Atlantic Ocean map

Ocean area - 91.6 million square kilometers;
Maximum depth - Puerto Rico trench, 8742 m;
Number of seas - 16;
The largest seas are the Sargasso Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Mediterranean Sea;
The largest bay Gulf of Mexico;
Most big islands– UK, Iceland, Ireland;
The strongest currents:
- warm - Gulf Stream, Brazilian, Northern Tradewind, Southern Tradewind;
- cold - Bengal, Labrador, Canary, West Winds.
The Atlantic Ocean occupies the entire space from subarctic latitudes to Antarctica. It borders the Pacific Ocean in the southwest, the Indian Ocean in the southeast, and the Arctic Ocean in the north. In the northern hemisphere, the coastline of the continents, which are washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean, is heavily indented. There are many inland seas, especially in the east.
The Atlantic Ocean is considered a relatively young ocean. The mid-Atlantic ridge, which stretches almost strictly along the meridian, divides the ocean floor into two approximately identical parts. In the north, individual peaks of the ridge rise above the water in the form volcanic islands, the largest of which is Iceland.
The shelf part of the Atlantic Ocean is not large - 7%. The greatest width of the shelf, 200 - 400 km, is in the area of ​​the North and Baltic Seas.

The Atlantic Ocean is located in all climatic zones, but most of it is in tropical and temperate latitudes. Climatic conditions here are determined by trade winds and westerly winds. The wind force is strongest in the temperate latitudes of the southern Atlantic Ocean. In the area of ​​the island of Iceland is the center of the origin of cyclones, which significantly affect the nature of the entire Northern Hemisphere.
Average temperatures surface water much lower in the Atlantic than in the Pacific. This is due to the influence of cold waters and ice that come from the Arctic Ocean and Antarctica. AT high latitudes there are many icebergs and drifting ice floes. In the north, icebergs slide off Greenland, and in the south, from Antarctica. Today, the movement of icebergs is monitored from space by piece satellites of the earth.
Currents in the Atlantic Ocean have a meridional direction and are characterized by strong movement activity. water masses from one latitude to another.
The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean is poorer in species composition than that of the Pacific. This is explained by the geological youth and cooler climatic conditions. But, despite this, the stocks of fish and other marine animals and plants in the ocean are quite significant. The organic world is richer in temperate latitudes. More favorable conditions for the residence of many species of fish have developed in the northern and northwestern parts ocean, where there are less flows of warm and cold currents. Here, cod, herring, sea bass, mackerel, capelin are of industrial importance.
The natural complexes of individual seas and the inflow of the Atlantic Ocean are distinguished by their originality. This is especially true for the inland seas: the Mediterranean, Black, North and Baltic. In the northern sub tropical zone located, unique in its nature, the Sargas Sea. The giant Sargassum seaweed, which is abundant in the sea, has made it famous.
The Atlantic Ocean is crossed by important sea ​​routes, which connect New World with European and African countries. On the coast and islands of the Atlantic there are world-famous areas of recreation and tourism.
The Atlantic Ocean has been explored since ancient times. Since the 15th century, the Atlantic Ocean has become the main waterway of mankind and does not lose its significance today. The first period of ocean research lasted until the middle of the 18th century. He was characterized by the study of the distribution ocean waters and delimitation of the ocean. Comprehensive study nature of the Atlantic began with late XIX centuries.
The nature of the ocean in our time has been studied more since 40 scientific ships from different countries peace. Oceanologists carefully study the interaction of the ocean and the atmosphere, observe the Gulf Stream and other currents, and the movement of icebergs. The Atlantic Ocean is no longer able to independently restore its biological resources. Preservation of its nature today is an international matter.
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The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest and youngest ocean on Earth, distinguished by its unique topography and natural features.

The best resorts are located on its banks, and the richest resources are hidden in its bowels.

Research History

Long before the advent of our era, the Atlantic was an important trade, economic and military route. The ocean was named after the ancient Greek mythological hero- Atlanta. For the first time, mention is found in the writings of Herodotus.

Sailing routes of Christopher Columbus

For many centuries, more and more new straits, islands were opened, there were disputes over maritime territory and ownership of the islands. But he nevertheless discovered the Atlantic, who led the expedition and discovered most of the geographical objects.

Antarctica, and at the same time the southern border of sea waters, was discovered by Russian explorers F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev.

Characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean

The area of ​​the ocean is 91.6 million km². It, like the Pacific Ocean, washes 5 continents. The volume of water in it is a little more than a quarter of the oceans. It has an interesting elongated shape.

The average depth is 3332 m, the maximum depth is in the area of ​​the Puerto Rico Trench and is 8742 m.

The maximum salinity of the water reaches 39% (Mediterranean Sea), in some areas 37%. There are also the freshest areas with an indicator of 18%.

Geographical position

The Atlantic Ocean in the north washes the shores of the island of Greenland. Touches from the west eastern shores Northern and South America. In the south lie established boundaries with the Indian and Pacific Oceans.

This is where the waters of the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet.

They are determined along the meridian of Cape Agulhas and Cape Horn, respectively, reaching up to the glaciers of Antarctica. In the east, the waters wash Eurasia and Africa.

currents

For water temperature strong influence cold currents moving in the direction from the Arctic Ocean.

Warm currents are trade winds that affect the waters near the equator. This is where it starts warm current Gulf stream passing through the pool caribbean, which makes the climate of the coastal countries of Europe much warmer.

Along the coast North America the cold Labrador Current flows.

Climate and climatic zones

The Atlantic Ocean extends to all climatic zones. On the temperature regime strongly influenced by westerly winds, trade winds and monsoons around the equator.

