What part of the world is washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Where is the Atlantic Ocean located? Seas around Ireland
Atlantic Ocean- the second largest and deepest. Its area is 91.7 million km2. The average depth is 3597 m, and the maximum depth is 8742 m. The length from north to south is 16,000 km. Geographical position Atlantic Ocean The ocean stretches from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the coast of Antarctica in the south. To the south, the Drake Passage separates the Atlantic Ocean from […]
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean on Earth. This is the most studied and mastered by people ocean. The Atlantic Ocean washes the shores of all continents except Australia. Its length is 13 thousand km (along the meridian 30 W), and the greatest width is 6700 km. The ocean has many seas and bays. In the structure of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, there are three main parts: […]
The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest ocean after the Pacific. Its area is much smaller and amounts to 91.6 million km2. About a quarter of this area falls on shelf seas. The coastline is very indented, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, in the Southern Hemisphere it is relatively flat. The ocean washes all continents except Australia. Islands located in the ocean are located near the continents. […]
The name Atlantic came to us from ancient times. Scientists believe that it is connected with the name of the Atlas Mountains in northwestern Africa. Hence, the Atlantic Sea in the time of Homer and Hesiod literally meant "the sea beyond the Atlas Mountains". Later, the Greeks began to designate the south of the part of the modern Atlantic Ocean known to them, and the waters adjacent to Europe called it the Outer Sea, […]
All species are present in the Atlantic Ocean economic activity man in the sea. Among them highest value have maritime transport, then - underwater oil and gas production, only then - the catch and use of biological resources. More than 70 coastal countries with a population of over 1.3 billion people are located on the shores of the Atlantic. Many transoceanic routes cross the ocean from […]
In the Atlantic Ocean, all zonal complexes are distinguished - natural belts, except for the north polar. The waters of the northern subpolar belt are rich in life. It is especially developed on the shelves off the coasts of Iceland, Greenland and the Labrador Peninsula. The temperate zone is characterized by an intense interaction of cold and warm waters, and its waters are the most productive regions of the Atlantic. Vast expanses of warm waters of two subtropical, two tropical […]
The Atlantic Ocean is poorer in species in the composition of flora and fauna than the Pacific. One of the reasons for this is its relative geological youth and a noticeable cooling in the Quaternary period during the glaciation of the northern hemisphere. However, in quantitatively the ocean is rich in organisms - it is the most productive per unit area. This is primarily due to the wide development of shelves and shallow […]
The zonality of water masses in the ocean is complicated by the influence of land and sea currents. This is manifested primarily in the temperature distribution of surface waters. In many areas of the ocean, the isotherms near the coast deviate sharply from the latitudinal direction. The northern half of the ocean is warmer than the southern one, the temperature difference reaches 6°С. The average surface water temperature (16.5°C) is slightly lower than in the Pacific Ocean. Cooling […]
In the Atlantic, as in the Pacific Ocean, two rings of surface currents are formed. In the northern hemisphere, the North Equatorial Current, the Gulf Stream, the North Atlantic and Canary Currents form the movement of waters in a clockwise direction. In the southern hemisphere, the South Trade Winds, the Brazilian, the West Winds and the Benguela move the waters counterclockwise. Due to the significant length of the Atlantic Ocean from north to south […]
The Atlantic Ocean is located in all climatic zones of the Earth. The main part of the ocean area is between 40°N. and 42° S - is located in subtropical, tropical, subequatorial and equatorial climatic zones. There are high positive air temperatures all year round. The most severe climate is found in the subantarctic and antarctic latitudes, and to a lesser extent in the subpolar, northern latitudes. The climate of the Atlantic Ocean (over […]
Oil and gas reserves have been discovered on the shelf of the North Sea, in the Gulf of Mexico, Guinea and Biscay. Phosphorite deposits have been discovered in the area of deep water rise off the coast of North Africa in tropical latitudes. Placer deposits of tin off the coast of Great Britain and Florida, as well as diamond deposits off the coast of Southwest Africa, have been found on the shelf in the sediments of ancient and modern rivers. […]
The Mid-Atlantic Ridge passes through the entire ocean (at approximately the same distance from the coasts of the continents). The relative height of the ridge is about 2 km. Transverse faults divide it into separate segments. In the axial part of the ridge there is a giant rift valley 6 to 30 km wide and up to 2 km deep. The rift and faults of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are confined to both underwater […]
The Atlantic Ocean stretches from north to south for 16,000 km from subarctic to antarctic latitudes. The ocean is wide in the northern and southern parts, narrowing in equatorial latitudes to 2900 km. In the north it communicates with the Arctic Ocean, and in the south it is widely connected with the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Bounded by the coasts of the North and South America- on the […]
The western and southwestern outskirts of Russia are washed by the seas of the Atlantic Ocean. The Baltic Sea forms gulfs off the coast of the country, on the banks of which large ports are located. St. Petersburg is located in the Gulf of Finland, and Kaliningrad is located on the Pregola River, which flows into the Vistula Bay. In the southwest is the Black and Azov Seas, where there are also large bays. In the Black Sea - the Karakinit Bay and […]
