O Arctic glacial ocean is a set of waters that bathe the planet's northernmost lands, located above the Arctic Circle. Covers the North Pole and countries in America, Europe and Asia. It is the smallest of the five oceans that cover the Earth, with an area of 15 million km².
One population of about 4 million people live nearby and depends on it for its livelihood through fishing activity. Global warming, however, has been a major problem and has led to the melting of a significant surface of previously frozen areas. for long periods, bringing serious consequences to the global climate, the inhabitants of the lands bathed by this ocean and its biodiversity.
Read too: What is the influence of ocean currents on the climate?
Arctic Glacial Ocean Characteristics
The Arctic Glacial Ocean is a set of waters situated at the north end of the planet Earth, above the 90º N parallel or Arctic Circle. it is about the under five oceans that cover the earth's surface, with an area of 15.55 million km². In terms of volume, the Arctic Ocean is composed of 18.7 million km³ of water, almost four times less than the Southern Ocean, which is in fourth place.
A significant portion of Arctic waters remain frozen for most of the year.. Its temperature currently varies in the range of 3.8º C to -1.8º C. The average depth is 1,205 meters, which makes this ocean the shallowest among the five terrestrial oceans. The deepest point, called Molloy Deep, is located near Greenland and is approximately 5,500 meters below the surface.
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The Arctic Ocean is divided into five main seas. Are they:
Chukchi Sea;
East Siberian Sea;
Laptev Sea;
Kara Sea;
Barents Sea.
In addition to them, the Beaufort, Lincoln, Greenland, Wendel and Branco seas stand out.
This ocean further encompasses Baffin Bay, Hudson Bay and Straits, and the Northwest Passage. The latter consists of a sea route formed by straits that connect the areas washed by the oceans. Atlantic and Pacific. It also has another important connection with the Pacific through the Bering Strait, an 85 km pass located between Siberia and Alaska.
Arctic Glacial Ocean Geography
Covering the northernmost portion of the Earth, the waters of the Arctic Glacial Ocean are subject to extreme weather type polar, marked by low thermal amplitude and persistent cold. At the Winter, temperatures can reach almost -70°C in some regions. As a result, an extensive downtown area is frozen all year round, with the partial defrost in the period corresponding to the summer. However, with the passage of time and the advance of the increase in the planet's temperatures, the thaw has gained greater dimensions.
One of its peculiarities is the area occupied by the continental shelf, which represents up to a third of the ocean floor. The largest extension is in the vicinity of Siberia, in northern Russia. In regions where this formation occurs, the relief is characterized by a set of valleys, which reach 180 kilometers in width.
The relief of the Arctic Ocean is also composed of three dorsal parallel, which serve as a divider for the lower portions. The first of these is the Lomonosov mountain range, where altitudes reach just over 3000 meters. The second is the Gakkel Mountains or Nansen-Gakkel Mountains, whose crests are up to 5,000 meters. The Alfa range is in a higher area west of Gakkel, with peaks of 2700 meters. This set also comprises the Mendeleev Ridge, which starts from the East Siberian Sea in the northwest-southeast direction to the Amerasian Basin in the central portion of the Arctic.
Furthermore, two large basins form the ocean floor Arctic: the Amerasian Basin and the Eurasian Basin, which are divided into four smaller basins.
Read too: What are the exogenous agents of relief?
Importance of the Arctic Glacial Ocean
Exploratory expeditions in the Arctic only started in the 20th century, but the region had been inhabited for much longer. About 4 million people live today in the areas bathed by this ocean, which makes it a important source of livelihood for the inhabitants of the small villages that are distributed along the northern extremities of the Asian, American and European continents. Fishing is the main economic activity practiced by these populations. Also noteworthy is the value of tourism for some of these groups, an activity that has been gaining a growing number of followers.
The most economically valuable natural resources found in the Arctic are the Petroleum, natural gas, freshwater reserves, species of fish and seals. THE fossil fuel exploration it occurs more intensely in the territories of Alaska (United States) and northern Russia. With the presence of these reserves, interest in the political and military domain of the area also grows.
The Arctic Ocean serves as habitat for unique species adapted to extreme conditions of cold, pressure and very low light. In other areas and on frozen surfaces, the following can be observed:
whales (Greenland whale, called "bowhead", white whale or beluga)
fish,
walruses,
ringed seals and
polar bears.
Some of these animals are in extinction.
The importance of the Arctic reaches even greater scales when we take into account its role in thermal regulation of the planet. Like the Southern Ocean, the large areas covered by ice reflect most of the sun's rays that reach the surface, while the waters are responsible for its absorption.
Arctic Glacial Ocean Melting
The greatest concern of the international scientific community around the Arctic Ocean concerns the melting of the areas covered with ice, bringing consequences in the medium and long term both for the habitats of that region and for the planet as one all.
According to Greenpeace, the loss resulting from the melt was greater than the sum of the surfaces of Norway, Sweden and Denmark. The layer permanently covered by ice (called multi-year ice) today amounts to just 3% of the Arctic total, whereas in the 1980s this percentage was 20%. The main responsible for this phenomenon is the global warming.
Arctic ice melt occurs in bigger speed than anywhere else on the planet, which is due to the increase in temperatures twice as fast as in other regions. It is important to note that not only ice sheets are affected by warming, as the water itself ends up absorbing even more heat, which gradually promotes the alteration of the marine environment. We list below other consequences that are already being observed and that could happen in the coming decades.
Intensification of global warming, in view of the regulatory role played by frozen areas.
Extinction of the habitat of many animals, such as polar bears, which, in search of food, end up advancing into inhabited areas.
At a local scale, the melt can directly affect populations that live and depend on Arctic Ocean waters for their livelihoods.
Sea level rise by 7.4 meters by the year 2100.
The melting reaches the permafrost, which is the frozen ground. This causes the release of huge amounts of CO2 and gas methane in the Earth's atmosphere. In total, permafrost contains approximately 1.5 billion tons of CO2. Other substances that can be released by this process are toxic mercury as well as very old viruses and bacteria that have long been out of circulation.
See too: Relationship between global warming and species extinction
Continents and countries bordered by the Arctic Glacial Ocean
The Arctic Ocean bathes the northern ends of the Asia, Europe and North America, which covers the following territories:
Canada;
Greenland;
Iceland;
Norway;
Sweden;
Finland;
Russia;
U.S (Alaska).
Many islands make up the emerged areas bathed by this ocean, among which we highlight:
Canadian Archipelago;
Faroe Islands;
Jan Mayden;
Svalbard Archipelago;
ATOW 1996, small island belonging to Greenland and the northernmost point on Earth.
Fun Facts about the Arctic Glacial Ocean
The surface covered by the Arctic Ocean is almost twice the area of the Brazilian territory and is equivalent to approximately 33% of the planet's surface.
The name of the Arctic Ocean is derived from the Greek and means northern (from the north) and also “near the bear", in reference to the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the latter containing the North Star or the North.
The central ice sheet found in the Arctic is an average of 3 meters thick.
The coastal zone bathed by this ocean is 45,389 km.
The Arctic is home to the narwhal whale, known as the “unicorn of the sea”, as it has a canine tooth that protrudes out of its body, resembling a horn.
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography teacher