In the zone of the tropics and subtropics, the average temperature is 20°C, in winter it drops to 10°C. In the tropics, heavy rainfall prevails throughout the year, while in the subtropics they are significantly more fall out in summer. The temperature drops significantly in the regions of the Arctic and Antarctica.

Inhabitants of the Atlantic Ocean

Of the flora in the Atlantic Ocean, kelp, corals, red and brown algae are widespread.

More than 240 species of phytoplankton and an uncountable number of fish species live there, the most prominent representatives of which are: tuna, sardines, cod, anchovies, herring, perch (sea), halibut, haddock.

Of the mammals, several species of whales can be found there, the most common is the blue whale. The waters of the ocean are also inhabited by octopuses, crustaceans, squids.

The flora and fauna of the ocean is much poorer than that of the Pacific. This is due to the relatively young age and less favorable temperature conditions.

Islands and peninsulas

Some islands were formed as a result of the rise of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge above sea level, these include the Azores and the Tristan da Cunha archipelago.

Tristan da Cunha Island

The most famous and mysterious are Bermuda.

Bermuda

On the territory of the Atlantic Ocean are located: Caribbean, Antilles, Iceland, Malta (state on the island), about. Helena - there are 78 of them in total. The Canary Islands, the Bahamas, Sicily, Cyprus, Crete and Barbados have become favorite places for tourists to visit.

Straits and seas

The waters of the Atlantic include 16 seas, among which the most famous and largest are: the Mediterranean, Caribbean, Sargasso.

The Caribbean Sea Meets the Atlantic Ocean

The Strait of Gibraltar connects the current ocean waters with the Mediterranean.

The Strait of Magellan (runs along Tierra del Fuego and is distinguished by a large number of sharp rocks) and the Drake Passage open into the Pacific Ocean.

Features of nature

The Atlantic Ocean is the youngest on Earth.

A significant part of the waters extends into the tropics and temperate zone, therefore, the animal world is presented in all its diversity, both among mammals and among fish and other sea creatures.

The diversity of plankton species is not great, but only here its biomass per 1 m³ can be so high.

Bottom relief

The main feature of the relief is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the length of which is more than 18,000 km. For a large distance from both sides of the ridge, the bottom is covered with hollows that have a flat bottom.

There are also small underwater volcanoes, some of which are active. The bottom is cut by deep gorges, the origin of which is still not exactly known. However, due to age, the relief formations that prevail in other oceans are developed here to a much lesser extent.

Coastline

In some parts, the coastline is slightly indented, but the coast there is quite rocky. There are several large water areas, for example, the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf of Guinea.

Gulf of Mexico

In the region of North America and the eastern coasts of Europe, there are many natural bays, straits, archipelagos and peninsulas.

Minerals

Oil and gas production is carried out in the Atlantic Ocean, which makes up a decent share of the world's mining.

Also on the shelves of some seas, sulfur, ore, precious stones and metals are being mined, which are important for world industry.

Environmental problems

In the 19th century, whale hunting was widespread among sailors in these places for obtaining their fat and bristles. As a result, their number was sharply reduced to critical, now there is a ban on whaling.

Waters are heavily polluted due to use and release of:

• huge amount of oil into the bay in 2010;
• production waste;
• city ​​garbage;
• radioactive substances from stations, poisons.

This not only pollutes the water, degrades the biosphere and kills all life in the water, but affects pollution to the same extent. environment in cities, the consumption of foods containing all these substances.

Types of economic activity

In the Atlantic Ocean, 4/10 of the volume of fishing is carried out. It is through it that a huge number of shipping routes pass (the main of which are directed from Europe to North America).

The paths passing through the Atlantic Ocean and the seas located in it lead to major ports which are of great importance in import and export trade. Oil, ore, coal, wood, products and raw materials of the metallurgical industry, food products are transported through them.

On the shores of the Atlantic Ocean there are many world tourist cities that annually attract a large number of of people.

Interesting facts about the Atlantic Ocean

The most curious of them:

Conclusion

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest, but by no means less significant. It is an important source of minerals, the fishing industry, and the most important transport routes pass through it. Briefly summing up, it is worth paying attention to the huge damage to the ecological and organic component of ocean life caused by mankind.

The Atlantic Ocean is second in size only to the Pacific, its area is approximately 91.56 million km². It is distinguished from other oceans by the strong indentation of the coastline, which forms numerous seas and bays, especially in the northern part. In addition, the total area of ​​river basins flowing into this ocean or its marginal seas, much more than that of rivers flowing into any other ocean. Another difference of the Atlantic Ocean is a relatively small number of islands and a complex bottom topography, which, thanks to underwater ridges and uplifts, forms many separate basins.

North Atlantic Ocean

borders and coastlines. The Atlantic Ocean is divided into northern and southern parts, the boundary between which is conventionally drawn along the equator. From an oceanographic point of view, however, the equatorial countercurrent, located at 5-8 ° N latitude, should be attributed to the southern part of the ocean. The northern boundary is usually drawn along the Arctic Circle. In some places this boundary is marked by underwater ridges.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the Atlantic Ocean has a heavily indented coastline. Its relatively narrow northern part is connected to the Arctic Ocean by three narrow straits. In the northeast, the Davis Strait, 360 km wide (at the latitude of the Arctic Circle), connects it with the Baffin Sea, which belongs to the Arctic Ocean. In the central part, between Greenland and Iceland, there is the Danish Strait, with a width of only 287 km at its narrowest point. Finally, in the northeast, between Iceland and Norway, is the Norwegian Sea, approx. 1220 km. To the east, two water areas deeply protruding into the land separate from the Atlantic Ocean. The more northern of them begins with the North Sea, which to the east passes into the Baltic Sea with the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. To the south there is a system of inland seas - the Mediterranean and the Black - with a total length of approx. 4000 km. In the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, there are two oppositely directed currents one below the other. The lower position is occupied by the current from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, since the Mediterranean waters, due to more intensive evaporation from the surface, are characterized by greater salinity, and consequently, greater density.

