Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest, and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It is located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region. It occupies a roughly circular basin and covers an area of about 14,056,000 km2, almost the size of Russia. The coastline is estimated to be 45,390 km long. It is connected to the Pacific Ocean by the Bering Strait and to the Atlantic Ocean through the Greenland Sea and Labrador Sea. Almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America, the Arctic Ocean is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year (and almost completely in winter). The Arctic Ocean's temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans, due to low evaporation, heavy freshwater inflow from rivers and streams, and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities. The animals of Arctic Ocean include walruses, whales, Lion's mane jellyfish, banded gunnel, wolves and polar bears.

Images of Arctic Ocean