Arctic Ocean

Oceans

Population

N/A

Area

15.558 km²

GDP

N/A

GDP Per Capita

N/A

Background

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five ocean basins (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. In recent years, the polar ice pack has receded in the summer allowing for increased navigation and raising the possibility of future sovereignty and shipping disputes among the Arctic coastal states affected (Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia, US).

Geography14

Location

body of water between Europe, Asia, and North America, mostly north of the Arctic Circle

Geographic coordinates

90 00 N, 0 00 E

Map references

Arctic Region

Area

total : 15.558 million sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US

Coastline

45,389 km

Climate

polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature range; winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies; summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow

Ocean volume

ocean volume: 18.75 million cu km
percent of World Ocean total volume: 1.4%

Major ocean currents

two major, slow-moving, wind-driven currents (drift streams) dominate: a clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyre in the western part of the Arctic Ocean and a nearly straight line Transpolar Drift Stream that moves eastward across the ocean from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to the Fram Strait (between Greenland and Svalbard); sea ice that lies close to the center of the gyre can complete a 360 degree circle in about 2 years, while ice on the gyre periphery will complete the same circle in about 7-8 years; sea ice in the Transpolar Drift crosses the ocean in about 3 years

Bathymetry

continental shelf

more than one quarter of the Arctic sea floor; the Eurasian shelf is very wide, extending out 1,500 km (930 mi), and is the largest continental shelf in the world

the following are examples of continental-shelf features in the Arctic Ocean (see Figure 2):

Barents Shelf
Beaufort Shelf
Davis Sill
Chukchi Shelf
East Siberian Shelf
Kara Shelf
Laptev Shelf
Lincoln Shelf

continental slope

the following are examples of continental-slope features in the Arctic Ocean (see Figure 2):

Litke Trough
Novaya Zemlya Trough
Svyataya Anna Trough (Saint Anna Trough)
Voronin Trough

abyssal plains

the following are examples of abyssal-plain features in the Arctic Ocean (see Figure 2):

Baffin Basin
Canada Basin
Fram/Amundsen Basin
Greenland Abyssal Plain
Iceland Basin
Makarov Basin
Molloy Deep (deepest point in the Arctic Ocean)
Nansen Basin
Norwegian Basin

mid-ocean ridge

the following are examples of mid-ocean ridges in the Arctic Ocean (see Figure 2):

Gakkel Ridge
Mohns Ridge

undersea terrain features

the following are examples of undersea terrain features on the floor of the Arctic Ocean (see Figure 2):

Lomonosov Ridge
Gakkel Ridge
Alpha Ridge
Mendeleev Rise
Chukchi Plateau

ocean trenches

none

atolls

none

Elevation

highest point: sea level
lowest point: Molloy Deep -5,577 m
mean depth: -1,205 m
ocean zones: the ocean is divided into three zones based on depth and light level; sunlight entering the water may travel about 1,000 m into the oceans under the right conditions, but there is rarely any significant light below 200 m

euphotic zone: the upper 200 m (656 ft) is also called "sunlight" zone; only a small amount of light penetrates beyond this depth

dysphotic zone: between 200 m (656 ft) and 1,000 m (3,280 ft), and also called the twilight zone; the intensity of light rapidly dissipates as depth increases, and photosynthesis is no longer possible

aphotic zone: below 1,000 m (3,280 ft) and also called the midnight zone; sunlight does not penetrate to these depths

Natural resources

sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales)

Natural hazards

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

Geography - note

major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait); strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean; snow cover lasts about 10 months

Government1

Country name

etymology: the name comes from the Greek word arktikos meaning "near the bear" or "northern," and that word derives from arktos, meaning "bear;" the name refers either to the constellation Ursa Major, the "Great Bear," which is prominent in the northern celestial sphere, or to the constellation Ursa Minor, the "Little Bear," which contains Polaris, the North (Pole) Star

Transportation1

Transportation - note

sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways

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