Energy and chemical resources of the Atlantic Ocean. Mineral resources of the Atlantic Ocean and their extraction

Some areas of the Atlantic shelf are rich in coal. Great Britain conducts the largest underwater mining of coal. The largest exploited Nor Tumberland Derham field with reserves of about 550 million tons is located on the northeast coast of England. Coal deposits have been explored in the shelf zone northeast of Cape Breton Island. However, in the economy, underwater coal is of less importance than offshore oil and gas fields. The main supplier of monazite to the world market is Brazil. The United States is also the leading producer of ilmenite, rutile and zircon concentrates (placers of these metals are almost ubiquitous on the shelf of North America - from California to Alaska). Of considerable interest are cassiterite placers off the coast of Australia, off the Cornwall peninsula (Great Britain), and in Brittany (France). The largest deposits of ferruginous sands are located in Canada. Ferrous sands are also mined in New Zealand. Alluvial gold in coastal marine sediments has been found on the western coasts of the United States and Canada.

The main deposits of coastal-marine diamondiferous sands are concentrated on the southwestern coast of Africa, where they are associated with deposits of terraces, beaches, and shelves down to depths of 120 m. Significant marine terraced diamond placers are located in Namibia. African coastal-marine placers are promising.

In the coastal zone of the shelf there are underwater deposits of iron ore. The most significant development of offshore deposits of iron ore is carried out in Canada, on the east coast of Newfoundland (the Wabana deposit). In addition, Canada mines iron ore in the Hudson Bay.

In small quantities, copper and nickel are mined from underwater mines (Canada - in the Hudson Bay). Tin is mined on the Cornwall peninsula (England). In Turkey, on the coast of the Aegean Sea, mercury ores are being developed. Sweden mines iron, copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver in the bowels of the Gulf of Bothnia.

Large salt sedimentary basins in the form of salt domes or stratal deposits are often found on the shelf, slope, foot of the continents and in deep-water basins (Gulf of Mexico, shelves and slopes of West Africa, Europe). The minerals of these basins are represented by sodium, potassium and magnesite salts, gypsum. Calculation of these reserves is difficult: the volume of potassium salts alone is estimated in the range from hundreds of millions of tons to 2 billion tons. Two salt domes are being exploited in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana.

More than 2 million tons of sulfur are extracted from underwater deposits. Exploited the largest accumulation of sulfur Grand Isle, located 10 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Commercial reserves of phosphorites have been found near the Californian and Mexican coasts, along the coastal zones of South Africa, Argentina, off the coast of New Zealand. Phosphorites are mined in the California region from depths of 80-330 m, where the concentration averages 75 kg/m3.

A large number of offshore oil and gas fields have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean and its seas, including those with one of the highest levels of production of these fuels in the world. They are located in different areas of the ocean shelf zone. In its western part, the bowels of the Maracaibo lagoon are distinguished by very large reserves and production volumes. Oil is extracted here from more than 4,500 wells, from which in 2006 93 million tons of "black gold" were produced. The Gulf of Mexico is considered one of the richest offshore oil and gas regions in the world, believing that only a small part of potential oil and gas reserves have been identified in it at present. 14,500 wells have been drilled at the bottom of the bay. In 2011, 60 million tons of oil and 120 billion m3 of gas were produced from 270 offshore fields, and in total, during the development period, 590 million tons of oil and 679 billion m3 of gas were extracted here. The most significant of them are located off the coast of the Paraguano Peninsula, in the Gulf of Paria and off the island of Trinidad. Oil reserves here amount to tens of millions of tons.

In addition to the above areas, three large oil and gas provinces can be traced in the western Atlantic. One of them stretches from the Davis Strait to the latitude of New York. Within its limits, commercial oil reserves have so far been identified near Labrador and south of Newfoundland. The second oil and gas province stretches along the coast of Brazil from Cape Calcañar in the north to Rio de Janeiro in the south. 25 deposits have already been discovered here. The third province occupies the coastal areas of Argentina from the Gulf of San Jorge to the Strait of Magellan. Only small deposits have been discovered in it, so far unprofitable for offshore development.

In the shelf zone of the eastern coast of the Atlantic, oil shows have been discovered south of Scotland and Ireland, off the coast of Portugal, in the Bay of Biscay. A large oil and gas region is located near the African continent. About 8 million tons are produced by the oil fields concentrated near Angola.

Very significant oil and gas resources are concentrated in the depths of some seas of the Atlantic Ocean. Among them, the most important place is occupied by the North Sea, which knows no equal in terms of the pace of development of underwater oil and gas fields. Significant underwater deposits of oil and gas have been explored in the Mediterranean Sea, where 10 oil and 17 offshore gas fields are currently operating. Significant volumes of oil are extracted from fields located off the coasts of Greece and Tunisia. Gas is being developed in the Gulf of Sidra (Bol. Sirte, Libya), off the Italian coast of the Adriatic Sea. In the future, the subsoil of the Mediterranean Sea should produce at least 20 million tons of oil per year.

Coastal marine placers rich in ilmenite, rutile, zircon, and monocyte are represented by large deposits on the coasts of Brazil and the Florida peninsula (USA). On a smaller scale, minerals of this type are concentrated off the coast of Argentina, Uruguay, Denmark, Spain, and Portugal. Tin-bearing and ferruginous sands are found on the Atlantic coast of North America and Europe, and coastal-marine placers of diamonds, gold, platinum are found off the coast of South-West Africa (Angola, Namibia, South Africa). On the shelf of the Atlantic coast of North and South America and Africa (Blake Plateau, near Morocco, Liberia, etc.), phosphorite formations and phosphate sands have been found (the extraction of which is still unprofitable due to their lower quality compared to land phosphorites). Extensive fields of ferromanganese nodules are located in the northwestern part of the ocean, in the North American Basin and on the Blake Plateau. The total reserves of ferromanganese nodules in the Atlantic Ocean are estimated at 45 billion tons. The level of concentration of non-ferrous metals in them (with a low manganese content) is close to that of ore-bearing land rocks. A large number of offshore oil and gas fields have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean and its seas, which are being intensively developed. The richest offshore oil and gas regions in the world include the Gulf of Mexico, the Maracaibo lagoon, the North Sea, the Gulf of Guinea, which are being intensively developed. Three large oil and gas provinces have been identified in the Western Atlantic: 1) from the Davis Strait to the latitude of New York (commercial reserves near Labrador and south of Newfoundland); 2) on the Brazilian shelf from Cape Kalkanyar to Rio de Janeiro (more than 25 fields have been discovered); 3) in the coastal waters of Argentina from the Gulf of San Jorge to the Strait of Magellan. According to estimates, promising oil and gas areas make up about 1/4 of the ocean, and the total potential recoverable oil and gas resources are estimated at more than 80 billion tons. Some areas of the Atlantic shelf are rich in coal (Great Britain, Canada), iron ore (Canada, Finland) .

