View source for Atlantic Ocean

{{Short description|Oceanic division}}
{{Redirect-several|Atlantic|North Atlantic|South Atlantic|Atlantic Basin}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2017}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Atlantic Ocean
| image              = Atlantic Ocean - en.png
| caption            = The Atlantic Ocean excluding its [[Arctic]] and [[Antarctic]] regions
| alt                = Map of the Arctic Ocean
| coords             = {{coord|0|N|25|W|region:ZZ_type:waterbody|display=inline,title}}<ref name="CIA-World" />
| basin_countries    = [[List of countries and territories bordering the Atlantic Ocean|List of bordering countries (not drainage basin)]], [[List of ports and harbours of the Atlantic Ocean|ports]]
| area               = {{cvt|85133000|km2}}<ref name="Atlantic Ocean – Britannica" /><br />North Atlantic: {{cvt|41490000|km2}},<br /> South Atlantic {{cvt|40270000|km2}}<ref name="ETOPO1" />
| depth              = {{cvt|3646|m}}<ref name="ETOPO1" />
| max-depth          = [[Puerto Rico Trench]]<br /> {{cvt|8376|m}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.popsci.com/victor-vescovo-five-deeps-submarine|title=An inside look at the first solo trip to the deepest point of the Atlantic|last=Dean|first=Josh|website=Popular Science|date=21 December 2018|language=en|access-date=22 December 2018|archive-date=9 December 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20191209050320/https://www.popsci.com/victor-vescovo-five-deeps-submarine/|url-status=live}}</ref>
| volume             = {{cvt|310410900|km3}}<ref name="ETOPO1" />
| shore              = {{cvt|111866|km}} including marginal seas<ref name="CIA-World" />
| islands            = [[List of islands in the Atlantic Ocean|List of islands]]
| trenches           = [[Puerto Rico Trench|Puerto Rico]]; [[South Sandwich Trench|South Sandwich]]; [[Romanche Trench|Romanche]]
| cities             = [[List of ports and harbours of the Atlantic Ocean|List]]
| mapframe = no
}}

[[File:Atlantic Ocean to Africa.ogv|thumb|This video was taken by the crew of [[Expedition 29]] on board the [[International Space Station|ISS]]. The pass starts from just northeast of the island of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] over the North Atlantic Ocean to central Africa, over [[South Sudan]].]]

The '''Atlantic Ocean''' is the second largest of the world's five [[borders of the oceans|oceanic division]]s, with an area of about {{convert|85133000|km2|sqmi|sp=us|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Atlantic Ocean – Britannica">{{Cite encyclopedia|title=Atlantic Ocean|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-Ocean|access-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170215072935/https://www.britannica.com/place/Atlantic-Ocean|archive-date=15 February 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> It covers approximately 17% of [[Earth#Surface|Earth's surface]] and about 24% of its water surface area. During the [[Age of Discovery]], it was known for separating the [[New World]] of the [[Americas]] ([[North America]] and [[South America]]) from the [[Old World]] of [[Afro-Eurasia]] ([[Africa]], [[Asia]], and [[Europe]]).

Through its separation of Afro-Eurasia from the Americas, the Atlantic Ocean has played a central role in the development of human society, globalization, and the histories of many nations. While the [[Norse colonization of North America|Norse]] were the first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the [[expedition of Christopher Columbus]] in 1492 that proved to be the most consequential. Columbus's expedition ushered in an [[Age of Discovery|age of exploration]] and [[colonization of the Americas by European powers]], most notably [[Portuguese Empire|Portugal]], [[Spanish Empire|Spain]], [[French colonial empire|France]], and the [[British Empire|United Kingdom]]. From the 16th to 19th centuries, the Atlantic Ocean was the center of both [[Atlantic slave trade|an eponymous slave trade]] and the [[Columbian exchange]] while occasionally hosting naval battles. Such naval battles, as well as growing trade from regional American powers like the United States and [[Brazil]], both increased in degree during the early 20th century. After [[World War II]], major military operations became rarer, though notable postwar conflicts include the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]] and the [[Falklands War]]. The ocean remains a core component of trade around the world.

The Atlantic Ocean's temperatures vary by location. For example, the South Atlantic maintains warm temperatures year-round, as its basin countries are tropical. The North Atlantic maintains a temperate climate, as its basin countries are temperate and have seasons of extremely low temperatures and high temperatures.<ref>{{Cite web |last=SAS |first=Des Clics Nomades |title=Water temperature of the Atlantic Ocean - real time map and monthly temperatures |url=https://www.seatemperatu.re/seas-and-oceans/atlantic-ocean/ |access-date=2025-06-15 |website=SeaTemperatu.re |language=en}}</ref>

The Atlantic Ocean occupies an elongated, S-shaped basin extending longitudinally between Europe and Africa to the east, and the Americas to the west. As one component of the interconnected [[World Ocean]], it is connected in the north to the [[Arctic Ocean]], to the [[Pacific Ocean]] in the southwest, the [[Indian Ocean]] in the southeast, and the [[Southern Ocean]] in the south. Other definitions describe the Atlantic as extending southward to [[Antarctica]]. The Atlantic Ocean is divided in two parts, the northern and southern Atlantic, by the [[Equator]].<ref>[[International Hydrographic Organization]], [https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf ''Limits of Oceans and Seas'', 3rd ed. (1953)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111008191433/http://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |date=8 October 2011 }}, pages 4 and 13.</ref>

== Toponymy ==
[[File:1710 De La Feuille Map of Africa - Geographicus - Africa-lafeuille-1710.jpg|thumb|The [[Aethiopian Ocean]] depicted in a 1710 French map of [[Africa]]]]
The oldest known mentions of an "Atlantic" sea come from [[Stesichorus]] around mid-sixth century BC (Sch. A. R. 1. 211):<ref name="MangasPlácido1998">{{Cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=pZBSML97Ya0C|page=283}}|title=La Península Ibérica en los autores griegos: de Homero a Platón – SLG / (Sch. A. R. 1. 211)|last1=Mangas|first1=Julio|last2=Plácido|first2=Domingo|last3=Elícegui|first3=Elvira Gangutia|last4=Rodríguez Somolinos|first4=Helena|publisher=Editorial Complutense|year=1998|page=283}}</ref> {{translit|grc|Atlantikôi pelágei}} ({{Langx|grc|link=no|Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει}}, {{gloss|the Atlantic sea}}, {{abbr|etym|etymologically}}. {{gloss|Sea of [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]}}) and in ''[[Histories (Herodotus)|The Histories]]'' of [[Herodotus]] around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): {{translit|grc|Atlantis thalassa}} ({{Langx|grc|link=no|Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα}}, {{gloss|Sea of Atlas}} or {{gloss|the Atlantic sea}}<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge/%E1%BC%88%CF%84%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%AF%CF%82|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101191304/http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge/%E1%BC%88%CF%84%CE%BB%CE%B1%CE%BD%CF%84%CE%AF%CF%82|url-status=dead|title=Ἀτλαντίς, DGE Diccionario Griego-Español|archive-date=1 January 2018|website=dge.cchs.csic.es}}</ref>) where the name refers to "the sea beyond the [[pillars of Hercules]]" which is said to be part of the sea that surrounds all land.<ref>{{Harvnb|Hdt. 1.202.4}}</ref> In these uses, the name refers to [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]], the [[Titan (mythology)|Titan]] in [[Greek mythology]], who supported the heavens and who later appeared as a frontispiece in medieval maps and also lent his name to modern [[Atlas (geography)|atlases]].<ref name="Oxford-Dict">{{Harvnb|Oxford Dictionaries|2015}}</ref> On the other hand, to early [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] sailors and in ancient Greek mythological literature such as the ''[[Iliad]]'' and the ''[[Odyssey]]'', this all-encompassing ocean was instead known as [[Oceanus]], the gigantic river that encircled the world; in contrast to the enclosed seas well known to the Greeks: the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.<ref>{{Harvnb|Janni|2015|p=27}}</ref> In contrast, the term "Atlantic" originally referred specifically to the [[Atlas Mountains]] in Morocco and the sea off the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] and the West African coast.<ref name="Oxford-Dict" />

The term "'''[[Aethiopian Ocean]]'''", derived from [[Aethiopia|Ancient Ethiopia]], was applied to the southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century.<ref name="AmCyclo-1873">{{Harvnb|Ripley|Anderson Dana|1873}}</ref> During the [[Age of Discovery]], the Atlantic was also known to English cartographers as the '''Great Western Ocean'''.<ref name="Steele1986">{{Cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=N2fmCwAAQBAJ|page=14}}|title=The English Atlantic, 1675–1740: An Exploration of Communication and Community|last=Steele|first=Ian Kenneth|date=1986|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-503968-9|page=14|language=en}}</ref>

[[Image:Kill pier, Clare Island, Co Mayo 02.jpg|thumb|The Atlantic as seen from the shores of [[Clare Island]], Ireland in 1981.]]
'''The pond''' is a term often used by British and American speakers in reference to the northern Atlantic Ocean, as a form of [[Meiosis (figure of speech)|meiosis]], or ironic understatement. It is used mostly when referring to events or circumstances "on this side of the pond" or "on the other side of the pond" or "across the pond", rather than to discuss the ocean itself.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lexico.com/definition/pond?locale=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514104509/https://www.lexico.com/definition/pond?locale=en|url-status=dead|archive-date=14 May 2021|title=pond|website=Oxford English and Spanish Dictionary, Synonyms, and Spanish to English Translator|access-date=28 September 2021}}</ref> The term dates to 1640, first appearing in print in a pamphlet released during the reign of [[Charles I of England|Charles I]], and reproduced in 1869 in [[Nehemiah Wallington]]'s ''Historical Notices of Events Occurring Chiefly in The Reign of Charles I'', where "great Pond" is used in reference to the Atlantic Ocean by [[Francis Windebank]], Charles I's [[Secretary of State (England)|Secretary of State]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/pond|title=Pond|website=Online Etymology Dictionary|publisher=Douglas Harper|access-date=1 February 2019|archive-date=2 February 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190202041924/https://www.etymonline.com/word/pond|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|title=Historical Notices of Events Occurring Chiefly in the Reign of Charles I|last=Wellington|first=Nehemiah|date=1 January 1869|publisher=Richard Bentley|location=London}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLYzoGGXl7U|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211122/vLYzoGGXl7U|archive-date=22 November 2021|url-status=live|title=Lost in The Pond|date=8 April 2018|last=Brown, Laurence|via=YouTube|medium=Digital video}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Extent and data ==
{{For-multi|complete lists of marginal seas and borders of the Atlantic|List of seas#Atlantic Ocean|and|Borders of the oceans#Atlantic Ocean|the extent of the Southern Ocean|Southern Ocean#Definitions and use}}
The [[International Hydrographic Organization]] (IHO) defined the limits of the oceans and seas in 1953,<ref name="IHO-1953">{{Harvnb|IHO|1953}}</ref> but some of these definitions have been revised since then and some are not recognized by various authorities, institutions, and countries, for example the [[CIA World Factbook]]. Correspondingly, the extent and number of oceans and seas vary.

The Atlantic Ocean is bounded on the west by North and South America. It connects to the Arctic Ocean through the [[Labrador Sea]], [[Denmark Strait]], [[Greenland Sea]], [[Norwegian Sea]] and [[Barents Sea]] with the northern divider passing through [[Iceland]] and [[Svalbard]]. To the east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe and Africa: the [[Strait of Gibraltar]] (where it connects with the [[Mediterranean Sea]] – one of its [[marginal sea]]s – and, in turn, the [[Black Sea]], both of which also touch upon Asia).

In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The [[20th meridian east|20° East meridian]], running south from [[Cape Agulhas]] to [[Antarctica]] defines its border. In the 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the [[60th parallel south|60° parallel]] by the Southern Ocean.<ref name="IHO-1953" />

The Atlantic has irregular coasts indented by numerous bays, gulfs and seas. These include the [[Baltic Sea]], [[Black Sea]], [[Caribbean Sea]], [[Davis Strait]], [[Denmark Strait]], part of the [[Drake Passage]], [[Gulf of Mexico]], [[Labrador Sea]], [[Mediterranean Sea]], [[North Sea]], [[Norwegian Sea]], almost all of the [[Scotia Sea]], and other tributary water bodies.<ref name="CIA-World">{{Harvnb|CIA World Factbook: Atlantic Ocean}}</ref> Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures {{cvt|111866|km}} compared to {{cvt|135663|km}} for the Pacific.<ref name="CIA-World" /><ref>{{Harvnb|CIA World Factbook: Pacific Ocean}}</ref>

Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of {{cvt|106460000|km2}} or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of {{cvt|310410900|km3}} or 23.3% of the total volume of the Earth's oceans. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers {{cvt|81760000|km2}} and has a volume of {{cvt|305811900|km3}}. The North Atlantic covers {{cvt|41490000|km2}} (11.5%) and the South Atlantic {{cvt|40270000|km2}} (11.1%).<ref name="ETOPO1">{{Harvnb|Eakins|Sharman|2010}}</ref> The average depth is {{cvt|3646|m}} and the maximum depth, the [[Milwaukee Deep]] in the [[Puerto Rico Trench]], is {{cvt|8376|m||abbr=}}.<ref>{{Harvnb|USGS: Mapping Puerto Rico Trench}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://fivedeeps.com/home/expedition/atlantic/|title=Atlantic Ocean|website=Five Deeps Expedition|language=en-GB|access-date=24 January 2020|archive-date=26 March 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190326161207/https://fivedeeps.com/home/expedition/atlantic/|url-status=live}}</ref>

== Bathymetry ==
[[File:Atlantic bathymetry.jpg|thumb|[[False color]] map of ocean depth in the Atlantic basin]]
The [[bathymetry]] of the Atlantic is dominated by a [[Mid-ocean ridge|submarine mountain range]] called the [[Mid-Atlantic Ridge]] (MAR). It runs from 87°N or {{cvt|300|km}} south of the [[North Pole]] to the subantarctic [[Bouvet Island]] at [[54th parallel south|54°S]].<ref name="WHC-MAR">{{Harvnb|World Heritage Centre: Mid-Atlantic Ridge}}</ref> Expeditions to explore the bathymertry of the Atlantic include the [[Challenger expedition|''Challenger'' expedition]] and the [[German Meteor expedition|German ''Meteor'' expedition]]; {{As of|2001|lc=y}}, [[Columbia University]]'s [[Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory]] and the [[United States Navy Hydrographic Office]] conduct research on the ocean.<ref name="USN-2001" />

=== Mid-Atlantic Ridge ===
{{Main|Mid-Atlantic Ridge}}
The MAR divides the Atlantic longitudinally into two halves, in each of which a series of basins are delimited by secondary, transverse ridges. The MAR reaches above {{cvt|2000|m}} along most of its length, but is interrupted by larger transform faults at two places: the [[Romanche Trench]] near the Equator and the [[Gibbs fracture zone]] at [[53rd parallel north|53°N]]. The MAR is a barrier for bottom water, but at these two transform faults deep water currents can pass from one side to the other.<ref name="LevGood-2003">{{Harvnb|Levin|Gooday|2003|loc=Seafloor topography and physiography, pp. 113–114}}</ref>

The MAR rises {{cvt|2|-|3|km}} above the surrounding ocean floor and its [[rift valley]] is the [[divergent boundary]] between the [[North American plate|North American]] and [[Eurasian plate|Eurasian]] plates in the North Atlantic and the [[South American plate|South American]] and [[African plate|African]] plates in the South Atlantic. The MAR produces [[Basaltic lava|basaltic volcanoes]] in [[Eyjafjallajökull]], Iceland, and [[pillow lava]] on the ocean floor.<ref>{{Harvnb|The Geological Society: Mid-Atlantic Ridge}}</ref> The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than {{cvt|2700|m|fathom ft|lk=out}} in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Mediterranean Was a Desert: A Voyage of the Glomar Challenger|last=Kenneth J. Hsü|year=1987|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-0-691-02406-6}}</ref>

The MAR is intersected by two perpendicular ridges: the [[Azores–Gibraltar transform fault]], the boundary between the [[Nubian plate|Nubian]] and [[Eurasian plate]]s, intersects the MAR at the [[Azores triple junction]], on either side of the Azores microplate, near the [[40th parallel north|40°N]].<ref>{{Harvnb|DeMets|Gordon|Argus|2010|loc=The Azores microplate, pp. 24–25}}</ref> A much vaguer, nameless boundary, between the North American and South American plates, intersects the MAR near or just north of the [[Fifteen-Twenty fracture zone]], approximately at [[16th parallel north|16°N]].<ref>{{Harvnb|DeMets|Gordon|Argus|2010|loc=Boundary between the North and South America plates, pp. 26–27}}</ref>

In the 1870s, the [[Challenger expedition|''Challenger'' expedition]] discovered parts of what is now known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or:
{{Blockquote|text=An elevated ridge rising to an average height of about {{cvt|1900|fathom|m ft|disp=sqbr}} below the surface traverses the basins of the North and South Atlantic in a meridianal direction from Cape Farewell, probably its far south at least as Gough Island, following roughly the outlines of the coasts of the Old and the New Worlds.<ref>{{Harvnb|Thomson|1877|p=290}}</ref>}} The remainder of the ridge was discovered in the 1920s by the [[German Meteor expedition|German ''Meteor'' expedition]] using echo-sounding equipment.<ref>{{Harvnb|NOAA: Timeline}}</ref> The exploration of the MAR in the 1950s led to the general acceptance of [[seafloor spreading]] and [[plate tectonics]].<ref name="WHC-MAR" />

Most of the MAR runs under water but where it reaches the surfaces it has produced volcanic islands. While nine of these have collectively been nominated a [[World Heritage Site]] for their geological value, four of them are considered of "Outstanding Universal Value" based on their cultural and natural criteria: [[Þingvellir National Park|Þingvellir]], Iceland; [[Landscape of the Pico Island Vineyard Culture]], Portugal; [[Gough and Inaccessible Islands]], United Kingdom; and Brazilian Atlantic Islands: [[Fernando de Noronha]] and [[Atol das Rocas]] Reserves, Brazil.<ref name="WHC-MAR" />

=== Ocean floor ===
{{For|a list of fracture zones in the Atlantic|List of fracture zones#Atlantic Ocean}}
[[Continental shelf|Continental shelves]] in the Atlantic are wide off Newfoundland, southernmost South America, and northeastern Europe.
In the western Atlantic [[carbonate platform]]s dominate large areas, for example, the [[Blake Plateau]] and Bermuda Rise.
The Atlantic is surrounded by [[passive margin]]s except at a few locations where [[active margin]]s form deep [[oceanic trench|trenches]]: the [[Puerto Rico Trench]] ({{cvt|8376|m|disp=or}} maximum depth) in the western Atlantic and [[South Sandwich Trench]] ({{cvt|8264|m|disp=or}}) in the South Atlantic. There are numerous submarine canyons off northeastern North America, western Europe, and northwestern Africa. Some of these canyons extend along the continental rises and farther into the abyssal plains as deep-sea channels.<ref name="LevGood-2003" />

In 1922, a historic moment in cartography and oceanography occurred. The USS ''Stewart'' used a Navy Sonic Depth Finder to draw a continuous map across the bed of the Atlantic. This involved little guesswork because the idea of sonar is straightforward with pulses being sent from the vessel, which bounce off the ocean floor, then return to the vessel.<ref name="the Atlantic">{{Cite book|title=The Great Deep|last=Hamilton-Paterson|first=James|date=1992|author-link=James Hamilton-Paterson}}</ref> The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, [[abyssal plain]]s, [[oceanic trench|trenches]], [[seamount]]s, [[Oceanic basin|basins]], [[Oceanic plateau|plateaus]], [[Submarine canyon|canyons]], and some [[guyot]]s. Various shelves along the margins of the continents constitute about 11% of the bottom topography with few deep channels cut across the continental rise.

