In the school course of studying the oceans, the Atlantic must be passed. This water area is quite interesting, which is why we will pay attention to it in our article. So, here is the characteristic of the Atlantic Ocean according to the plan:

1. Hydronym.
2. Basic moments.
3. Temperature regime.
4. Salinity of water.
5. Seas and islands of the Atlantic Ocean.
6. Flora and fauna.
7. Minerals.
8. Problems.

You will also find here a brief comparative description of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

hydronym

The Atlantic Ocean, whose characteristics are presented below, got its name thanks to the ancient Greeks, who believed that the hero of myths, Atlas, holds the sky at the edge of the Earth. The modern name was established in the 16th century, during the time of great navigators and discoveries.

Basic moments

The Atlantic Ocean stretches along the globe from north to south from Antarctica to Antarctica, washing 5 continents: Antarctica, North and South America, Eurasia and Africa. Its area is 91.6 million square kilometers. The deepest point of the Atlantic is the Puerto Rican Trench (8742 m), and the average depth is about 3.7 thousand m.

A characteristic feature of the second largest ocean is its elongated shape. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge runs along the Atlantic, which separates South American, Caribbean and North American in the west; in the east - African and Eurasian. The length of the ridge is 16 thousand km, and the width is about 1 km. Lava eruptions and earthquakes often occur here. The discovery of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is associated with the laying of a telegraph cable that connected America and Northern Europe in the middle of the 19th century.

Temperature regime

The North Trade Wind, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic, Labrador, Canary and others are currents that shape not only the climate, but the entire Atlantic Ocean. The characteristic of the temperature regime shows the following dynamics: the average water temperature is about 16.9 °C. Conventionally, the ocean can be divided along the equator into 2 parts: northern and southern, each of which has its own climatic features, thanks to the Gulf Stream. The width of the water area near the equator is the smallest, so the influence of the continents is most noticeable here.

Despite the fact that the Atlantic Ocean is considered warm, its extreme southern and northern sections can reach temperatures of 0 ° C and below. Therefore, drifting icebergs can often be found here. Today, their movement is tracked by artificial Earth satellites.

Atlantic Ocean: water feature

The Atlantic Ocean is the most salty. The average salt content is 34.5 ppm. Salinity largely depends on precipitation, fresh water inflow from rivers. The most salty is in tropical latitudes, because there is almost no precipitation here, strong evaporation of moisture due to high temperatures, and almost no fresh water.

Seas and islands of the Atlantic Ocean

Most of the islands are located near the mainland, which determines their continental origin: Great Britain, Ireland and others. There are also volcanic ones here: Canaries, Iceland. But Bermuda is of coral origin.

The indentation of the coastline, bays, seas fully describe the Atlantic Ocean. The characteristics of these reservoirs are very interesting. First of all, let's start with the seas. They are divided into 2 types: internal - Azov, Black, Mediterranean, Baltic, and external - Caribbean and Northern, etc. Also here you can observe bays that are not inferior in size to the seas, for example, Mexican or Biscay. In the Atlantic Ocean there is an unusual sea that has no shores - Sargasso. It got its name because of which its bottom is covered. These algae are covered with air bubbles, which is why they are also called

Flora and fauna

The organic world of the Atlantic is characterized by a variety of living organisms. Here grow red, brown, green algae, a large number of species of phytoplankton (more than 200). Thousands of species of animals live in cold zones, and tens of thousands in warm tropical zones. Whales, seals, fur seals, a lot of fish swim in the Atlantic Ocean: cod, herring, flounder, sardine, etc. Penguins and frigatebirds live in the northern latitudes. Large aquatic animals manatees live off the coast of Africa. They eat plants, which is why they are also called
It so happened historically that the Atlantic Ocean has become a source of fish for the food industry (2/5 of the world catch). Whales, walruses, seals and other animals are also hunted here. It satisfies our needs for lobster, oysters, lobsters, crabs.

Minerals

The ocean floor is very rich in various things and Canada mines coal here. The Gulf of Mexico and Guinea have large reserves of oil and natural gas.