24. Transport system and ports of the Atlantic Ocean.

Leading place among other sea basins of the world. The world's largest cargo flow of oil from the Persian Gulf countries on its way to the Atlantic is divided into two branches: one goes around Africa from the south and goes to Western Europe, North and South America, and the other through Suez. Oil from the countries of North Africa to Europe and, partially, to North America, from the countries of the Gulf of Guinea to the USA and Brazil. From Mexico and Venezuela to the USA via the Caribbean, and from Alaska via the Panama Canal to ports on the Atlantic coast. Liquefied gas from North Africa (Algeria, Libya) to Western Europe and the USA. In dry bulk transportation - iron ore (from Brazilian and Venezuelan ports to Europe), grain (from the USA, Canada, Argentina - to European ports), phosphorites (from the USA (Florida), Morocco - Western Europe), bauxite and alumina (from Jamaica, Suriname and Guyana in the USA), manganese (from Brazil, West and South Africa), chromium ore (from South Africa and the Mediterranean), zinc and nickel ores (from Canada), timber (from Canada, Scandinavian countries and northern ports Russia to Western Europe). General cargo, 2/3 of which is carried by liner ships. Universal ports with a high level of mechanization. Western Europe-1/2 cargo turnover. English Channel to the Kiel Canal, east coast of Great Britain, Mediterranean port complexes along the coast of the Gulf of Lion and the Ligurian Sea. United States from the Gulf of Maine to the Chesapeake Bay: New York - New Jersey, Ameriport and Hampton Rhodes. The Gulf of Mexico, where three main port-industrial complexes stand out (New Orleans and Baton Rouge; Galveston Bay and the Houston Canal; the ports of Beaumont, Port Arthur, Orange connected with the Gulf of Mexico by channels through Lake Sabine). oil (Amuay, Cartagena, Tobruk) and chemical (Arzev, Alexandria, Abidjan) plants, al (Belen, San Luis, Puerto Madryn), metallurgy (Tubaran, Maracaibo, Varrij), cement (Freeport) industries. southeast coast of Brazil (Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Victoria) and in La Plata Bay (Buenos Aires, Rosario, Santa Fe). (Port Harcourt, Lagos, Niger Delta). North African ports are widely open to the sea, and their universal nature requires significant costs for the modernization of port facilities (Algiers, Tripoli, Casablanca, Alexandria and Tunisia). On a number of Caribbean islands (Bahamas, Caymans, Virgin Islands) the deepest transshipment terminals in this part of the ocean for large tankers (400-600 thousand deadweight tons) have been built.

the World Ocean, the area with the seas is 91.6 million km 2; average depth 3926 m; the volume of water is 337 million m 3. Includes: Mediterranean seas (Baltic, North, Mediterranean, Black, Azov, Caribbean with the Gulf of Mexico), little isolated seas (in the North - Baffin, Labrador; near Antarctica - Scotia, Weddell, Lazareva, Riiser-Larsen), large bays (Guinean , Biscay, Hudson, Over Lawrence). Islands of the Atlantic Ocean: Greenland (2176 thousand km 2), Iceland (103 thousand km 2), (230 thousand km 2), Greater and Lesser Antilles (220 thousand km 2), Ireland (84 thousand km 2), Cape Verde (4 thousand km 2), Faroe (1.4 thousand km 2), Shetland (1.4 thousand km 2), Azores (2.3 thousand km 2), Madeira (797 km 2), Bermuda (53.3 km 2) and others (See map).

Historical outline. The Atlantic Ocean became an object of navigation from the 2nd millennium BC. In the 6th century BC. Phoenician ships sailed around Africa. Ancient Greek navigator Pytheas in the 4th century BC sailed to the North Atlantic. In the 10th century AD. Norman navigator Eric the Red explored the coast of Greenland. During the Age of Discovery (15th-16th centuries), the Portuguese mastered the way to the Indian Ocean along the coast of Africa (Vasco da Gama, 1497-98). The Genoese H. Columbus (1492, 1493-96, 1498-1500, 1502-1504) discovered the islands of the Caribbean and. In these and subsequent travels, the outlines and nature of the coasts were established for the first time, coastal depths, directions and speeds of currents, and climatic characteristics of the Atlantic Ocean were determined. The first soil samples were taken by the English scientist J. Ross in the Baffin Sea (1817-1818 and others). Temperature, transparency and other measurements were determined by the expeditions of Russian navigators Yu. F. Lisyansky and I. F. Kruzenshtern (1803-06), O. E. Kotsebu (1817-18). In 1820, the Russian expedition of F. F. Bellingshausen and M. P. Lazarev discovered Antarctica. Interest in the study of the relief and soils of the Atlantic Ocean increased in the middle of the 19th century due to the need to lay transoceanic telegraph cables. Dozens of ships measured depths and took soil samples (American ships "Arktik", "Cyclops"; English - "Lighting", "Porcupine"; German - "Gazelle", "Valdivia", "Gauss"; French - "Trawayer", " Talisman, etc.).