In the tropical zone in the southwest of the North Atlantic are the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, connected to the ocean by the Strait of Florida. The coast of North America is indented by small bays (Pamlico, Barnegat, Chesapeake, Delaware and Long Island Sound); to the northwest are the Bays of Fundy and St. Lawrence, Belle Isle, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay.

Most major islands concentrated in the northern part of the ocean; these are the British Isles, Iceland, Newfoundland, Cuba, Haiti (Hispaniola) and Puerto Rico. On the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean there are several groups of small islands - Azores, Canaries, Cape Verde. There are similar groups in the western part of the ocean. Examples include the Bahamas, Florida Keys and Lesser Antilles. The archipelagos of the Greater and Lesser Antilles form an island arc surrounding the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea. In the Pacific Ocean, such island arcs are characteristic of deformation regions. earth's crust. Deep-water trenches are located along the convex side of the arc.

The basin of the Atlantic Ocean is bordered by a shelf, the width of which varies. The shelf is cut through by deep gorges - the so-called. submarine canyons. Their origin is still a matter of controversy. According to one theory, the canyons were cut by rivers when the ocean level was below present. Another theory links their formation with the activity of turbidity currents. It has been suggested that turbidity currents are the main agent responsible for the deposition of sediments on the ocean floor and that it is they that cut submarine canyons.

The bottom of the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean has a complex rugged relief, formed by a combination of underwater ridges, hills, basins and gorges. Most of ocean floor, from a depth of about 60 m and up to several kilometers, is covered with thin silty deposits of dark blue or bluish-green color. A relatively small area is occupied by rocky outcrops and areas of gravel-pebble and sandy deposits, as well as deep-water red clays.

Telephone and telegraph cables have been laid on the shelf in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean to connect North America with northwestern Europe. Here, the areas of industrial fishing, which are among the most productive in the world, are confined to the area of ​​the North Atlantic shelf.

In the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, almost repeating the outlines of the coastlines, a huge underwater mountain range approx. 16 thousand km, known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This ridge divides the ocean into two approximately equal parts. Most of the peaks of this underwater ridge do not reach the surface of the ocean and are located at a depth of at least 1.5 km. Some of the highest peaks rise above ocean level and form the islands - Azores in the North Atlantic and Tristan da Cunha - in the South. In the south, the range bends around the coast of Africa and continues further north into the Indian Ocean. A rift zone extends along the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Surface currents in the North Atlantic Ocean move clockwise. The main elements of this big system are the warm current of the Gulf Stream directed to the north, as well as the North Atlantic, Canary and Northern Equatorial (Equatorial) currents. The Gulf Stream follows from the Florida Strait and Cuba Island in a northerly direction along the coast of the USA and approximately 40°N. sh. deviates to the northeast, changing its name to the North Atlantic Current. This current divides into two branches, one of which follows the northeast along the coast of Norway and further into the Northern Arctic Ocean. It is thanks to her that the climate of Norway and the whole northwestern Europe much warmer than would be expected at latitudes from Nova Scotia to southern Greenland. The second branch turns south and further southwest along the coast of Africa, forming the cold Canary Current. This current moves to the southwest and joins the North Equatorial Current, which heads west towards the West Indies, where it merges with the Gulf Stream. To the north of the North Equatorial Current is an area of ​​stagnant water, abundant in algae and known as the Sargasso Sea. Along the North Atlantic coast of North America, the cold Labrador Current passes from north to south, following from the Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea and cooling the coast of New England.

South Atlantic Ocean

Some experts attribute everything to the Atlantic Ocean in the south. body of water all the way to the Antarctic ice sheet; others take for the southern boundary of the Atlantic an imaginary line connecting Cape Horn in South America with the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. The coastline in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean is much less indented than in the northern part, there are also no inland seas, along which the influence of the ocean could penetrate deep into the continents of Africa and South America. The only major bay on the African coast is Guinea. On the coast of South America, large bays are also few in number. The southernmost tip of this continent - Tierra del Fuego - has a rugged coastline, bordered by numerous small islands.

There are no large islands in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, however, there are separate isolated islands, such as Fernando de Noronha, Ascension, Sao Paulo, St. Helena, the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, and in the extreme south - Bouvet, South Georgia , South Sandwich, South Orkney, Falkland Islands.

In addition to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, South Atlantic two main underwater mountain ranges stand out. The whale range extends from the southwestern tip of Angola to about. Tristan da Cunha, where it joins the Mid-Atlantic. The Rio de Janeiro ridge stretches from the Tristan da Cunha Islands to the city of Rio de Janeiro and is a group of separate underwater hills.

The main current systems in the South Atlantic move counterclockwise. The South Tradewind current is directed to the west. At the ledge east coast Brazil, it is divided into two branches: the northern one carries water along north coast South America into the Caribbean, and the southern, warm Brazilian current moves south along the coast of Brazil and joins the West Winds or Antarctic current, which heads east and then northeast. Part of this cold current separates and carries its waters north along the African coast, forming the cold Benguela Current; the latter eventually joins the South Equatorial Current. The warm Guinea Current moves south along the coast of Northwest Africa to the Gulf of Guinea.

Secrets of the Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is famous human civilization from time immemorial. It was here, according to ancient legends, that the mysterious island of Atlantis was located, which went under water seventeen thousand years ago. A warlike and courageous people (Atlanteans) lived on it, and the god Poseidon reigned over it together with his wife Kleito. The name of their eldest son was Atlan. In his honor, the boundless sea washing this land was named the Atlantic.

