The Arctic & Antarctic Oceans
THE ARCTIC OCEAN
The Arctic Ocean covers an area of 14,056,000 sq km and borders 45,390 km of coastline on the Russian Federation, Canada, Greenland and Scandinavia.
Although the Arctic Ocean is the smallest of the world's five oceans, it is home to the world's largest island, the world's largest uninhabited island, the world's largest natural bay, the world's largest archipelago and the world's largest coastal shelf.
Many geographers believe that the ocean is actually part of the Atlantic Ocean, but the International Hydrgraphic Organisation does recognise it as a separate body of water, which is linked to the Atlantic Ocean by way of the Greenland Sea and the Labrador Sea and linked to the Pacific Ocean by way of the Bering Straits.
The seabed of the ocean has two major features, the Lomonosov Ridge, which divides into the Eurasian and Ameri -Asian Basins, both of which are more than 4,000 metres deep. The ocean is also home to the Siberian Shelf, a coastal shelf which extends for 1,500 km offshore, the largest coastal shelf in the world.
The ocean is covered by sea ice for most of the year with seasonal variations of size from around 15,600,000 sq km of cover from October to March, which in turn cause vast areas of pack ice, to around 7,000,000 sq km of cover from April to September, although global warming is causing this to decrease in size at an annual rate.
The ocean feeds the two vast natural bays of the Hudson Bay - along with the Hudson Strait which between them covers 4,041,400 sq km - and Baffin Bay, which covers 689,000 sq km, both of which are situated in northern Canada. The ocean also consists of eleven other seas, they are ;
SEAS OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN
The Barents Sea.
The Beaufort Sea.
The Chuchki Sea.
The East Siberian Sea.
The Laptev Sea.
The Lincoln Sea.
The Kara Sea.
The Pechora Sea.
The Prince Gustav Adolf Sea.
The Wandel Sea.
The White Sea.
THE ARCTIC OCEAN'S LARGEST ISLANDS
Russia's Franz Josef Land, an archipelago of one hundred and ninety one uninhabited, ice covered islands which cover a land area of 16,134 sq km.
The ocean consists of hundreds of islands, many of them uninhabited and most of them belonging to either Canada or Russia, although the largest of them all belongs to Denmark. Below is a list of the ocean's ten largest islands.
Greenland - 2,130,800 sq km - Autonomous territory of Denmark with a population of 56,615 people - Capital city, Nuuk.
Baffin Island - 507,451 sq km - Region of Canada with a population of 11,000 people - Main settlement, Iqaluit.
Ellesmere Island - 196,236 sq km - Region of Canada with a population of 146 people - Main settlement, Grise Fjord.
Banks Island - 70,028 sq km - Region of Canada with a population of 136 people - Main settlement, Sachs Harbour.
Devon Island - 55,247 sq km - The world's largest uninhabited island - Region of Canada.
Severny Island - 47,079 sq km - Uninhabited region of the Russian Federation.
Axel Heiberg Island - 43,178 sq km - Uninhabited region of Canada.
Melville Island - 42,149 sq km - Uninhabited region of Canada.
Southampton Island - 41,214 sq km - Region of Canada with a population of 712 people - Main settlement, Coral Harbour.
Prince of Wales Island - 33,339 sq km - Uninhabited region of Canada.
The Arctic Ocean is also home to the world's most northerly community, situated on the Svalbard Archipelago, which is a region of Norway. The archipelago covers 61,022 sq km and has a population of 2,400 people. The archipelago's largest island is Spitzbergen, where the archipelago's capital city, Longyearbyen, is situated.
The world's largest archipelago, by number of islands, is also situated in the Arctic Ocean, the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, which consists of 36,500 islands which cover an area of 1,424, 500 sq km.
THE ANTARCTIC / SOUTHERN OCEAN
The Antarctic Ocean, also known as the Southern Ocean, covers an area of 20,377,00 sq km, and is formed from the southward flow of water from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans.
