Diving Into Astounding Atlantic Ocean Facts You May Not Have Known

There was only one large continent on the face of the globe before that, 100s of millions of years ago—now known as Pangaea.

Over time, with continental drift, the Atlantic Ocean was formed. The Atlantic Ocean is present between South America and North America towards its west and Africa and Europe towards the east.

Looking at the globe, we can see that the continental coastlines or boundaries of North and South America, as well as those of Europe and Africa, are almost identical (if we could put them together, as in a jigsaw puzzle). This lends credence to the continental drift idea.

The Atlantic Ocean is a long, S-shaped basin that runs longitudinally from northern Europe and Africa to the Americas. The Equatorial Counter Current divides the Atlantic Ocean into two halves, the North Atlantic Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean, with the North Atlantic Ocean and the South Atlantic Ocean at nearly the same latitude.

Read on for some interesting facts about the ocean's West Coast and East Coast. Like the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean floor is home to diverse flora and fauna on the planet, piquing the interest of researchers from across the world.

Towards the south, the Atlantic Ocean is connected with the Southern Ocean and towards the north, it merges with the Arctic Ocean. North Atlantic and South Atlantic have varied ocean currents that have a considerable impact on the global weather.

The Atlantic Ocean is home to some exquisite species ranging from dolphins to sea turtles. Many unique creatures can also be found crawling along the ocean bed. After reading about the Atlantic Ocean, also check the facts on Atlantic Ocean animals and Antarctic Ocean facts.

Origin Of The Name

Around 450 BC, the name "Atlantic" was first documented in the Histories of Herodotus of Ancient Greece. The word "Atlantis" loosely translates to "island of Atlas" in Greek, or "Sea of Atlas" in other manuscripts.

However, the ocean was not mentioned in any written language until 360 BC, with the exception of a legendary depiction by a Greek philosopher named Plato.

Atlas (from whence the Atlantic is derived) was a Greek god who was responsible for compliance with the sky for all eternity, per Greek mythology. Zeus entrusted Atlas with the task of bearing the Earth's weight.

Atlas is shown bending in most of the paintings, holding a weight (Earth) on his shoulder. The Atlas Mountains and marine bodies off the coast of Gibraltar were titled after him, in addition to the Atlantic Ocean.

Climate And Currents

Wind, water currents, and groundwater temperature all have an impact on the climate of the Atlantic Ocean. Maritime climates are common, although they are mild and have little seasonal differences.

The volume of the air mass, as well as wind current coming from North America, determines the weather in the North Atlantic. Because of the low atmospheric pressure near Iceland, air tends to flow counter clockwise.

The area near the Azores, on the other hand, is a high-pressure zone. Westerly winds develop and prevail across western Europe and the North Atlantic whenever low and high air pressures collide.

The climatic zones of the ocean are determined by latitudes. Warmer zones can be found north of the equator, whereas colder zones can be found at higher latitudes.

The coldest zones are mostly ice-covered areas. By transferring cold or warm water to different locations, ocean currents play a significant role in shaping the climate. When cool or warm winds blow through these currents, they affect the climate of the surrounding areas.

Over seasonal and decadal timescales, the ocean mixed layer is essential for heat storage, but deeper layers are affected over millennia and have a heat capacity around 50 times that of the mixed layer.

This heat intake not only delays climate change but also causes the oceans to expand thermally, contributing to sea-level rise.

Global warming in the twenty-first century will almost certainly result in an equilibrium sea-level rise five times greater than today, while glacier melting, including that of the Greenland sea ice sheet, is expected to have virtually no effect in the twenty-first century, will almost certainly result in a millennium-long sea-level rise of 3–6 metres.

Exploration And Trade

The Atlantic has made a substantial contribution to the growth and economy of neighbouring countries. The Atlantic has abundant petroleum resources in the sedimentary rocks of the continental shelves, in addition to key transatlantic transportation and communication links.

Petroleum or gas resources, fish, sea animals (seals and whales), sand and sand aggregates, contest deposits, mineral deposits, nodules, and precious gems are all found in the Atlantic.

Gold reserves can be found a mile or two beneath the surface of the ocean, but they are encased in rock and must be mined through. There is currently no cost-effective means to profitably mine or extract gold from the water.

One of the world's richest fishing resources is found on the Atlantic's shelf.

The Grand Banks of Newfoundland, the Scotian Shelf, Georges Bank off Cape Cod, the Bahamas Banks, in the Irish Sea, the Bay of Fundy, the Dogger Bank of the North Sea, as well as the Falkland Banks are among the most productive locations.