The Atlantic Ocean is bounded by the shores of Europe and Africa in the east, North and South America - in the west. Due to the meridional strike, natural belts from the northern subpolar to the southern polar are found in it, which determines the diversity of its natural conditions. However, the main part of its spaces lies between 40 ° N. sh. and 42°S sh. in subtropical, tropical and […]
Within the Atlantic Ocean, all physiographic zones are clearly represented, except for the northern polar one. The northern subpolar (subarctic) belt covers the waters off Greenland and the Labrador Peninsula. In winter, the air temperature drops to -20°, water to -1°C and below. The ocean is partially covered with ice in winter. Ice formation causes an additional increase in the salinity of water and its immersion to a depth. In the spring […]
The organic world of the Atlantic Ocean is species-poorer organic world Pacific and Indian Oceans, but in quantitative terms - the richest (260 kg / km2) due to the wide development of the shelf. The poverty of the species composition is largely associated with the relative youth of the ocean, its long isolation from other oceans, and the strong cooling of the climate in the Quaternary. The distribution of organic life strongly […]
The climatic conditions of the Atlantic Ocean determine the features of its hydrological regime. Waves in the Atlantic Ocean Wave formation in the Atlantic Ocean depends on the nature of the prevailing winds over certain areas. The region of the most frequent storms extends north of 40°N. sh. and south of 40°S sh. The height of the waves during long and very strong storms can reach 20-26 m. But […]
The climate of the Atlantic Ocean is determined by its huge meridional extent, the nature of atmospheric circulation and the ability to water surface significantly equalize the annual temperature variation. The oceanic climate is generally characterized by small fluctuations in air temperature. In the Atlantic Ocean at the equator they are less than 1 °C, in subtropical latitudes 5 °C, and at 60 ° N. sh. and yu. sh. - 10 °C. Only […]
Deep-sea sediments consist of silts, named after the smallest organisms, the remains of which are found in the soil in the greatest amount. Among deep-sea deposits, the most common are foraminiferal silts, which occupy 65% of the area of the ocean floor and the mid-ocean ridge. The Atlantic Ocean is a part of the World Ocean, which is characterized by the penetration far to the north of heat-loving foraminifera, which is associated with the warming effect of the […]
Secrets of the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean has been known to human civilization since time immemorial. It was here, according to ancient legends, that the mysterious island of Atlantis was located, which went under water seventeen thousand years ago. A warlike and courageous people (Atlanteans) lived on it, and the god Poseidon reigned over it together with his wife Kleito. The name of their eldest son was Atlan. In his honor, the boundless sea washing this land was named the Atlantic.
Atlantic Ocean
The mysterious civilization has sunk into oblivion, the sea was renamed the ocean, but the name has remained. The secrets of the Atlantic Ocean have not disappeared anywhere. As the centuries passed, there were no fewer of them. But before you get acquainted with everything unusual and mysterious, you need to get general idea about the majestic waters washing simultaneously the shores of hot Africa, and the lands of old Europe, and the distant rocky coast of the American continent, covered with a haze of fabulous legends.
Today, the Atlantic Ocean is called a huge body of water on planet Earth, which accounts for 25% of the volume of the oceans. Its area is almost 92 million km², together with the adjacent seas and the Atlantic part of the Southern Ocean. From north to south, the waters of the Atlantic stretch for 15.5 thousand km, and from west to east, in the narrowest part (from Brazil to Liberia), they are 2.8 thousand km wide.
If we take the distance of Atlantic waters from the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico to the eastern coast of the Black Sea, then there will be a completely different figure - 13.5 thousand km. The depth of the ocean is also a great difference. Her average value is 3600 m, and the maximum is recorded in the Puerto Rico trench and corresponds to 8742 meters.
The bottom of the Atlantic is divided lengthwise into two parts by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It exactly repeats the outlines of a huge body of water and stretches in a wide winding mountainous chain: from the north - from the Reykjanes Ridge (Iceland), to the African-Antarctic Ridge in the south (Bouve Island), going beyond the border of the distribution of Arctic ice.
Scattered to the right and left of the ridge are hollows, troughs, faults, small ridges that make the topography of the ocean floor very complex and confusing. The coastline (especially in northern latitudes) also has a complex structure. It is strongly indented by small bays, has vast water areas that go deep into the land and form seas. Numerous straits in the coastal zone of the continents, as well as straits and channels connecting the Atlantic with Pacific Ocean.
The Atlantic Ocean washes the shores 96 state formations. It owns 14 seas and 4 large bays. Diverse climate in these geographical and geological areas earth's surface provide numerous surface currents. They flow full-flowing in all directions and are divided into warm and cold.
In the northern latitudes, up to the equator, the North Trade Wind, Gulf Stream and North Atlantic currents dominate. They carry warm waters and delight the world mild climate and high temperatures. This cannot be said about the Labrador and Canarian currents. The latter are cold and create frosty and slushy weather on the adjacent lands.
South of the equator, the picture is the same. The warm South Trade Wind, Guinean and Brazilian currents rule here. The cold West Winds and the Bengal Wind try to be equal in everything to their more humane counterparts and also make their feasible negative contribution to the formation of the climate of the southern hemisphere. In general, the average temperature on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean is plus 16 ° Celsius. At the equator, it can reach up to 28 ° Celsius. But in the northern latitudes it is very cold - here the water freezes.