An important role in the study of the Atlantic Ocean was played by the British expedition aboard the Challenger (1872-76), based on which, using other data, the first relief and soils of the World Ocean were compiled. The most important expeditions of the 1st half of the 20th century: German on the Meteor (1925-38), American on the Atlantis (30s), Swedish on the Albatross (1947-48). In the early 1950s, a number of countries, primarily and, launched extensive studies of the geological structure of the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean using accurate echo sounders, the latest geophysical methods, automatic and controlled underwater vehicles. Great work has been carried out by modern expeditions on the ships Mikhail Lomonosov, Vityaz, Zarya, Sedov, Equator, Ob, Akademik Kurchatov, Akademik Vernadsky, Dmitry Mendeleev, etc. 1968 Deep-sea drilling started on board the American vessel Glomar Challenger.

Hydrological regime. There are 4 large-scale gyres in the upper layer of the Atlantic Ocean: the Northern cyclonic gyre (to the north of 45° north latitude), the anticyclonic gyre of the Northern Hemisphere (45° north latitude - 5° south latitude), the anticyclonic gyre of the Southern Hemisphere (5° south latitude - 45° south latitude), Antarctic circumpolar current of cyclonic rotation (45 ° south latitude - Antarctica). On the western periphery of the gyres there are narrow but powerful currents (2-6 km/h): Labrador - Northern cyclonic gyre; the Gulf Stream (the most powerful current in the Atlantic Ocean.), the Guiana Current - the Northern Anticyclonic Gyre; Brazilian-Southern Anticyclonic Gyre. In the central and eastern regions of the ocean, the currents are relatively weak, with the exception of the equatorial zone.

Bottom waters are formed when surface waters sink in polar latitudes (their average temperature is 1.6°C). In some places they move at high speeds (up to 1.6 km/h) and are able to erode sediments, carry suspended material, creating underwater valleys and large bottom accumulative landforms. Cold and slightly saline near-bottom Antarctic waters penetrate through the bottoms of basins in the western regions of the Atlantic Ocean up to 42° north latitude. The average temperature of the Atlantic Ocean at the surface is 16.53°C (the South Atlantic is 6°C colder than the North). The warmest waters with an average temperature of 26.7°C are observed at 5-10° north latitude (thermal equator). To Greenland and Antarctica, the water temperature drops to 0 ° C. The salinity of the waters of the Atlantic Ocean is 34.0-37.3 0/00, the highest water density is over 1027 kg / m 3 in the northeast and south, towards the equator it decreases to 1022.5 kg / m 3. Tides are predominantly semi-diurnal (highest 18 m in the Bay of Fundy); in some areas, mixed and daily tides of 0.5-2.2 m are observed.

Ice. In the northern part of the Atlantic Ocean, ice forms only in the inland seas of temperate latitudes (the Baltic, North and Azov Seas, the Gulf of St. Lawrence); a large amount of ice and icebergs is carried out of the Arctic Ocean (Greenland and Baffin Seas). In the South Atlantic Ocean, ice and icebergs form off the coast of Antarctica and in the Weddell Sea.

Relief and geological structure. Within the Atlantic Ocean, a powerful mountain system extending from north to south - the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which is an element of the global system of Mid-ocean ridges, as well as deep-water basins and (map) stand out. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge extends for 17,000 km at a latitude of up to 1,000 km. Its crest in many areas is dissected by longitudinal gorges - rift valleys, as well as transverse depressions - transform faults, which break it into separate blocks with a latitudinal displacement relative to the axis of the ridge. The relief of the ridge, strongly dissected in the axial zone, flattens out towards the periphery due to the burial of sediments. The epicenters of small-focus are localized in the axial zone along the crest of the ridge and in areas. Deep-sea basins are located along the outskirts of the ridge: in the west - Labrador, Newfoundland, North American, Brazilian, Argentinean; in the east - European (including Icelandic, Iberian and Irish Trench), North African (including Canary and Cape Verde), Sierra Leone, Guinean, Angolan and Cape. Within the ocean floor, abyssal plains, hill zones, uplifts, and seamounts are distinguished (map). Abyssal plains stretch in two discontinuous bands in the coastal parts of deep-sea basins. These are the flattest areas of the earth's surface, the primary relief of which is leveled by precipitation 3-3.5 km thick. Closer to the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at a depth of 5.5-6 km, there are zones of abyssal hills. Oceanic rises are located between the continents and the mid-ocean ridge and separate the basins. The largest uplifts: Bermuda, Rio Grande, Rockall, Sierra Leone, Whale Ridge, Canary, Madeira, Cape Verde, etc.

