Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five ocean basins (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). The Kiel Canal (Germany), Oresund (Denmark-Sweden), Bosporus (Turkey), Strait of Gibraltar (Morocco-Spain), and the Saint Lawrence Seaway (Canada-US) are important strategic access waterways. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth world ocean basin, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Atlantic Ocean south of 60 degrees south latitude. For convenience and because of its immense size, the Atlantic Ocean is often divided at the Equator and designated as the North Atlantic Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean.

land

14.85 million sq km

Note

<strong>note:</strong> includes Baffin Bay, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, part of the Drake Passage, Hudson Bay, Hudson Strait, Gulf of America, Labrador Sea, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea, almost all of the Scotia Sea, and other tributary water bodies

Total

85.133 million sq km

about 7.5 times the size of the US

Abyssal plains

the following are examples of features on the abyssal plains of the Atlantic Ocean:<br><br>Angola Basin (Figure 3)<br>Agulhas Basin (Figure 3) <br>Argentine Basin (Figure 3) <br>Brazil Basin (Figure 3)<br>Canary Basin (Figure 2) <br>Cape Basin (Figure 3)<br>Colombia Basin (Figure 2) <br>Labrador Basin (Figure 2) <br>Mexico Basin (Figure 2)<br>Newfoundland Basin (Figure 2) <br>North American Basin (Figure 2) <br>Venezuela Basin (Figure 2)<br>West European Basin (Figure 2)

Atolls

Rocas Atoll (Brazil) is the only atoll in the South Atlantic

Continental shelf

the passive margins of the Atlantic Ocean provide for wide continental shelves in North America, Northwest Europe, and the southern coast of South America <br><br>the following are examples of features on the continental shelf of the Atlantic Ocean:<br><br>Blake Plateau (Figure 5)<br>Celtic Shelf (Figure 2)<br>Dogger Bank (Figure 2) <br>Flemish Cap (Figure 2) <br>Falkland Plateau (Figure 3) <br>Grand Banks of Newfoundland (Figure 2) <br>Great Bahama Bank (Figure 5)<br>Little Bahama Bank (Figure 5)<br>Tunisian Plateau (Figure 4)<br>Yucatán Shelf (Figure 5)

Continental slope

the following are examples of features on the continental slope of the Atlantic Ocean:<br><br>Amazon Cone (Figure 3)<br>Congo Fan (Figure 3)<br>Hudson Canyon (Figure 5)<br>Mississippi Fan (Figure 5)

Mid-ocean ridge

the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone displaces the mid-ocean ridge 350 km to the west, separating the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from the Reykjanes Ridge; the Romanche Fracture Zone, located near the equator, offsets the Mid-Atlantic Ridge 900 km and is considered the dividing line between the North and South Atlantic Oceans <br><br>the following are examples of mid-ocean ridges on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean:<br><br>East Mediterranean Ridge (Figure 4)<br>Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Figures 2, 3)<br>Reykjanes Ridge (Figure 2)

Ocean trenches

the following are examples of ocean trenches on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean:<br><br>Cayman Trench (Caribbean Sea) (Figure 2)<br>Hellenic Trench (Mediterranean Sea) (Figure 4)<br>Puerto Rico Trench (Figure 2) - deepest point in the Atlantic<br>South Sandwich Trench (South Atlantic) (Figure 3)

Undersea terrain features

the following are examples of undersea terrain features on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean:<br><br>Bermuda Rise (Figure 2)<br>Cape Verde Plateau (Figure 2)<br>New England Seamounts (Figure 2)<br>Rio Grande Plateau (Figure 3)<br>Rockall Plateau (Figure 2)

tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near Cabo Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can occur from May to December but are most frequent from August to November

111,866 km

Highest point

sea level

Lowest point

Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m

Mean depth

-3,646 m

Ocean zones

the ocean is divided into three zones based on depth and light level; sunlight entering the water may travel about 1,000 m into the oceans under the right conditions, but there is rarely any significant light below 200 m<br><br><em>euphotic zone</em>: the upper 200 m (656 ft) is also called "sunlight" zone; only a small amount of light penetrates beyond this depth<br><br><em>dysphotic zone</em>: between 200 m (656 ft) and 1,000 m (3,280 ft), and also called the twilight zone; the intensity of light rapidly dissipates as depth increases, and photosynthesis is no longer possible<br><br><em>aphotic zone</em>: below 1,000 m (3,280 ft) and also called the midnight zone; sunlight does not penetrate to these depths

0 00 N, 25 00 W

major chokepoints include the Dardanelles, Strait of Gibraltar, access to the Panama and Suez Canals; strategic straits include the Strait of Dover, Straits of Florida, Mona Passage, The Sound (Oresund), and Windward Passage; the equator divides the Atlantic Ocean into the North Atlantic Ocean and South Atlantic Ocean

arable land

8.38%

forest

29.74%

permanent crops

0.81%

body of water between Africa, Europe, the Arctic Ocean, the Americas, and the Southern Ocean

clockwise North Atlantic Gyre consists of the northward flowing, warm Gulf Stream in the west, the eastward flowing North Atlantic Current in the north, the southward flowing cold Canary Current in the east, and the westward flowing North Equatorial Current in the south; the counterclockwise South Atlantic Gyre composed of the southward flowing warm Brazil Current in the west, the eastward flowing South Atlantic Current in the south, the northward flowing cold Benguela Current in the east, and the westward flowing South Equatorial Current in the north

