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The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean on the planet (behind only the Pacific), and covers around 41,000 square miles, which is almost 20% of the surface of the earth! In fact, all the world’s oceans (which really, together, make up the same massive body of water) cover 72% of the earth’s surface, with an estimated 90% of the world’s plants and animals living in them-- making us terrestrial-dwellers a tiny minority!
There are five major gyres (currents) that operate in the Atlantic. These currents rotate water from one part of the Atlantic to another, and are a major contributor to weather patterns. One of the most well-known gyres is the North Atlantic gyre, which includes the famous Gulf Stream. As the gyre rotates warm, salty water into the Gulf of Mexico, it contributes to the formation of storms and hurricanes. From an American perspective, the Atlantic is often feared as the more “cruel” ocean, because the United States experiences more hurricanes on the east coast than the west. This is not because one ocean spawns more storms than the other, but because of the rotation of the storms-- few storms rotate towards the west coast; instead they naturally push away from it, while the opposite is true of the east coast. One of the more forbidding areas in the Atlantic is the Sargasso Sea. This area is about 2,500 square miles and has been a seaweed dominated area for millions of years. Several types of seaweeds grow in this area, including Sargasso, the variety the sea is named after. These fields of seaweed form a habitat unlike any other on earth. The Sargasso is also famous because it is the spawning grounds of both American and European eels, a fact not discovered until the early 1800s. The Sargasso Sea is bounded by four of the five currents in the Atlantic, which allows the seaweed to survive in a calm eddy of the four currents. Fishing has always been a major industry for those that live close to the Atlantic shore. In some cases, humankind’s capacity to catch fish has overcome nature’s ability to refresh the fish population. Fish such as cod and sole were so over-fished at one time that a moratorium was declared to allow these species to replenish. Halibut and flounder are also at risk, and there are conservation efforts to ensure their survival as well-- important efforts in helping keep the Atlantic Ocean we know the same for generations to come. |
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GLOSSARY
Gulf Stream a warm ocean current of the northern Atlantic Ocean off eastern North America.
Gyres systems of circulating ocean currents, particularly those involved with large wind movements.
Moratorium stopping something, like an activity, temporarily; putting something on hold.
Sargasso Sea a region of the North Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre.
Terrestrial of, on, or relating to the earth.
Gyres systems of circulating ocean currents, particularly those involved with large wind movements.
Moratorium stopping something, like an activity, temporarily; putting something on hold.
Sargasso Sea a region of the North Atlantic Ocean bounded by four currents forming an ocean gyre.
Terrestrial of, on, or relating to the earth.