There are thousands of seamounts known in the Atlantic Ocean; almost all of them are probably volcanic edifices. The Atlantic Ocean is characterized by a discontinuous cutting of the geological structures of the continents by the coastline. The depth of the edge is 100-200 m, in the polar regions 200-350 m, the width is from several kilometers to several hundred kilometers. The most extensive shelf areas are near the island of Newfoundland, in the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Argentina. The relief of the shelf is characterized by longitudinal grooves, along the outer edge -. The continental slope of the Atlantic Ocean has a slope of several degrees, a height of 2-4 km, terrace-like ledges and transverse canyons are characteristic. Within the sloping plain (the foot of the mainland), the "granite" layer of the continental crust is wedged out. The transitional zone with a special structure of the crust includes the marginal deep-water trenches: Puerto Rico (maximum depth 8742 m), South Sandwich (8325 m), Cayman (7090 m), Oriente (up to 6795 m), within which are observed as shallow, and deep-focus earthquakes (map).

The similarity of the contours and geological structure of the continents surrounding the Atlantic Ocean, as well as the increase in the age of the basalt bed, the thickness and age of sediments with distance from the axis of the mid-ocean ridge served as the basis for explaining the origin of the ocean within the concept of Mobilism. It is assumed that the North Atlantic was formed in the Triassic (200 million years ago) during the separation of North America from Northwest Africa, the South - 120-105 million years ago during the separation of Africa and South America. The connection of the basins occurred about 90 million years ago (the youngest age of the bottom - about 60 million years - was found in the northeast of the southern tip of Greenland). Subsequently, the Atlantic Ocean expanded with constant neoformation of the crust due to effusions and intrusions of basalts in the axial zone of the mid-ocean ridge and its partial subsidence into the mantle in marginal trenches.

Mineral resources. Among the mineral resources of the Atlantic Ocean, gas is also of the greatest importance (map to World Ocean station). North America has oil and gas bearing Labrador Sea, bays: St. Lawrence, Nova Scotia, Georges Bank. Oil reserves on the eastern shelf of Canada are estimated at 2.5 billion tons, gas 3.3 trillion. m 3 , on the eastern shelf and continental slope of the United States - up to 0.54 billion tons of oil and 0.39 trillion. m 3 gas. More than 280 fields have been discovered on the southern shelf of the United States, and more than 20 fields offshore (see). More than 60% of Venezuela's oil is produced in the Maracaibo lagoon (see). The deposits of the Gulf of Paria (Trinidad Island) are actively exploited. The total reserves of the Caribbean Sea shelves are up to 13 billion tons of oil and 8.5 trillion. m 3 gas. Oil and gas bearing areas have been identified on the shelves (Toduz-yc-Santos Bay) and (San Xopxe Bay). Oil fields have been discovered in the North (114 fields) and the Irish Seas, the Gulf of Guinea (50 offshore Nigeria, 37 off Gabon, 3 off the Congo, etc.).