Icebergs of the Atlantic
From what has been said, it is not difficult to guess that from the north and south the waters of the Atlantic are squeezed by eternal giant ice crusts. True, there is a little overkill at the expense of eternity, since very large blocks of ice often break off from them and begin to slowly drift towards the equator. Such blocks are called icebergs, and they move north of Greenland up to 40 ° N. latitude, and in the south of Antarctica to 40 ° S. sh. Their remnants are also observed closer to the equator, reaching 31-35 ° southern and northern latitudes.
Very large sizes is a loose concept. More specifically, there are icebergs that are tens of kilometers long and sometimes exceed 1,000 km² in area. These ice floes can travel through the expanses of the ocean for years, hiding their true size under the water surface.
The fact is that a mountain of ice shines blue above the water, which corresponds to only 10% of the total volume of the iceberg. The remaining 90% of this block is hidden in the ocean depths due to the fact that the density of ice does not exceed 940 kg / m³, and the density of sea water on the surface ranges from 1000 to 1028 kg / m³. The usual, average height of an iceberg, as a rule, corresponds to 28-30 meters, while its underwater part is just over 100-120 meters.
A meeting with such a marine traveler for ships has never been a joy. The greatest danger he is already in adulthood. By this time, the iceberg has thawed significantly, its center of gravity has shifted, and the huge ice block has turned over. Its underwater part is above the water. It does not shine blue, but is a dark blue ice cap, which, especially in conditions of poor visibility, is very difficult to distinguish on the surface of the ocean.
The sinking of the Titanic
A typical example of the insidiousness of floating ice blocks can be the death of the Titanic, which occurred on the night of April 14-15, 1912. It sank 2 hours 40 minutes after colliding with an iceberg in the northern waters of the Atlantic Ocean (41° 43′ 55″ N, 49° 56′ 45″ E). This resulted in the death of 1,496 passengers and crew members.
True, we must immediately make a reservation: it is rather imprudent to write off everything on a "stray" iceberg. This shipwreck is still one of the greatest secrets Atlantic Ocean. There is still no clue to the causes of the tragedy, although there are a great many different Versky and assumptions.
As expected, the largest passenger ship in the world (length 269 m, width 28.2 m, displacement 46,300 tons) collided with an iceberg, which had a venerable age and apparently turned over in the water more than once. Its dark surface did not give reflections, it merged with the water surface of the ocean, so it was very difficult to notice a huge floating ice block in time. The culprit of the tragedy was recognized only when he was at a distance of 450 meters from the ship, and not 4-6 km, as usually happens in such situations.
The sinking of the Titanic made a lot of noise. It was a worldwide sensation at the beginning of the second decade of the twentieth century. Mostly everyone was amazed - how could such a huge and reliable ship sink so quickly, dragging hundreds and hundreds of unfortunate people to the bottom with it. Nowadays, many researchers tend to see the true causes of the terrible tragedy not in the ill-fated iceberg (although few people deny its indirect role), but in completely different factors that for some reason, at one time, were hidden from the general public.
Versions, conjectures, assumptions
The official conclusion of the commission investigating the disaster was unequivocal - the ice of the Atlantic turned out to be stronger than steel. He ripped off the underwater part of the Titanic corps, like a tin can. The wound was terrible: its length reached 100 meters, and six of the sixteen waterproof compartments were damaged. This turned out to be enough for the proud Briton to sink to the bottom and forever calm down at a great depth, taking with him to the sea soil human lives and colossal material values.
The sinking of the Titanic
The sinking of the Titanic
Such a verdict is not convincing for a specialist, and even a person who is far from shipbuilding understands that the carrying hull of a huge liner plowing the oceans cannot in any way resemble a tin can. The melted ice of the old iceberg also does not have sufficient hardness, which, judging by the conclusion, should have exceeded the strength of a diamond in order to cut through the steel plating of a multi-ton passenger ship for tens of meters.
You can build various assumptions and hypotheses for an arbitrarily long time, but only practical research can answer all questions. In this situation, given the depth at which the Titanic lay, survey work became possible no earlier than the 80s of the XX century. It was by this time that deep-sea vehicles appeared that could stay at a depth of 4 kilometers for a long time.
The first such swallow was the expedition of the American oceanologist Robert Ballard, who in September 1985 arrived at the scene of the tragedy on the ship Knor. She was armed with a deep-water towed complex "Argo". It was he who determined the depth of the remains of the Titanic. The water column in this place was 3,750 meters. The ship lay on seabed, split into two parts, the distance between them was approximately 600 meters.
No visible damage that caused the death of the ocean liner was found. Robert Ballard considered that they were hidden by the ground, in which the multi-ton structure was bogged down. A lacerated wound on the body of the Titanic was not found during the second expedition organized by an American scientist in 1986.
French and American experts went along the beaten track. In the summer of 1987, they arrived in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and spent two long months at the crash site. Using deep-sea vehicle"Nautil", the researchers raised from the bottom of more than 900 items on board the sunken ship. These were samples of ship utensils, some of which ended up in museums, and some went to private collections.