Atlantic Ocean

The mysterious civilization has sunk into oblivion, the sea was renamed the ocean, but the name has remained. The secrets of the Atlantic Ocean have not disappeared anywhere. As the centuries passed, there were no fewer of them. But before you get acquainted with everything unusual and mysterious, you need to get a general idea of ​​the majestic waters that wash both the shores of hot Africa, and the lands of old Europe, and the distant rocky coast of the American continent, covered with a haze of fabulous legends.

Today the Atlantic Ocean is called huge body of water on planet Earth, which accounts for 25% of the volume of the oceans. Its area is almost 92 million km², together with the adjacent seas and the Atlantic part of the Southern Ocean. From north to south, the waters of the Atlantic stretch for 15.5 thousand km, and from west to east, in the narrowest part (from Brazil to Liberia), they are 2.8 thousand km wide.

If we take the distance Atlantic waters from west coast Gulf of Mexico to the eastern coast of the Black Sea, then there will be a completely different figure - 13.5 thousand km. The depth of the ocean is also a great difference. Its average value is 3600 m, and the maximum is recorded in the Puerto Rico trench and corresponds to 8742 meters.

The bottom of the Atlantic is divided lengthwise into two parts by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It exactly repeats the outlines of a huge body of water and stretches in a wide winding mountainous chain: from the north - from the Reykjanes Ridge (Iceland), to the African-Antarctic Ridge in the south (Bouve Island), going beyond the border of the distribution of Arctic ice.

Scattered to the right and left of the ridge are hollows, troughs, faults, small ridges that make the topography of the ocean floor very complex and confusing. Coastline (especially in northern latitudes) also has no simple structure. It is strongly indented by small bays, has vast water areas that go deep into the land and form seas. Numerous straits in the coastal zone of the continents, as well as straits and channels connecting the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean, are also an integral part.

The Atlantic Ocean washes the shores of 96 state formations. It owns 14 seas and 4 large bays. Diverse climate in these geographical and geological areas earth's surface provide numerous surface currents. They flow full-flowing in all directions and are divided into warm and cold.

In the northern latitudes, up to the equator, the Northern Tradewind, the Gulf Stream and the Northern Atlantic Current. They carry warm waters and delight the world around them with a mild climate and high temperatures. This cannot be said about the Labrador and Canarian currents. The latter are cold and create frosty and slushy weather on the adjacent lands.

South of the equator, the picture is the same. The warm South Trade Wind, Guinean and Brazilian currents rule here. The cold West Winds and the Bengal Wind try to be equal in everything to their more humane counterparts and also make their feasible negative contribution to the formation of the climate of the southern hemisphere. In general, the average temperature on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean is plus 16 ° Celsius. At the equator, it can reach up to 28 ° Celsius. But in the northern latitudes it is very cold - here the water freezes.

Icebergs of the Atlantic

From what has been said, it is not difficult to guess that from the north and south the waters of the Atlantic are squeezed by eternal giant ice crusts. True, there is a little overkill at the expense of eternity, since very large blocks of ice often break off from them and begin to slowly drift towards the equator. Such blocks are called icebergs, and they move north of Greenland up to 40 ° N. latitude, and in the south of Antarctica to 40 ° S. sh. Their remnants are also observed closer to the equator, reaching 31-35 ° southern and northern latitudes.

Very large sizes is a loose concept. More specifically, there are icebergs that are tens of kilometers long and sometimes exceed 1,000 km² in area. These ice floes can travel through the expanses of the ocean for years, hiding their true size under the water surface.

The fact is that a mountain of ice shines blue above the water, which corresponds to only 10% of the total volume of the iceberg. The remaining 90% of this block is hidden in the ocean depths due to the fact that the density of ice does not exceed 940 kg / m³, and the density sea ​​water on the surface ranges from 1000 to 1028 kg/m³. Plain, average height iceberg, as a rule, corresponds to 28-30 meters, its underwater part is just over 100-120 meters.

Meeting with such sea ​​traveler for the courts has never been a joy. It poses the greatest danger in adulthood. By this time, the iceberg has thawed significantly, its center of gravity has shifted, and the huge ice block has turned over. Its underwater part is above the water. It does not shine blue, but is a dark blue ice cap, which, especially in conditions of poor visibility, is very difficult to distinguish on the surface of the ocean.

The sinking of the Titanic

A typical example of the insidiousness of floating ice blocks can be the death of the Titanic, which occurred on the night of April 14-15, 1912. It sank 2 hours and 40 minutes after hitting an iceberg in northern waters Atlantic Ocean (41° 43′ 55″ N, 49° 56′ 45″ E). This resulted in the death of 1,496 passengers and crew members.

True, we must immediately make a reservation: it is rather imprudent to write off everything on a "stray" iceberg. This shipwreck is still one of the greatest secrets Atlantic Ocean. There is still no clue to the causes of the tragedy, although there are a great many different Versky and assumptions.

As expected, the largest passenger ship in the world (length 269 m, width 28.2 m, displacement 46,300 tons) collided with an iceberg, which had a venerable age and apparently turned over in the water more than once. Its dark surface did not give reflections, it merged with the water surface of the ocean, so it was very difficult to notice a huge floating ice block in time. The culprit of the tragedy was recognized only when he was at a distance of 450 meters from the ship, and not 4-6 km, as usually happens in such situations.

The sinking of the Titanic made a lot of noise. It was a worldwide sensation at the beginning of the second decade of the twentieth century. Mostly everyone was amazed - how could such a huge and reliable ship sink so quickly, dragging hundreds and hundreds of unfortunate people to the bottom with it. Nowadays, real reasons terrible tragedy many researchers tend to see it not in the ill-fated iceberg (although few people deny its indirect role), but in completely different factors, which for some reason, at one time, were hidden from the general public.

