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Arctic Climate
The climate of the Arctic is characterized by long, cold winters and short, cool summers. There is a large amount of variability in climate across the Arctic, but all regions experience extremes of solar radiation in both summer and winter. Some parts of the Arctic are covered by ice (sea ice, glacial ice, or snow) year-round, and nearly all parts of the Arctic experience long periods with some form of ice on the surface. The Arctic consists of ocean that is largely surrounded by land. As such, the climate of much of the Arctic is moderated by the ocean water, which can never have a temperature below . In winter, this relatively warm water, even though covered by the polar ice pack, keeps the North Pole from being the coldest place in the Northern Hemisphere, and it is also part of the reason that Antarctica is so much colder than the Arctic. In summer, the presence of the nearby water keeps coastal areas from warming as much as they might otherwise. Overview of the Arctic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Basin
The Arctic Basin (also North Polar Basin) is an oceanic basin in the Arctic Ocean, consisting of two main parts separated by the Lomonosov Ridge, a mid-ocean ridge between north Greenland and the New Siberian Islands. It is bordered by the continental shelves of Eurasia and North America. * The Eurasian Basin (also Norwegian Basin) consists of the Nansen Basin (formerly: Fram Basin) and the Amundsen Basin * The Amerasia Basin consists of the Canada Basin and the Makarov Basin Exploration Fridtjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup sailed the basin in the '' Fram'' from 1893 to 1896. Between 1922 and 1924, Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ... followed in the '' Maud''. References * Herman, Yvonne (July 1970) "Arctic Paleo-Oceanography in Late Cenozoic Ti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Norwegian Sea
The Norwegian Sea (; ; ) is a marginal sea, grouped with either the Atlantic Ocean or the Arctic Ocean, northwest of Norway between the North Sea and the Greenland Sea, adjoining the Barents Sea to the northeast. In the southwest, it is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by a submarine ridge running between Iceland and the Faroe Islands. To the north, the Jan Mayen Ridge separates it from the Greenland Sea. Unlike many other seas, most of the bottom of the Norwegian Sea is not part of a continental shelf and therefore lies at a great depth of about two kilometres on average. Rich deposits of oil and natural gas are found under the sea bottom and are being explored commercially, in the areas with sea depths of up to about one kilometre. The coastal zones are rich in fish that visit the Norwegian Sea from the North Atlantic or Barents Sea (cod) for spawning. The warm North Atlantic Current ensures relatively stable and high water temperatures, so that unlike the Arctic seas, the No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Labrador Sea
The Labrador Sea (; ) is an arm of the North Atlantic Ocean between the Labrador Peninsula and Greenland. The sea is flanked by continental shelf, continental shelves to the southwest, northwest, and northeast. It connects to the north with Baffin Bay through the Davis Strait. It is a marginal sea of the Atlantic. The sea formed upon separation of the North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago and stopped about 40 million years ago. It contains one of the world's largest turbidity current channel systems, the Northwest Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (NAMOC), that runs for thousands of kilometers along the sea bottom toward the Atlantic Ocean. The Labrador Sea is a major source of the North Atlantic Deep Water, a cold water mass that flows at great depth along the western edge of the North Atlantic. History The Labrador Sea formed upon separation of the North American Plate and Greenland Plate that started about 60 million years ago (Paleocene) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bering Strait
The Bering Strait ( , ; ) is a strait between the Pacific and Arctic oceans, separating the Chukchi Peninsula of the Russian Far East from the Seward Peninsula of Alaska. The present Russia–United States maritime boundary is at 168° 58' 37" W longitude, slightly south of the Arctic Circle at about 65° 40' N latitude. The Strait is named after Vitus Bering, a Danish-born Russian explorer. The Bering Strait has been the subject of the scientific theory that humans migrated from Asia to North America across a land bridge known as Beringia when lower ocean levels – a result of glaciers locking up vast amounts of water – exposed a wide stretch of the sea floor, both at the present strait and in the shallow sea north and south of it. This view of how Paleo-Indians entered America has been the dominant one for several decades and continues to be the most accepted one. Numerous successful crossings without the use of a boat have also been recorded since at least ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hudson Strait
Hudson Strait () in Nunavut links the Atlantic Ocean and the Labrador Sea to Hudson Bay in Canada. This strait lies between Baffin Island and Nunavik, with its eastern entrance marked by Cape Chidley in Newfoundland and Labrador and Nunavut and Resolution Island (Nunavut), Resolution Island, off Baffin Island. The strait is about long with an average width of , varying from at the eastern entrance to at Deception Bay. English navigator Sir Martin Frobisher was the first European to report entering the strait, in 1578. He named a tidal rip at the entrance the Furious Overfall and called the strait ''Mistaken Strait'', since he felt it held less promise as an entrance to the Northwest Passage than the body of water that was later named Frobisher Bay. Later in his 1587 voyage, explorer John Davis (explorer), John Davis sailed by the entrance to the strait. The first European to explore the strait was George Weymouth who sailed beyond the Furious Overfall in 1602. The strait ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Denmark Strait
