El Atlantic Ocean it is the second largest oceanic body of water in the world. It houses an immensity of species of animals and plants in it. It bathes the coasts of many countries and of several continents. Its area is about 106.4 million square kilometers. This extension occupies a fifth of the entire surface of the Earth. The importance of this ocean is very high for humanity and the rest of the living beings that inhabit it. Therefore, we are going to dedicate this article to you in depth.
If you want to know everything related to the Atlantic Ocean, here we are going to explain it to you in great detail.
Key features
This ocean has its surface in the shape of an elongated basin in S. It extends from Eurasia, Africa to the east and America to the west. It covers almost 17% of the entire surface of the earth. It is known for being the saltiest sea in the world. It has tropical areas and high evaporation due to normally high temperatures.
In almost all its areas, the average depth is about 3.339 meters. It houses a volume of 354.700.000 cubic kilometers of water. Typically, the saltiest waters are in the 25 degree north and south latitude zones. On the other hand, we find more tropical areas where temperatures are higher, a high rate of evaporation at the cost of it. In addition, in these areas where water evaporates in greater quantity, there is usually little rainfall. In the north of the equator is where the lowest levels of salinity are found, since the evaporation rate is lower.
As for its temperature, it varies more depending on the latitude in which we are. As usual, is at 2 degrees, but there are parts where it is more and in others where it is less. In the polar regions or close to them, the temperature of the water, especially on the surface, is lower, while in the tropical areas they are higher.
Relief and climate
In the time of August and November, in the Atlantic Ocean the hurricane stage begins. This is due to the rise of a large part of the hot air that is on the surface and its subsequent condensation when encountering masses of cold air. The hurricane feeds on the water itself until it breaks on the earth's surface, where it loses strength. Little by little it turns into a tropical storm, until it finally disappears. Typically, hurricanes form on the coasts of Africa and move to the west in the Caribbean Sea.
In an extended way, This ocean has a fairly flat seabed. However, it does have some mountain ranges, depressions, plateaus and canyons. What is most abundant are the abyssal plains where some species more adapted to extreme environments live. One of its most famous mountain ranges is the Mid-Atlantic. It extends from northern Iceland to 58 degrees south latitude. This mountain range has a width of about 1.600 km.
The Atlantic Ocean is divided by climatic zones that depend mostly on the latitude where we are. The warmest climatic zones are those in the Atlantic north of the equator. While the coldest areas are in high latitudes where the ocean surface is covered with ice.
All the Ocean currents that are in the Atlantic Ocean help to control the climate of practically the world. This is because it transports the warm and cold waters to other territories to be able to distribute them better. Should this conveyor belt break, the world's climate would suffer almost irreparable damage. There is much talk of a ice Age.
The areas around this ocean are affected by circulating winds that are cooling or heating when blowing in these ocean currents. The wind, when transporting humidity and hot or cold air, it acts as a thermal and energy exchange regulator.
Flora and fauna
Starting with the fauna, we find an ocean with quite a variety of marine animals. We find both vertebrates and invertebrates. Among the animals with the largest distribution area in this ocean we have:
- Walruses
- Spinner dolphin
- sea cow
- Spotted stingray
- Red tuna
- Great white shark
- Green turtle and leatherback
- Humpback Whale
- Orca or killer whale
On the other hand, we have millions of different species of plants. The vast majority of them live on or near the surface, since they need sunlight to carry out photosynthesis. In the ocean, there is a very important variable to take into account for the survival of plants. It's about irradiance. This variable is what measures the amount of solar radiation that affects the plants. Deeper, we find a smaller amount of solar radiation that affects the plants. In this way, photosynthesis cannot occur and the plants do not survive. This variable is also greatly affected by the turbidity of the water. In cloudy or moving water that carries mud particles, the amount of sunlight that penetrates is less, so the plants will suffer more.
We can also find a large number of plants in the background. They can survive well as they float freely in the water. We also have species of seaweed, phytoplankton or sea grass. This phytoplankton is a very basic plant form that serves as food for millions of fish and other marine animals.. In the Caribbean areas, coral reefs are also common. These are badly damaged by the effects of climate change.
Importance of the Atlantic Ocean
This ocean is of great importance for being a means of communication between continents. It has important deposits of oil and natural gas, sedimentary rocks that are located in the continental shelves and obtain a great immensity of fishery resources. Some precious stones are also extracted from it. With the oil spills, you are worrying about your future about the quality of your water.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Atlantic Ocean and all its characteristics.