h 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 Lomonsov 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 icelocked 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

Environment--international agreements:
party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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

Government

Data code: none; the US Government has not approved a standard
for hydrographic codes--see the Cross-Reference List of Hydrographic
Data Codes appendix

Economy

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

Communications

Telephone system:
international: no submarine cables

Transportation

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

Transportation--