What Does The Name Mean?
The Arctic Ocean gets its name from the Greek word “arktikos”, which means bear. This name, in turn, is taken from the northern constellation, Ursa Major, which means Great Bear. This constellation can be seen consistently across the sky in the northern hemisphere and is one of the most widely recognized constellations.
Where Is The Arctic Ocean?
The Arctic Ocean is located completely within the Arctic circle and is bordered by the US state of Alaska, Canada, Russia, Iceland, Norway, and Greenland. It is nearly encompassed entirely by land. The Arctic Ocean lies just north of the line of 60 degrees north latitude and is home to the North Pole. This ocean covers a total area of 5.427 million square miles, which makes it nearly equivalent to the size of the land area of Russia. Despite this size, however, the Arctic Ocean covers less than 3% of the earth’s surface.
How Cold Is The Arctic Ocean?
The temperature of the Arctic Ocean remains around 28° fahrenheit all year round, regardless of the season. This consistency has been changing over recent years, however, as global climate change is becoming more evident. This phenomenon is contributing to warmer waters in the Arctic Ocean. These increased water temperatures, in turn, cause more ice to melt during the summer and less to freeze during the winter.
Ice In The Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is either partially or almost completely covered by ice depending on the season. Between October and June, the ice cover over the Arctic Ocean is so dense that ships cannot pass. This ice occurs in 3 forms: polar, pack, and fast. Polar ice is found in the Arctic Ocean year round. It never completely melts and during the summer, measures around 6.56 feet in thickness. During the winter, however, polar ice is much thicker, measuring around 164 feet. Pack ice is located around the edges of polar ice. It is only completely frozen during the winter season. Additionally, this ice is not fixed to any land mass, but rather floats along in several separate pieces. These pieces are pushed together by winds until they form an almost solid piece. Fast ice forms around the pack ice and the edges of land masses. In fact, its name comes from the fact that it is fastened to coastlines. Fast ice, unlike pack ice, does not move around.
credits: WorldAtlas.com
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