The Atlantic Ocean is the 2nd largest among the five major oceans of the Earth. It is surrounded by Europe, Africa, South America, and North America. The ocean takes up approximately 20% of Earth’s surface area. There are many features, such as Gulf Stream, in this ocean that impact the weather of the US and Europe.
The ocean was first named by Greeks as “Atlantikos”, which means “Sea of Atlas”. The word “Atlantic” is derived from that Greek name. Atlas is one of the Greek gods, which they believe to be the god of astronomy and navigation. Furthermore, the Atlantic Ocean was considered to be the end of our Earth, which means a ship will fall into dark space if it crossed the edge of the ocean.
Characteristics of Atlantic Ocean
Temperature and Water Circulations
The surface temperature of the Atlantic Ocean changes between -2 °C to 30 °C along the latitude. The ocean is cold in Polar Regions and hot in equatorial region. The Atlantic Ocean is divided into two parts; North Atlantic and South Atlantic Ocean. Water currents in North Atlantic Ocean move in the clockwise direction, whereas, South Atlantic Ocean currents move in the anti-clockwise direction.
Salinity
The Atlantic Ocean is the saltiest of all the five oceans. The quantity of salt in the ocean is around 3.7% by mass, which varies along latitude and also depends on season. The parts of the Atlantic Ocean which receive heavy rainfall have lower salinity as compared to low rainfall and high evaporations parts. Furthermore, when the ice melts in the Atlantic Ocean during summer, its salinity decrease.
Sinking of Titanic in the Atlantic Ocean
Titanic is one of the most famous ships in the history of mankind. It was the state-of-the-art passenger voyage ship of its time. Titanic is mostly known for its deadly disaster that happened on 15 April 1912. On that day, the ship got an accident with an iceberg which resulted in the death of 1,500 human lives. The accident occurred in the Atlantic Ocean during the Titanic’s voyage from Southampton to New York City. The wreckage of the Titanic was first discovered in 1985 at the depth of 4 kilometers.
Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic Ocean
Bermuda Triangle, also known as Devil’s Triangle, is famous for engulfing ships and aircraft. There have been several events in which ships and aircraft that crossed Bermuda Triangle disappeared. The Bermuda Triangle is the region located in the Atlantic Ocean within three points, which are Bermuda Island, Miami City, and Puerto Rico Island.
Bermuda Triangle is not a scary place in reality. Many boats and planes cross Bermuda Triangle on daily basis. However, the weather sometimes changes suddenly in Bermuda Triangle which may have caused airplane and ships accidents. Furthermore, the deepest place in the Atlantic Ocean, the Milwaukee Depth, is also located within Bermuda Triangle. The Milwaukee Depth is located near Puerto Rico Island and is nearly 27,493 feet (8,380 meters) deep.
Facts
- The Sargasso Sea is located within the Atlantic Ocean and is the only sea that is not enclosed by any land. It is enclosed by four water currents in the Atlantic Ocean.
- The Sargasso Sea looks different from its surroundings due to the presence of floating brown-colored Sargassum seaweed.
- The Atlantic Ocean is connected with the Pacific Ocean with a manmade passage called Panama Canal.