Survey of the Titanic
The underwater apparatus is examined by a sunken titanium
Finally, in 1991, the ship Akademik Mstislav Keldysh arrived at the site of the sinking of the Titanic. On board was an international research expedition led by Canadian geologist and oceanographer Steve Blask. The expedition had at its disposal two autonomous underwater vehicles Mir-1 and Mir-2. On them, the researchers made 38 dives. The ship's hull was examined, a sample of the side plating was taken, film, video and photography were carried out.
Despite all efforts, a ragged hole, several tens of meters long, was not found. But it was possible to find a hole, the size of which did not exceed a square meter, and numerous cracks were noticed along the lines of the rivets.
A steel fragment that broke away from the Titanic's hull was sent for testing. It was checked for metal fragility - the conclusion was not encouraging: the prototype was amazingly fragile. This could be attributed to the long 80 years on the seabed, which significantly affected the properties of steel. Therefore, for the objectivity of the picture, a similar piece of metal was tested, which has been preserved at the shipyard since 1911. The result was almost the same.
It's hard to believe, but the body of the Titanic did not respond regulatory requirements. It was made from a material with a high content of sulfur compounds. The latter gave the steel structure a high brittleness, which, in combination with ice water, made it very brittle.
If the hull were made of steel that meets all the standards and requirements, then after contact with the iceberg, it would bend, but retain its integrity. In the same situation, the ship hit an iceberg with its starboard side - and the blow was of little force, but the fragile skin of the Titanic could not stand it either. It split along the rivet lines below the waterline. Icy water poured into the holes that formed, which instantly filled the lower compartments and, most likely, caused the explosion of red-hot steam boilers.
The huge ship began to rapidly sink into the waters of the Atlantic. According to eyewitnesses, at first the Titanic sank on an even keel, which indicates that the lower compartments were filled with water evenly. Then came the trim on the nose. The stern began to rise up, reached a vertical position, and the multi-ton colossus very quickly went to the bottom. Already at great depth, due to high pressure, "Titanic" split into two parts, which were pulled along the bottom of the ocean for more than 500 meters.
Who benefited from the sinking of the Titanic?
It turns out that this catastrophe has nothing to do with the secrets of the Atlantic Ocean: everything seems to be clear. No, there is no need to rush to conclusions. As already mentioned, there are many versions of the death of an ocean liner, and among them there is not one that can be called the ultimate truth. There are many other assumptions, opinions of very authoritative people who consider the cause of the terrible catastrophe from a completely different angle.
So to this day there is a version that the White Star Line company, the owner of the ship, was the culprit of the accident. It was its leaders who initially planned the construction of the Titanic with gross violations of all possible norms and rules. The purpose of this grand scam was to obtain a huge insurance policy that could correct the precarious financial situation of the company and save it from total collapse.
That is why the ocean liner, despite warnings about icebergs from ships in the same area, was moving at the highest possible speed (20.5 miles per hour). The task of the captain of the ship was one - to provoke a collision of the Titanic with a huge floating ice floe.
Most likely, no one could even imagine such a number of dead people, since according to all calculations it turned out that the ship would sink for a long time. The main stake was placed on rescue ships, which should have had enough time to get to the scene of the tragedy and manage to save all passengers and valuables on board. However, unpredictable fate has made its own adjustments to the original scenario.
In addition to this rather dubious and unsteady version, there is another. It's a fire in a coal bunker. With prolonged storage, the lower layers of coal begin to smolder, releasing explosive gas. The temperature gradually increases, the concentration of gas vapors increases. In such a situation, an explosion can occur from a normal push. The collision with the iceberg became the detonator that caused a huge surge of energy that tore and destroyed the entire lower part of the ship.
In a word, even today there is no consensus on the causes of the terrible tragedy. Only the remains of a ship resting at a great depth can reveal this secret of the Atlantic Ocean. Their scrupulous study by dozens of specialists is possible only under normal terrestrial conditions. To do this, you need to raise the Titanic from the bottom of a huge reservoir.
Technically, this is extremely difficult to implement. As for the financial side of the issue, here is a different picture. Although such work will cost crazy money, but they will more than pay off. After all, we must not forget that gold bars worth 10 million pounds sterling lie on the ship. Jewelry, diamonds, jewelry are also stored here. the richest people of the world that sailed on this ship. Fragments of the Titanic hull, the remains of the interior, dishes will leave the auctions with a bang at fabulous prices.
If we consider the unfortunate Titanic as a source of material wealth, then he is by no means alone. The bottom of the Atlantic Ocean is the Klondike, El Dorado. Here lies great amount ships that are simply stuffed with precious metals, diamonds, and other valuables that can make anyone who gets to them rich. This is precisely the whole question: to break through the thickness of oceanic waters is an overwhelming task not only for individual adventurers, but also for serious firms and solid financial structures.
Underwater cemeteries of ships
At the beginning of the XXI century, there are many companies specializing in the search for sunken ships. The game is worth the candle, because, according to experts, at least 80,000 ships of all countries and peoples that have been shipwrecked over the past 400 years, carrying valuables worth 600 billion dollars, are resting at the bottom of the Atlantic alone.
