Kribi is a beach resort and sea port in Cameroon .
88-694: The coastal town of Kribi lies on the Gulf of Guinea , in Océan Department , South Province , at the mouth of the Kienké River . This location, lies approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi), by road, south of Douala , the largest city in Cameroon and the busiest seaport in the country. The coordinates of Kribi are: 2° 56' 6.00"N, 9° 54' 36.00"E (Latitude: 2.9350; Longitude: 9.9100) It has an estimated population of 55,401. It services sea traffic in
176-492: 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 , 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. Continental shelves in
264-463: A natural gas -powered electricity generating plant, Kribi Power Station , in the community of Mpolongwe , approximately 10 kilometres (6.2 mi), north of the Kribi central business district . The 216 MW plant that cost US$ 390 million (CFA:176.3 billion) to build, came on line in 2013. It is now owned by Globeleq A second phase expansion is planned. Near Kribi is the location of a proposed port for
352-479: A 30-year or so lifespan. This line is to be standard gauge lines (1435mm) with a 37.5t axle load. In 2021, a contract was let to build the rail line to Mbalam . It is proposed to connect the port of Kribi to a new bauxite mine in the north of Cameroon at Minim, Martap with a metre gauge (1000mm) 20t axle load railway. A link line junctions from the Camrail line at Edéa and proceeds 110km to Kribi. Kribi
440-506: 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. The deep ocean floor is thought to be fairly flat with occasional deeps, abyssal plains , trenches , seamounts , basins , plateaus , canyons , and some guyots . Various shelves along
528-721: A branch of the Gulf Stream which flows northward from the 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. North of
616-756: A fellow-countryman in Sijilmassa [ancient trading city in North Africa], we find Gunuia, and in the Catalan atlas of 1375 as Ginyia. A passage in Leo [Africanus] (vol. III, 822) points to Guinea having been a corrupt form of Jenne [2,000-year-old city in central Mali on Niger river], less famous than Ghana but nevertheless for many centuries famed in the Maghrib as a great market and a seat of learning. The relevant passage reads: "The Kingdom of Ghinea . . . called by
704-505: A huge problem in the Gulf of Guinea and as a consequence has different Maritime security issues become more pressing. These maritime security crimes are characterized not only by piracy but by a myriad of maritime crimes despite piracy often dominating the conversation on maritime security. The other notable crimes in the Gulf of Guinea are illegal fishing, kidnapping for ransom, drug trafficking and oil-bunkering. Illegal oil-bunkering consists of
792-553: A line from Ihléu Gago Coutinho northwestward to Cape Palmas ( 4°22′N 7°44′W / 4.367°N 7.733°W / 4.367; -7.733 ), in Liberia. The Gulf of Guinea contains a number of islands, the largest of which are in a southwest-northeast chain, forming part of the Cameroon line of volcanoes. Annobón , also known as Pagalu or Pigalua, is an island that is part of Equatorial Guinea . Bobowasi Island
880-456: A pressing issue in the region. Many pirate groups in the Gulf of Guinea often recruit unemployed and underemployed fishermen. This has become highly lucrative due to poor wages and little to no money going around. Often have these local fishermen been lured into the prospect of quick easy money and as a result sold their fishing boats to other pirates in the Gulf. Depliting fishing stocks encourages fishermen to engage in piracy and more violence in
968-572: A severe problem in the Gulf of Guinea. In 2000 were there reports of 212,800 tons of fish caught and in 2012 has this number increased by 9 percent to 232,200 tons. IUU consequently creates spillover problems to the social, economic and environmental life in the Gulf of Guinea. It presents a direct threat to the national security of the coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea. IUU has been linked to multiple issues and forms of organized crime. Some of these crimes are arms trafficking, drug smuggling, forced labor, piracy and more. IUU depletes fish stocks in
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#17327909279091056-651: A thorough description: The name Guinea is usually said to have been a corrupt form of the name Ghana , picked up by the Portuguese in the Maghrib . The present writer finds this unacceptable. The name Guinea has been in use both in the Maghrib and in Europe long before Prince Henry's time. For example, on a map dated about 1320 by the Genoese cartographer Giovanni di Carignano, who got his information about Africa from
1144-416: A weak Intertropical Convergence Zone , South Atlantic tropical cyclones are rare. 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
1232-562: Is twinned with: Kribi has a tropical monsoon climate ( Köppen climate classification Am ). Due to its equatorial position, Kribi sees a short, fairly dry season and a long, very wet season. The hottest month, February, has an average high temperature of 32 C (89.6 F), and an average low of 25 C (77 F). The wettest month, September, sees 483 mm (19 in) of rain. 27 of the 30 days in September see rain. The driest month, December, sees 59 mm (2 in) of rain. The coldest month
1320-592: Is August, with an average high of 28 C (82.4 F), and a low of 23 C (73.4 F). Humidity remains high year-round. 02°56′06″N 09°54′36″E / 2.93500°N 9.91000°E / 2.93500; 9.91000 Gulf of Guinea Main five oceans division: Further subdivision: The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon , north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia . Null Island , defined as
