Cruising-Sailing

Atlantic Ocean at Great Depths By Ryan Fyfe

The Atlantic Ocean is Earth's second-largest ocean. It covers approximately a fifth of the earth's surface. The name Atlantic Ocean came from Greek mythology; it means the "Sea of Atlas".

The Atlantic Ocean is second only to the Pacific in size. With its neighboring seas it occupies an area of about 41,100,000 square miles. The land that drains to the Atlantic is approxcimately four times that of either the Pacific or Indian oceans. The Atlantic Ocean has a volume of approximately 354,700,000 km³. 3,332m is the average depth of the Atlantic coean. The greatest depth in the Puerto Rico Trench is 8,605 m.

Due to it's large area the Climate of the Atlantic Ocean varies greatly from one part to the next. The climate of adjacent land areas is directly influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as the winds blowing across the Ocean. Because the Ocean can retain heat so well, maritime climates are always moderate and free of extreme season variations. Climatic zones vary with the latitude; the warmest climatic zones span across the Atlantic above the equator. The coldest zones are in the highest latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents contribute to climatic control by moving warm and cold waters to other regions. Adjacent land areas are affected by the winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents.

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