One of these companies - the American company "Odyssey" - discovered in 2007, in the area of the Canary Islands, a Spanish sailing ship. On board were 500 thousand old gold and silver coins. Their total weight reached 17 tons, and the cost was 500 million dollars. This is 100 million dollars more than the wealth that was raised in 1985 from the Spanish galleon that sank off the coast of Florida in the twenties of the 17th century.
The lion's share of all the valuables that went to the bottom of the ocean in the 16th and in the first half of the 17th centuries rests precisely on Spanish ships, which in a continuous caravan carried to Europe from America the gold, silver, precious stones and products stolen from the Indian peoples.
In theory, the good obtained in this way cannot be the property of the state. The Spanish government thought otherwise. At the beginning of the 21st century, it declared 800 sunken XVI-XVIII centuries Spanish ships carrying illegally acquired utensils are a national treasure. The monetary equivalent of all this wealth is estimated at 130 billion dollars.
Underwater treasures are available for search teams in the coastal zones of the Atlantic Ocean. Here, as a rule, ships sank, running aground or reefs. On the vast expanses of water, where at least 3000 meters lie under the keel, galleons, brigantines, frigates carrying cargo, and then steamships, motor ships, yachts, battleships went to the bottom, having experienced all the power and strength of ocean storms (the height of the waves in the Atlantic often reaches 10-15 meters) or deceit and cruelty pirate ships and submarines of the enemy during the years of hostilities.
The ratio of ships drowned in coastal zones and in the open ocean over the past 400 years is 85 to 15. That is, it turns out that the closer to the coast, the more dangerous. Only every seventh ship perished in the vast and majestic expanses of the Atlantic Ocean, the rest of the floating craft sank in the visibility of native or foreign shores, which, as they say, were within easy reach.
One of the largest underwater cemeteries is the English Channel. Its length is 560 km, its width in the west is 240 km, in the east 32 km, and the average depth is 63 m. Only in some places the depth exceeds this mark and reaches 170 m. There are many shoals, fogs are frequent. At the bottom of the strait rests countless ships, especially in its western part.
In terms of the number of shipwrecks, the waters in the area of Cape Hatteras (North Carolina, USA) do not lag behind. There is a narrow long spit here, the eastern ledge of which is actually the ill-fated cape. This place is characterized by countless shoals, constant storms, fogs, strong currents. Vessels that dare to approach these shores expose themselves to a very real danger - the manifestation of carelessness, frivolity and ignoring the direction, almost constantly, leads to tragic consequences.
Bermuda Triangle
Perhaps the most intriguing mystery of the Atlantic Ocean can be called the Bermuda Triangle. Its peaks lie at the southern tip of Florida, Bermuda and Puerto Rico. It is part of the so-called Devil's Belt, of which the Devil's Triangle is also a part, located in Pacific waters around Miyake Island (Japan).
The excitement around this seemingly unremarkable place arose in the second half of the 20th century. Before, for hundreds of years, everything seemed to be normal. The ships sedately crossed this expanse of the ocean, and the crews on them did not even guess what mortal danger they were exposing themselves to.
The year 1950 put an end to such outrageous frivolity. It was then that a short article by Associated Press correspondent Edward Johnson came out. It was not even an article, but a thin pamphlet published in Florida in a small circulation. It was called the "Bermuda Triangle", and the facts presented in it told about the mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft in the Bermuda region.
Bermuda Triangle
She did not attract the attention of the public in any way, but apparently forced to draw attention to herself. individual people feeding on sensationalism and bestseller circulation. However, it took almost 15 years before Vincent Gladdis's article titled "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle" saw the light of day. It was published in 1964 in a spiritualist magazine. With a short break, a book by the same author, Invisible Horizons, was published. In it, a whole chapter was already given to the mysterious part of the ocean.
A more detailed solid and capacious work was presented to the readers ten years later. The author of this bestseller, simply and concisely called "The Bermuda Triangle", was Charles Berlitz. It provided a lot of data on the mysterious disappearances of ships and aircraft, and also described incomprehensible phenomena associated with changes in the properties of time and space. Reputable publishing houses different countries reprinted this book, and, in a short time, oh bermuda triangle learned tens of millions of citizens living in different parts of the world.
In any business, there will always be corrosive skeptics who do not feed with bread, but let them spoil a barrel of honey with a fly in the ointment. A blow to such a successfully and dynamically spreading sensation was dealt as early as the next 1975 by the American journalist Lawrence David Kouche. This gentleman did not leave a stone unturned from all the arguments and statements of Charles Berlitz on the pages of his book "The Mystery of the Bermuda Triangle Solved."
To the credit of the author, the content of the book is by no means unsubstantiated criticism, which would be based on envy of a more successful and crafty colleague, but a serious study based on a painstaking study of documents and eyewitness accounts. It was on the basis of factual material that many errors, inaccuracies, and sometimes outright hoaxes were revealed in the work of Charles Berlitz.
