Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five major oceans and the shallowest. Almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America, it is largely covered by sea ice throughout the year. Its temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major seas, due to low evaporation, heavy freshwater inflow from rivers and streams, and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities. In summer the icepack shrinks about fifty percent. Endangered marine species include walruses and whales. The area has a fragile ecosystem which is slow to change and slow to recover from disruptions or damage. The Arctic Ocean has relatively little plant life except for phytoplankton. Phytoplankton are a crucial part of the ocean and there are massive amounts of them in the Arctic. Nutrients from rivers and the currents of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans provide food for the Arctic phytoplankton. |
Read more about this topic: Ocean Fisheries
Famous quotes containing the words arctic and/or ocean:
“Does the first wild-goose care
whether the others follow or not?
I dont think so he is so happy to be off
he knows where he is going
so we must be drawn or we must fly,
like the snow-geese of the Arctic circle.”
—Hilda Doolittle (18861961)
“Our fathers waterd with their tears
This sea of time whereon we sail,
Their voices were in all mens ears
Who passd within their puissant hail.
Still the same ocean round us raves,
But we stand mute, and watch the waves.”
—Matthew Arnold (18221888)