in thickness, although pressure
ridges may be three times that size; clockwise drift pattern in the
Beaufort Gyral Stream, but nearly straight-line movement from the
New Siberian Islands (Russia) to Denmark Strait (between Greenland
and Iceland); the icepack is surrounded by open seas during the
summer, but more than doubles in size during the winter and extends
to the encircling landmasses; the ocean floor is about 50%
continental shelf (highest percentage of any ocean) with the
remainder a central basin interrupted by three submarine ridges
(Alpha Cordillera, Nansen Cordillera, and Lomonosov Ridge)

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Fram Basin -4,665 m

highest point: sea level 0 m

Natural resources: sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits,
polymetallic nodules, oil and gas fields, fish, marine mammals
(seals and whales)

Natural hazards: ice islands occasionally break away from northern
Ellesmere Island; icebergs calved from glaciers in western Greenland
and extreme northeastern Canada; permafrost in islands; virtually
ice locked from October to June; ships subject to superstructure
icing from October to May

Environment - current issues: endangered marine species include
walruses and whales; fragile ecosystem slow to change and slow to
recover from disruptions or damage; thinning polar icepack

Geography - note: major chokepoint is the southern Chukchi Sea
(northern access to the Pacific Ocean via the Bering Strait);
strategic location between North America and Russia; shortest marine
link between the extremes of eastern and western Russia; floating
research stations operated by the US and Russia; maximum snow cover
in March or April about 20 to 50 centimeters over the frozen ocean;
snow cover lasts about 10 months

Arctic Ocean Economy

Economy - overview: Economic activity is limited to the exploitation
of natural resources, including petroleum, natural gas, fish, and
seals.

Arctic Ocean Transportation

Ports and harbors: Churchill (Canada), Murmansk (Russia), Prudhoe
Bay (US)

Transportation - note: sparse network of air, ocean, river, and land
routes; the Northwest Passage (North America) and Northern Sea Route
(Eurasia) are important seasonal waterways

Arctic Ocean Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: some maritime disputes (see littoral
states)

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Argentina