales can all be found in abundance in the region.
The political dead zone near the center of the sea is also at the center of a mounting dispute between the United States, Russia,
Canada,
Norway, and
Denmark. It is considered significant because of its potential to contain as much as or more than a quarter of the world's oil and gas resources, the tapping of which could greatly alter the flow of the global energy market.
The Arctic's New Gold Rush - BBCIce islands occasionally break away from northern
Ellesmere Island, and icebergs are formed from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada.
Permafrost is found on most islands. The ocean is virtually ice locked from October to June, and ships are subject to superstructure icing from October to May.
Endangered marine species include
walruses and whales. The area has a fragile
ecosystem which is slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage. The polar icepack is thinning, and there is a seasonal hole in
ozone layer over the
North Pole.
Reduction of the area of Arctic sea ice will have an effect on the planet's
albedo, thus possibly affecting
global warming. Many scientists are presently concerned that warming temperatures in the Arctic may cause large amounts of fresh meltwater to enter the North Atlantic, possibly disrupting global
ocean current patterns. Potentially severe changes in the Earth's climate might then ensue.
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Arctic Ocean Seaports, Churchill, Inuvik, Prudhoe Bay, Barrow, Pevek, Tiksi, Dikson, Dudinka, Arkhangelsk, Murmansk |
*
Churchill, Manitoba,
Canada *
Inuvik, Canada
*
Prudhoe Bay, Alaska,
United States*
Barrow, Alaska, United States
*
Pevek,
Russia*
Tiksi, Russia
*
Dikson, Russia
*
Dudinka, Russia
*
Murmansk, Russia
*
Arkhangelsk, Russia
*
Kirkenes,
Norway*
Vardø, Norway
Bibliography:
*Neatby, Leslie H.,
Discovery in Russian and Siberian Waters 1973 ISBN 0821401246
*Ray, L., and Stonehouse, B., eds.,
The Arctic Ocean 1982 ISBN 0333310179
*Thorén, Ragnar V. A.,
Picture Atlas of the Arctic 1969 ISBN 0821401246
Based on public domain text by US Naval Oceanographer: http://oceanographer.navy.mil/arctic.html
*Matthias Tomczak and J. Stuart Godfrey. 2003.
Regional Oceanography: an Introduction. ISBN 8170353068 (see
the site)
*
North Pole*
Oceanography Image of the Day , from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
*
Arctic Council*
The Northern Forum*
Arctic Environmental Atlas Interactive map
*
NOAA Arctic Theme Page*
NOAA In-situ Ocean Data Viewer Plot and download ocean observations
*
Arctic time series: The Unaami Data collection*
NOAA North Pole Web Cam Images from Web Cams deployed in spring on an ice floe
*
NOAA Near-realtime North Pole Weather Data Data from instruments deployed on an ice floe
*
Search for Arctic Life Heats Up by Stephen Leahy*
International Polar Foundation
