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| Atlantic Ocean | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Area | |
• Total | 85,133,000 km² |
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest ocean in the world. It is between Europe, Africa, North America, South America, and Antarctica, stretching around 15,000 kilometers from north to south. It is bordered by the Denmark Strait, Davis Strait, Iceland–Faroe Rise, and Wyville Thomson Ridge, which separate it from the Arctic Ocean. It is separated from the Pacific Ocean by Cape Horn at the tip of South America and from the Indian Ocean by Cape Agulhas at the tip of Africa. It covers 25% of Earth’s total ocean area, with a grand 93.363 million square kilometers. Groups of islands within the Atlantic Ocean include the Azores, Bermuda, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Greenland, Iceland, the British Isles, Faroe Islands, Madeira, Newfoundland, Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles, Bouvet Island, Gough Island, and many more.[1]
The Atlantic is not just a body of water; it is a major component of the global climate and economic system. Climate-wise, the Atlantic drives climate patterns through the AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation). Recent evidence points to the AMOC weakening notably during the 20th–21st century and nearing a dangerous tipping point, which will primarily affect the imperial core (North America and Europe) with sea-level rise, rapid cooling in the North Atlantic, and changes to rainfall in the Amazon. As the world becomes warmer, this effect is intensified in the Atlantic, as warming sea surfaces increase tropical cyclone intensification and rainfall, leading to stronger and longer-lasting hurricanes.[2]
The Atlantic was historically the center of primitive accumulation, as noted by Karl Marx in his newspaper Neue Rheinische Zeitung, where he states: “The Pacific Ocean will have the same role as the Atlantic has now, and the Mediterranean had in antiquity and in the Middle Ages, the role of the great water highway of world commerce.” The Atlantic was the stage for colonialism and slavery through the transatlantic slave trade, as well as the colonial exploitation of the Global South that flooded stolen resources across Europe and North America, leading to the creation of the modern capitalist world market.[3]
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References
- ↑ "Atlantic Ocean". Encyclopædia Britannica.
- ↑ Taufiq Hassan, Robert J. Allen, Wei Liu, and Cynthia A. Randles (2021). Anthropogenic aerosol forcing of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and the associated mechanisms in CMIP6 models.
- ↑ “The Pacific Ocean will then play the role the Atlantic Ocean is playing now, and the role that the Mediterranean played in the days of classical antiquity and in the middle ages…”
Karl Marx, Engels. The Neue Rheinische Revue.