Problems

The increase in anthropogenic influence on the Atlantic Ocean has a negative impact on its inhabitants, and it is no longer able to restore its biological resources on its own. A dangerous situation is observed in the Black and Mediterranean Seas, and the Baltic Sea is considered one of the dirtiest in the world.

Comparative characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific (briefly)

In order to make a brief description of the two oceans, you need to use a clear plan:

• The size of the water areas. Atlantic covers an area of ​​more than 91 million square meters. km, Quiet - 178.684 million square meters. km. Based on this, certain conclusions can be drawn. The Pacific Ocean is the largest, the Atlantic - in second place in terms of area.
• Depth. If we compare the depth indicator, then in the Pacific Ocean the average level stops at 3976 m, in the Atlantic - 3736 m. As for the maximum depth, in the first case - 11022 m, in the second - 8742 m.
• Water volume. According to this criterion, the Atlantic Ocean also remains in second place. His figure is 329.66 million cubic meters. km, when in the Pacific - 710.36 million cubic meters. m.
• Location. Atlantic Ocean coordinates - 0° N. sh. 30°W D., washes the following continents and islands: Greenland, Iceland (north), Eurasia, Africa (east), America (west), Antarctica (South). Pacific Ocean coordinates - 009 ° s. sh. 157°W e, located between Antarctica (south), North and South America (east), Australia and Eurasia (west).

Summing up

This article presents a brief description of the Atlantic Ocean, after reading which, you can already have a sufficient idea of ​​​​this area.

Atlantic Ocean is second largest ocean of the planet. It is located between Greenland and Iceland in the north, Europe and Africa in the east, North and South America in the west and Antarctica in the south. The coastline of the ocean is strongly indented in the Northern Hemisphere and weakly in the Southern. The greatest depth is 8742 m in the gutter Puerto Rico.

The area of ​​the Atlantic Ocean with seas is 91.6 million km 2, the average depth is 3332 m, the maximum depth is 8742 m.

The Atlantic Ocean was formed after the collapse of Gondwana and Laurasia (in the Mesozoic), it is relatively young. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge stretches across the ocean in the meridional direction, which divides it into western and eastern parts.

The Atlantic Ocean is located in almost all climatic zones, except for the Arctic, but its largest part lies in the regions of the equatorial, subequatorial, tropical and subtropical climates. In the temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, strong westerly winds dominate, but they reach their greatest strength in the temperate latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere. Trade winds prevail in subtropical and tropical latitudes.

In the Atlantic Ocean, currents are well expressed, directed almost in the meridional direction. This is due to the large elongation of the ocean from north to south and the outlines of its coastline. The most famous warm current Gulfstream and its continuation - North Atlantic flow.

The salinity of the waters of the ocean as a whole is higher than the average salinity of the waters of the World Ocean, and the organic world is poorer in terms of biodiversity in comparison with the Pacific Ocean.

Since ancient times, the Atlantic Ocean has been mastered by people and is now considered the most developed. Important sea routes pass through the Atlantic, connecting Europe with North America and both of these parts of the world with the oil countries of the Persian Gulf. The shelves of the North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico are places for oil extraction. material from the site

The seas of the Atlantic Ocean are the main fishing areas; up to half of the world's fish catch is caught here. The main fishing areas are the shelves, that is, the relatively shallow areas of the ocean. Herring fish (herring, sardines), cod fish (cod, haddock, navaga), mackerel, flounder, halibut, sea bass, eel, sprats, etc. are of commercial importance (Fig. 60). Unfortunately, the stocks of Atlantic herring and cod, sea bass and other fish species have sharply decreased. Today, the problem of preserving the biological and mineral resources of not only the Atlantic, but also the rest of the oceans is particularly acute. Fishing countries around the world agree on the allowable catch of fish and measures to combat poachers.

Geographic location and size. The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest water basin on our planet. Its area is 91.7 million km 2, the average depth is 3926 m, the maximum depth is 8742 m, the volume of water is 337 million km 3.

The name of the ocean was given by the ancient Greeks by the name of the mythical Atlanta, who allegedly stood on the edge of the earth and held the vault of heaven on his shoulders.

