Atlantic Ocean[Lat.

, = of Atlas],
second largest ocean (c.31,800,000
sq mi/82,362,000 sq km;
c.36,000,000 sq mi/93,240,000 sq
km with marginal seas).

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LARGEST OF THE WORLD'S FIVE OCEANS

(AFTER THE PACIFIC OCEAN, BUT LARGER
THAN THE INDIAN OCEAN, SOUTHERN
OCEAN, AND ARCTIC OCEAN). THE KIEL
CANAL (GERMANY), ORESUND (DENMARKSWEDEN), BOSPORUS (TURKEY), STRAIT
OF GIBRALTAR (MOROCCO-SPAIN), AND
THE SAINT LAWRENCE SEAWAY (CANADAUS) ARE IMPORTANT STRATEGIC ACCESS
WATERWAYS. THE DECISION BY THE
INTERNATIONAL HYDROGRAPHIC
ORGANIZATION IN THE SPRING OF 2000
TO DELIMIT A FIFTH WORLD OCEAN, THE
SOUTHERN OCEAN, REMOVED THE
PORTION OF THE ATLANTIC OCEAN SOUTH
OF 60 DEGREES SOUTH
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Ocean Floor
The floor of the Atlantic has an
average depth of c.12,000 ft (3,660
m). It is separated from that of the
Arctic Ocean by a submarine ridge
extending from SE Greenland to N
Scotland; part of the floor (c.3,000
ft/910 m deep) is known as "telegraph
plateau" because of the network of
cables laid there. A shallow submarine
ridge across the Strait of Gibraltar
separates the Mediterranean basin
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THE M I D -ATL A N TI C RI D G E (C .30 0 60 0 M I /4 80 97 0 K M W I D E ), A SU BM A RI N E M O UN TAI N RA N GE E XTE N D I N G C . 10 ,00 0 M I (1 6, 10 0 K M ) FRO M I CE L A N D TO N E A R

THE AN TARC T I C C I RC L E , G E N E RA LLY F OLL O W S TH E TRE N D O F THE C OA STLI N E S O F THE C O N TI N E N TS. I T RI SE S TO AN AVE RA GE H E I G HT O F C .1 0 ,00 0 F T (3, 05 0
M ), AN D A FE W P E A K S E M E RGE AS I SLA N D S . THE RI D GE , W H I C H I S THE C E N TE R O F V O LC A N I C AC TI V I TY AN D E A RTH Q UA K E S, HA S A GRE AT RI FT TH AT I S
C O N S T A N T L Y W I D E N I N G ( S E E S E A F L O O R S P R E A D I N G) A N D F I L L I N G W I T H M O L T E N R O C K F R O M T H E E A R T H ' S I N T E R I O R . A S A R E S U L T T H E W E S T E R N H E M I S P H E R E
A N D E URO P E AN D AF RI C A ARE M O V I N G AWAY F ROM E A C H OTH E R. THE M I D -ATLA N TI C RI D G E D I V I D E S TH E F LO O R O F THE ATLA N TI C O C E A N I N TO E A STE RN AN D
W E STE RN SE C TI ON S TH AT ARE C O M P O SE D O F A SE RI E S OF D E E P -SE A B A SI N S ( A B Y SSA L P L A I N S). TH E G RE ATE ST D E P TH (C . 28 ,00 0 FT/ 8, 53 0 M ) I S THE
M I LWAU K E E D E E P, I N T H E P U E RTO R I C O T R E N C H , N O F P U E RTO R I C O . S C I E N T I F I C K N O W L E D G E O F TH E O C E A N F L O O R D ATE S F R O M T H E C H A L L E N G E R E X P E D I T I O N
(18 72 7 6 ) .

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Currents
Because of its shape, the Atlantic may be divided
into two basinsNorth Atlantic Ocean and South
Atlantic Oceaneach with a distinct circulation
system. The clockwise-moving currents of the
North Atlantic (North Equatorial Current, Antilles
Current, Gulf Stream, North Atlantic Drift,
Canaries Current) and the counterclockwisemoving currents of the South Atlantic (South
Equatorial Current, Brazil Current, West Wind
Drift, Benguela Current) are separated from each
other by the Equatorial Counter Current; the
Guinea Current off W Africa is a link between the
two systems. At the Grand Banks off
Newfoundland heavy fogs form along the front
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where the warm Gulf Stream meets the cold

Commerce and Shipping

The North Atlantic Ocean has some of the world's
busiest shipping lanes; the northern lanes are
patrolled for icebergs. Commerce between the
Mediterranean Sea and the NE Atlantic Ocean was
initiated by the Carthaginians. From the 7th cent.
A.D., Scandinavians navigated the Atlantic; they
probably reached North America c.1000. Trade
routes along the coast of Africa were opened by
Portugal in the 15th cent. and to the Western
Hemisphere by Spain after the voyages of
Columbus. The Grand Banks have traditionally
contained some of the world's best commercial
fishing grounds, but by the early 1990s the area
had been overfished, and many species were
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depleted.