1408-621: Is a complex of four water masses, two that form by deep convection in the open ocean – classical and upper Labrador sea water – and two that form from the inflow of dense water across the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sill – 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 and Mediterranean overflow water. The NADW
1496-548: Is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea that is part of the Western Region of Ghana. Bioko is an island off the Ambazonian region of Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea under the sovereignty of Equatorial Guinea. Corisco is an island belonging to Equatorial Guinea. Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico are two small islands belonging to Equatorial Guinea. São Tomé and Príncipe (officially
1584-414: 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 tests in
1672-498: Is found off the eastern coast of Canada. Surface water temperatures, which vary with latitude, current systems, and season and reflect the latitudinal distribution of solar energy, range from below −2 °C (28 °F) to over 30 °C (86 °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 7–8 °C (13–14 °F). From October to June
1760-575: Is interrupted by larger transform faults at two places: the Romanche Trench near the Equator and the Gibbs fracture zone at 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. The MAR rises 2–3 km (1.2–1.9 mi) above the surrounding ocean floor and its rift valley is the divergent boundary between
1848-854: Is intersected by two perpendicular ridges: the Azores–Gibraltar Transform Fault , the boundary between the Nubian and Eurasian plates , intersects the MAR at the Azores triple junction , on either side of the Azores microplate, near the 40°N . 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 16°N . In
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#17327909279091936-729: Is now northern and central Brazil. The formation of the Central American Isthmus closed the Central American Seaway at the end of the Pliocene 2.8 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
2024-794: Is now the 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 Ma. 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
2112-405: Is there more piracy, forced labor and human trafficking as a consequence of IUU fishing, depleting fish stock and large competition of resources and food. There have been many reports of forced labor at sea in the Gulf of Guinea on illegal fishing boats. The EJF reports that through their studies they found that some fishermen and immigrant workers have been forced to work on fishing boats in
2200-520: The Age of Discovery , the Atlantic was also known to English cartographers as the Great Western Ocean . The pond is a term often used by British and American speakers in reference to the northern Atlantic Ocean, as a form of 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
2288-564: The Carpathian Basin from where it migrated over Sicily to the central Atlantic where it evolved into modern species of the Sargasso Sea. The location of the spawning ground for European eels 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 and American eel and that the former migrate more than 5,000 km (3,100 mi) and
2376-474: The Icelandic Low produces frequent storms. Icebergs 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. 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
2464-684: The North American and Eurasian plates in the North Atlantic and the South American and African plates in the South Atlantic. The MAR produces basaltic volcanoes in Eyjafjallajökull , Iceland, and pillow lava on the ocean floor. The depth of water at the apex of the ridge is less than 2,700 m (1,500 fathoms ; 8,900 ft ) in most places, while the bottom of the ridge is three times as deep. The MAR
2552-616: The 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
2640-514: The North Atlantic oscillation , occurs. 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,
2728-629: 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 were the first known humans to cross the Atlantic, it was the expedition of Christopher Columbus in 1492 that proved to be
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2816-555: The Scotia Sea , and other tributary water bodies. Including these marginal seas the coast line of the Atlantic measures 111,866 km (69,510 mi) compared to 135,663 km (84,297 mi) for the Pacific. Including its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers an area of 106,460,000 km (41,100,000 sq mi) or 23.5% of the global ocean and has a volume of 310,410,900 km (74,471,500 cu mi) or 23.3% of
2904-619: The 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 atlases . On the other hand, to early 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
2992-638: 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. 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
3080-458: The thermocline of the subtropical gyre. 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 4,000 km (2,500 mi) wide and encircled by the Gulf Stream , North Atlantic Drift , and North Equatorial Current . This population of seaweed probably originated from Tertiary ancestors on
3168-578: The 1870s, the Challenger expedition discovered parts of what is now known as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, or: An elevated ridge rising to an average height of about 1,900 fathoms [3,500 m; 11,400 ft] 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
3256-618: The 1953 definition it extends south to Antarctica, while in later maps it is bounded at the 60° parallel by the Southern Ocean. 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
3344-485: The 1960s and CFCs . 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. 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 ,
3432-537: The Atlantic are wide off Newfoundland, southernmost South America, and northeastern Europe. In the western Atlantic carbonate platforms dominate large areas, for example, the Blake Plateau and Bermuda Rise . The Atlantic is surrounded by passive margins except at a few locations where active margins form deep trenches : the Puerto Rico Trench (8,376 m or 27,480 ft maximum depth) in
3520-625: The Atlantic include the Challenger expedition and the German Meteor expedition ; as of 2001 , Columbia University 's Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory and the United States Navy Hydrographic Office conduct research on the ocean. 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 2,000 m (6,600 ft) along most of its length, but
3608-403: 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. The Gulf Stream and its northern extension towards Europe,
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3696-469: The Atlantic sea ' , etym . ' Sea of Atlas ' ) and in The Histories of Herodotus around 450 BC (Hdt. 1.202.4): Atlantis thalassa (Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς θάλασσα , ' Sea of Atlas ' or ' the Atlantic sea ' ) where the name refers to "the sea beyond the pillars of Heracles " which is said to be part of the sea that surrounds all land. In these uses, the name refers to Atlas ,
3784-583: 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. The break-up of Pangaea began in the central Atlantic, between North America and Northwest Africa, where rift basins opened during
3872-476: The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe) is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea that became independent from Portugal in 1975. It is located off the western equatorial coast of Africa and consists of two islands, São Tomé and Príncipe . They are located about 140 kilometres (87 mi) apart and about 250 and 225 kilometres (155 and 140 mi), respectively, off
3960-448: The EJF called “trash fish" -caught as by-catch- and then the way they would earn money was to further sell this fish. Other reports of forced labor on illegal fishing boats report poor and non-existent safety equipment. Little to no hygiene standards, poor accommodation standards, and very little food. Even though piracy in the gulf of Guinea has dropped since its peak in 2020, is it still
4048-516: The European shores of the former Tethys Ocean and has, if so, maintained itself by vegetative growth , floating in the ocean for millions of years. 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
4136-719: The Gulf of Guinea and also lies near the terminus of the Chad-Cameroon pipeline . The Lobé Waterfalls are nearby and there is a road inland, through the Littoral Evergreen Forest, as far as Bipindi and Lolodorf where native communities of Pygmies are found. A January 2024 study found high levels of parasitic worm eggs and larvae in waters along Kribi's famed beach. The species included tapeworms and nematode worms that cause significant morbidity in humans, likely passed from human fecal material in waste water. Kribi Power Development Company (KPDC) has built
4224-443: The Gulf of Guinea for months at a time without access to land. Some of these workers were deployed to sea each day in canoes and in the night where they were forced to return to the mother ship to unload fish. Many illegal fishing boats have operated like such for many years and the workers are often contracted for two years at a time, with no chance to visit home or at times even land in general. Many workers are paid in boxes of what
4312-611: The Gulf of Guinea), which became known as "Upper Guinea", and to the west coast of Southern Africa (to the east), which became known as "Lower Guinea". Today, the word "Guinea" is found in the names of three countries in Africa ( Guinea , Guinea-Bissau , and Equatorial Guinea ), and in one country in Melanesia ( Papua New Guinea ). The main river dispensing its waters in the gulf is the Niger River . Different definitions of
4400-466: The Gulf of Guinea: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Additionally, maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea is also addressed by the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC). There has been a 60% population growth in the Gulf of Guinea since 2000, which consequently leads people to resort to hijacking, kidnapping, robberies and more due to food shortages. Climate change has become
4488-409: The IUU fishing boats are old, rusty and often in poor condition. Both small-scale and large-scale fisheries often do illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea In the Gulf of Guinea can we see severe blue crime spillover effects of IUU through both piracy and human trafficking. Economic activity in the Gulf of Guinea has given rise to maritime piracy in the region. It is evident that in the Gulf of Guinea
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#17327909279094576-405: 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 Ma. 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
4664-468: 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. The subpolar gyre forms an important part of the global thermohaline circulation . Its eastern portion includes eddying branches of the North Atlantic Current which transport warm, saline waters from
4752-437: The South Atlantic, and the "Atmospheric Bridge", which evaporates subtropical Atlantic waters and exports it to the Pacific. The Atlantic Ocean consists of four major, upper water masses 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