From the Arctic Circle to the coast of Antarctica, the Atlantic Ocean stretches for 16,000 km. At its narrowest point between Cape San Roque in South America and the coast of Sierra Leone in Africa, its width does not exceed 2900 km, and where the seas of the Atlantic go deep into land, for example, between the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico and the eastern shores of the Black Sea, its width reaches 13,000 km. In the south it is connected by wide channels with the Pacific and Indian Oceans, in the north - with the Arctic Ocean.

The islands in the Atlantic Ocean are only in the coastal part. their area is up to 1 million km 2. However, there are few of them in the open ocean. The six largest islands - Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Cuba, Haiti, Puerto Rico, Newfoundland - occupy more than 700 thousand km 2. Large archipelagos are located off the coast of Central America. This is primarily the Greater and Lesser Antilles and Bermuda. Many archipelagos in the south of the ocean. These include the South Orkney, South Sandwich and South Scottish Islands. In addition, there are several groups of small islands of volcanic origin in the ocean: Canaries, Azores, Cape Verde, Madeira, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha. The volcanic islands also include Iceland and some islands from the Lesser Angelic group.

The seas of the Atlantic, among which there are many inland and shelf seas, make up about 11% of the ocean area. their development is facilitated by the geological structure of the continents, the main tectonic components of which are located perpendicular to the Atlantic basin. Thus, the Baltic, Northern, Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Caribbean Seas with the Gulf of Mexico, the Weddell and Lazarev Seas are associated with tectonic depressions.

The Great Mediterranean is divided into a number of seas: Ligurian, Tyrrhenian, Adriatic, Ionian, Aegean. Sometimes in the old maritime and historical literature there are names of the Mediterranean seas that are not indicated on modern maps: Alboranov (between the Iberian Peninsula and Africa), Balearic (between Spain and the Balearic Islands), Iberian (between the Balearic Islands and Africa), Sardinian (between the island of Sardinia and the Balearic Islands), Sicilian (between Sicily and Africa), Levantske (between the islands of Crete Cyprus), Phoenician (east of the meridian of the island of Cyprus) and some others. Within the Atlantic basin there are dwarf seas: Marmara, Irish and others.

The Atlantic Ocean ranks third in average depths after the Pacific and Indian. The depths of 3000-6000 m account for 80% of its area. A characteristic feature of ocean bathymetry is that the share of the shelf is 8.5% of the total bottom area. It is largest in the northern part of the basin - along the coasts of Europe and North America - and reaches a width of hundreds of kilometers. In the southern part, it is much smaller, and off the coast of Brazil and Africa - several tens of kilometers. The relief of the shelf is characterized by troughs and banks.

An important element of the bottom of the Atlantic is the large underwater Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which stretches in the middle of the ocean from north to south for almost 17,000 km. In shape, it resembles the Latin letter S and has a width of more than 1000 km. This is a relatively young mountain structure. In many places it is dissected by longitudinal gorges and numerous transverse faults. These faults divide it into separate blocks, shifted in the latitudinal direction for hundreds of kilometers. In the axial zone of the spine, a narrow (30–60 km) and deep (1–2 km) longitudinal rift lobe was found.

At the equator, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is crossed by the Romansh Trench (7856 m), which divides it into the North Atlantic and Mid-Atlantic Ridges.

The North Atlantic Ridge is much lower. Depths above it are 2000-4000 m, only in some places there are separate elevations. Midday the Atlantic Ridge is much higher and more dissected. In many places, the depth above it is less than 2000 m and even 1000 m. In some places, the spine rises above the water in the form of volcanic islands (Ascension, Tristan da Cunha, Gough, Bouvet).

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is symmetrical with respect to the coast, therefore it divides the bottom into two equal parts - western and eastern, and a number of perpendicular elevations that branch off from it (Bermuda, Rio Grande, RokOl, Canary, Madeira, Cape Verde, Sierra Leone ridges , Kitovy, etc.), create deep-sea basins. In the western part of the ocean, the average depths are greater (5500-6000 m) than in the eastern part (4000-5000 m).

