In order to determine in which climatic zones the Atlantic Ocean is located, just look at the world map. It stretches from the northern ice islands and ends off the coast of Antarctica, while crossing the equator and all the surrounding natural areas. In each individual area, weather conditions over the waters are different. Somewhere the trade winds prevail, somewhere the monsoons. There are areas with reduced pressure, there are very high. Therefore, now we will examine in more detail in which climatic zones the Atlantic Ocean is located, and also highlight their main features.
Atlantic Data
In terms of its parameters and the volume of water masses, the Atlantic Ocean ranks second in the world after the Pacific. It is located between the shores of Europe and North America, between Africa and South America. In the North, it originates off the coast of Iceland, and in the South it touches the glaciers of Antarctica.
There are not so many islands on the territory of this vast water reservoir, which is one of its features. The fact is that the bottom relief of the ocean was formed a long time ago, in comparison, for example, with the Indian, because most volcanoes are dormant here, and
tectonic plates are at rest. Nevertheless, all the islands that formed here are of volcanic origin, regardless of their parameters. So, we examined where the Atlantic Ocean is located relative to the continents. Now we turn to its weather conditions.
Brief climate information
Despite the fact that the Atlantic has a very impressive meridian extent, air temperature and humidity here seem to “equalize” due to water currents. One of them is the Gulf Stream, which carries warm waters from the shores of Central America to Northern Europe. Due to the warm water flowing along the western coast of Eurasia, the climate here is very mild and stable.
The Gulf Stream also provides the northern part of the ocean with higher average annual temperatures. In the South, much more significant temperature differences are observed during the seasons and a sharper change in weather.
Location Features
The position of the Atlantic Ocean relative to the continents is the main reason that in the Northern Hemisphere, surface water and air are warmer more than in the Southern. The fact is that its width in the upper part of the planet is small compared to the southern one. Here it is located between North America and Europe, which compress it. In the South, it expands, as it lies between the rugged lines of Africa and South America.
Below it is fed by glaciers of Antarctica, which further cools the southern currents. It is impossible to say with accuracy what the average temperature of the Atlantic Ocean is. We can distinguish a constant for the Northern Hemisphere - +17 degrees above zero, and for the Southern - +16.
Polar regions
We begin with the climate zones in which the Atlantic Ocean is located off the polar shores. In the North, it does not reach the Arctic zone, because all the waters are in the subarctic. Here, seasonal temperature fluctuations occur in the range of 15 degrees. In summer, the thermometer rises to +4, in winter it drops to 15 or more below zero.
The northern coast of the Atlantic is the zone of the Azores minimum, and the pressure here is always very low. The average rainfall is 250 mm per year. Weather conditions in the South are much more severe. Seasonal temperature drops are up to 25 degrees. In summer, the thermometer rarely rises above zero, and in winter it drops to –30 or even lower. There is a zone of the South Atlantic minimum, and the rainfall is only 100 mm per year.
Temperate latitudes
This climate zone is approximately identical in both hemispheres of the planet. It is the place of transition from a dynamic minimum to a maximum, which is located in the tropics. Here seasonal temperature fluctuations are about 10 degrees (a little more in the South, less in the North), and at the same time, compared with the polar latitudes, the humidity is much higher - 1500 mm per year. In temperate latitudes in winter, the air is cooled to no more than –5 Celsius. At the same time, the temperature of the surface waters of the Atlantic Ocean is never below zero, so they do not freeze. In the summer in the northern hemisphere it is warm and dry - up to +25. In the southern part of the ocean, the temperature rises to a maximum of +22.
Tropics in the North and South
Studying in which climatic zones the Atlantic Ocean is located, one cannot miss the tropical zone, one of the most extensive in its territory. At the same time, the tropics are hotter and drier in the North than in the South. This weather here is caused by monsoons that blow from Africa, often they cause storms and tornadoes in the ocean in winter. In summer, the wind decreases there, the clouds disperse. The southern tropics are distinguished by light trade winds that can be brought from the continents or formed above the surface of the water. The difference between winter and summer is not as significant as in the North. In the tropical latitudes of the Atlantic, annual temperature fluctuations are no more than 2 degrees. On average, a thermometer shows +25. Also note that this zone is considered a dynamic maximum. There is very little rainfall, not more than 200 mm per year, and in some areas only 50 mm.
Equatorial zone
Between the tropics is a dynamic minimum zone. There is always the highest temperature indicators, and at the same time very high humidity. It is caused by cyclones, which form a large veil of clouds and fogs over the waters throughout the year. The average temperature of the Atlantic Ocean at the equator is +28 degrees. Precipitation here sometimes falls about 3000 mm per year. It is near the equator, between its strip and the tropics, that there are two archipelagos that are considered the best places for a beach holiday. These are the Canary Islands, which have a developed infrastructure, as well as the Cape Verde Islands (Cape Verde) - a place for lovers of extreme tourism, non-standard landscapes and unique equatorial nature.