Versions, conjectures, assumptions

The official conclusion of the commission investigating the disaster was unequivocal - the ice of the Atlantic turned out to be stronger than steel. He ripped open the underwater part of the Titanic's hull like a tin can. The wound was terrible: its length reached 100 meters, and six of the sixteen waterproof compartments were damaged. This turned out to be enough for the proud Briton to sink to the bottom and forever calm down at a great depth, taking with him to the sea soil human lives and colossal wealth.

The sinking of the Titanic

The sinking of the Titanic

Such a verdict is not convincing for a specialist, and even a person who is far from shipbuilding understands that the carrying hull of a huge liner plowing the oceans cannot in any way resemble a tin can. The melted ice of the old iceberg also does not have sufficient hardness, which, judging by the conclusion, should have exceeded the strength of a diamond in order to cut through the steel plating of a multi-ton passenger ship for tens of meters.

You can build various assumptions and hypotheses for an arbitrarily long time, but only practical research can answer all questions. In this situation, given the depth at which the Titanic lay, survey work became possible no earlier than the 80s of the XX century. It was at this time that deep-sea vehicles appeared capable of for a long time located at a depth of 4 km.

The first such swallow was the expedition of the American oceanologist Robert Ballard, who in September 1985 arrived at the scene of the tragedy on the ship Knor. She was armed with a deep-water towed complex "Argo". It was he who determined the depth of the remains of the Titanic. The water column in this place was 3,750 meters. The ship lay on the seabed, split into two parts, the distance between them was approximately 600 meters.

No visible damage that caused the death of the ocean liner was found. Robert Ballard considered that they were hidden by the ground, in which the multi-ton structure was bogged down. A lacerated wound on the body of the Titanic was not found during the second expedition organized by an American scientist in 1986.

French and American experts followed the beaten track. In the summer of 1987, they arrived in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and spent two long months at the crash site. Using the Nautil deep-sea submersible, the researchers recovered more than 900 items from the bottom of the sunken ship. These were samples of ship utensils, some of which ended up in museums, and some went to private collections.

Survey of the Titanic

A submersible explores the sunken Titanic

Finally, in 1991, the ship Akademik Mstislav Keldysh arrived at the site of the sinking of the Titanic. On board was an international research expedition led by Canadian geologist and oceanographer Steve Blask. The expedition had at its disposal two autonomous underwater vehicles Mir-1 and Mir-2. On them, the researchers made 38 dives. The ship's hull was examined, a sample of the side plating was taken, film, video and photography were carried out.

Despite all efforts, a ragged hole, several tens of meters long, was not found. But it was possible to find a hole, the size of which did not exceed square meter, and numerous cracks were observed along the lines of the rivets.

A steel fragment that broke away from the Titanic's hull was sent for testing. It was checked for metal fragility - the conclusion was not encouraging: the prototype was amazingly fragile. This could be attributed to the long 80 years on the seabed, which significantly affected the properties of steel. Therefore, for the objectivity of the picture, a similar piece of metal was tested, which has been preserved at the shipyard since 1911. The result was almost the same.

It's hard to believe, but the body of the Titanic did not respond regulatory requirements. It was made from material high content sulfur compounds. The latter gave the steel structure high brittleness, which, in combination with ice water made her very fragile.

If the hull were made of steel that meets all the standards and requirements, then after contact with the iceberg, it would bend, but retain its integrity. In the same situation, the ship hit an iceberg with its starboard side - and the blow was of little force, but the fragile skin of the Titanic could not stand it either. It split along the rivet lines below the waterline. Icy water poured into the holes that formed, which instantly filled the lower compartments and, most likely, caused the explosion of red-hot steam boilers.

The huge ship began to rapidly sink into the waters of the Atlantic. According to eyewitnesses, at first the Titanic sank on an even keel, which indicates that the lower compartments were filled with water evenly. Then came the trim on the nose. The stern began to rise up, reached a vertical position, and the multi-ton colossus very quickly went to the bottom. Already at great depth, due to high pressure, "Titanic" split into two parts, which were pulled along the bottom of the ocean for more than 500 meters.

Who benefited from the sinking of the Titanic?

It turns out that this catastrophe has nothing to do with the secrets of the Atlantic Ocean: everything seems to be clear. No, there is no need to rush to conclusions. As already mentioned, there are many versions of the death of an ocean liner, and among them there is not one that can be called the ultimate truth. There are many other assumptions, opinions of very authoritative people considering the cause terrible disaster from a completely different angle.

So to this day there is a version that the White Star Line company, the owner of the ship, was the culprit of the accident. It was its leaders who originally planned the construction of the Titanic with gross violations all possible rules and regulations. The purpose of this grand scam was to obtain a huge insurance policy that could correct the precarious financial situation of the company and save it from total collapse.

That is why the ocean liner, despite warnings about icebergs from ships in the same area, sailed with the maximum possible speed(20.5 miles per hour). The task of the captain of the ship was one - to provoke a collision of the Titanic with a huge floating ice floe.

Most likely, no one could even imagine such a number. dead people, since according to all calculations it turned out that the ship would sink for a long time. The main stake was placed on rescue ships, which should have had enough time to get to the scene of the tragedy and manage to save all passengers and valuables on board. However, unpredictable fate has made its own adjustments to the original scenario.

In addition to this rather dubious and unsteady version, there is another. It's a fire in a coal bunker. With prolonged storage, the lower layers of coal begin to smolder, releasing explosive gas. The temperature gradually increases, the concentration of gas vapors increases. In such a situation, an explosion can occur from a normal push. The collision with the iceberg became the detonator that caused a huge burst of energy that tore apart and destroyed the entire lower part vessel.