In the western part there are such basins - Labrador, Newfoundland, North American, Brazilian and Argentinean, in the eastern part - North European, Iberian, Canary, Cape Verde, Angelic and Cape. The basins of the East Atlantic are the smallest and less separated. In the extreme south of the ocean, the South Angelic and African-Antarctic ridges are separated from other African-Antarctic basin.

The relief of the oceans of the bed is quite complex. Abyssal plains stretch in the continental parts of the deep-sea basins. These are small flat areas covered with a thickness (3-3.5 km) of sedimentary deposits. Closer to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at depths of 5.5-6.0 km, there is a zone of abyssal hills. In addition, there are thousands of rare volcanic mountains in the ocean, over the tops of which there are still several hundred meters of water.

Bottom sediments. More than 67% of the surface of the ocean floor is covered with biogenic limestone silt, consisting of microscopic limestone shells of foraminifera, skeletons of coral polyps, bryozoans, radiolarians and sponges. At great depths (more than 4.5 km) there is a lot of red clay with manganese nodules. At shallow depths, along the continents, there are terrigenous and coral organogenic deposits. In the open ocean, along the northern trade winds, starting from the coast of Africa, eolian sediments brought by winds from the Sahara are widespread. Around Antarctica, and in the Northern Hemisphere - along the islands of Greenland, Newfoundland, Labrador, the majority are terrigenous iceberg deposits.

There is a certain pattern in the distribution of deposits: in the cold zones - terrigenous icebergs, they are replaced by biogenic siliceous material, in temperate and tropical zones - carbonates.

Climate. The ocean, stretching from the Northern to the Southern Arctic Circle, crosses almost all climatic zones. It is dominated by the Icelandic low, the North Atlantic and South Atlantic highs, between which there is an equatorial depression. In the extreme south, a subantarctic band of low pressure stretches.

These centers of action of the atmosphere, together with the Greenland and Antarctic highs, determine the general circulation of the atmosphere over the ocean. From both tropical areas of high pressure in the equatorial depression, westerly winds blow - trade winds, in temperate latitudes they sometimes acquire storm strength. Further north of the equator, tropical cyclones arise in summer and autumn, often turning into hurricanes. Most of them are over the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.

In tropical and subtropical latitudes near the continents, monsoon phenomena are common, but in general they are not characteristic of the ocean.

Water circulation. Currents are closely related to the general circulation of the atmosphere, but their movement is also influenced by the configuration of continental coasts. Therefore, in the Atlantic Ocean, the developed submeridional currents are stronger than in any other. Four large-scale gyres are distinguished in the upper layer of the ocean: northern cyclonic (north of 45 ° N), anticyclonal of the Northern Hemisphere (5-45 ° N), anticyclonal of the Southern Hemisphere (5-45 ° S. Lat.) and the Antarctic Polar Current (40-50° S). On the western periphery of these gyres there are narrow, but rather strong currents with a speed of 2-6 km / h: Labrador, Gulf Stream, Angelic, Guiana, Brazilian. In the central and eastern parts of these gyres, the currents are relatively weak, except for the equatorial zone.

Near the islands of Cape Verde, a local cyclonic circulation is formed, which contributes to the rise of deep waters enriched with oxygen and nutrients. These gyre systems are separated by hydrological fronts that arise when warm and cold currents meet or in a divergence zone.

Hydrological features of surface waters. One of the most important hydrological characteristics of water is its temperature. Throughout the ocean, the average surface water temperature is +16.5°C, but the South Atlantic is 6°C colder than the North. The thermal equator, with an average temperature of +26.7 °C, lies between 5 °C and 10 °C. sh. To the south and north of it, the temperature gradually decreases, and the pattern of its distribution has a zonal character. In places of submeridional currents and upwelling of deep waters, this regularity is violated. Particularly sharp temperature contrasts along the eastern coast of North America, where warm and cold currents meet.

The water in the Atlantic Ocean is salty compared to others, since evaporation (1040 mm) exceeds precipitation (780 mm) and part of the evaporated water is transferred to the continents. The highest salinity (37.5 ‰) is in subtropical and tropical latitudes, where areas of high atmospheric pressure with hot and clear weather prevail. The lowest salinity (33 ‰) is in the coastal waters of Antarctica due to their dispersion from the melting of ice.