The Denmark Strait is the strait that separates Greenland from Iceland. Geography The strait connects the Greenland Sea, an extension of the Arctic Ocean, to the Irminger Sea, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is long. The narrowest part of the strait is wide and lies between Straumnes, on Iceland's Hornstrandir peninsula, and Cape Tupinier, on Greenland's Blosseville Coast. According to the International Hydrographic Organization, the dividing line between the Arctic and the North Atlantic Oceans runs from Straumnes to Cape Nansen, southwest of Cape Tunipier. Hydrography The narrow depth, where the Greenland–Iceland Rise runs along the bottom of the sea, is . The cold East Greenland Current passes through the strait and carries icebergs south into the North Atlantic. It hosts important fisheries. The world's largest known underwater waterfall, known as the Denmark Strait cataract, flows down the western side of the Denmark Strait. Battle of the Denmark Strait ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Davis Strait
The Davis Strait (Danish language, Danish: ''Davisstrædet'') is a southern arm of the Arctic Ocean that lies north of the Labrador Sea. It lies between mid-western Greenland and Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada. To the north is Baffin Bay. The strait was named for the English explorer John Davis (English explorer), John Davis (1550–1605), who explored the area while seeking a Northwest Passage. By the 1650s it was used for whaling, whale hunting. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Davis Strait as follows: ''On the North.'' The Southern limit of Baffin Bay [The parallel of 70th parallel north, 70° North between Greenland and Baffin Island, Baffin Land]. ''On the East.'' The Southwest coast of Greenland. ''On the South.'' The parallel of 60th parallel north, 60° North between Greenland and Labrador. ''On the West.'' The Eastern limit of the Northwest Passage, Northwestern Passages South of 70° North [the East coast of Baffin Islan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ungava Bay
Ungava Bay (; , ; /) is a bay in Nunavut, Canada separating Nunavik (far northern Quebec) from Baffin Island. Although not geographically apparent, it is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. The bay is roughly oval-shaped, about at its widest point and about in length; it has an area of approximately . It is generally fairly shallow, under , though at its border with the Atlantic Ocean depths of almost are reached. Geography Although it is quite close to the open Atlantic (separated only by Hudson Strait), Ungava Bay is part of the Arctic Ocean. Ungava Bay is separated from Hudson Bay by the Ungava Peninsula. Of the many islands in Ungava Bay, Akpatok Island is largest. Bathymetric studies suggest that Ungava Bay may be the remnant of an impact crater (age unknown) approximately in diameter. The southwestern corner of Ungava Bay vies with the Bay of Fundy for the highest tidal range in the world. Some sources estimate the spring tide range at the mouth of the Leaf River ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay (Inuktitut: ''Saknirutiak Imanga''; ; ; ), located between Baffin Island and the west coast of Greenland, is defined by the International Hydrographic Organization as a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. It is sometimes considered a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea. The narrower Nares Strait connects Baffin Bay with the Arctic Ocean. The bay is not navigable most of the year because of the Arctic ice pack, ice cover and high density of Sea ice, floating ice and icebergs in the open areas. However, a polynya of about , known as the North Water Polynya, North Water, opens in summer on the north near Smith Sound. Most of the aquatic life of the bay is concentrated near that region. Extent The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of Baffin Bay as follows: History The area of the bay has been inhabited since BC. Around AD 1200, the initial Dorset culture ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay, sometimes called Hudson's Bay (usually historically), is a large body of Saline water, saltwater in northeastern Canada with a surface area of . It is located north of Ontario, west of Quebec, northeast of Manitoba, and southeast of Nunavut, but politically entirely part of Nunavut. It is an inland sea, inland List of seas on Earth#Marginal seas by ocean, marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean. The Hudson Strait provides a connection between the Labrador Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the northeast, while the Foxe Channel connects Hudson Bay with the Arctic Ocean in the north. The Hudson Bay drainage basin drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of southeastern Nunavut, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, all of Manitoba, and parts of the U.S. states of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana. Hudson Bay's southern arm is called James Bay. The East Cree, Eastern Cree name for Hudson and James Bay is (southern dialect) or (northern dialect), m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ice Sheet
In glaciology, an ice sheet, also known as a continental glacier, is a mass of glacier, glacial ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than . The only current ice sheets are the Antarctic ice sheet and the Greenland ice sheet. Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelf, ice shelves or alpine glaciers. Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km2 are termed an ice cap. An ice cap will typically feed a series of glaciers around its periphery. Although the surface is cold, the base of an ice sheet is generally warmer due to Geothermal activity, geothermal heat. In places, melting occurs and the melt-water lubricates the ice sheet so that it flows more rapidly. This process produces fast-flowing channels in the ice sheet — these are ice streams. Even stable ice sheets are continually in motion as the ice gradually flows outward from the central plateau, which is the tallest point of the ice sheet, and towards the margins. The ice sheet slope is low around the plate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