In a word, even today there is no consensus on the causes of the terrible tragedy. Only the remains of a ship resting at a great depth can reveal this secret of the Atlantic Ocean. Their scrupulous study by dozens of specialists is possible only in normal earthly conditions. To do this, you need to raise the Titanic from the bottom of a huge reservoir.

Technically, this is extremely difficult to implement. As for the financial side of the issue, here is a different picture. Although such work will cost crazy money, but they will more than pay off. After all, we must not forget that gold bars worth 10 million pounds sterling lie on the ship. Jewelry, diamonds, jewelry are also stored here. the richest people of the world that sailed on this ship. Fragments of the Titanic hull, the remains of the interior, dishes will leave the auctions with a bang at fabulous prices.

If we consider the unfortunate Titanic as a source wealth he is by no means alone. The bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is the Klondike, Eldorado. There is a huge number of ships here, which are simply stuffed with precious metals, diamonds, and other valuables that can make anyone who gets to them rich. This is precisely the whole question: to break through the thickness of oceanic waters is an overwhelming task not only for individual adventurers, but also for serious firms and solid financial structures.

Underwater cemeteries of ships

At the beginning of the XXI century, there are many companies specializing in the search for sunken ships. The game is worth the candle, because, according to experts, at least 80,000 ships of all countries and peoples that have been shipwrecked over the past 400 years, carrying valuables worth 600 billion dollars, are resting at the bottom of the Atlantic alone.

One of these companies - the American company "Odyssey" - discovered in 2007, in the area of ​​the Canary Islands, a Spanish sailing ship. On board were 500 thousand old gold and silver coins. Their total weight reached 17 tons, and the cost was 500 million dollars. This is 100 million dollars more than the wealth that was raised in 1985 from the Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Florida in the twenties of the 17th century.

The lion's share of all the valuables that went to the bottom of the ocean in the 16th and in the first half of the 17th centuries rests precisely on Spanish ships, which in a continuous caravan carried to Europe from America the gold, silver, precious stones and products stolen from the Indian peoples.

In theory, the good obtained in this way cannot be the property of the state. The Spanish government thought otherwise. At the beginning of the 21st century, it declared 800 sunken XVI-XVIII centuries Spanish ships carrying illegally acquired utensils - national treasure. The monetary equivalent of all this wealth is estimated at 130 billion dollars.

Underwater treasures are available for search teams in the coastal zones of the Atlantic Ocean. Here, as a rule, ships sank, running aground or reefs. On the vast expanses of water, where at least 3000 meters lie under the keel, galleons, brigantines, frigates carrying cargo, and then steamships, motor ships, yachts, battleships went to the bottom, having experienced all the power and strength of ocean storms (the height of the waves in the Atlantic often reaches 10-15 meters) or the cunning and cruelty of enemy pirate ships and submarines during the years of hostilities.

The ratio of ships drowned in coastal zones and in the open ocean over the past 400 years is 85 to 15. That is, it turns out that the closer to the coast, the more dangerous. Only every seventh ship perished in the vast and majestic expanses of the Atlantic Ocean, the rest of the floating craft sank in the visibility of native or foreign shores, which, as they say, were within easy reach.

One of the largest underwater cemeteries is the English Channel. Its length is 560 km, its width in the west is 240 km, in the east 32 km, and the average depth is 63 m. Only in some places the depth exceeds this mark and reaches 170 m. There are many shoals, fogs are frequent. At the bottom of the strait rests countless ships, especially in its western part.

In terms of the number of shipwrecks, the waters in the area of ​​​​Cape Hatteras (North Carolina, USA) do not lag behind. There is a narrow long spit here, the eastern ledge of which is actually the ill-fated cape. This place is characterized by countless shoals, constant storms, fogs, strong currents. Vessels that dare to approach these shores expose themselves to a very real danger - the manifestation of carelessness, frivolity and ignoring the direction, almost constantly, leads to tragic consequences.

Bermuda Triangle

Perhaps the most intriguing mystery of the Atlantic Ocean can be called the Bermuda Triangle. Its peaks lie on southern tip Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. It is part of the so-called Devil's Belt, of which the Devil's Triangle is also a part, located in Pacific waters around Miyake Island (Japan).

The excitement around this seemingly unremarkable place arose in the second half of the 20th century. Before, for hundreds of years, everything seemed to be normal. The ships sedately crossed this expanse of the ocean, and the crews on them did not even guess what mortal danger they were exposing themselves to.

The year 1950 put an end to such outrageous frivolity. It was then that a short article by Associated Press correspondent Edward Johnson came out. It was not even an article, but a thin pamphlet published in Florida in a small circulation. It was called the "Bermuda Triangle", and the facts presented in it told about the mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft in the Bermuda region.

Bermuda Triangle

She did not attract the attention of the public in any way, but apparently forced the attention of individuals who feed on sensations and circulation of bestsellers to draw attention to themselves. However, it took almost 15 years before Vincent Gladdis's article titled "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" saw the light of day. It was published in 1964 in a spiritualist magazine. With a short break, a book by the same author, Invisible Horizons, was published. In it, a whole chapter was already given to the mysterious part of the ocean.

A more detailed solid and capacious work was presented to the readers ten years later. The author of this bestseller, simply and concisely called "The Bermuda Triangle", was Charles Berlitz. It provided a lot of data on the mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, and also described incomprehensible phenomena associated with changes in the properties of time and space. Reputable publishing houses of different countries reprinted this book, and, for short term, tens of millions of citizens living in different parts of the planet have learned about the Bermuda Triangle.

