Arctic Ocean

By: Audrey Cheung

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest ocean on earth. It
lies near the North Pole, touching North America, Europe, Asia, Alaska,
and Greenland. It only covers 2.8% of the world. Even though the
Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean, it is approximately 5,440,000
square miles. The average depth is only 987 metres, but the deepest
point of the Arctic Ocean is 5,502 meters.
Since the temperature can drop to -65C, the Arctic Ocean
has a lot of ice floating around as the water freezes. Theres lots
of ice like Antarctica, but a little different. Because Antarctica is
the coldest place on earth, the water freezes and make a big
land out of ice. The Arctic, in the other hand, has Sea ice and
Pack ice. Sea ice is frozen seawater which forms in the winter,
and pack ice is ice that stays frozen all year round.
There are two seasons in the Arctic Ocean, winter and
summer. Long and cold winters, and short and cool summers. In winter, the
water freezes and becomes ice that can go up to 3 meters thick. In
summer, the ice melts or breaks down into the water, leaving little chunks of
ice.
There are different kinds of living things in the
Arctic Ocean. Most animals in the Arctic Ocean are
Carnivores, but there are still some animals that eat
plants. Rare animals like the Beluga whale and the
Narwhal swim only in the Arctic Ocean. Killer whales
try to catch Harp Seals in the Arctic Ocean, while
Polar Bears hunt for Ringed Seals on ice. Seals and
puffins eat fish, krill, and squids. Puffins are birds that
can fly, swim and dig burrows. Small fish, then
connects and eats plankton. Plankton are living things
in all oceans that floats in the same direction as the
waves direction.
So if the waves are going north, the planktons
goes North too, like a jellyfish. But most of them are
microscopic. There are two groups of plankton, zooplankton, and

phytoplankton. Zooplankton are animals that move and float in the ocean like a jellyfish.
Phytoplankton are plants (usually microscopic) that floats but it doesnt move. Phytoplankton are
the only plant living in the Arctic Ocean.

A major threat to the Arctic Ocean is global warming. The ice cap was melting since the ice
age because people are producing too much carbon dioxide, effecting
the food chain. Killer whales and greenland sharks eat all the seals,
because seals cant go on the ice, since the whales and sharks cannot
walk on ice. Polar Bears give birth to cubs, but cubs drown since
they cant swim. And that might effect the food
chain or they will become extinct. No more
seals, so the population of fish and squid rises,
then eats all the plankton. Fish and squid dies
too, since there are no more plankton.

Flooding will start to effect nearby countries as

the ice melts, making many people lose their home.
People hunt and fish animals in the Arctic Ocean, because there are
rare animals found in the Arctic. Another reason is because it is so cold
that there arent that many people that go there to fish, making a large
amount of fish in the Arctic Ocean. Large ships come sail to do business,
oil spills are everywhere.

All of this is happening because of us, and if we dont stop this

human impact, there will be serious consequences to our planet.
How you can help save the animals is to use less fossil fuels, avoid
travelling by airplanes and cars, reduce electricity by turning off
lights when you dont need it, join Non-Government Organisations
(NGO) that help save global warming, and most importantly, raise
awareness by telling other people about this problem.

Reference:
Kalman, Bobbie.Explore Earth's Five Oceans. New York: Crabtree Pub., 2011. Print.
Britannica. "Log in."Britannica School. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.
Parker, Steve.Polar Lands. Great Bardfield: Miles Kelly, 2010. Print.
Royston, Angela.What Happens When an Ice Cap Melts?N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
"Puffin Printout- EnchantedLearning.com."Puffin Printout- EnchantedLearning.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb.
2015.
"Ocean."Ocean. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Feb. 2015.
Nicklen, P. (n.d.). Underwater Landscape Photos [Digital image]. Retrieved from http://
photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photos/underwater-landscapes/#/underwater-icenicklen_18449_600x450.jpg
The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group, n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015.
Arctic blue icebergs near a glacier in Svalbard [Digital image]. (2010, March 21). Retrieved from http://
www.marinebio.net/marinescience/04benthon/arcocean.htm
G. (2009, December 17). Small conservation areas could make big difference for whales [Digital image]. Retrieved
from http://www.gridovate.com/small-conservation-areas-could-make-big-difference-for-whales_13045.html
Fishing through the ice (Arctic Voice) [Digital image]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://discoveringthearctic.org/
photo_lib.html
Collins, A. (n.d.). Jellyfish and Comb Jellies [Digital image]. Retrieved from http://ocean.si.edu/jellyfish-andcomb-jellies
Arctic Animals. Digital image. Protect the Arctic.com. N.p., 7 Jan. 2011. Web.
Mosher, D. (2012, January 06). Baby Harp Seals Being Drowned, Crushed Amid Melting Ice [Digital image].
Retrieved from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/01/120106-harp-seals-global-warming-sea-icescience-environment/
Snodgrass, S. (2009, August 4). Beluga Whale [Digital image]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Beluga_whale