The mean depth between [[60th parallel north|60°N]] and [[60th parallel south|60°S]] is {{cvt|3730|m}}, or close to the average for the global ocean, with a modal depth between {{cvt|4000|and|5000|m}}.<ref name="LevGood-2003" />

In the South Atlantic the [[Walvis Ridge]] and [[Rio Grande Rise]] form barriers to ocean currents.
The [[Laurentian Abyss]] is found off the eastern coast of Canada.

== Water characteristics ==
[[File:Gulf Stream Sea Surface Currents and Temperatures NASA SVS.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|As the Gulf Stream meanders across the North Atlantic from the North American east coast to Western Europe its temperature drops by {{convert|20|C-change}}.|alt=Visualisation of the Gulf Stream stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to Western Europe]]
[[File:Circulacion termohalina.jpg|Path of the [[thermohaline circulation]]. Purple paths represent deep-water currents, while blue paths represent surface currents.|thumb|alt=Map displaying a looping line with arrows indicating that water flows eastward in the far Southern Ocean, angling northeast of Australia, turning sough-after passing Alaska, then crossing the mid-Pacific to flow north of Australia, continuing west below Africa, then turning northwest until reaching eastern Canada, then angling east to southern Europe, then finally turning south just below Greenland and flowing down the Americas' eastern coast, and resuming its flow eastward to complete the circle]]

Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below {{convert|-2|C|F}} to over {{convert|30|C|F}}. Maximum temperatures occur north of the equator, and minimum values are found in the polar regions. In the middle latitudes, the area of maximum temperature variations, values may vary by {{convert|7|–|8|C-change}}.<ref name="USN-2001" />

From October to June the surface is usually covered with sea ice in the [[Labrador Sea]], [[Denmark Strait]], and Baltic Sea.<ref name="USN-2001" />{{Failed verification|date=April 2023}}

The [[Coriolis effect]] circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise. The south [[tide]]s in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur every 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above [[40th parallel north|40° North]] some east–west oscillation, known as the [[North Atlantic oscillation]], occurs.<ref name="USN-2001" />

=== Salinity ===
On average, the Atlantic is the saltiest major ocean; surface water [[salinity]] in the open ocean ranges from 33 to 37 parts per thousand (3.3–3.7%) by mass and varies with latitude and season. Evaporation, precipitation, river inflow and [[sea ice]] melting influence surface salinity values. Although the lowest salinity values are just north of the equator (because of heavy tropical rainfall), in general, the lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about [[25th parallel north|25° north]] and [[25th parallel south|south]], in [[subtropical]] regions with low rainfall and high evaporation.<ref name="USN-2001">{{Harvnb|U.S. Navy|2001}}</ref>

The high surface salinity in the Atlantic, on which the Atlantic [[thermohaline circulation]] is dependent, is maintained by two processes: the [[Agulhas Current#Agulhas leakage and rings|Agulhas Leakage/Rings]], which brings salty Indian Ocean waters into the South Atlantic, and the "Atmospheric Bridge", which evaporates subtropical Atlantic waters and exports it to the Pacific.<ref>{{Harvnb|Marsh|Hazeleger|Yool|Rohling|2007|loc=Introduction, p. 1}}</ref>

=== Water masses ===
{| class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size: 0.9em; text-align: center;"
|+ Temperature-salinity characteristics for Atlantic water masses<ref>{{Harvnb|Emery|Meincke|1986|loc=Table, p. 385}}</ref>
|-
 ! Water mass !! Temperature !! Salinity
|-
 ! colspan="3" | Upper waters ({{cvt|0|-|500|m|ft|-2|disp=or}})
|-
 | align=left | Atlantic Subarctic<br />Upper Water (ASUW) || 0.0–4.0&nbsp;°C || 34.0–35.0
|-
 | align=left | Western North Atlantic<br />Central Water (WNACW) || 7.0–20&nbsp;°C || 35.0–36.7
|-
 | align=left | Eastern North Atlantic<br />Central Water (ENACW) || 8.0–18.0&nbsp;°C || 35.2–36.7
|-
 | align=left | South Atlantic<br />Central Water (SACW) || 5.0–18.0&nbsp;°C || 34.3–35.8
|-
 ! colspan="3" | Intermediate waters ({{cvt|500|-|1500|m|ft|-2|disp=or}})
|-
 | align=left | Western Atlantic Subarctic<br />Intermediate Water (WASIW) || 3.0–9.0&nbsp;°C || 34.0–35.1
|-
 | align=left | Eastern Atlantic Subarctic<br />Intermediate Water (EASIW) || 3.0–9.0&nbsp;°C || 34.4–35.3
|-
 | align=left | Mediterranean Water (MW) || 2.6–11.0&nbsp;°C || 35.0–36.2
|-
 | align=left | Arctic Intermediate Water (AIW) || −1.5–3.0&nbsp;°C || 34.7–34.9
|-
 ! colspan="3" | Deep and abyssal waters (1,500&nbsp;m–bottom or 4,900&nbsp;ft–bottom)
|-
 | align=left | North Atlantic<br />Deep Water (NADW) || 1.5–4.0&nbsp;°C || 34.8–35.0
|-
 | align=left | Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) || −0.9–1.7&nbsp;°C || 34.6–34.7
|-
 | align=left | Arctic Bottom Water (ABW) || −1.8 to −0.5&nbsp;°C || 34.9–34.9
|}

The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major, upper [[water mass]]es with distinct temperature and salinity. The Atlantic subarctic upper water in the northernmost North Atlantic is the source for subarctic intermediate water and North Atlantic intermediate water. North Atlantic central water can be divided into the eastern and western North Atlantic central water since the western part is strongly affected by the Gulf Stream and therefore the upper layer is closer to underlying fresher subpolar intermediate water. The eastern water is saltier because of its proximity to Mediterranean water. North Atlantic central water flows into South Atlantic central water at [[15th parallel north|15°N]].<ref name="Emery-Atlantic">{{Harvnb|Emery|Meincke|1986|loc=Atlantic Ocean, pp. 384–386}}</ref>

There are five intermediate waters: four low-salinity waters formed at subpolar latitudes and one high-salinity formed through evaporation. Arctic intermediate water flows from the north to become the source for North Atlantic deep water, south of the Greenland-Scotland sill. These two intermediate waters have different salinity in the western and eastern basins. The wide range of salinities in the North Atlantic is caused by the asymmetry of the northern subtropical [[gyre]] and a large number of contributions from a wide range of sources: Labrador Sea, Norwegian-Greenland Sea, Mediterranean, and South Atlantic Intermediate Water.<ref name="Emery-Atlantic" />

The [[North Atlantic Deep Water|North Atlantic deep water]] (NADW) is a complex of four water masses, two that form by deep convection in the open ocean{{snd}}classical and upper Labrador sea water{{snd}}and two that form from the inflow of dense water across the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sill{{snd}}Denmark Strait and Iceland-Scotland overflow water. Along its path across Earth the composition of the NADW is affected by other water masses, especially [[Antarctic Bottom Water|Antarctic bottom water]] and Mediterranean overflow water.<ref>{{Harvnb|Smethie|Fine|Putzka|Jones|2000|loc=Formation of NADW, pp. 14299–14300}}</ref>
The NADW is fed by a flow of warm shallow water into the northern North Atlantic which is responsible for the anomalous warm climate in Europe. Changes in the formation of NADW have been linked to global climate changes in the past. Since human-made substances were introduced into the environment, the path of the NADW can be traced throughout its course by measuring tritium and radiocarbon from [[nuclear weapon test]]s in the 1960s and [[chlorofluorocarbon|CFCs]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Smethie|Fine|Putzka|Jones|2000|loc=Introduction, p. 14297}}</ref>

=== Gyres ===
{{oceanic gyres}}
The clockwise warm-water [[North Atlantic Gyre]] occupies the northern Atlantic, and the counter-clockwise warm-water [[South Atlantic Gyre]] appears in the southern Atlantic.<ref name="USN-2001" />

In the North Atlantic, surface circulation is dominated by three inter-connected currents: the [[Gulf Stream]] which flows north-east from the North American coast at [[Cape Hatteras]]; the [[North Atlantic Current]], a branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland|Grand Banks]]; and the [[Subpolar Front]], an extension of the North Atlantic Current, a wide, vaguely defined region separating the subtropical gyre from the subpolar gyre. This system of currents transports warm water into the North Atlantic, without which temperatures in the North Atlantic and Europe would plunge dramatically.<ref>{{Harvnb|Marchal|Waelbroeck|Colin de Verdière|2016|loc=Introduction, pp. 1545–1547}}</ref>

