The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans. It covers less than 3% of the earth's surface. It is also the coldest of all the oceans. The Arctic Ocean derives its name from the word 'arktos' which means 'bear' in Greek.
It is located in the northern hemisphere north of 60 degrees North latitude and borders the Eurasian and North American continents and surrounds Greenland and several islands. It is about 5.4 million square miles - about 1.5 times as big as the US - but it is the world's smallest ocean. The Arctic region covers parts of eight countries: Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, and the United States.
Much of the ocean is covered by ice during the colder months or year-round. Little marine life exists where the ocean surface is covered with ice throughout the year. The Arctic Ocean's temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes. It has low salinity due to low evaporation, limited outflow to the surrounding oceanic waters, and heavy freshwater inflow from rivers and streams.
The average depth of the Arctic Ocean is 1038m (3406ft). The deepest point is Molloy Hole in the Fram Strait (a passage between Greenland and Svalbard), at about 5550m (18210ft).
There are two forms of ice found in the Arctic Ocean - sea ice and pack ice.
The pack ice in the Arctic is hundreds of miles across. It drifts around the ocean in a clockwise direction and completes one revolution around the North Pole every 10 years.
Iceberg in the Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is contained in a polar climate. Winters are characterized by the polar night, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies. The temperature of the surface of the Arctic Ocean is fairly constant, near the freezing point of seawater. The Arctic Ocean consists of saltwater. The temperature must reach -1.8oC (28.2oF) before freezing occurs. Summers are characterized by continuous full sunlight all day long throughout the entire summer (unless there are clouds), and this is the reason that the Arctic is called the land of the midnight sun. After the Summer Solstice, the sun starts to sink towards the horizon. In summers, air temperatures can rise slightly above 0 °C (32 °F). Cyclones are more frequent in summer and may bring rain or snow.
The sea temperatures of the Arctic Ocean is quite constant and is around -2 degree Celsius or 28 degrees Fahrenheit all year round. The climatic conditions depend on the seasons; the sky is mostly cloudy over the Arctic ocean. Winter is long and lasts from September to May.
The sea ice packs are affected by wind and ocean currents. You can experience 'permafrost' on the islands in the Arctic region. Permafrost means that soil is frozen for more than two years. The Arctic ice is decreasing because of the increasing temperatures of the ocean waters due to global warming. More ice-packs are melting during summer and less water is freezing in winter every year.
It is tough to study life in the Arctic Ocean because the region is hard to access. Only underwater explorers who dive through holes in thick sea ice are able to see the complex ocean life. Much of the ocean here is dark, blocked from sunlight by ice cover, but photographers dive with lights to find out the underwater Arctic life. The Arctic Ocean is home to whales, walruses, polar bears, and seals.
Due to ice, there are very few fish in the main body of the ocean. Many animals that are often seen roaming the sea ice are also adapted for the water. Polar bears have large, paddle-like paws to propel them through the water, and they've been documented swimming for hours. Walruses have large tusks that they use to pull themselves out of the water, and they find much of their food by foraging along the seafloor. Whales and fish are often an important food source for indigenous people living in the Arctic, but commercial fishing has been banned in much of the Arctic Ocean.
The Arctic Ocean has relatively little plant life except for phytoplankton. Phytoplanktons are a crucial part of the ocean and there are massive amounts of them in the Arctic, where they feed on nutrients from rivers and the currents of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. During summer, the sun is out day and night, thus enabling the phytoplankton to photosynthesize for long periods of time and reproduce quickly. However, the reverse is true in winter when they struggle to get enough light to survive.
The mineral resources of the Arctic include major reserves of oil and natural gas, large quantities of minerals including iron ore, copper, nickel, zinc phosphates, and diamonds. Living resources of the Arctic are primarily the abundant fisheries.
The Arctic Ocean is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. Global warming is causing Arctic ice to melt. Ice reflects sunlight, while water absorbs it. When the Arctic ice melts, the oceans around it absorb more sunlight and heat up, making the world warmer as a result. Thus, melting ice speeds up global warming. Over the past century, the global average sea level has risen 4 to 8 inches. Melting Arctic ice is expected to speed up sea level rise. Some experts even estimate that the oceans will rise as much as 23 feet by 2100, which would flood major coastal cities and submerge some small island countries, causing untold devastation.
The political dead zone near the center of the sea is also the focus of a mounting dispute between the United States, Russia, Canada, Norway, and Denmark. It is significant for the global energy market because it may hold 25% or more of the world's undiscovered oil and gas resources.