The conclusion of Lawrence David Couchet's book is unequivocal: nothing mysterious, supernatural, inexplicable happens in the Bermuda Triangle. The statistics of tragedies in this section of the Atlantic Ocean corresponds to similar data in any other place of the huge reservoir. The mysterious disappearances of material objects are fictitious, and stories about ships abandoned by crews, about lost time, about instantaneous movement in space for hundreds of kilometers are a myth.
Critics of anomalous phenomena are sober-minded people. In order to convince them of something, it is necessary to provide iron evidence of this phenomenon. But in Everyday life It is not that simple. What lies beyond the real cannot be explained in terms of the laws of physics, mechanics or chemistry. Here, rather, the human imagination and faith in the mysterious and unusual dominate.
By the way, many paranormal phenomena that take place in the Bermuda Triangle can be interpreted as a direct consequence of the usual banal processes occurring in the waters of the Atlantic. For example, the mysterious disappearance sea vessels has a simple explanation related to methane emissions. This gas escapes from the gas hydrate deposits on the seabed and saturates the water. The density of the latter drops sharply. A ship that enters such a section of the ocean immediately sinks.
The released methane is not limited to aquatic environment. It rises into the air and also reduces its density. This can lead to the death of aircraft, which is almost impossible to explain to people on the ground. We must not forget that the gas dissipates very quickly both in water and in air. That is, he is a killer, leaving no traces behind.
Anomalies over time can be explained increased activity magnetic field in the Bermuda Triangle. Passengers of the aircraft who find themselves in a bunch of magnetic forces can be convinced of their impact by looking at the hands of the wrist watch that have stopped or slowed down. After some time, the negative factor disappears, the clock starts running normally again, but everyone, without exception, is behind by the same number of minutes. This gives rise to the false opinion that the plane was lost in another dimension.
If we talk about ships found in the ocean, on which there was not a single crew member, then here the blame can be put on infrasound, which occurs on the water surface under certain conditions. The human brain, heart, other organs of his body - they all have their own oscillation frequency. If some of them coincide with the frequency of infrasound, then the resulting resonance can ruthlessly hit the psyche of people, plunge them into horror and panic, make them jump overboard and die in the water.
All the arguments presented are quite convincing and realistic. But we must not forget that this is not evidence, but only assumptions. Supporters of the paranormal version can also put their vision of the problem to the public, which will be no less convincing and will find many adherents.
Where is the truth? Probably, as always, in the middle. A sober look, combined with faith in the unusual and supernatural, will be more productive in solving the mysteries of not only the Bermuda Triangle, but also other mysteries of the Atlantic Ocean, of which there are a great many both on its surface and in the dark depths.
Based on material Factruz
The Atlantic Ocean is second in size only to the Pacific, its area is approximately 91.56 million km². It is distinguished from other oceans by the strong indentation of the coastline, which forms numerous seas and bays, especially in the northern part. In addition, the total area of river basins flowing into this ocean or its marginal seas is much larger than that of rivers flowing into any other ocean. Another difference of the Atlantic Ocean is a relatively small number of islands and a complex bottom topography, which, thanks to underwater ridges and uplifts, forms many separate basins.
North Atlantic Ocean
Borders and coastline. The Atlantic Ocean is divided into northern and southern parts, the boundary between which is conventionally drawn along the equator. From an oceanographic point of view, however, the equatorial countercurrent, located at 5-8 ° N latitude, should be attributed to the southern part of the ocean. The northern boundary is usually drawn along the Arctic Circle. In some places this boundary is marked by underwater ridges.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the Atlantic Ocean has a heavily indented coastline. Its relatively narrow northern part is connected to the Arctic Ocean by three narrow straits. In the northeast, the Davis Strait, 360 km wide (at the latitude of the Arctic Circle), connects it with the Baffin Sea, which belongs to the Arctic Ocean. In the central part, between Greenland and Iceland, there is the Danish Strait, with a width of only 287 km at its narrowest point. Finally, in the northeast, between Iceland and Norway, is the Norwegian Sea, approx. 1220 km. To the east, two water areas deeply protruding into the land separate from the Atlantic Ocean. The more northern of them begins with the North Sea, which to the east passes into the Baltic Sea with the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland. To the south there is a system of inland seas - the Mediterranean and the Black - with a total length of approx. 4000 km. In the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects the ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, there are two oppositely directed currents one below the other. The lower position is occupied by the current flowing from Mediterranean Sea into the Atlantic Ocean, since the Mediterranean waters, due to more intensive evaporation from the surface, are characterized by greater salinity, and, consequently, greater density.
In the tropical zone in the southwest of the North Atlantic are the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, which connects to the ocean Florida Strait. Coast North America indented by small bays (Pamlico, Barnegat, Chesapeake, Delaware and Long Island Sound); to the northwest are the Bays of Fundy and St. Lawrence, Belle Isle, Hudson Strait, and Hudson Bay.
The largest islands are concentrated in the northern part of the ocean; these are the British Isles, Iceland, Newfoundland, Cuba, Haiti (Hispaniola) and Puerto Rico. On the eastern edge of the Atlantic Ocean there are several groups of small islands - Azores, Canaries, Cape Verde. There are similar groups in the western part of the ocean. Examples include the Bahamas, Florida Keys and Lesser Antilles. The archipelagos of the Greater and Lesser Antilles form an island arc surrounding the eastern part of the Caribbean Sea. In the Pacific Ocean, such island arcs are characteristic of deformation regions. earth's crust. Deep-water trenches are located along the convex side of the arc.