[[File:North Atlantic Circulation.gif|thumb|In the subpolar gyre of the North Atlantic warm subtropical waters are transformed into colder subpolar and polar waters. In the Labrador Sea this water flows back to the subtropical gyre.]]
North of the North Atlantic Gyre, the cyclonic [[North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre]] plays a key role in climate variability. It is governed by ocean currents from marginal seas and regional topography, rather than being steered by wind, both in the deep ocean and at sea level.<ref>{{Harvnb|Tréguier|Theetten|Chassignet|Penduff|2005|loc=Introduction, p. 757}}</ref>
The subpolar gyre forms an important part of the global [[thermohaline circulation]]. Its eastern portion includes [[Eddy (fluid dynamics)|eddying]] branches of the [[North Atlantic Current]] which transport warm, saline waters from the subtropics to the northeastern Atlantic. There this water is cooled during winter and forms return currents that merge along the eastern continental slope of Greenland where they form an intense (40–50&nbsp;[[Sverdrup|Sv]]) current which flows around the continental margins of the [[Labrador Sea]]. A third of this water becomes part of the deep portion of the [[North Atlantic Deep Water]] (NADW). The NADW, in turn, feeds the [[meridional overturning circulation]] (MOC), the northward heat transport of which is threatened by anthropogenic climate change. Large variations in the subpolar gyre on a decade-century scale, associated with the [[North Atlantic oscillation]], are especially pronounced in [[Labrador Sea Water]], the upper layers of the MOC.<ref>{{Harvnb|Böning|Scheinert|Dengg|Biastoch|2006|loc=Introduction, p. 1; Fig. 2, p. 2}}</ref>

The South Atlantic is dominated by the anti-cyclonic southern subtropical gyre. The [[South Atlantic Central Water]] originates in this gyre, while [[Antarctic Intermediate Water]] originates in the upper layers of the circumpolar region, near the [[Drake Passage]] and the Falkland Islands. Both these currents receive some contribution from the Indian Ocean. On the African east coast, the small cyclonic [[Angola Gyre]] lies embedded in the large subtropical gyre.<ref>{{Harvnb|Stramma|England|1999|loc=Abstract}}</ref>
The southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced [[Ekman layer]]. The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5&nbsp;years. [[North Atlantic Deep Water]] flows southward below the [[thermocline]] of the subtropical gyre.<ref>{{Harvnb|Gordon|Bosley|1991|loc=Abstract}}</ref>

=== Sargasso Sea ===
{{Main|Sargasso Sea}}
{{Multiple image
 | image1 = Sargasso.png | caption1 = Approximate extent of the Sargasso Sea
 | image2 = HanaOZ.jpg | caption2 = Sargassum fish (''Histrio histrio'')
}}
The Sargasso Sea in the western North Atlantic can be defined as the area where two species of ''[[Sargassum]]'' (''S. fluitans'' and ''natans'') float, an area {{cvt|4000|km}} wide and encircled by the [[Gulf Stream]], [[North Atlantic Drift]], and [[North Equatorial Current]]. This population of seaweed probably originated from Tertiary ancestors on the European shores of the former [[Tethys Ocean]] and has, if so, maintained itself by [[Vegetative reproduction|vegetative growth]], floating in the ocean for millions of years.<ref name="Lün-p223">{{Harvnb|Lüning|1990|pp=223–225}}</ref>

Other species endemic to the Sargasso Sea include the [[sargassum fish]], a predator with algae-like appendages which hovers motionless among the ''Sargassum''. Fossils of similar fishes have been found in fossil bays of the former Tethys Ocean, in what is now the [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathian]] region, that were similar to the Sargasso Sea. It is possible that the population in the Sargasso Sea migrated to the Atlantic as the Tethys closed at the end of the Miocene around 17&nbsp;Ma.<ref name="Lün-p223" /> The origin of the Sargasso fauna and flora remained enigmatic for centuries. The fossils found in the Carpathians in the mid-20th century often called the "quasi-Sargasso assemblage", finally showed that this assemblage originated in the [[Carpathian Basin]] from where it migrated over [[Sicily]] to the central Atlantic where it evolved into modern species of the Sargasso Sea.<ref>{{Harvnb|Jerzmańska|Kotlarczyk|1976|loc=Abstract; Biogeographic Significance of the "Quasi-Sargasso" Assemblage, pp. 303–304}}</ref>

The location of the spawning ground for [[European eel]]s [[Eel life history#Search for the spawning grounds|remained unknown for decades]]. In the early 19th century it was discovered that the southern Sargasso Sea is the spawning ground for both the [[European eel|European]] and [[American eel]] and that the former migrate more than {{cvt|5000|km}} and the latter {{cvt|2000|km}}. Ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream transport eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea to foraging areas in North America, Europe, and northern Africa.<ref>{{Harvnb|Als|Hansen|Maes|Castonguay|2011|p=1334}}</ref> Recent but disputed research suggests that eels possibly use [[Earth's magnetic field]] to navigate through the ocean both as larvae and as adults.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-baby-eels-use-magnetic-maps-to-hitch-a-ride-on-the-gulf-stream/|first1=Andrea|last1=Marks|title=Do Baby Eels Use Magnetic Maps to Hitch a Ride on the Gulf Stream?|date=17 April 2017|website=Scientific American|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419192009/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/do-baby-eels-use-magnetic-maps-to-hitch-a-ride-on-the-gulf-stream/?WT.mc_id=SA_EVO_20170417|archive-date=19 April 2017|access-date=18 April 2017}}</ref>

== Climate ==
[[File:Atlantic hurricane graphic.png|thumb|Waves in the [[trade winds]] in the Atlantic Ocean{{snd}}areas of converging winds that move along the same track as the prevailing wind{{snd}}create instabilities in the atmosphere that may lead to the formation of hurricanes.|alt=Map of Caribbean showing seven approximately parallel westward-pointing arrows that extend from east of the Virgin Islands to Cuba. The southern arrows bend northward just east of the Dominican Republic before straightening out again.]]

The climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of the ocean's great capacity to store and release heat, maritime climates are more moderate and have less extreme seasonal variations than inland climates. [[Precipitation (meteorology)|Precipitation]] can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures.<ref name="USN-2001" />

The oceans are the major source of atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest zones stretch across the Atlantic north of the equator. The coldest zones are in high latitudes, with the coldest regions corresponding to the areas covered by sea ice. Ocean currents influence the climate by transporting warm and cold waters to other regions. The winds that are cooled or warmed when blowing over these currents influence adjacent land areas.<ref name="USN-2001" />

The [[Gulf Stream]] and its northern extension towards Europe, the [[North Atlantic Current|North Atlantic Drift]] is thought to have at least some influence on climate. For example, the Gulf Stream helps moderate winter temperatures along the coastline of southeastern North America, keeping it warmer in winter along the coast than inland areas. The Gulf Stream also keeps extreme temperatures from occurring on the Florida Peninsula. In the higher latitudes, the North Atlantic Drift, warms the atmosphere over the oceans, keeping the British Isles and northwestern Europe mild and cloudy, and not severely cold in winter, like other locations at the same high latitude. The cold water currents contribute to heavy fog off the coast of eastern Canada (the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]] area) and Africa's northwestern coast. In general, winds transport moisture and air over land areas.<ref name="USN-2001" />

=== Natural hazards ===
[[File:Iceberg A22A, South Atlantic Ocean.jpg|thumb|Iceberg A22A in the South Atlantic Ocean]]
Every winter, the [[Icelandic Low]] produces frequent storms. [[Iceberg]]s are common from early February to the end of July across the shipping lanes near the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]]. The ice season is longer in the polar regions, but there is little shipping in those areas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=IIPHome|title=About International Ice Patrol (IIP)|website=U. S. Coast Guard Navigation Center|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211205001208/https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/?pageName=IIPHome|archive-date=5 December 2021}}</ref>

[[Atlantic hurricane|Hurricanes]] are a hazard in the western parts of the North Atlantic during the summer and autumn. Due to a consistently strong [[wind shear]] and a weak [[Intertropical Convergence Zone]], [[South Atlantic tropical cyclone]]s are rare.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G6.html|title=Why doesn't the South Atlantic Ocean experience tropical cyclones?|last=Landsea|first=Chris|date=13 July 2005|website=Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory|publisher=National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration|access-date=9 June 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612143147/http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/G6.html|archive-date=12 June 2018}}</ref>

== Geology and plate tectonics ==
The Atlantic Ocean is underlain mostly by dense [[mafic]] oceanic crust made up of [[basalt]] and [[gabbro]] and overlain by fine clay, silt and siliceous ooze on the abyssal plain. The continental margins and continental shelf mark lower density, but greater thickness [[felsic]] continental rock that is often much older than that of the seafloor. The oldest oceanic crust in the Atlantic is up to 145 million years and is situated off the west coast of Africa and the east coast of North America, or on either side of the South Atlantic.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/259634936|via=ResearchGate|title=The geological history of the North Atlantic Ocean|last1=Fitton|first1=Godfrey|last2=Larsen|first2=Lotte Melchior|pages=10, 15|year=1999}}</ref>

In many places, the continental shelf and continental slope are covered in thick sedimentary layers. For instance, on the North American side of the ocean, large carbonate deposits formed in warm shallow waters such as Florida and the Bahamas, while coarse river outwash sands and silt are common in shallow shelf areas like the [[Georges Bank]]. Coarse sand, boulders, and rocks were transported into some areas, such as off the coast of Nova Scotia or the [[Gulf of Maine]] during the [[Pleistocene]] ice ages.<ref>{{Cite report|url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0529a/report.pdf|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://pubs.usgs.gov/pp/0529a/report.pdf|archive-date=9 October 2022|url-status=live|title="Atlantic Continental Shelf and Slope of the United States – Geologic Background"|first1=K. O.|last1=Emery|publisher=United States Geological Survey|year=1962|page=16}}</ref>

=== Central Atlantic ===
{{ Multiple image
 | align = left | width = 180 | direction = vertical
 | image1 = Blakey 200Ma - COL.jpg
 | image2 = Blakey 170Ma - COL.jpg
 | footer = Opening of the central Atlantic 200–170 Ma
}}
The break-up of [[Pangaea]] began in the central Atlantic, between North America and Northwest Africa, where rift basins opened during the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. This period also saw the first stages of the uplift of the Atlas Mountains. The exact timing is controversial with estimates ranging from 200 to 170&nbsp;Ma.<ref>{{Harvnb|Seton|Müller|Zahirovic|Gaina|2012|loc=Central Atlantic, pp. 218, 220}}</ref>

The opening of the Atlantic Ocean coincided with the initial break-up of the supercontinent [[Pangaea]], both of which were initiated by the eruption of the [[Central Atlantic Magmatic Province]] (CAMP), one of the most extensive and voluminous [[large igneous province]]s in Earth's history associated with the [[Triassic–Jurassic extinction event]], one of Earth's major [[extinction event]]s.<ref>{{Harvnb|Blackburn|Olsen|Bowring|McLean|2013|p=941}}</ref>
Theoliitic [[Dike (geology)|dikes]], [[Aquatic sill|sills]], and lava flows from the CAMP eruption at 200&nbsp;Ma have been found in West Africa, eastern North America, and northern South America. The extent of the volcanism has been estimated to {{cvt|4.5e6|km2}} of which {{cvt|2.5e6|km2}} covered what is now northern and central Brazil.<ref>{{Harvnb|Marzoli|Renne|Piccirillo|Ernesto|1999|p=616}}</ref>

The formation of the [[Central American Isthmus]] closed the [[Central American Seaway]] at the end of the Pliocene 2.8&nbsp;Ma ago. The formation of the isthmus resulted in the migration and extinction of many land-living animals, known as the [[Great American Interchange]], but the closure of the seaway resulted in a "Great American Schism" as it affected ocean currents, salinity, and temperatures in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Marine organisms on both sides of the isthmus became isolated and either diverged or went extinct.<ref>{{Harvnb|Lessios|2008|loc=Abstract, Introduction, p. 64}}</ref>

=== North Atlantic ===
{{See also|Opening of the North Atlantic Ocean|NATO}}

Geologically, the North Atlantic is the area delimited to the south by two conjugate margins, Newfoundland and Iberia, and to the north by the Arctic [[Eurasian Basin]]. The opening of the North Atlantic closely followed the margins of its predecessor, the [[Iapetus Ocean]], and spread from the central Atlantic in six stages: [[Iberian Peninsula|Iberia]]–[[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], [[Porcupine Bank|Porcupine]]–North America, Eurasia–Greenland, Eurasia–North America. Active and inactive spreading systems in this area are marked by the interaction with the [[Iceland hotspot]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Seton|Müller|Zahirovic|Gaina|2012|loc=Northern Atlantic, p. 220}}</ref>

Seafloor spreading led to the extension of the crust and the formation of troughs and sedimentary basins. The Rockall Trough opened between 105 and 84 million years ago although the rift failed along with one leading into the [[Bay of Biscay]].{{sfn|Fitton|Larsen|1999|p=15}}

Spreading began opening the [[Labrador Sea]] around 61 million years ago, continuing until 36 million years ago. Geologists distinguish two magmatic phases. One from 62 to 58 million years ago predates the separation of Greenland from northern Europe while the second from 56 to 52 million years ago happened as the separation occurred.

[[Iceland Plateau|Iceland]] began to form 62 million years ago due to a particularly concentrated mantle plume. Large quantities of [[basalt]] erupted at this time period are found on Baffin Island, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Scotland, with ash falls in Western Europe acting as a stratigraphic marker.{{sfn|Fitton|Larsen|1999|p=10}} The opening of the North Atlantic caused a significant uplift of continental crust along the coast. For instance, despite 7&nbsp;km thick basalt, Gunnbjorn Field in East Greenland is the highest point on the island, elevated enough that it exposes older Mesozoic sedimentary rocks at its base, similar to old lava fields above sedimentary rocks in the uplifted Hebrides of western Scotland.{{Sfn|Fitton|Larsen|1999|pp=23–24}}

The North Atlantic Ocean contains about 810 [[seamount]]s, most of them situated along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.<ref>Gubbay S. 2003. Seamounts of the northeast Atlantic. OASIS (Oceanic Seamounts: an Integrated Study). Hamburg & WWF, Frankfurt am Main, Germany</ref> The [[OSPAR Convention|OSPAR]] database (Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic) mentions 104 seamounts: 74 within national [[exclusive economic zone]]s. Of these seamounts, 46 are located close to the [[Iberian Peninsula]].

=== South Atlantic ===
{{Multiple image
 | align = left | direction = vertical | width = 180
 | image1 = Gondwana115Ma hg.png
 | image2 = Gondwana065Ma hg.png
 | image3 = Gondwana038ma hg.png
 | footer = The opening of the South Atlantic
}}

West Gondwana (South America and Africa) broke up in the Early Cretaceous to form the South Atlantic. The apparent fit between the coastlines of the two continents was noted on the first maps that included the South Atlantic and it was also the subject of the first computer-assisted plate tectonic reconstructions in 1965.<ref name="Eagles-intro">{{Harvnb|Eagles|2007|loc=Introduction, p. 353}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Bullard|Everett|Smith|1965}}</ref> This magnificent fit, however, has since then proven problematic and later reconstructions have introduced various deformation zones along the shorelines to accommodate the northward-propagating break-up.<ref name="Eagles-intro" /> Intra-continental rifts and deformations have also been introduced to subdivide both continental plates into sub-plates.<ref name="Seton-2012-p217">{{Harvnb|Seton|Müller|Zahirovic|Gaina|2012|loc=South Atlantic, pp. 217–218}}</ref>

Geologically, the South Atlantic can be divided into four segments: equatorial segment, from 10°N to the Romanche fracture zone (RFZ); central segment, from RFZ to Florianopolis fracture zone (FFZ, north of Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise); southern segment, from FFZ to the Agulhas–Falkland fracture zone (AFFZ); and Falkland segment, south of AFFZ.<ref name="Torsvik2009-p1316">{{Harvnb|Torsvik|Rousse|Labails|Smethurst|2009|loc=General setting and magmatism, pp. 1316–1318}}</ref>

In the southern segment the Early Cretaceous (133–130&nbsp;Ma) intensive [[magmatism]] of the [[Paraná and Etendeka traps|Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province]] produced by the [[Tristan hotspot]] resulted in an estimated volume of {{cvt|1.5e6|to|2.0e6|km3}}. It covered an area of {{cvt|1.2e6|to|1.6e6|km2}} in Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay and {{cvt|0.8e5|km2}} in Africa. [[Dyke swarm]]s in Brazil, Angola, eastern Paraguay, and Namibia, however, suggest the LIP originally covered a much larger area and also indicate failed rifts in all these areas. Associated offshore basaltic flows reach as far south as the Falkland Islands and South Africa. Traces of magmatism in both offshore and onshore basins in the central and southern segments have been dated to 147–49&nbsp;Ma with two peaks between 143 and 121&nbsp;Ma and 90–60&nbsp;Ma.<ref name="Torsvik2009-p1316" />

In the Falkland segment rifting began with dextral movements between the Patagonia and Colorado sub-plates between the Early Jurassic (190&nbsp;Ma) and the Early Cretaceous (126.7&nbsp;Ma). Around 150&nbsp;Ma sea-floor spreading propagated northward into the southern segment. No later than 130&nbsp;Ma rifting had reached the Walvis Ridge–Rio Grande Rise.<ref name="Seton-2012-p217" />

In the central segment, rifting started to break Africa in two by opening the [[Benue Trough]] around 118&nbsp;Ma. Rifting in the central segment, however, coincided with the [[Geomagnetic reversal#Superchrons|Cretaceous Normal Superchron]] (also known as the Cretaceous quiet period), a 40&nbsp;Ma period without magnetic reversals, which makes it difficult to date sea-floor spreading in this segment.<ref name="Seton-2012-p217" />

The equatorial segment is the last phase of the break-up, but, because it is located on the Equator, magnetic anomalies cannot be used for dating. Various estimates date the propagation of seafloor spreading in this segment and consequent opening of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway (EAG) to the period 120–96&nbsp;Ma.<ref name="GiorgioniEtAl2015">{{cite journal|last1=Giorgioni|first1=Martino|last2=Weissert|first2=Helmut|last3=Bernasconi|first3=Stefano M.|last4=Hochuli|first4=Peter A.|last5=Keller|first5=Christina E.|last6=Coccioni|first6=Rodolfo|last7=Petrizzo|first7=Maria Rose|last8=Lukeneder|first8=Alexander|last9=Garcia|first9=Therese I.|date=March 2015|title=Paleoceanographic changes during the Albian–Cenomanian in the Tethys and North Atlantic and the onset of the Cretaceous chalk|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921818115000211|journal=[[Global and Planetary Change]]|volume=126|pages=46–61|doi=10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.01.005|bibcode=2015GPC...126...46G|access-date=2 December 2022|issn=0921-8181|archive-date=10 October 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010112024/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921818115000211|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name="LateAptianPalaeoceanography">{{cite journal|last1=De A. Carvalho|first1=Marcelo|last2=Bengtson|first2=Peter|last3=Lana|first3=Cecília C.|date=23 November 2015|title=Late Aptian (Cretaceous) paleoceanography of the South Atlantic Ocean inferred from dinocyst communities of the Sergipe Basin, Brazil|journal=[[Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology]]|volume=31|issue=1|pages=2–26|doi=10.1002/2014PA002772|doi-access=free}}</ref> This final stage, nevertheless, coincided with or resulted in the end of continental extension in Africa.<ref name="Seton-2012-p217" />

About 50&nbsp;Ma the opening of the [[Drake Passage]] resulted from a change in the motions and separation rate of the South American and Antarctic plates. First, small ocean basins opened and a shallow gateway appeared during the Middle Eocene. 34–30&nbsp;Ma a deeper seaway developed, followed by an [[Eocene–Oligocene extinction event|Eocene–Oligocene climatic deterioration]] and the growth of the [[Antarctic ice sheet]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Livermore|Nankivell|Eagles|Morris|2005|loc=Abstract}}</ref>

=== Closure of the Atlantic ===
{{See also|Pangaea Proxima}}
An embryonic subduction margin is potentially developing west of Gibraltar. The [[Gibraltar Arc]] in the western Mediterranean is migrating westward into the central Atlantic where it joins the converging African and Eurasian plates. Together these three tectonic forces are slowly developing into a new subduction system in the eastern Atlantic Basin. Meanwhile, the [[Scotia Arc]] and [[Caribbean plate]] in the western Atlantic Basin are eastward-propagating subduction systems that might, together with the Gibraltar system, represent the beginning of the closure of the Atlantic Ocean and the final stage of the Atlantic [[Wilson cycle]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Duarte|Rosas|Terrinha|Schellart|2013|loc=Abstract; Conclusions, p. 842}}</ref>

== History ==

=== Old World ===
{{Main category|History of the Atlantic Ocean}}
[[Mitochondrial DNA]] (mtDNA) studies indicate that 80,000–60,000 years ago a major demographic expansion within Africa, derived from a single, small population, coincided with the emergence of behavioral complexity and the rapid [[Marine isotope stage|MIS]]&nbsp;5–4 environmental changes. This group of people not only expanded over the whole of Africa, but also started to disperse [[Recent African origin of modern humans|out of Africa]] into Asia, Europe, and Australasia around 65,000 years ago and quickly replaced the archaic humans in these regions.<ref>{{Harvnb|Mellars|2006|loc=Abstract}}</ref> During the [[Last Glacial Maximum]] (LGM) 20,000 years ago humans had to abandon their initial settlements along the European North Atlantic coast and retreat to the Mediterranean. Following rapid climate changes at the end of the LGM this region was repopulated by [[Magdalenian]] culture. Other hunter-gatherers followed in waves interrupted by hazards such as the [[Laacher See]] volcanic eruption, the inundation of [[Doggerland]] (now the [[North Sea]]), and the formation of the [[Baltic Sea]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Riede|2014|pp=1–2}}</ref> The European coasts of the North Atlantic were permanently populated about 9,000–8.5,000 years ago.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bjerck|2009|loc=Introduction, pp. 118–119}}</ref>

This human dispersal left abundant traces along the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. 50&nbsp;kya-old, deeply stratified [[shell midden]]s found in [[Ysterfontein]] on the western coast of South Africa are associated with the Middle Stone Age (MSA). The MSA population was small and dispersed and the rate of their reproduction and exploitation was less intense than those of later generations. While their middens resemble 12–11&nbsp;kya-old Late Stone Age (LSA) middens found on every inhabited continent, the 50–45&nbsp;kya-old [[Enkapune Ya Muto]] in Kenya probably represents the oldest traces of the first modern humans to disperse out of Africa.<ref>{{Harvnb|Avery|Halkett|Orton|Steele|2008|loc=Introduction, p. 66}}</ref>

[[File:Meilgaard-boplads.jpg|thumb|Excavation of the [[Ertebølle culture|Ertebølle]] middens in 1880]]
The same development can be seen in Europe. In [[La Riera Cave]] (23–13&nbsp;kya) in Asturias, Spain, only some 26,600 molluscs were deposited over 10&nbsp;kya. In contrast, 8–7&nbsp;kya-old shell middens in Portugal, Denmark, and Brazil generated thousands of tons of debris and artefacts. The [[Ertebølle culture|Ertebølle]] middens in Denmark, for example, accumulated {{cvt|2000|m3}} of shell deposits representing some 50 million molluscs over only a thousand years. This intensification in the exploitation of marine resources has been described as accompanied by new technologies{{snd}}such as boats, harpoons, and fish hooks {{snd}}because many caves found in the Mediterranean and on the European Atlantic coast have increased quantities of marine shells in their upper levels and reduced quantities in their lower. The earliest exploitation took place on the submerged shelves, now submerged and most settlements now excavated were then located several kilometers from these shelves. The reduced quantities of shells in the lower levels can represent the few shells that were exported inland.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bailey|Flemming|2008|loc=The Long-Term History of Marine Resources, pp. 4–5}}</ref>

=== New World ===

{{See also|Brendan the Navigator#Tale of reaching North America|l1=Brendan of Clonfert}}
During the LGM the [[Laurentide Ice Sheet]] covered most of northern North America while [[Beringia]] connected Siberia to Alaska. In 1973, late American geoscientist [[Paul Schultz Martin|Paul S. Martin]] proposed a "blitzkrieg" colonization of the Americas by which [[Clovis culture|Clovis hunters]] migrated into North America around 13,000 years ago in a single wave through an ice-free corridor in the ice sheet and "spread southward explosively, briefly attaining a density sufficiently large to overkill much of their prey."<ref>{{Harvnb|Martin|1973|loc=Abstract}}</ref> Others later proposed a "three-wave" migration over the [[Bering Land Bridge]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Greenberg|Turner|Zegura|1986}}</ref> These hypotheses remained the long-held view regarding the [[Prehistoric migration and settlement of the Americas from Asia|settlement of the Americas]], a view challenged by more recent archaeological discoveries: the oldest archaeological sites in the Americas have been found in South America; sites in northeast Siberia report virtually no human presence there during the LGM; and most Clovis artefacts have been found in eastern North America along the Atlantic coast.<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Rourke|Raff|2010|loc=Introduction, p. 202}}</ref> Furthermore, colonisation models based on mtDNA, [[yDNA]], and [[atDNA]] data respectively support neither the "blitzkrieg" nor the "three-wave" hypotheses but they also deliver mutually ambiguous results. Contradictory data from archaeology and genetics will most likely deliver future hypotheses that will, eventually, confirm each other.<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Rourke|Raff|2010|loc=Conclusions and Outlook, p. 206}}</ref> A proposed route across the Pacific to South America could explain early South American finds and another hypothesis proposes a northern path, through the Canadian Arctic and down the North American Atlantic coast.<ref>{{Harvnb|O'Rourke|Raff|2010|loc=Beringian Scenarios, pp. 205–206}}</ref>
Early settlements across the Atlantic have been suggested by alternative theories, ranging from purely hypothetical to mostly disputed, including the [[Solutrean hypothesis]] and some of the [[Pre-Columbian trans-oceanic contact theories]].

[[File:Norse-world.png|thumb|Based on the medieval {{Lang|is|[[Sagas of Icelanders|Íslendingasögur]]}} sagas, including the ''[[Greenland saga|Grœnlendinga saga]]'', this interpretative map of the "Norse World" shows that Norse knowledge of the Americas and the Atlantic remained limited.]]
The [[Norse colonization of North America|Norse settlement]] of the [[Faroe Islands]] and [[Iceland]] began during the 9th and 10th centuries. A settlement on [[Greenland]] was established before 1000&nbsp;CE, but contact with it was lost in 1409 and it was finally abandoned during the early [[Little Ice Age]]. This setback was caused by a range of factors: an unsustainable economy resulted in erosion and denudation, while conflicts with the local [[Inuit]] resulted in the failure to adapt their Arctic technologies; a colder climate resulted in starvation, and the colony got economically marginalized as the [[Great Plague]] harvested its victims on Iceland in the 15th century.<ref>{{Harvnb|Dugmore|Keller|McGovern|2007|loc=Introduction, pp. 12–13; The Norse in The North Atlantic, pp. 13–14}}</ref>
Iceland was initially settled 865–930&nbsp;CE following a warm period when winter temperatures hovered around {{Convert|2|C}} which made farming favorable at high latitudes. This did not last, however, and temperatures quickly dropped; at 1080&nbsp;CE summer temperatures had reached a maximum of {{Convert|5|C}}. The {{Lang|is|[[Landnámabók]]}} (''Book of Settlement'') records disastrous famines during the first century of settlement{{snd}}"men ate foxes and ravens" and "the old and helpless were killed and thrown over cliffs"{{snd}}and by the early 1200s hay had to be abandoned for short-season crops such as [[barley]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Patterson|Dietrich|Holmden|Andrews|2010|pp=5308–5309}}</ref>

=== Atlantic World ===
{{Main|Atlantic world|Atlantic history}}
{{See also|List of notable crossings of the Atlantic Ocean|Battle of the Atlantic}}
[[File:Map of Portuguese Carreira da India.gif|thumb|left|The Atlantic [[Gyre]]s influenced the [[Portuguese discoveries]] and trading port routes, here shown in the India Run ("''Carreira da Índia''"), which would be developed in subsequent years.]]
[[Christopher Columbus]] [[Voyages of Christopher Columbus|reached the Americas]] in 1492, sailing under the Spanish flag.<ref name="Chamb-184">{{Harvnb|Chambliss|1989|loc=Piracy, pp. 184–188}}</ref> Six years later [[Vasco da Gama]] reached India under the Portuguese flag, by navigating south around the [[Cape of Good Hope]], thus proving that the Atlantic and Indian Oceans are connected. In 1500, in his voyage to India following Vasco da Gama, [[Pedro Álvares Cabral]] reached Brazil, taken by the currents of the [[South Atlantic Gyre]].<!-- unref --> Following these explorations, Spain and Portugal quickly [[Colonization of the Americas|conquered and colonized]] large territories in the New World and forced the Amerindian population into slavery in order to exploit the vast quantities of silver and gold they found. Spain and Portugal monopolized this trade in order to keep other European nations out, but conflicting interests nevertheless led to a series of Spanish-Portuguese wars. A peace treaty mediated by the Pope divided the conquered territories into Spanish and Portuguese sectors while keeping other colonial powers away. England, France, and the Dutch Republic enviously watched the Spanish and Portuguese wealth grow and allied themselves with [[Piracy in the Atlantic World|pirates]] such as [[Henry Mainwaring]] and [[Alexandre Exquemelin]]. They could explore the convoys leaving the Americas because prevailing winds and currents made the transport of heavy metals slow and predictable.<ref name="Chamb-184" />

[[File:Atlantic slavetrade estimates.png|thumb|Embarked and disembarked slaves in the [[Atlantic slave trade]] 1525–1863 (first and last slave voyages)]]
In the colonies of the Americas, depredation, [[smallpox]] and other diseases, and [[slavery]] quickly [[Genocide of indigenous peoples|reduced]] the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous population of the Americas]] to the extent that the [[Atlantic slave trade]] was introduced by colonists to replace them{{snd}}a trade that became the norm and an integral part of the colonization. Between the 15th century and 1888, when [[Slavery in Brazil|Brazil]] became the last part of the Americas to end the slave trade, an estimated 9.5 million enslaved Africans were shipped into the New World, most of them destined for agricultural labor. The slave trade was officially abolished in the [[Slavery in the British Isles|British Empire]] and the [[Slavery in the United States|United States]] in 1808, and slavery itself was abolished in the British Empire in 1838 and in the United States in 1865 after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]].<ref>{{Harvnb|Lovejoy|1982|loc=Abstract}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Bravo|2007|loc=The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, pp. 213–215}}</ref>

From Columbus to the [[Industrial Revolution]] trans-Atlantic trade, including colonialism and slavery, became crucial for Western Europe. For European countries with direct access to the Atlantic (including Britain, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain) 1500–1800 was a period of sustained growth during which these countries grew richer than those in Eastern Europe and Asia. Colonialism evolved as part of the trans-Atlantic trade, but this trade also strengthened the position of merchant groups at the expense of monarchs. Growth was more rapid in non-absolutist countries, such as Britain and the Netherlands, and more limited in [[Absolute monarchy|absolutist monarchies]], such as Portugal, Spain, and France, where profit mostly or exclusively benefited the monarchy and its allies.<ref name="Acem-p546">{{Harvnb|Acemoglu|Johnson|Robinson|2005|loc=Abstract; pp. 546–551}}</ref>

Trans-Atlantic trade also resulted in increasing urbanization: in European countries facing the Atlantic, urbanization grew from 8% in 1300, 10.1% in 1500, to 24.5% in 1850; in other European countries from 10% in 1300, 11.4% in 1500, to 17% in 1850. Likewise, GDP doubled in Atlantic countries but rose by only 30% in the rest of Europe. By the end of the 17th century, the volume of the Trans-Atlantic trade had surpassed that of the Mediterranean trade.<ref name="Acem-p546" />

== Economy ==
<!-- [[File:Transatlantic Free Trade Area.svg|thumb|Intended to unite the so-called Western World, the proposed [[Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership]], and its possible future expansion, highlights the global importance of trade across the North Atlantic to the exclusion of the continents bordering the South Atlantic.]] -->
[[File:Kanstadsamlingen - NMF010005-01347.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cod fisheries|Cod fishery]] in Norway]]
The Atlantic has contributed significantly to the development and economy of surrounding countries. Besides major transatlantic transportation and communication routes, the Atlantic offers abundant petroleum deposits in the [[sedimentary rock]]s of the continental shelves.<ref name="USN-2001" />
The Atlantic harbors petroleum and gas fields, fish, [[marine mammal]]s ([[Pinniped|seals]] and whales), [[sand]] and [[gravel]] aggregates, [[placer deposit]]s, [[polymetallic nodules]], and precious stones.<ref>{{Cite book|url={{google books|plainurl=y|id=hMywzK7xuKYC|page=11}}|title=Ocean Habitats|last1=Kubesh|first1=K.|last2=McNeil|first2=N.|last3=Bellotto|first3=K.|publisher=In the Hands of a Child|year=2008|access-date=5 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221191501/https://books.google.com/books?id=hMywzK7xuKYC&pg=PA11|archive-date=21 December 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Gold deposits are a mile or two underwater on the ocean floor, however, the deposits are also encased in rock that must be mined through. Currently, there is no cost-effective way to mine or extract gold from the ocean to make a profit.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gold.html|title=Is there gold in the ocean?|last=Administration|first=US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric|website=oceanservice.noaa.gov|language=EN-US|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160331103450/http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/gold.html|archive-date=31 March 2016|access-date=30 March 2016}}</ref> Various international treaties attempt to reduce pollution caused by environmental threats such as oil spills, [[marine debris]], and the [[incineration]] of toxic wastes at sea.<ref name="USN-2001" />

=== Fisheries ===

{{See also|Ocean fisheries#Atlantic Ocean|Fishing down the food web}}

The [[Continental shelf|shelves]] of the Atlantic hosts one of the world's richest [[Wild fisheries|fishing resources]]. The most productive areas include the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]], the [[Scotian Shelf]], [[Georges Bank]] off [[Cape Cod]], the [[Bahama Banks]], the waters around Iceland, the [[Irish Sea]], the [[Bay of Fundy]], the [[Dogger Bank]] of the North Sea, and the Falkland Banks.<ref name="USN-2001" /> Fisheries have undergone significant changes since the 1950s and global catches can now be divided into three groups of which only two are observed in the Atlantic: fisheries in the eastern-central and southwest Atlantic oscillate around a globally stable value, the rest of the Atlantic is in overall decline following historical peaks. The third group, "continuously increasing trend since 1950", is only found in the Indian Ocean and western Pacific.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39">{{Harvnb|FOA|2016|pp=39–41}}</ref> UN [[FAO]] partitioned the Atlantic into major fishing areas:

;Northeast Atlantic
[[File:Northeast Atlantic bathymetry.png|thumb|Banks of the northeast Atlantic]]
Northeast Atlantic is schematically limited to the 40°00' west longitude (except around Greenland), south to the 36°00' north latitude, and to the 68°30' east longitude, with both the west and east longitude limits reaching to the north pole. The Atlantic's subareas include: [[Barents Sea]]; [[Norwegian Sea]], [[Spitzbergen]], and [[Bear Island (Norway)|Bear Island]]; [[Skagerrak]], [[Kattegat]], [[Sound]], [[Belt Sea]], and [[Baltic Sea]]; [[North Sea]]; [[Iceland]] and [[Faroes Grounds]]; [[Rockall]], [[Northwest Coast of Scotland]], and North Ireland; [[Irish Sea]], West of Ireland, [[Porcupine Bank]], and eastern and western [[English Channel]]; [[Bay of Biscay]]; [[Portuguese Waters]]; [[Azores Grounds]] and [[Northeast Atlantic South]]; North of [[Azores]]; and East [[Greenland]]. There are also two defunct subareas.<ref>{{Cite web|title=FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture|url=https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/area/27/en|access-date=7 August 2023|website=fao.org|archive-date=7 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807030816/https://www.fao.org/fishery/en/area/27/en|url-status=live}}</ref>

: In the Northeast Atlantic total catches decreased between the mid-1970s and the 1990s and reached 8.7 million tons in 2013. [[Blue whiting]] reached a 2.4 million tons peak in 2004 but was down to 628,000 tons in 2013. Recovery plans for cod, sole, and plaice have reduced mortality in these species. [[Arctic cod]] reached its lowest levels in the 1960s–1980s but is now recovered. [[Pollachius virens|Arctic saithe]] and [[haddock]] are considered fully fished; [[Sand eel]] is overfished as was [[capelin]] which has now recovered to fully fished. Limited data makes the state of [[redfish]]es and deep-water species difficult to assess but most likely they remain vulnerable to overfishing. Stocks of [[northern shrimp]] and [[Norwegian lobster]] are in good condition. In the Northeast Atlantic, 21% of stocks are considered overfished.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

: This zone makes almost three-quarters (72.8%) of [[European Union]] fishing catches in 2020. Main fishing EU countries are Denmark, France, the Netherlands and Spain. Most common species include [[herring]], [[mackerel]], and [[sprat]]s.

[[File:StLawrence Gulf bathymetry.jpg|thumb|Banks of the northwest Atlantic]]
;Northwest Atlantic: In the Northwest Atlantic landings have decreased from 4.2 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.9 million tons in 2013. During the 21st century, some species have shown weak signs of recovery, including [[Greenland halibut]], [[yellowtail flounder]], [[Atlantic halibut]], [[haddock]], [[spiny dogfish]], while other stocks shown no such signs, including cod, [[Witch (righteye flounder)|witch flounder]], and redfish. Stocks of invertebrates, in contrast, remain at record levels of abundance. 31% of stocks are overfished in the northwest Atlantic.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />
[[File:Time series for collapse of Atlantic northwest cod.png|thumb|left|Capture of Atlantic northwest cod in million tons]]
In 1497, [[John Cabot]] became the first [[Western European]] since the [[Vikings]] to explore mainland North America and one of his major discoveries was the abundant resources of [[Atlantic cod]] off [[Newfoundland]]. Referred to as "Newfoundland Currency" this discovery yielded some 200&nbsp;million tons of fish over five centuries. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, new fisheries started to exploit [[haddock]], [[mackerel]], and [[lobster]]. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the introduction of European and Asian distant-water fleets in the area dramatically increased the fishing capacity and the number of exploited species. It also expanded the exploited areas from near-shore to the open sea and to great depths to include deep-water species such as [[Sebastes|redfish]], [[Greenland halibut]], witch flounder, and [[Grenadiers (fish)|grenadiers]]. [[Overfishing]] in the area was recognized as early as the 1960s but, because this was occurring on [[international waters]], it took until the late 1970s before any attempts to regulate was made. In the early 1990s, this finally resulted in the [[collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery]]. The population of a number of deep-sea fishes also collapsed in the process, including [[American plaice]], redfish, and Greenland halibut, together with flounder and grenadier.<ref>{{Harvnb|FAO|2011|pp=22–23}}</ref>

;Eastern central-Atlantic: In the eastern central-Atlantic small [[pelagic fish]]es constitute about 50% of landings with sardine reaching 0.6–1.0 million tons per year. Pelagic fish stocks are considered fully fished or overfished, with sardines south of [[Cape Bojador]] the notable exception. Almost half of the stocks are fished at biologically unsustainable levels. Total catches have been fluctuating since the 1970s; reaching 3.9 million tons in 2013 or slightly less than the peak production in 2010.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

[[File:Bahamas.A2001138.1550.250m.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bahama Banks]]]]
;Western central-Atlantic: In the western central-Atlantic, catches have been decreasing since 2000 and reached 1.3 million tons in 2013. The most important species in the area, [[Gulf menhaden]], reached a million tons in the mid-1980s but only half a million tons in 2013 and is now considered fully fished. [[Round sardinella]] was an important species in the 1990s but is now considered overfished. [[Grouper]]s and [[Lutjanidae|snappers]] are overfished and [[northern brown shrimp]] and [[Eastern oyster|American cupped oyster]] are considered fully fished approaching overfished. 44% of stocks are being fished at unsustainable levels.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

[[File:Agulhas Bank NOAA ETOPO1.jpg|thumb|left|[[Agulhas Bank]]]]
;Southeast Atlantic: In the southeast Atlantic catches have decreased from 3.3 million tons in the early 1970s to 1.3 million tons in 2013. [[Horse mackerel]] and [[hake]] are the most important species, together representing almost half of the landings. Off South Africa and Namibia [[Merluccius paradoxus|deep-water hake]] and [[Merluccius capensis|shallow-water Cape hake]] have recovered to sustainable levels since regulations were introduced in 2006 and the states of [[southern African pilchard]] and [[southern African anchovy|anchovy]] have improved to fully fished in 2013.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

;Southwest Atlantic: In the southwest Atlantic, a peak was reached in the mid-1980s and catches now fluctuate between 1.7 and 2.6 million tons. The most important species, the [[Illex argentinus|Argentine shortfin squid]], which reached half a million tons in 2013 or half the peak value, is considered fully fished to overfished. Another important species was the [[Brazilian sardinella]], with a production of 100,000 tons in 2013 it is now considered overfished. Half the stocks in this area are being fished at unsustainable levels: [[Whitehead's round herring]] has not yet reached fully fished but [[Cunene horse mackerel]] is overfished. The sea snail [[Haliotis midae|perlemoen abalone]] is targeted by [[illegal fishing]] and remains overfished.<ref name="NOA-2016-p39" />

== Environmental issues ==

=== Endangered species ===
{{Expand section|date=December 2020}}
Endangered marine species include the [[manatee]], [[Pinniped|seals]], sea lions, turtles, and whales. [[Drift net]] fishing can kill dolphins, [[albatross]]es and other seabirds ([[petrel]]s, [[auk]]s), hastening the fish stock decline and contributing to international disputes.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Eisenbud|first=R.|year=1985|title=Problems and Prospects for the Pelagic Driftnet|url=http://www.animallaw.info/articles/arus12bcenvtlafflrev473.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125082226/http://animallaw.info/articles/arus12bcenvtlafflrev473.htm|archive-date=25 November 2011|access-date=27 October 2011|publisher=Michigan State University, Animal Legal & Historical Center}}</ref>

=== Waste and pollution ===
[[Marine pollution]] is a generic term for the entry into the ocean of potentially hazardous chemicals or particles. The biggest culprits are rivers and with them many agriculture [[fertilizer]] chemicals as well as livestock and human waste. The excess of oxygen-depleting chemicals leads to [[Hypoxia (environmental)|hypoxia]] and the creation of a [[dead zone (ecology)|dead zone]].<ref>Sebastian A. Gerlach "Marine Pollution", Springer, Berlin (1975)</ref>

[[File:Nesocichla eremita -Inaccessible Island, British overseas territory-8 (3).jpg|thumb|[[Marine debris]] strewn over the beaches of the South Atlantic [[Inaccessible Island]]]]
[[Marine debris]], which is also known as marine litter, describes human-created waste floating in a body of water. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of [[Oceanic gyres|gyres]] and coastlines, frequently washing aground where it is known as beach litter. The [[North Atlantic garbage patch]] is estimated to be hundreds of kilometers across in size.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2 March 2010|title=Huge Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic Too|work=National Geographic|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/3/100302-new-ocean-trash-garbage-patch/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190828221810/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/3/100302-new-ocean-trash-garbage-patch/|url-status=dead|archive-date=28 August 2019}}</ref>

Other pollution concerns include agricultural and municipal waste. Municipal pollution comes from the eastern United States, southern Brazil, and eastern Argentina; [[oil pollution]] in the [[Caribbean Sea]], [[Gulf of Mexico]], [[Lake Maracaibo]], [[Mediterranean Sea]], and [[North Sea]]; and industrial waste and municipal sewage pollution in the Baltic Sea, North Sea, and Mediterranean Sea.

A USAF [[C-124 Globemaster II|C-124]] aircraft from [[Dover Air Force Base]], Delaware was carrying three [[nuclear bombs]] over the Atlantic Ocean when it experienced a loss of power. For their own safety, the crew jettisoned two nuclear bombs, which were never recovered.<ref>{{Cite web|last=HR Lease|date=March 1986|title=DoD Mishaps|url=http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil/outreach/reports/pdf/SP86-2.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218233551/http://www.afrri.usuhs.mil/outreach/reports/pdf/SP86-2.pdf|archive-date=18 December 2008|publisher=[[Armed Forces Radiobiology Research Institute]]}}</ref>

=== Climate change ===
{{See also|Shutdown of thermohaline circulation|}}

North Atlantic hurricane activity has increased over past decades because of increased [[sea surface temperature]] (SST) at tropical latitudes, changes that can be attributed to either the natural [[Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation]] (AMO) or to [[anthropogenic climate change]].<ref name="Mann">{{Harvnb|Mann|Emanuel|2006|pp=233–241}}</ref>
A 2005 report indicated that the Atlantic [[meridional overturning circulation]] (AMOC) slowed down by 30% between 1957 and 2004.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bryden|Longworth|Cunningham|2005|loc=Abstract}}</ref> In 2024, the research highlighted a significant weakening of the AMOC by approximately 12% over the past two decades.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Marine|first1=Rosenstiel School of|last2=Atmospheric|last3=Science|first3=Earth|title=Warming of Antarctic deep-sea waters contribute to sea level rise in North Atlantic, study finds|url=https://phys.org/news/2024-04-antarctic-deep-sea-contribute-north.html|access-date=19 April 2024|website=phys.org|language=en}}</ref> If the AMO were responsible for SST variability, the [[Atlantic meridional overturning circulation|AMOC]] would have increased in strength, which is apparently not the case. Furthermore, it is clear from statistical analyses of annual tropical cyclones that these changes do not display multidecadal cyclicity.<ref name="Mann" /> Therefore, these changes in SST must be caused by human activities.<ref>{{Harvnb|Webster|Holland|Curry|Chang|2005}}</ref>

The ocean [[mixed layer]] plays an important role in heat storage over seasonal and decadal time scales, whereas deeper layers are affected over millennia and have a heat capacity about 50 times that of the mixed layer. This heat uptake provides a time-lag for climate change but it also results in thermal expansion of the oceans which contributes to [[sea level rise]]. 21st-century global warming will probably result in an [[equilibrium level|equilibrium sea-level]] rise five times greater than today, whilst melting of glaciers, including that of the Greenland ice sheet, expected to have virtually no effect during the 21st century, will likely result in a [[Sea level rise|sea-level rise]] of {{Convert|3-6|m|ft}} over a millennium.<ref>{{Harvnb|Bigg|Jickells|Liss|Osborn|2003|loc=Sea-level change, pp. 1128–1129}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Oceans|Environment|Ecology|Geography|Weather|Water}}
* [[Atlantic Revolutions]]
* [[List of countries and territories bordering the Atlantic Ocean]]
* {{slink|List of seas on Earth#Atlantic Ocean}}
* {{section link|List of rivers of the Americas by coastline|Atlantic Ocean coast}}
* [[Seven Seas]]
* [[:Category:Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean|Shipwrecks in the Atlantic Ocean]]
* [[:Category:Atlantic hurricanes|Atlantic hurricanes]]
* [[Piracy in the Atlantic World]]
* [[Transatlantic crossing]]
* [[South Atlantic Peace and Cooperation Zone]]
* [[Natural delimitation between the Pacific and South Atlantic oceans by the Scotia Arc]]

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

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{{Refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Atlantic Ocean | volume= 2 |last1= Dickson |first1= Henry Newton |author1-link= Henry Newton Dickson | pages = 855–857 |short=1}}
* {{Cite book|title=Atlantic: A Vast Ocean of a Million Stories|last=Winchester|first=Simon|publisher=HarperCollins UK|year=2010|isbn=978-0-00-734137-5|author-link=Simon Winchester}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|voy=Atlantic Ocean|wikt=Atlantic Ocean|commons=Atlantic Ocean|q=Atlantic Ocean|v=no|n=no|s=CIA World Fact Book, 2004/Atlantic Ocean|b=no}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090829012101/http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/geoghist/histories/history/hiscountries/A/atlanticocean.html Atlantic Ocean]. Cartage.org.lb (archived)
* [https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3320.lh000817/ "Map of Atlantic Coast of North America from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida"] from 1639 via the Library of Congress

{{List of seas}}
{{Marginal seas of the Atlantic Ocean}}
{{Regions of the world}}
{{Ocean}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Atlantic Ocean| ]]
[[Category:Oceans]]
[[Category:History of the Atlantic Ocean| ]]
[[Category:Landforms of the Atlantic Ocean| ]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Oceans surrounding Antarctica]]