In any business, there will always be corrosive skeptics who do not feed with bread, but let them spoil a barrel of honey with a fly in the ointment. A blow to such a successfully and dynamically spreading sensation was struck already in the next 1975 American journalist Lawrence David Kouchet. This gentleman did not leave a stone unturned from all the arguments and statements of Charles Berlitz on the pages of his book “The Secret bermuda triangle unraveled."

To the credit of the author, the content of the book is by no means unsubstantiated criticism, which would be based on envy of a more successful and crafty colleague, but a serious study based on a painstaking study of documents and eyewitness accounts. Precisely on the basis actual material many errors, inaccuracies, and sometimes outright hoaxes were revealed in the work of Charles Berlitz.

The conclusion of Lawrence David Couchet's book is unequivocal: nothing mysterious, supernatural, inexplicable happens in the Bermuda Triangle. The statistics of tragedies in this section of the Atlantic Ocean corresponds to similar data in any other place of the huge reservoir. The mysterious disappearances of material objects are fictitious, and stories about ships abandoned by crews, about lost time, about instantaneous movement in space for hundreds of kilometers are a myth.

critics anomalous phenomena- sober people. In order to convince them of something, it is necessary to provide iron evidence of this phenomenon. But in Everyday life It is not that simple. What lies beyond the real cannot be explained in terms of the laws of physics, mechanics or chemistry. Here, rather, the human imagination and faith in the mysterious and unusual dominate.

By the way, many paranormal activity, taking place in the Bermuda Triangle, can be interpreted as a direct consequence of the usual banal processes occurring in the waters of the Atlantic. For example, the mysterious disappearance sea ​​vessels has a simple explanation related to methane emissions. This gas escapes from deposits on the seabed gas hydrates and saturates the water. The density of the latter drops sharply. A ship that enters such a section of the ocean immediately sinks.

The released methane is not limited to the aquatic environment. It rises into the air and also reduces its density. This can lead to the death of aircraft, which is almost impossible to explain to people on the ground. We must not forget that the gas dissipates very quickly both in water and in air environment. That is, he is a killer, leaving no traces behind.

Anomalies over time can be explained increased activity magnetic field in the Bermuda Triangle. Passengers of the aircraft who find themselves in a bunch of magnetic forces can be convinced of their impact by looking at the hands of the wrist watch that have stopped or slowed down. After some time negative factor disappears, the clock starts running normally again, but everyone, without exception, is behind by the same number of minutes. This gives rise to the false opinion that the plane was lost in another dimension.

If we talk about ships found in the ocean, on which there was not a single crew member, then here the blame can be put on infrasound, which occurs on the water surface under certain conditions. The human brain, heart, other organs of his body - they all have their own oscillation frequency. If some of them coincide with the frequency of infrasound, then the resulting resonance can ruthlessly hit the psyche of people, plunge them into horror and panic, make them jump overboard and die in the water.

All the arguments presented are quite convincing and realistic. But we must not forget that this is not evidence, but only assumptions. Supporters of the paranormal version can also put their vision of the problem to the public, which will be no less convincing and will find many adherents.

Where is the truth? Probably, as always, in the middle. sober look in combination with faith in the unusual and supernatural, it will be more productive in solving the mysteries of not only the Bermuda Triangle, but also other mysteries of the Atlantic Ocean, of which there are a great many both on its surface and in the dark depths.

Based on material factruz

Hello, dear readers! Today is the time to pay attention to the waters on Earth. Let's talk about the Atlantic Ocean. We learn all the main features of the Atlantic Ocean, its characteristics ...

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean (after). Its area with the seas is 91.6 million km2, the average depth is 3600 m, and the volume of water is 329.7 million km3, the maximum depth is 8742 m (Puerto Rico Trench). Almost all large bays (Guinea, Biscay) and seas (Northern, Caribbean, Baltic, Black, Mediterranean) are located in the Northern Hemisphere.

AT southern hemisphere there are such seas: the Lazarev Sea, about, the Scotia Sea, the Weddell Sea. The main groups of islands in the Atlantic Ocean: Newfoundland, Great Britain, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, Ireland, the Cape Verde Islands, the Canary Islands, the Falklands (Malvinas).

General characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean.

The meridional Mid-Atlantic Ridge divides the Atlantic Ocean into the Western and Eastern parts (the depth above it in the west is 5000-6000 m, and in the east about 3000 m). The water temperature on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean near the equator is up to 28 ° C, in high latitudes the water freezes. The salinity of the water is 34-37.3‰.

Surface currents form a cyclonic circulation in the southern high and northern temperate latitudes, and an anticyclonic circulation in the subtropical latitudes. The northern subtropical gyre consists of the warm North Trade Winds and the Gulf Stream and the cold Canary Current, the Southern one consists of the warm South Facade and Brazilian and cold West Winds and the Bengal Currents.

From the Arctic Ocean, the cold Labrador Current flows south along the coast of North America. In the north, the continuation of the Gulf Stream is the warm North Atlantic Current. The highest tides in the Bay of Fundy, 18 m.

Fisheries are developed (cod, hake, herring, sea bass, tuna) - 2/5 of the world catch. Oil in the Atlantic Ocean is produced on the shelves of the North Sea, in the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. Coastal offshore diamond deposits ( southwest Africa), zircon, ilmenite, rutile (USA, Brazil), sulfur (Gulf of Mexico), manganese iron ore(Canada, USA, Finland).

Also, the Atlantic Ocean occupies a leading position in world navigation. The most important ports: New York, Rotterdam, Houston, Boston, Hamburg, Marseille, London, Genoa, Havana, Dakar, Buenos Aires, Cape Town, Odessa, St. Petersburg.

