Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five ocean basins (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Southern Ocean). The Northwest Passage (US and Canada) and Northern Sea Route (Norway and Russia) are two important seasonal waterways. In recent years, the polar ice pack has receded in the summer allowing for increased navigation and raising the possibility of future sovereignty and shipping disputes among the Arctic coastal states affected (Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia, US).

• polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature range;
• winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies;
• summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow

ocean volume:

18.75 million cu km

percent of World Ocean total volume:

1.4%

• two major, slow-moving, wind-driven currents (drift streams) dominate: a clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyre in the western part of the Arctic Ocean and a nearly straight line Transpolar Drift Stream that moves eastward across the ocean from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to the Fram Strait (between Greenland and Svalbard);
• sea ice that lies close to the center of the gyre can complete a 360 degree circle in about 2 years, while ice on the gyre periphery will complete the same circle in about 7-8 years;
• sea ice in the Transpolar Drift crosses the ocean in about 3 years

highest point:

sea level

lowest point:

Molloy Deep -5,577 m

mean depth:

-1,205 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

euphotic zone :

the upper 200 m (656 ft) is also called "sunlight" zone; only a small amount of light penetrates beyond this depth

dysphotic zone :

• 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

aphotic zone :

below 1,000 m (3,280 ft) and also called the midnight zone; sunlight does not penetrate to these depths

• ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island;
• icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada;
• permafrost in islands;
• virtually ice locked from October to June;
• ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May

• major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea (northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait);
• strategic location between North America and Russia;
• shortest marine link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia;
• floating research stations operated by the US and Russia;
• maximum snow cover in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean;
• snow cover lasts about 10 months

• changes in biodiversity and temperature;
• water pollution from use of toxic chemicals;
• endangered marine species;
• ecosystem slow to recover from disruptions or damage;
• thinning polar icepack

• polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature range;
• winters characterized by continuous darkness, cold and stable weather conditions, and clear skies;
• summers characterized by continuous daylight, damp and foggy weather, and weak cyclones with rain or snow

• the Arctic fishery region (Region 18) is the smallest in the world with a catch of only 708 mt in 2019, although the Food and Agriculture Organization assesses that some Arctic catches are reported in adjacent regions;
• Russia and Canada were historically the major producers;
• in 2017, Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Iceland, Norway, Russia, and the US, along with the People’s Republic of China, the European Union, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, agreed to a 16-year ban on fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean to allow for time to study the ecological system of these waters

Regional fisheries bodies:

International Council for the Exploration of the Seas; Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean