Arctic Ocean

[ ahrk-tik oh-shuhn, ahr-tik ]

noun

1. the smallest of the world’s five principal oceans, located north of North America, Asia, and the Arctic Circle, with its deepest section within the Greenland Sea. 6,007,000 square miles (15,558,000 square kilometers).

Arctic Ocean

noun

1. the ocean surrounding the North Pole, north of the Arctic Circle. Area: about 14 100 000 sq km (5 440 000 sq miles)

Arctic Ocean

1. The cold, ice-covered waters surrounding the North Pole , located entirely within the Arctic Circle . It contains the northernmost islands of Canada , Norway , and Russia .

Notes

Most of the Arctic Ocean is covered by solid ice, ice floes, and icebergs .

Word History and Origins

Origin of Arctic Ocean¹

First recorded in 1780–90

Example Sentences

Or this: You keep seeing headlines about melting ice caps — that the Arctic Ocean may be ice-free by 2050 — and you wonder, fleetingly, if you will outlive the polar bears.

From Los Angeles Times

As Earth warms, the Arctic Ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is waning due to melting permafrost and worsening coastal erosion, according to new research.

From Los Angeles Times

Salmon haven't historically been seen in large numbers in the Arctic Ocean and its watersheds, but in recent years incidental catches by subsistence fishermen have occasionally surged.

From Science Daily

The study focused on the Norwegian Arctic archipelago, Svalbard, at the edge of the Arctic Ocean, and was published in Nature Communications.

From Science Daily

"It is quite insane in my opinion that this could be done at scale for the entire Arctic Ocean," says Julienne Stroeve, a professor of polar observation and modelling at University College London.

From BBC