North Atlantic Ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean is divided into northern and southern parts, the boundary is conventionally drawn along the equator. But, if you look from an oceanographic point of view, then the equatorial countercurrent, located at 5-8 ° north latitude, must be attributed to the southern part. For the most part, the northern border is drawn along the Northern polar circle. This boundary is marked in places by underwater ridges. The coastline of the Atlantic Ocean in the Northern Hemisphere is very severely cut. Its relatively narrow northern part is connected to the Arctic Ocean by three narrow channels.

The Davis Strait, 360 km wide, in the northeast connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Baffin Sea, which belong to Arctic Ocean. The Danish Strait (at its narrowest point, its width is 287 km) is located in the central part between Iceland and Greenland. The Norwegian Sea is located in the northeast between Norway and Iceland, its width is about 1220 km.

In the east, 2 deep water areas are separated from the Atlantic Ocean, which enter the land. More northerly of these water areas begins north sea, which in the east passes into the Baltic Sea with the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. To the south there is a system of inland seas - the Mediterranean and the Black - with a total length of about 4000 km. The ocean connects with the Mediterranean Sea in the Strait of Gibraltar, in which there are two oppositely directed currents. The lower position is occupied by the current, which is directed from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, since the Mediterranean waters are characterized by greater salinity, and therefore greater density. In the tropical zone in the southeast in the North Atlantic are the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, which is connected to the ocean by the Strait of Florida.

The coast of North America is cut by small bays (Barnegat, Palmico, Delaware, Chesapeake Bay, and Long Island Sound). To the northwest are the Bays of St. Lawrence and Fundy, Belle Isle Sound, Hudson Bay, and Hudson Strait.

Western part of the Atlantic ocean is surrounded by a shelf, the width of which varies. The shelf is cut by deep gorges, the so-called submarine canyons. Their origin still causes scientific debate. According to one theory, the canyons were cut by rivers when the ocean level was lower than today. Another theory connects their formation with the activity of kalamut currents. It has been suggested that it is these currents that are the causes of sediment deposition on the ocean floor and cut through submarine canyons.

The bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean has a complex relief formed by a combination of underwater ridges, elevations of basins and gorges. Most of ocean floor, with depths of approximately 60 m and up to several kilometers, is covered with a thin sea, a deposit of dark blue or bluish-green color. A relatively small area is occupied by rocky outcrops and areas of gravel-pebble and sandy deposits, as well as deep-water red clays on the shelf. In the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, telephone and telegraph cables were laid to connect North America with northwestern Europe. Here, the areas of industrial fishing, which are among the most productive in the world, are confined to the area of ​​the North Atlantic shelf. In the central part of the Atlantic Ocean there is a huge underwater mountain range about 16 thousand kilometers long, known as .

This ridge divides the ocean into two approximately equal parts. A significant part of the peaks of this underwater ridge does not even reach the surface of the ocean and is located at a depth of at least 1.5 km. Some of the highest peaks rise above sea level and form the Azores in the North Atlantic and Tristan da Cunha in the South. In the south, the ridge overtakes the coast of Africa and continues further north into Indian Ocean. A rift zone extends along the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

Surface currents in the North Atlantic Ocean move clockwise. The main elements of this large system are the warm northward Gulf Stream, as well as North Atlantic, Canarian and northern trade wind currents. The Gulf Stream flows from the Strait of Florida and the island of Cuba in a northerly direction along the coast of the United States and deviates to the northeast by about forty degrees north latitude, changing its name to the North Atlantic Current. This current is divided into two branches, one of which goes to the northeast along the coast of Norway and then the Arctic Ocean. It is thanks to her that the climate of Norway and all of northwestern Europe is much warmer than one would expect in northern latitudes. The second branch turns south and further southwest along the coast of Africa, forming the cold Canary Current. This current moves to the southwest and joins the North Equatorial Current, which heads west towards the West Indies, where it merges with the Gulf Stream. To the north of the North Passat Current is an area of ​​stagnant water, rich in algae and known as the Sargasso Sea.

Along the North Atlantic coast of North America, a cold weather passes from north to south. Labrador Current, which emerges from the Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea and cools the coast of New England. (There is a Labrador Current in the picture, it is not in the upper picture with the currents of the North Atlantic Ocean. All the currents of the Atlantic Ocean are here).

South Atlantic Ocean.

Some experts attribute to the Atlantic Ocean in the south the entire body of water up to the Antarctic ice sheet itself; others take for the southern boundary of the Atlantic an imaginary line connecting Cape Horn in South America with the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. The coastline in the South Atlantic Ocean is less indented than in the North. There are also no inland seas.

The only large bay on the African coast is Guinea. On the coast of South America, large bays are also few in number. The southernmost edge of this continent - Tierra del Fuego - has a rugged coastline surrounded by numerous small islands.

In addition to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, there are two main underwater mountain ranges in the South Atlantic.

The whale range extends from the southwestern edge of Angola to the island of Tristan da Cunha, where it joins the Mid-Atlantic. The strand of Rio de Janeiro stretches from the islands of Tristan da Cunha to the city of Rio de Janeiro and is a group of separate underwater hills.

The main current systems in the South Atlantic move counterclockwise. The South Tradewind current is directed to the west. Near the protrusion of the eastern coast of Brazil, it is divided into two branches: the northern one carries water along the northern coast of South America to the Caribbean, and the southern warm brazilian current, moves along the coast of Brazil and joins the current West Winds or Antarctic which heads east and then northeast. Part of this cold current separates and carries its waters north along the African coast, forming the cold Benguela Current; the latter eventually joins the Northern Equatorial Current. The warm Guinea Current heads south along the coast of Northwest Africa to the Gulf of Guinea.

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