The basin of the Atlantic Ocean is bordered by a shelf, the width of which varies. The shelf is cut through by deep gorges - the so-called. submarine canyons. Their origin is still a matter of controversy. According to one theory, the canyons were cut by rivers when the ocean level was below present. Another theory links their formation with the activity of turbidity currents. It has been suggested that turbidity currents are the main agent responsible for the deposition of sediments on the ocean floor and that it is they that cut submarine canyons.
The bottom of the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean has a complex rugged relief, formed by a combination of underwater ridges, hills, basins and gorges. Most of the ocean floor, from a depth of about 60 m to several kilometers, is covered with thin silty deposits of dark blue or bluish-green color. A relatively small area is occupied by rocky outcrops and areas of gravel-pebble and sandy deposits, as well as deep-water red clays.
Telephone and telegraph cables have been laid on the shelf in the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean to connect North America with northwestern Europe. Here, the areas of industrial fishing, which are among the most productive in the world, are confined to the area of the North Atlantic shelf.
In the central part of the Atlantic Ocean, almost repeating the outlines of the coastlines, a huge underwater mountain range approx. 16 thousand km, known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This ridge divides the ocean into two approximately equal parts. Most of the peaks of this underwater ridge do not reach the surface of the ocean and are located at a depth of at least 1.5 km. Some of the highest peaks rise above ocean level and form the islands - Azores in the North Atlantic and Tristan da Cunha - in the South. In the south, the range bends around the coast of Africa and continues further north into Indian Ocean. A rift zone extends along the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
Surface currents in the North Atlantic Ocean move clockwise. The main elements of this large system are the warm current of the Gulf Stream directed to the north, as well as the North Atlantic, Canary and Northern Equatorial (Equatorial) currents. The Gulf Stream follows from the Florida Strait and Cuba Island in a northerly direction along the coast of the USA and approximately 40°N. sh. deviates to the northeast, changing its name to the North Atlantic Current. This current divides into two branches, one of which follows the northeast along the coast of Norway and further into the Arctic Ocean. It is because of it that the climate of Norway and all of northwestern Europe is much warmer than would be expected at latitudes corresponding to the region stretching from Nova Scotia to southern Greenland. The second branch turns south and further southwest along the coast of Africa, forming the cold Canary Current. This current moves to the southwest and joins the North Equatorial Current, which heads west towards the West Indies, where it merges with the Gulf Stream. To the north of the North Equatorial Current is an area of stagnant water, abundant in algae and known as the Sargasso Sea. Along the North Atlantic coast of North America, the cold Labrador Current passes from north to south, following from the Baffin Bay and the Labrador Sea and cooling the coast of New England.
South Atlantic Ocean
Some experts attribute to the Atlantic Ocean in the south the entire body of water up to the Antarctic ice sheet itself; others take for the southern boundary of the Atlantic an imaginary line connecting Cape Horn in South America with the Cape of Good Hope in Africa. The coastline in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean is much less indented than in the northern part; there are also no inland seas along which the influence of the ocean could penetrate deep into the continents of Africa and South America. The only major bay on the African coast is Guinea. On the coast of South America, large bays are also few in number. The southernmost tip of this continent - Tierra del Fuego - has a rugged coastline, bordered by numerous small islands.
There are no large islands in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean, however, there are separate isolated islands, such as Fernando de Noronha, Ascension, Sao Paulo, St. Helena, the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, and in the extreme south - Bouvet, South Georgia , South Sandwich, South Orkney, Falkland Islands.
In addition to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, there are two main submarine mountain ranges in the South Atlantic. The whale range extends from the southwestern tip of Angola to about. Tristan da Cunha, where it joins the Mid-Atlantic. The Rio de Janeiro ridge stretches from the Tristan da Cunha Islands to the city of Rio de Janeiro and is a group of separate underwater hills.
The main current systems in the South Atlantic move counterclockwise. The South Tradewind current is directed to the west. At the prominence of the east coast of Brazil, it divides into two branches: the northern one carries water along the northern coast of South America to the Caribbean, and the southern, warm Brazilian Current, moves south along the coast of Brazil and joins the West Winds Current, or Antarctic, which heads east , and then to the northeast. Part of this cold current separates and carries its waters north along the African coast, forming the cold Benguela Current; the latter eventually joins the South Equatorial Current. The warm Guinea Current moves south along the coast of Northwest Africa to the Gulf of Guinea.
The Atlantic Ocean is considered one of the largest and most voluminous in size, namely the second largest after the Pacific Ocean. This ocean, the most studied and developed, when compared with other areas. Its location is as follows: from the east it is framed by the shores of North and South America, and in the west its borders end with Europe and Africa. In the South, it passes into the Southern Ocean. And on the north side it borders on Greenland. The ocean is distinguished by the fact that there are very few islands in it, and the topography of its bottom is all dotted and has a complex structure. The line of the coast is broken.
Characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean
If we talk about the area of \u200b\u200bthe ocean, then it occupies 91.66 million square meters. km. We can say that part of its territory is not the ocean itself, but the existing seas, bays. The volume of the ocean is 329.66 million square meters. km, and its average depth is 3736 m. Where the Puerto Rico trench is located, it is considered the greatest depth of the ocean, which is 8742 m. There are two currents - North and South.
Atlantic Ocean from the north side
The border of the ocean from the north is marked in some places by ridges located under water. In this hemisphere, the Atlantic is framed by a rugged coastline. Its small northern part is connected to the Arctic Ocean by several narrow straits. Davis Strait is located in the northeast and connects the ocean with the Baffin Sea, which is also considered to belong to the Arctic Ocean. Closer to the center is the Danish Strait, which is less wide than Davis. Between Norway and Iceland towards the northeast lies the Norwegian Sea.
The Gulf of Mexico is located in the southwest of the North Ocean, which is connected by the Strait of Florida. As well as the Caribbean. Many bays can be noted here, such as Barnegat, Delaware, Hudson Bay and others. It is in the northern side of the ocean that you can see the largest and largest islands, which are famous for their fame. These are Puerto Rico, the world famous Cuba and Haiti, as well as the British Isles and Newfoundland. Closer to the east you can find small groups of islands. These are the Canary Islands, Azores and Cape Verde. Closer to the west - the Bahamas, Lesser Antilles.
South Atlantic Ocean
Some geographers believe that southern part, this is all the space to Antarctica. Someone defines the border at Cape Horn and the Cape of Good Hope of the two continents. The coast in the south of the Atlantic Ocean is not as indented as in the north, and there are no seas here. There is one large gulf near Africa - Guinea. The farthest point in the south is Tierra del Fuego, which is framed by small islands in large numbers. Also, you cannot find large islands here, but there are separate islands, like about. Ascension, St. Helena, Tristan da Cunha. In the extreme south you can find the South Islands, Bouvet, Falkland and others.
As for the current in the south of the ocean, here all systems flow counterclockwise. Near the east of Brazil, the South Equatorial Current forks. One branch goes north, flows near the northern coast of South America, filling the Caribbean. And the second is considered southern, very warm, moves near Brazil and soon connects with the Antarctic current, then heads to the east. Partially separates and turns into the Benguela Current, which is distinguished by its cold waters.
Landmarks of the Atlantic Ocean
In the Belisian barrier reef there is a special underwater cave. They called it the Blue Hole. It is very deep, and inside it there is a whole series of caves, which are interconnected by tunnels. In deeper the cave reaches 120 m and is considered a unique in its kind.
There is no person who would not know about the Bermuda triangle. But it is located in the Atlantic Ocean and excites the imagination of many superstitious travelers. Bermuda beckon their mystery, but at the same time scares the unknown.
It is in the Atlantic that you can see an unusual sea that has no coast. And all because it is located in the middle of the body of water, and its boundaries cannot be framed by land, only currents show the boundaries of this sea. This is the only sea in the world that has such unique data and is called the Sargasso Sea.
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From the article you will learn which continents are washed by the Atlantic Ocean and how it affects them.
Characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean
The ocean occupies an area of 91.66 million square meters. km, thanks to which it is the second largest after the quiet. More than 16 % of its entire area falls on straits, seas and bays. The salinity of water is approximately 34-37 ppm. The deepest point is Puerto Rico's groove, 8742 meters deep. The average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is about 4 kilometers, and this is less than that of the Pacific and Indian.
The Atlantic is located in all 4 hemispheres and washes 5 continents. The Danish Strait and the Davis Strait to the north connect it to the Arctic Ocean. in the south it communicates with the Pacific Ocean, and with the Indian Ocean it is connected by the water space between Antarctica and Africa.
Previously, the Atlantic Ocean was called the Western, Outer, North Sea, now the term "Atlantic" is often used to refer to it. On the European map, the author of which was the Dutchman Varenius, modern name The ocean appeared in 1650.
The origin of the name "Atlantic Ocean" is associated with the African Atlas Mountains. Scientists suggest that even among the ancient Greeks, this name literally meant "the sea beyond the Atlas Mountains." There are two more versions of the name - one connects it with the sunken Atlantis, the other - with the name of the titan Atlanta.
Atlantic exploration
People began to explore the described expanses of water earlier than other oceans, through the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Even before our era, ancient peoples founded cities and states on the shores of the Mediterranean. Watching the ebb and flow, animals and flora, they were the first explorers of these waters.
Of course, in ancient times, people did not know exactly which continents were washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Their geographical knowledge differed markedly from modern ones. Nevertheless, Pytheas made voyages across the North Atlantic as early as the 4th century BC. And in the 10th century AD, a native of Normandy undertook the first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, arriving on the shores of the island of Newfoundland.
- Brazilian;
- Guiana;
- Gulf Stream;
- Norwegian.
- Greenlandic;
- Labrador;
- Canarian;
- Benguela.
Conclusion
Now we know which continents the Atlantic Ocean washes and what effect it has on them. Stretching from north to south, this expanse of water has long had great value for people. The waters of the Atlantic connect the five continents together and significantly affect their weather conditions.