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Because the Arctic
Ocean is surrounded primarily by the northern margins of several continents
,
it is essentially an inland sea. As such, it is somewhat more influenced by terrestrial phenomena
than are the other major ocean basins
. The Arctic
Ocean comprises about 1.4% of the total ocean area of the earth (and 0.8% of its volume).
It has about 3.6% of total ocean area (and 1.2% of volume)- if all of its adjacent seas are
included. In the highest latitudes, much of the sea surface is covered by ice. The surface water remains
near freezing, with salinities
in the upper 25 to 50 meters ranging from 28 to 33.5 o/oo. Down to about 100 meters depth is a
layer of slightly higher salinity (up to about 34 o/oo). The Atlantic
water mass
(at about 250 to 300 meters depth) lies below.
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