periodic visits by the
Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force

@Atlantic Ocean, Geography

Location:
body of water between the Western Hemisphere and Europe/Africa
Map references:
Africa, Antarctic Region, Arctic Region, Central America and the
Caribbean, Europe, North America, South America, Standard Time Zones
of the World
Area:
total area:
82.217 million sq km
comparative area:
slightly less than nine times the size of the US; second-largest of
the world's four oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, but larger than
Indian Ocean or Arctic Ocean)
note:
includes Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caribbean Sea, Davis Strait, Denmark
Strait, Drake Passage, Gulf of Mexico, Mediterranean Sea, North Sea,
Norwegian Sea, Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water
bodies
Coastline:
111,866 km
International disputes:
some maritime disputes (see littoral states)
Climate:
tropical cyclones (hurricanes) develop off the coast of Africa near
Cape Verde and move westward into the Caribbean Sea; hurricanes can
occur from May to December, but are most frequent from August to
November
Terrain:
surface usually covered with sea ice in Labrador Sea, Denmark Strait,
and Baltic Sea from October to June; clockwise warm water gyre (broad,
circular system of currents) in the north Atlantic, counterclockwise
warm water gyre in the south Atlantic; the ocean floor is dominated by
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south centerline for the entire
Atlantic basin; maximum depth is 8,605 meters in the Puerto Rico
Trench
Natural resources:
oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and whales), sand and
gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules, precious
stones
Environment:
current issues:
endangered marine species include the manatee, seals, sea lions,
turtles, and whales; municipal sludge pollution off eastern US,
southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; oil pollution in Caribbean
Sea, Gulf of Mexico, Lake Maracaibo, Mediterranean Sea, and North Sea;
industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in Baltic Sea, North
Sea, and Mediterranean Sea
natural hazards:
icebergs common in Davis Strait, Denmark Strait, and the northwestern
Atlantic Ocean from February to August and have been spotted as far
south as Bermuda and the Madeira Islands; icebergs from Antarctica
occur in the extreme southern Atlantic Ocean
international agree