Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan
Location: body of water between
the Western Hemisphere and Europe/Africa
Map references:
Africa, Antarctic Region, Arctic Region, Central America and the Caribbean,
Europe, North America, South America, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area 82.217 million sq km
comparative area
slightly less than nine times the size of the US; second-largest of the
world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than Indian Ocean
or Arctic Ocean)
note includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean
Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean
Sea, North Sea, Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary
water bodies
Coastline: 111,866 km
International disputes:
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
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 north Atlantic, counterclockwise warm
water gyre in the south Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic
Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire Atlantic basin; maximum
depth is 8,605 meters in the Puerto Rico Trench
Natural resources:
oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and
gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones
Environment:
current issues endangered marine
species include the manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; 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
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; icebergs from Antarctica occur in the extreme southern
Atlantic Ocean
international agreements NA
Note:
ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north Atlantic from
October to May and extreme south Atlantic from May to October; persistent
fog can be a hazard to shipping from May to September; major choke points
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; north Atlantic shipping
lanes subject to icebergs from February to August; the Equator divides the
Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean
Digraph: ZH
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: 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),
Piraeus (Greece), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Saint
Petersburg (formerly Leningrad; Russia), Stockholm (Sweden)
Telecommunications: numerous submarine cables with most between continental
Europe and the UK, North America and the UK, and in the Mediterranean; numerous
direct links across Atlantic via INTELSAT satellite network
Note: Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways
Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan
gene carl feldman (gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (301) 286-9428