Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean as the 1998 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 20 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Body of water mostly north of the Arctic Circle
14 fieldsNote
Climate
- polar climate characterized by persistent cold and relatively narrow annual temperature ranges;
- 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
Terrain
- central surface covered by a perennial drifting polar icepack that averages about 3 meters in thickness, although pressure ridges may be three times that size;
- clockwise drift pattern in the Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight line movement from the New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland and Iceland);
- the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends to the encircling land masses;
- the ocean floor is about 50% continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges (Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonsov Ridge)
Natural resources
sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales)
Natural hazards
- ice islands occasionally break away from northern Ellesmere Island;
- icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland and extreme northeastern Canada;
- permafrost in islands;
- virtually icelocked from October to June;
- ships subject to superstructure icing from October to May
Environment-current issues
endangered marine species include walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage
Environment-international agreements
- party to:
- none of the selected agreements
- signed, but not ratified:
- none of the selected agreements
Geography-note
- 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
Government
1 fieldData code
none; the US Government has not approved a standard for hydrographic codes-see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic Data Codes appendix
Economy
Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of | natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. | Communications
2 fieldsEconomy-overview
Economic activity is limited to the exploitation of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and seals. Communications
Transportation
2 fieldsTransportation-note
sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route (Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways
Transnational Issues
1 fieldDisputes-international
some maritime disputes (see littoral states); Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia ARGENTINA
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Arctic Ocean.” The World Factbook 1998. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/arctic-ocean/1998.