The hydrochemical characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean are almost the same as in others, since there is a constant exchange of water between them. But the intensity of accumulation of biogens at intermediate and great depths is less here, because this process is hindered by intensive mixing of water, which is vertical and horizontal. The warm surface waters of low latitudes are supersaturated with calcium carbonate, which marine organisms need for their internal and external skeletons, as well as shells. Here the highest concentration of phosphorus and nitrogen compounds and not enough oxygen.

The content of dissolved oxygen is the largest in subpolar latitudes (7-8 ml / l). Very poor in oxygen (2 ml / l) intermediate waters of tropical latitudes, which occur at depths of 250-750 m. In the upwelling zone. along the western coast of Africa, as a result of photosynthesis, the amount of oxygen increases to 10 ml / l. The cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic are characterized by a large amount of silicic acid, which is necessary for the creation of diatom skeletons.

water masses. Bottom waters are formed from the surface waters of the Arctic and Antarctic when they cool down to -1.8 ° C and sink to the bottom. In places they move very fast (up to 1.6 km/h) and are capable of eroding bottom sediments, carrying suspended material, creating underwater valleys and large bottom accumulative plains. Cold slightly saline near-bottom Antarctic waters are mixed by the bottom of the basins up to 42 ° N. sh.

Deep waters lie on the bottom waters, which, sinking, form from cold surface waters in subpolar latitudes. In lower latitudes, cooling is not as strong as in high latitudes, so the water in these latitudes is less dense and does not sink to great depths. The waters of these latitudes form intermediate waters. One of the centers of formation of intermediate waters is the Mediterranean Sea. Even less dense highly mineralized waters in subtropical latitudes during their winter cooling to + 18 ° C. They form subsurface waters.

According to the physical and chemical properties, the content of oxygen and phosphates on the surface of the ocean determine the types of water masses: equatorial, tropical, subtropical, subpolar and polar.

Equatorial water masses are located between the equatorial and subequatorial hydrological fronts. These waters are characterized by high temperature (+25, + 27 ° С), moderate salinity (34-35 ‰), minimum density, high content of oxygen (3.0-4.5 ml/l) and phosphates (0.5 1 .0 µg-atom/L).

Tropical and subtropical water masses form in the area of ​​tropical atmospheric anticyclones. They are separated from subpolar water masses by subarctic and subantarctic fronts. Here is the highest salinity (36-37 ‰), high transparency, low content of nutrients, oxygen (2-3 ml / l), poor organic world. These are oceanic deserts.

Subpolar water masses are formed in temperate latitudes. They are separated from the polar ones by the Arctic and Antarctic fronts. In these waters, there is an intense heat exchange with the atmosphere, and therefore a significant variability of physical properties both in space and in time. They are saturated with oxygen and phosphates, have normal salinity.

Polar water masses are cold. their temperatures are close to the freezing point, they are characterized by high density, salinity (32-33 ‰), high content of oxygen (5-7 ml / l) and phosphates (1.5-2.0 μg-atom / l).

The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean is significantly inferior in number of species to the Pacific or Indian. This is due to its youth, long-term isolation from the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and the strong influence of the cold climate in the Quaternary period. The distribution of organisms was also affected by warm and cold currents and vertical mixing in the upwelling zone. In high latitudes, where there are more cold currents, and in low latitudes, where there is upwelling, the species composition of the fauna is poor, but in terms of the number of fish and animals it is much richer than in other oceans. In general, organic life in the Atlantic Ocean is quantitatively rich due to the extensive development of the shelf. For this reason, among fish, including industrial ones, there are a lot of bottom and bottom representatives.

Donna flora of the Atlantic is similar to the Pacific, although there are fewer of its species. The phytobenthos of the northern part of the ocean is characterized by brown algae, mainly fucoids, kelp and alaria, as well as red algae. In the tropical zone, green (haulerpa) and red algae are common, among which there are more limestone lithotamnia, and among brown ones - Sargasso. In the southern part of the ocean, among the bottom vegetation, there are only kelp.

The zoobenthos is represented mainly by octopuses, corals, crustaceans, echinoderms and specific fish species. Many are also sponges and hydroids.

Plankton has over 245 plant species and 2,000 animal species. The phytoplankton is dominated by peril and nee, cocolithophores, and diatoms. In diatoms, there is a clearly pronounced zonality: their maximum number develops in the temperate latitudes of both hemispheres, but the main species of the Northern Hemisphere are somewhat different from the southern ones. The highest density of diatoms is in the strip of the current of the West Winds.

The nekton species composition is slightly poorer than HIV Pacific. It does not contain simple forms of horseshoe crabs of some types of ancient fish, sea snakes. However, the species composition of fish in the Atlantic Ocean is richer than in the Pacific.

The distribution of benthos, plankton, and nekton clearly shows zonality. The number of species and the total biomass vary zonally. There are many species of cetaceans and seals in the Antarctic sector of the Atlantic.

In the subantarctic zone and the adjoining water strip of the temperate zone, the biomass reaches its maximum, but in terms of the number of species it is inferior to the tropics. Krill predominates in zooplankton, whales and pinnipeds predominate in NEKTON, and notothenia among fish.

In the tropical zone, zooplankton is represented by numerous species of foraminifera and pteropods, several species of radiolarians, copepods, squids, and octopuses. The composition of the nekton contains different types of fish, among which mackerel, tuna, sardines are of industrial importance, and in cold waters - anchovies. The tropical and subtropical zones are characterized by corals that develop better in the western part of the zone, especially in the Sargasso Sea, than in the eastern part.

The temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere are characterized by a large number of individuals, although with an insignificant species composition. Of the commercial fish, the most important are herring, cod, haddock, halibut, sea bass. Zooplankton are characterized by copepods and foraminifera. Most of them are in the Newfoundland Bank and the Norwegian Sea. The average zooplankton biomass here is greater than at the corresponding latitudes of the Pacific Ocean.

Arctic latitudes rich in fish. In Iceland, on the banks of the Faroe Islands, near Norway there are a lot of cod and herring. Whales and seals live in Greenland waters. On the rocks of the high banks - "bird colonies".

There are four biogeographic regions in the Atlantic Ocean: the Arctic, which includes the water spaces adjacent to Greenland and Labrador; North Atlantic, which covers the temperate latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere; Tropical-Atlantic, which is located in tropical and equatorial latitudes; Antarctic, covering the entire Antarctic circumpolar current.

The vast water spaces of the planet, covering most of it and the surrounding islands and continents, are called oceans. Among them, the largest are the Atlantic and the Pacific. These are two giants that people know far from everything about. Mankind knows where the Atlantic Ocean is located, what are its boundaries, underwater inhabitants, relief, etc.

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is considered the second largest after the Pacific. However, it is better studied and mastered, in comparison with other water areas. And where is the Atlantic Ocean, what are its boundaries? This giant is located along the length of the entire planet: in the east, the borders are North and South America, in the west - Europe, Africa. In the south, the Atlantic waters pass into the Southern Ocean. In the north, the giant is bounded by Greenland.

In those places where the Atlantic Ocean is located, there are practically no islands, which distinguishes this water area from others. Another distinguishing feature is the complex bottom topography and broken coastline.

Atlantic Ocean parameters

If we talk about the area, then the water area occupies more than ninety million square kilometers. Where the Atlantic Ocean is located, huge water reserves are concentrated. According to scientists, there are almost 330 million cubic kilometers of water in this basin.

The Atlantic Ocean is quite deep - the average depth reaches 3800 meters. In the place where the Puerto Rico Trench is located, the depth exceeds eight kilometers.

There are two parts in the Atlantic Ocean: northern and southern. The conditional border between them runs along the territory of the equator.