Map of the world oceans

icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to May; persistent fog can be a maritime hazard from May to September; hurricanes (May to December)

oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious stones

Ocean volume

310,410,900 cu km

Percent of World Ocean total volume

23.3%

0-14 years

40.3%

15-64 years

56.37%

65 years and over

3.33%

33 births/1,000 population

7 deaths/1,000 population

adult female

197 per 1,000

adult male

286 per 1,000

elderly dependency ratio

5.91%

total dependency ratio

78.44%

youth dependency ratio

71.5%

improved total

32.19%

4 % of GDP

6 % of GDP

1.23%

neonatal

24 deaths/1,000 live births

total

54 deaths/1,000 live births

female

68 years

male

62 years

total population

65 years

female

68.98%

male

78.62%

total population

73.7%

1 per 100,000

92 births/1,000 women 15-19

114,862 migrants

28.26%

total

769.28 million persons

2.47%

improved total

26.01%

4 children born/woman

rate of urbanization

3.71%

urban population

38.24%

measles

70.4%

Etymology

name derives from the ancient Greek description of the waters beyond the Strait of Gibraltar, <em>Atlantis thalassa</em>, meaning "Sea of Atlas"

$319.83 billion

net inflows

$26.05 billion

agriculture

15.27%

industry

25.95%

services

50.68%

$1.24 trillion

$1,615

$1.21 trillion

$1,579

18 % of GDP

$353.91 billion

4.49%

total

299.26 million persons

agriculture

55.94%

industry

9.37%

services

34.7%

$3.57 trillion

2.76%

$4,636

$28.61 billion

23 % of GDP

18 % of GDP

7.54%

female

14.44%

male

12.67%

total

13.44%

consumption per capita

501 kWh

fossil fuels

10.27%

hydroelectric

20.99%

nuclear

2.54%

renewable

33.13%

562 kg of oil equivalent

per 100 inhabitants

1 per 100

percent of population

30.4%

subscriptions per 100

93 per 100

total subscriptions

734 million subscriptions

passengers carried

46.18 million passengers

registered carrier departures

586,002 departures

Kiel Canal and Saint Lawrence Seaway are two important waterways; significant domestic commercial and recreational use of Intracoastal Waterway on central and south Atlantic seaboard and Gulf of America coast of US

1 % of GDP

endangered marine species; fishery issues (over-fishing, unregulated bottom trawling, drift-net fishing, discards, catch of non-target species); pollution (maritime transport, discharges, offshore drilling, oil spills, improperly disposed waste); municipal sludge pollution off eastern US, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean Sea, Gulf of America, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea; industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea

<p>the Atlantic Ocean fisheries are the second most important in the world accounting for 25.8%, or 20,300,000 mt, of the global catch in 2020; of the seven regions delineated by the Food and Agriculture Organization in the Atlantic basin, the most important include the following:</p> <p><em>Northeast Atlantic</em> region (Region 27) is the fourth most important in the world, producing 10.5% of the global catch or 8,310,000 mt in 2020; the region encompasses the waters north of 36º North latitude and east of 40º West longitude, with the major producers including Norway (3,528,240 mt), Russia (1,044,153 mt), Iceland (933,019 mt), UK (823,669 mt), and Denmark (641,927 mt); the region includes the historically important fishing grounds of the North Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Atlantic waters around Greenland, Iceland, and the British Isles; the principal catches include Atlantic cod, haddock, saithe (pollock), blue whiting, herring, and mackerel</p> <p><em>Eastern Central Atlantic </em>region (Region 34) is the second most important Atlantic fishery, and seventh largest in the world, producing more than 6.3% of the global catch or 4,950,000 mt in 2020; the region encompasses the waters between 36º North and 6º South latitude and east of 40º West longitude off the west coast of Africa, with the major producers including Morocco (1,419,872 mt), Mauritania (705,850 mt), Senegal (472,571 mt), Nigeria (451,768 mt), Ghana (303,001 mt), Cameroon (265,969 mt), and Sierra Leone (200,000 mt); the principal catches include pilchard, sardinellas, shad, and mackerel</p> <p><em>Northwest Atlantic</em> region (Region 21) is the fourth most important Atlantic fishery and eleventh in the world producing 1.9% of the global catch and 1,540,000 mt in 2020; it encompasses the waters north of 35º North latitude and west of 42º West longitude, including major fishing grounds over North America's continental shelf (the Grand Banks, Georges Bank, Flemish Cap, and Baffin Bay); the major producers include the US (927,777 mt), Canada (615,651 mt), and Greenland (179,990 mt); the principal catches include sea scallops, prawns, lobster, herring, and menhaden</p> <p><em>Mediterranean and Black Sea</em> region (Region 37) is a minor fishing region representing 1.5% or 1,190,000 mt of the world’s total capture in 2020; the region encompasses all waters east of the Strait of Gibraltar, with the major producers including Turkey (686,650 mt), Italy (281,212 mt), Tunisia (129,325 mt), Spain (119,759 mt), and Russia (72,279 mt); the principal catches include European anchovy, European pilchard, gobies, and clams<br><br><strong>Regional fisheries bodies:</strong> Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic, Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea, General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean, International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, International  Council for the Exploration of the Seas, Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization, North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization, North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, Southeast Atlantic Fisheries Organization, Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission</p>

14 % of total land area

5 % of total

5 % of internal resources