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The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. [1] It spans an area of approximately 14,060,000 km 2 (5,430,000 sq mi) and is the coldest of the world's oceans.
Arctic ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic, the region north of the Arctic Circle (66° 33’N). [1] This region is characterized by two biomes: taiga (or boreal forest ) and tundra . [ 2 ]
The Arctic Ocean is expected to see its first ice-free events in the near future - most likely before 2050, and potentially in the late 2020s or early 2030s. [10] This would have no precedent in the last 700,000 years.
A map of the Arctic. The red line is the 10 °C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region; also shown is the Arctic Circle. The white area shows the average minimum extent of sea ice in summer as of 1975. [1] The climate of the Arctic is characterized by long, cold winters
The Arctic sea ice covers less area in the summer than in the winter. The multi-year (i.e. perennial) sea ice covers nearly all of the central deep basins. The Arctic sea ice and its related biota are unique, and the year-round persistence of the ice has allowed the development of ice endemic species, meaning species not found anywhere else.
As the Arctic warms, large shifts are projected to occur throughout the Boreal-Arctic transition zone as tall-statured woody vegetation advances northward into tundra ecosystems. The onset of this shift has been documented through historical imagery , remote sensing , field observations , experimental manipulations , and placed in context with ...
The word Arctic comes from the Greek word ἀρκτικός (arktikos), "near the Bear, northern" [4] and from the word ἄρκτος (arktos), meaning bear. [5] The name refers either to the constellation known as Ursa Major, the "Great Bear", which is prominent in the northern portion of the celestial sphere, or to the constellation Ursa Minor, the "Little Bear", which contains the celestial ...
As such, the climate of much of the Arctic is moderated by the ocean water, which can never have a temperature below −2 °C (28 °F). 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 ...