4840-404: The United States and Brazil , both increased in degree during the early 20th century, and while no major military conflicts have taken place in the Atlantic recently, the ocean remains a core component of trade around the world. 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
4928-585: The area and causes issues for fishermen and the local population's food security . One of the main issues of IUU is that a lot of the fish that is caught in the Gulf of Guinea is fish that is unreported when caught. This causes overfishing and overfishing causes depleting fisheries all around the region. IUU fishing also becomes a severe issue in the region because it allows fishermen to fish in vessels that are not nationally regulated or managed. Furthermore, can these vessels threaten people's human security due to poor working conditions and poorly regulated boats. Many of
5016-412: 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. Every winter,
5104-440: The attacking of vessels transporting oil and transferring the oil to the thieves’ own vessel, after which the oil is sold in local and international markets. Illegal oil bunkering at sea is mainly prevalent in the Nigerian waters. Kidnapping for ransom is also one of the most prevalent maritime crimes in the region. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of crew members that were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea increased by 50%, leading
5192-431: The east, the boundaries of the ocean proper are Europe: the Strait of Gibraltar (where it connects with the Mediterranean Sea – one of its marginal seas – and, in turn, the Black Sea , both of which also touch upon Asia) and Africa. In the southeast, the Atlantic merges into the Indian Ocean. The 20° East meridian , running south from Cape Agulhas to Antarctica defines its border. In
5280-544: 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 15°N . 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
5368-400: The enclosed seas well known to the Greeks: the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. 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. The term " Aethiopian Ocean ", derived from Ancient Ethiopia , was applied to the southern Atlantic as late as the mid-19th century. During
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#17327909279095456-401: The export of iron ore from about 500 kilometres (310 mi) away and also bauxite . Since there is no natural harbour at Kribi, the port itself would be several kilometres offshore where deepwater of at least 20 metres (66 ft) is suitable for large Capesize ships. It is also the location for the Kribi Lighthouse . By 2017, the port development had started, and by 2020 the port
5544-449: The geographic limits of the Gulf of Guinea are given; the International Hydrographic Organization defines the southwest extent of the Gulf of Guinea as "B line from Cap Lopez ( 0°37′S 8°43′E / 0.617°S 8.717°E / -0.617; 8.717 ), in Gabon, northwestward to Ihléu Gago Coutinho (Ilhéu das Rôlas) ( 0°01′S 6°32′E / 0.017°S 6.533°E / -0.017; 6.533 ); and thence
5632-568: 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 . The oldest known mentions of an "Atlantic" sea come from Stesichorus around mid-sixth century BC (Sch. A. R. 1. 211): Atlantikôi pelágei (Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντικῷ πελάγει , '
5720-431: The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude ), is in the gulf. Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the Niger and the Volta . The coastline on the gulf includes the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Bonny . “Guinea” is thought to have originated from a local name for an area in the region, although the specifics are disputed. Bovill (1995) gives
5808-454: The latter 2,000 km (1,200 mi). Ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream transport eel larvae from the Sargasso Sea to foraging areas in North America, Europe, and northern Africa. Recent but disputed research suggests that eels possibly use Earth's magnetic field to navigate through the ocean both as larvae and as adults. The climate is influenced by the temperatures of the surface waters and water currents as well as winds. Because of
5896-474: The limits of the oceans and seas in 1953, 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 Denmark Strait , Greenland Sea , Norwegian Sea and Barents Sea . To
5984-429: The lowest values are in the high latitudes and along coasts where large rivers enter. Maximum salinity values occur at about 25° north and south , in subtropical regions with low rainfall and high evaporation. The high surface salinity in the Atlantic, on which the Atlantic thermohaline circulation is dependent, is maintained by two processes: the Agulhas Leakage/Rings , which brings salty Indian Ocean waters into
6072-454: 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 60°N and 60°S is 3,730 m (12,240 ft), or close to the average for the global ocean, with a modal depth between 4,000 and 5,000 m (13,000 and 16,000 ft). In the South Atlantic the Walvis Ridge and Rio Grande Rise form barriers to ocean currents. The Laurentian Abyss
6160-407: The maximum depth, the Milwaukee Deep in the Puerto Rico Trench , is 8,376 m (27,480 ft). Top large seas: The bathymetry of the Atlantic is dominated by a submarine mountain range called the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR). It runs from 87°N or 300 km (190 mi) south of the North Pole to the subantarctic Bouvet Island at 54°S . Expeditions to explore the bathymertry of
6248-422: The merchants of our nation Gheneoa, by the natural inhabitants thereof Genni and by the Portugals and other people of Europe Ghinea." But it seems more probable that Guinea derives from aguinaou , the Berber for Negro. Marrakech [city in southeastern Morocco] has a gate, built in the twelfth century, called the Bab Aguinaou, the Gate of the Negro (Delafosse, Haut-Sénégal-Niger, II, 277-278). The modern application of
