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Guide
Introduction
| |
| Background: |
The Atlantic Ocean is the
second-largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but
larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The
Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey),
Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the St. Lawrence Seaway
(Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by
the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to
delimit a fifth world ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of
the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south. |
| Location: |
body of water between Africa,
Europe, the Southern Ocean, and the Western Hemisphere |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
0 00 N, 25 00 W |
| Area: |
total: 76.762
million sq km
note: includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis
Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico,
Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, almost all of the Scotia
Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly less than 6.5 times
the size of the US |
| Climate: |
tropical cyclones
(hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cape Verde and move
westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to
December, but are most frequent from August to November |
| Terrain: |
surface usually covered with
sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait, and Baltic Sea from October to
June; clockwise warm-water gyre (broad, circular system of currents) in
the northern Atlantic, counterclockwise warm-water gyre in the southern
Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a
rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin |
| Elevation
extremes: |
lowest point:
Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
| Natural
resources: |
oil and gas fields, fish,
marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer
deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones |
| Natural
hazards: |
icebergs common in Davis
Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from
February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the
Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme
northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime
hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December) |
| Environment
- current issues: |
endangered marine species
include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net
fishing is hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to
international disputes; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US,
southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea,
Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea;
industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North
Sea, and Mediterranean Sea |
| Geography
- note: |
major chokepoints include the
Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals;
strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona
Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the Equator divides
the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic
Ocean |
| Economy
- overview: |
The Atlantic Ocean provides
some of the world's most heavily trafficked sea routes, between and
within the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. Other economic activity
includes the exploitation of natural resources, e.g., fishing, the
dredging of aragonite sands (The Bahamas), and production of crude oil
and natural gas (Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and North Sea). |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Alexandria (Egypt), Algiers
(Algeria), Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Buenos Aires
(Argentina), Casablanca (Morocco), Colon (Panama), Copenhagen (Denmark),
Dakar (Senegal), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland),
Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon
(Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Montevideo (Uruguay),
Montreal (Canada), Naples (Italy), New Orleans (US), New York (US), Oran
(Algeria), Oslo (Norway), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro
(Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint Petersburg (Russia), Stockholm
(Sweden) |
| Transportation
- note: |
Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence
Seaway are two important waterways; significant domestic commercial and
recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic
seaboard and Gulf of Mexico coast of US |
| Disputes
- international: |
some maritime disputes (see
littoral states) |
|
