. .
[TOP] |
Arctic Ocean Geography 1998 https://greekorthodoxchurch.org/wfb1998/arctic_ocean/arctic_ocean_geography.html SOURCE: 1998 CIA WORLD FACTBOOK Location body of water mostly north of the Arctic Circle Geographic coordinates 90 00 N, 0 00 E Map references Arctic Region Area
Area - comparative slightly less than 1.5 times the size of the US; smallest of the world's four oceans (after Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean) Coastline 45,389 km Climate polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges; 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 Terrain 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 land masses; 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 Lomonsov Ridge) Elevation extremes
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 icelocked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May Environment - current issues endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage Environment - international agreements
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
NOTE: The information regarding Arctic Ocean on this page is re-published from the 1998 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Arctic Ocean Geography 1998 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Arctic Ocean Geography 1998 should be addressed to the CIA. |