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ATLANTIC OCEAN

@Atlantic Ocean:Geography

Location: body of water between Africa, Europe, Antarctica, and the
Western Hemisphere

Geographic coordinates: 0 00 N, 25 00 W

Map references: World

Area:
total: 82.217 million sq km
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

Area-comparative: 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)

Coastline: 111,866 km

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 northern Atlantic,
counterclockwise warm water gyre in the southern Atlantic; the ocean
floor is dominated by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a rugged north-south
centerline for the entire Atlantic basin

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Puerto Rico Trench -8,605 m
highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals (seals and
whales), sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic
nodules, precious stones

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; ships subject
to superstructure icing in extreme northern Atlantic from October to
May and extreme southern Atlantic from May to October; persistent fog
can be a maritime hazard from May to September

Environment-current issues: endangered marine species include the
manatee, seals, sea lions, turtles, and whales; drift net fishing is
hastening the decline of fish stocks and contributing to international
disputes; 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
muni