Fisheries have changed dramatically since the 1950s, and global catches can be divided into three categories, only two of which can be found in the Atlantic: fisheries in the Eastern Central and South-West Atlantic oscillate around a globally steady level, while the rest of the Atlantic is in decline going to follow historical peaks.

Current Environmental Issues

Overfishing in the Atlantic Ocean has resulted in the extinction of some species, and massive plastic wastes have created trash vortexes, while offshore oil and gas exploitation has severe effects on the Ocean's residents and adjacent communities.

Students will identify and explore issues of common interest to nations in the Atlantic Community, such as ocean dumping, overfishing, petroleum and gas exploitation, alternative power generation, and the transportation of trash or other dangerous chemicals, in a seminar setting.

Seasons, the present system, and latitude all affect the temperature of the ocean's surface water.

The hottest temperatures are found north of the equator, while the lowest are found in the Polar Regions. Between October and June, sea ice frequently covers the ocean's surface in the Denmark Strait, Labrador Sea, and Baltic Sea.

With salinity levels ranging from 3.3 percent to 3.7 percent, the Atlantic Ocean is the world's saltiest ocean. Precipitation, evaporation, sea ice melting, and river influx all influence surface salinity.

Due to strong tropical rains, the region north of the equator has the lowest saline levels. Because of the high evaporation rate and limited precipitation, tropical regions are the most saline.

The NAO has a less regular phase than its southern counterpart, making it less predictable. Although the NAO's cause is uncertain, one theory links its decadal variations to the passage of water masses of varying temperature and concentration through the North Atlantic's subpolar gyre.

Waste And Pollution

In the Atlantic Ocean, there is a vast pile of waste, with plastic accounting for almost 80% of it. As a result, this plastic debris is washed up on our beaches, potentially closing them down. These polymers entangle or eat marine mammals, causing them to perish prematurely in the open ocean.

Fish in the water absorb the toxins released by plastics, and humans consume these polluted fish, introducing pollution into the human food chain. Plastic pollution in the Atlantic Ocean is the most serious ecological and environmental problem because it pollutes beaches, emits chemicals and pollutants into the ocean, penetrates the human food chain, and kills marine life.

Marine pollution is a huge problem that is currently harming the open ocean environment. Improper waste disposal on beaches, dumping toxic waste and sewage into ocean waters, and contaminated rivers flowing into the ocean are only a few of the polluting sources in the Atlantic Ocean.

Changing climate also poses a threat to the ocean's plants and animals, as well as the lives of individuals who reside along the Atlantic coast. Warmer surface temperatures, according to researchers, will result in greater hurricane activity over the Atlantic.

North Atlantic and South Atlantic Basins are regarded as the driving forces behind ocean currents that regulate the climate in various regions of the earth.

Fishing stocks are also declining in the ocean as a result of several countries' uncontrolled and indiscriminate fishing practices.

Agricultural and urban garbage are two more sources of contamination. Oil damage in the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, as well as North Sea; and industrial pollution and municipal wastewater contamination in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and the Mediterranean Sea.

Conserving Our Oceans

While humanity has scaled great frontiers in space, the ocean is still a mystery for most humans. The sheer size and volume of the oceans make it a challenge for researchers to complete the study of the oceans. While many marine animal species have been identified to date, it is expected that many more are yet to be discovered.

It is therefore extremely important to undertake concerted conservation efforts to prevent the oceans and the ecosystem therefrom environmental degradation. Uncontrolled fishing, mining, oil rigging, and commercial activities are posing considerable dangers to our oceans. As the deep-sea secrets of the sea floor are still not known in their entirety, cohesive conservation plans have remained a challenge.

Commercial fishing in the Northern Atlantic and Southern Atlantic oceans is posing a threat to numerous endangered species of aquatic animals. Mining activities on the ocean floor are also a growing concern as they have a considerable long-term impact on the ecology. A unified ocean management strategy is required to ensure the preservation of our oceans.

At the conference in Cascais, a new environment strategy for the region was also agreed upon, which includes ambitious objectives for the next decade.

According to Minister for Heritage Malcolm Noonan, who represented the Government, this was "an effort to turn the tide on three of the most pressing issues confronting the ocean: the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification, biodiversity loss, and pollution, including marine plastic pollution."

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Atlantic Ocean then why not take a look at Andaman Sea, or ocean birds.