The ocean is the youngest of the world's five oceans, having been formed 30 million years ago when the southern tip of the South American continent broke away, forming the sea area we know today as Drakes Passage.
The ocean borders a 17,968 km coastline on Antarctica, and is the only body of water which does not flow onto an inhabited landmass on the world's five continents, although it's sub - sea, the Drakes Passage, does border the southern tip of South America.
Geographers disagree as to whether the Antarctic / Southern Ocean is actually another ocean, or just an extension of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, even the International Hydrgraphic Organisation has yet to ratify it's classification, although the waters of the ocean do differ hugely from the waters of other oceans, making it very possible that it is a wholly separate body of water.
The ocean's characteristics which differ from the world's other seas are it's Antarctic Circumpolar Current - a fast flowing current which flows from west to east which keep out the warmer waters of the Pacific and Indian Oceans and in turn cause two massive oceanic gyres, the Ross Gyre and the Weddell Gyre - and the Antarctic Bottom Water - an area of extremely cold, fresh water with an annual mean temperature of 0 to - 8 centigrade and a salinity level of just 34.6 - 34 .7 psu.
The ocean's deepest point is situated at the point of the South Sandwich Trench, at a depth of 7,235 metres.
The ocean feeds, or consists of, fourteen other seas, they are;
SEAS OF THE ANTARCTIC / SOUTHERN OCEAN
The Amundsen Sea.
The Bellinghausen Sea.
The Cooperation Sea.
The Cosmonaut Sea.
The Davis Sea.
The D' Urville Sea.
The Lazarev Sea.
The Mawson Sea.
The King Haakon VII Sea.
The Riiser Larsen Sea.
The Ross Sea.
The Scotia Sea.
The Somov Sea.
The Weddell Sea.
LARGEST ISLANDS OF THE ANTARCTIC / SOUTHERN OCEAN
The ocean also consists of several large islands, non of which have a permanent population, being mainly inhabited as mobile, temporary or seasonal Antarctic research, survey or weather stations, many of which have no territorial claim. Below is a list of the ocean's ten largest islands.
Alexander Island - 49,070 sq km - British Antarctic Territory.
Berkner Island - 43,873 sq km - British Antarctic Territory.
Thurston Island - 15,700 sq km - Unclaimed territory.
Carney Island - 8,500 sq km - Unclaimed territory.
Roosevelt Island - 7,910 sq km - New Zealand Antarctic Territory.
Wrangel Island - 7,866 sq km - Russian Antarctic Territory.
Kerguelen Island - French Antarctic Territory - 6,617 sq km.
Siple Island - 6,390 sq km - Unclaimed territory.
Adelaide Island - 4,463 sq km - British Antarctic Territory.
Spaatz Island - 4,100 sq km - British Antarctic Territory.
The nearest permanently inhabited landmass to the Antarctic / Southern Ocean is the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, situated on the southern most tip of the South American continent, which is where most of the Antarctic logistics for it's research and surveys are carried out, as well as being a busy embarcation point for tourist ships visiting the continent.
There are two large archipelagos situated within the Antarctic / Southern Ocean, the British Territory of the South Orkney Islands, see map above, which cover an area of 620 sq km and the South Shetland Islands, which cover an area of 3,687 sq km.
The South Orkney Islands are an unclaimed group of islands which are free to use, for non military purposes, by any nation or it's people, which have several well equipped buildings located there.
The South Shetland Island's King George Island has a permanent population of around five hundred people who are made up of several nationalities working there at various research, survey or weather stations. The island is also home to the world's most southerly located Russian Orthodox church, Trinity Church, pictured above, located at the Bellingshausen Station, and the world's most southerly located lighthouse, the Arctowski Lighthouse.
Situated on the island group's Livingstone Island, is the world's most southerly located Russian Orthodox Chapel, the Chapel of St Ivan Rilsky.
