Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean surrounds the North Pole. The sun shines only a few months a year on the floating growlers and the vast ice fields that cover most of the Arctic Ocean. Compared to the other world's oceans, the Arctic ocean in the North Pole area is the smallest in size and temperatures can drop to over 60 degrees below zero. Where it isn't bordered by either Europe, Asia, North America or Greenland, the ocean joins the world's other oceans. The Bering Strait connects the Arctic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and the Greenland Sea serves as the link to the Atlantic Ocean. The latter also takes care of the major outflow of water. This icy ocean is the shortest route between former Russia (Murmansk and Archangel are the largest ports at the Arctic Ocean) and North America. Due to the extreme cold, marine life is mostly found in the open areas. Unfortunately, the unspoiled area has to deal with one of nature's major enemies: man. The Arctic Ocean coastal plain is threatened by oil companies that prefer their oil profits to the preservation of the environment with all its splendid beauty.
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