6336-576: The most consequential. Columbus' expedition ushered in an age of exploration and colonization of the Americas by European powers , most notably Portugal , Spain , France , and the United Kingdom . From the 16th to 19th centuries, the Atlantic Ocean was the center of both 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
6424-732: The most extensive and voluminous large igneous provinces in Earth's history associated with the Triassic–Jurassic extinction event , one of Earth's major extinction events . Theoliitic dikes , sills , and lava flows from the CAMP eruption at 200 Ma have been found in West Africa, eastern North America, and northern South America. The extent of the volcanism has been estimated to 4.5 × 10 km (1.7 × 10 sq mi) of which 2.5 × 10 km (9.7 × 10 sq mi) covered what
6512-547: The name Guinea to the coast dates only from 1481. In that year the Portuguese built a fort, São Jorge da Mina (modern-day Elmina ), on the Gold Coast region , and their king, John II, was permitted by the Pope [Sixtus II or Innocent VIII] to style himself Lord of Guinea, a title that survived until the recent extinction of the monarchy. The name " Guinea " was also previously applied to the south coast of West Africa (north of
6600-571: 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. The North Atlantic deep water (NADW)
6688-494: The northwestern coast of Gabon . Both islands are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range . São Tomé, the sizeable southern island, is situated just north of the Equator . Maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea consists of 18 sovereign states. Where most of the maritime security issues in the Gulf of Guinea have terrible consequences for the shipping industry. Multiple institutional mandates address maritime security in
6776-425: 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 can be approximated from coastal weather data and air temperature from water temperatures. The oceans are the major source of atmospheric moisture that is obtained through evaporation. Climatic zones vary with latitude; the warmest zones stretch across
6864-565: The outlines of the coasts of the Old and the New Worlds. The remainder of the ridge was discovered in the 1920s by the German Meteor expedition using echo-sounding equipment. The exploration of the MAR in the 1950s led to the general acceptance of seafloor spreading and plate tectonics . 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
6952-595: The pond", rather than to discuss the ocean itself. The term dates to 1640, first appearing in print in a pamphlet released during the reign of 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 . The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) defined
7040-547: The region is occurring. Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions , with an area of about 85,133,000 km (32,870,000 sq mi). It covers approximately 17% of 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
7128-458: The region to account for 90% of global kidnappings at sea. About 92% of the hostage-taking and 73% of kidnappings happening in and around Africa are happening in the Gulf of Guinea. There is also a large issue of drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea and the region has over the last few years become a haven for drug trafficking mainly from South America into Europe. IUU fishing also known as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing has become
7216-438: 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. 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
7304-551: 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 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
7392-421: The surface is usually covered with sea ice in the Labrador Sea , Denmark Strait , and Baltic Sea. The Coriolis effect circulates North Atlantic water in a clockwise direction, whereas South Atlantic water circulates counter-clockwise. The south tides in the Atlantic Ocean are semi-diurnal; that is, two high tides occur every 24 lunar hours. In latitudes above 40° North some east–west oscillation, known as
7480-428: The total volume of the Earth's oceans. Excluding its marginal seas, the Atlantic covers 81,760,000 km (31,570,000 sq mi) and has a volume of 305,811,900 km (73,368,200 cu mi). The North Atlantic covers 41,490,000 km (16,020,000 sq mi) (11.5%) and the South Atlantic 40,270,000 km (15,550,000 sq mi) (11.1%). The average depth is 3,646 m (11,962 ft) and
7568-636: 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. The southern subtropical gyre is partly masked by a wind-induced Ekman layer . The residence time of the gyre is 4.4–8.5 years. North Atlantic Deep Water flows southward below
7656-424: The western Atlantic and South Sandwich Trench (8,264 m or 27,113 ft) 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. In 1922, a historic moment in cartography and oceanography occurred. The USS Stewart used
7744-614: Was being developed by Louis Berger. The port will be served by railways of two different gauges, 1435mm and 1000mm. There will be a new 130km rail link between the port and the existing metre gauge network at Edéa . Dual gauge sleepers could be installed so that the new lines are compatible with the proposed African Integrated High Speed Rail Network ( AIHSRN ). The iron ore will come from mines near Mbalam in Cameroon and near Nabeba in Republic of Congo . The mines would have an output of approximately 35 million tonnes per year, with
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