In the northernmost place of the planet lies the Arctic Ocean. It is the smallest of the four oceans that make up the World Ocean. Its water area is very poorly studied. The territory is almost completely covered with ice all year round, so it is unattractive for fishermen and seafarers.
The deepest point is recorded in the Greenland Sea, it is 5572 m. The total area of the ocean is almost 15 thousand square meters. km. It borders the Atlantic Ocean through the Norwegian Sea, Davis and Danish straits. The Bering Strait separates it from the Pacific Ocean. There is no clear division between the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean.
Territory of the ocean
The map of the Arctic Ocean shows that its marginal seas are: Greenland, Norwegian, Beaufort, Baffin, Laptev, East Siberian, Kara, Chukchi, Barents. The territory of this ocean is a wide and deep bowl, which is called the Arctic Basin. The White Sea and Hudson Bay are inland waters. The marginal seas occupy the continental shelf, which in some places reaches a considerable width. Some experts distinguish the continental shelf and the North European Basin in the ocean. The ocean bed consists of several huge basins.
There are many islands in the Arctic Ocean. The largest archipelagos and islands are: Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land, Greenland, Wrangel Island, Severnaya Zemlya, etc. Most of the ocean is located within the Arctic Circle. The night lasts six months there. During this period, the sun does not appear above the horizon. Therefore, this territory is experiencing a shortage of light and heat. The waters of the ocean are frozen all year round. In its center, there is a solid shell of ice. The thickness of individual ice islands reaches 30 m.
On the outskirts of the Arctic Ocean, ice drifts across the water. The ocean does not freeze near Murmansk and the Norwegian shores, as there is a warm Norwegian current coming from the Atlantic. On the coast of the Arctic Ocean are the lands of such states as Norway, Denmark (Greenland), Canada, Russia and the United States. The peculiarity of the water area is that it is surrounded by land from all sides. The ocean is located between Eurasia and America. They attach great importance to it, since the shortest route from Russia to North America lies through its ice and water.
Animal world
The fauna in this ocean is much poorer than in other parts of the planet. The reason is the harsh climatic conditions. A fairly rich fauna is observed in the Norwegian, Barents, Greenland and White Seas. Warm currents from the Atlantic enter their waters. Seas far from the Atlantic Ocean have less flora and fauna. Least of all animal species live in the center of the Arctic basin. Only the most hardy species are able to survive there: phytoplankton, polar bears, seals, walruses, narwhals and beluga whales.
