The Atlantic Ocean-Facts & Information

 

The term "Aethiopian Ocean", derived from Ancient Ethiopia, was applied to the Southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century. During the Age of Discovery, the Atlantic was also known to English cartographers as the Great Western Ocean.

The Atlantic Ocean, the second-largest ocean on Earth, influences our weather, especially hurricanes, and is home to a variety of species, including sea turtles and dolphins.

By CIA - CIA World Factbook - Atlantic Ocean (picture URL), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7627352

A Huge Water Splash@Somewhere in the Atlantic

The Atlantic Ocean has played an important role in trade and travel for many decades. The Atlantic Ocean is encircled by the Americas to the west, Europe to the east, and Antarctica to the south. It spans from the Arctic Circle to Antarctica.

It is the second-largest ocean on Earth after the Pacific Ocean with a surface of more than 41 million square miles.

Geographical professionals and scientists often categorize the Atlantic into north and south. Various ocean currents from North Atlantic and the South Atlantic each influence the weather globally.

Water gyres and currents

Unlike water in a sink, the ocean doesn't remain still. It moves more like a conveyor system that is driven by significant variations in salinity and temperature. Water is transported across the world both by rapid surface currents and slower deep ocean currents.

Seawater is always searching for balance. Because of the fact that hot water is less dense than cold water when the water cools, it sinks and is replenished by warm water. More saltwater water goes into regions with lesser salinity levels as well. These components drive the thermohaline circulation process, which also drives the conveyor.

The Gulf Stream, a warm airflow that emerges in the Gulf of Mexico, heats the water. The chilly water is pushed to sink and move south while the warm water moves north. Upwelling pushes cold water back to the surface as the current progress toward Antarctica, pushing the watery conveyor around the continent. The conveyer belt takes approximately 500 years to finish one round, according to scientists.

Hurricanes

A Huge Hurricane Photo on The Atlantic Ocean from Space

Few hurricanes would strike the eastern coast of North America without Africa's Sahara Desert. This is due to the contrast between the dry, warm air of the Sahara and the humid, cooler air to the west and south produces a wind stream called the African Easterly Jet. Westerly winds are pushed over Africa's west coast either by jet, where they can sometimes pick up ocean water and develop from thunderstorms.

Warm oceans and a warmer Sahara are the fuel for hurricanes. Some of the most powerful storms to hit the United States occur in the summer. In order to fully impact the East Coast, those that originate off the coast of Africa must endure wind shear (horizontal winds).

Warm waters and a warmer Sahara are indeed the fuel to hurricanes. Several of the most powerful hurricanes to strike the United States happen in the summer. In order to completely affect the East Coast, those that develop off the coast of Africa must survive wind shear (horizontal winds).

Sometimes, like with Hurricanes Florence and Harvey, hurricanes begin to weaken while traversing the Atlantic Ocean but reenergized from warm seas off the East Coast or in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sea life The Atlantic is home to a diverse range of aquatic life, both apparent at the surface and practically invisible to the human eye.

Photos from a deep-sea dive conducted by oceanic research group OceanX were published by National Geographic in December 2018. Off the coast of Boston, photos show the federally protected Northeastern Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, which really is teeming with biodiversity. More than 3,000 feet below the ocean's surface, a diversity of coral, fish, and mollusks were uncovered.

Researchers have discovered that great white shark numbers in American waters are recovering after decades of decline. Pinnipeds like seals, that are frequently located near the shore, are a source of food for big fish. Scientists celebrate the return of great whites as a conservation big success despite the widespread distrust of the species that has been fostered by pop media. Great whites may be venturing farther north near Maine and even as far north as New Brunswick, Canada, as per recent studies.

The right whale of both the North Atlantic is quickly nearing extinction. In the wild, less than 400 still survive. Early in the 20th century, hunters who believed that it was the "right" whale to catch gave the whale its name. Necropsies show that the whales' deaths in Canada's St. Lawrence River during the previous few years were probably triggered by ship hits. Researchers are also worried that females are not reproducing fast enough to halt the declining population because they may be experiencing environmental stress.

The grounds where fish are collected by fishermen for acquisition, sale, and usage of fish stocks similarly be impacted by changing water temperatures. Some fish stocks in the Atlantic have grown, while others have declined, according to research published in the journal Science.

As a result of rising waters and overfishing, the North Sea in northern Europe, which is a component of the Atlantic, has seen a handful of fisheries collapse, while others off the coastline of New England have increased.

Changing climate

Scientists work hard to understand how the Atlantic Ocean has been impacted by our warming atmosphere.

The massive ocean circulation system of the Atlantic has indeed been observed to be slowing by sensors moored in the Caribbean. Some scientists worry that if the cold Arctic waters warm, the temperature difference won't be enough to keep the same rate of ocean circulation.

A change in the speed of circulation could have an effect on summers, winters, and natural calamities from Europe to the United States because the ocean's conveyer belt affects weather over the land masses bordering the Atlantic. Even the prospect of northern Europe getting plunged into a severe freeze has indeed been raised if it the warm currents that normally travel there stop.

Nevertheless, it is unknown why the currents might be slowing down. While some scientists blamed that on melting glaciers and climate change, others believe it's cyclical.

The strength, moisture, and velocity of hurricanes were expected to increase as the climate continues to warm, according to a study released during the height of the Atlantic hurricane season last year. Hurricanes that reach the East Coast will dump more rain and cause more flooding in a warmer climate since warm temperatures enable the atmosphere to carry more water.

Oceans absorb more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and as a result of the chemical reactions that follow, they are also getting more acidic. Corals, mollusks, and some types of plankton can all develop more slowly or even die in acidic waters. Thus, this alleged ocean acidification has the potential to disrupt essential food chains.

Photo Gallery

By NOAA - http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/image/2minrelief.html, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=634795

By Greg Shirah (lead animator) - NASA Scientific Visualization Studio: Gulf Stream Sea Surface Currents and Temperatures, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=53310629

By NOAA - here, img, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3830157

Iceberg A22A in the South Atlantic Ocean

By Image provided by the ISS Crew Earth Observations experiment and the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA - Johnson Space Center. - {{URL|example.com|optional display text}}, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7217984

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