Bays, seas and currents

The area of ​​​​the seas and bays accounts for about sixteen percent of the total ocean area: about fifteen million square kilometers, with a volume of thirty million cubic kilometers. The most famous seas of the Atlantic are: North, Mediterranean, Aegean, Black, Azov, Caribbean, Labrador Sea, Baltic. By the way, where is the Baltic Sea in the Atlantic Ocean? It is located not far from the Arctic Circle, at 65°40"N (northern point), and in the south the sea is defined by a boundary at 53°45"N. sh., located near Wismar. In the west, the border is located near Flensburg, in the east - in the region of St. Petersburg.

Many are interested in the question: "Where is the North Atlantic Current in the Atlantic Ocean and what other currents are there?" The ocean is huge and stretches from north to south, across all hemispheres. Because of this particular location, different areas have different climates. But not only the proximity of the poles affects the weather: it is also influenced by currents that carry large volumes of ocean water. Thanks to them, the west is warmer than the east. This feature is associated with the course of the Gulf Stream and its branches - Antilles, Brazilian, North Atlantic. In the eastern part there is not only a warm current, but also a cold one - the Bengal and Canary.

The North Atlantic Current is the northeast extension of the Gulf Stream. It starts at the Great Newfoundland Beam. West of Ireland, the current is divided into two parts, one of which is the Canary.

Northern part of the ocean

The northern border of the Atlantic has a rugged coastline. A small part has a connection with the Arctic Ocean: it communicates with it through several narrow straits. In the northeast is Davis Strait, which connects the Baffin Sea with the ocean. Closer to the center of the northern border is the Denmark Strait, and between Norway and Iceland, the border is the Norwegian Sea.

In the southwest of the North Atlantic Ocean is the Gulf of Mexico, which communicates with the Gulf of Florida. Also in this part is the Caribbean Sea. And besides, there are many other well-known bays: Hudson, Barnegat, etc. The largest islands are located in this part of the basin: Cuba, Haiti, and the British Isles. There are also island groups closer to the east, but they are small. Among them, the most popular are the Canaries, Azores, Cape Verde. To the west are the Bahamas.

Southern part of the water area

The southern borders of the ocean are not as strongly indented as in the northern part. There are no seas here, but there is a very large gulf - Guinea. The most remote point of the Atlantic in the south is Tierra del Fuego, framed by small islands.

There are no large islands in the southern part of the ocean, but there are separately located formations. Examples are the Ascension Islands and Saint Helena.

There are also currents in the south, but here the waters move counterclockwise. The most powerful and largest current of this part is the South Tradewind, which branches off the coast of Brazil. One of its branches goes to the shores of South America, and the second one connects with the Atlantic current and moves to the east, where part of the current separates and passes into the Bengal current.

There are two huge oceans on Earth, and knowing where the Pacific and Atlantic oceans are, we can say for sure that these two great natural creatures will never meet.

The Atlantic Ocean is second in size only to the Pacific; its area is approximately 91.56 million km 2. 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 is much larger 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.

NORTHERN 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, there 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.

Islands.

The largest islands are 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 regions of crustal deformations. Deep-water trenches are located along the convex side of the arc.

Bottom relief.

The basin of the Atlantic Ocean is bordered by a shelf, the width of which varies. The shelf is cut 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 the ocean floor, from a depth of about 60 m to several kilometers, is covered with thin, dark blue or bluish-green silt deposits. A relatively small area is occupied by rocky outcrops and areas of gravel-pebble and sand deposits, as well as deep-sea 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.

A rift zone extends along the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.

currents.

Surface currents in the North Atlantic Ocean move clockwise. The main elements of this large 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 Strait of Florida and the island of Cuba in a northerly direction along the coast of the United States and at about 40 ° N. latitude. 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 Arctic Ocean. It is because of it that the climate of Norway and all of northwestern Europe is much warmer than would be expected at latitudes corresponding to the region stretching 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.

SOUTHERN ATLANTIC OCEAN

borders and coastlines.

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 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.

Islands.

There are no large islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, but 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.

Bottom relief.

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

currents.

The main current systems in the South Atlantic move counterclockwise. The South Tradewind current is directed to the west. At the prominence of the east coast of Brazil, it divides 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 south along the coast of Brazil and joins the West Winds Current, or Antarctic, which heads east and then to the 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.