The predicted oil reserves on the Mediterranean shelf are estimated at 110-120 billion tons. Deposits are known in the Aegean, Adriatic, Ionian seas, off the coast of Tunisia, Egypt, Spain, etc. Sulfur is mined in the salt-dome structures of the Gulf of Mexico. With the help of horizontal underground workings, coal is mined from coastal mines in offshore extensions of continental basins - in Great Britain (up to 10% of national production) and Canada. Off the east coast of Newfoundland is the largest iron ore deposit, Waban (total reserves of about 2 billion tons). Tin deposits are being developed off the coast of Great Britain (Cornwall Peninsula). Heavy minerals ( , ) are mined off the coast of Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico. off the coast of Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, the Scandinavian and Iberian Peninsulas, Senegal, South Africa. The shelf of South West Africa is an area of ​​industrial diamond mining (reserves 12 million). Gold-bearing placers have been discovered off the Nova Scotia Peninsula. found on the shelves of the United States, on the Agulhas Bank. The largest fields of ferromanganese nodules in the Atlantic Ocean are found in the North American Basin and on the Blake Plateau near Florida; their extraction is still unprofitable. The main sea routes in the Atlantic Ocean, along which minerals are transported, were mainly formed in the 18-19 centuries. In the 1960s, the Atlantic Ocean accounted for 69% of all maritime traffic, except for floating craft; pipelines are used to transport oil and gas from offshore fields to shore. The Atlantic Ocean is increasingly polluted with oil products, industrial wastewater from enterprises containing pesticides, radioactive and other substances that harm marine flora and fauna, are concentrated in marine food, posing a great danger to humanity, which requires the adoption of effective measures to prevent further pollution of the ocean environment.

Some areas of the Atlantic shelf are rich in coal. Great Britain conducts the largest underwater mining of coal. The largest exploited Nor-Tumberland-Derhamskoe field with reserves of about 550 million tons is located on the north-east coast of England. Coal deposits have been explored in the shelf zone northeast of Cape Breton Island. However, in the economy, underwater coal is of less importance than offshore oil and gas fields. The main supplier of monazite to the world market is Brazil. The United States is also the leading producer of ilmenite, rutile and zircon concentrates (placers of these metals are almost ubiquitous on the shelf of North America - from California to Alaska). Of considerable interest are cassiterite placers off the coast of Australia, off the Cornwall peninsula (Great Britain), and in Brittany (France). The largest deposits of ferruginous sands are located in Canada. Ferrous sands are also mined in New Zealand. Alluvial gold in coastal marine sediments has been found on the western coasts of the United States and Canada.

The main deposits of coastal-marine diamondiferous sands are concentrated on the southwestern coast of Africa, where they are associated with deposits of terraces, beaches, and shelves down to depths of 120 m. Significant marine terraced diamond placers are located in Namibia. African coastal-marine placers are promising. In the coastal zone of the shelf there are underwater deposits of iron ore. The most significant development of offshore deposits of iron ore is carried out in Canada, on the east coast of Newfoundland (the Wabana deposit). In addition, Canada mines iron ore in the Hudson Bay.

Fig.1. Atlantic Ocean

In small quantities, copper and nickel are mined from underwater mines (Canada - in the Hudson Bay). Tin is mined on the Cornwall peninsula (England). In Turkey, on the coast of the Aegean Sea, mercury ores are being developed. Sweden mines iron, copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver in the bowels of the Gulf of Bothnia. Large salt sedimentary basins in the form of salt domes or stratal deposits are often found on the shelf, slope, foot of the continents and in deep-water basins (Gulf of Mexico, shelves and slopes of West Africa, Europe). The minerals of these basins are represented by sodium, potassium and magnesite salts, gypsum. Calculation of these reserves is difficult: the volume of potassium salts alone is estimated in the range from hundreds of millions of tons to 2 billion tons. Two salt domes are being exploited in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana.

More than 2 million tons of sulfur are extracted from underwater deposits. Exploited the largest accumulation of sulfur Grand Isle, located 10 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Commercial reserves of phosphorites have been found near the Californian and Mexican coasts, along the coastal zones of South Africa, Argentina, off the coast of New Zealand. Phosphorites are mined in the California region from depths of 80-330 m, where the concentration averages 75 kg/m3.

A large number of offshore oil and gas fields have been discovered in the Atlantic Ocean and its seas, including those with one of the highest levels of production of these fuels in the world. They are located in different areas of the ocean shelf zone. In its western part, the bowels of the Maracaibo lagoon are distinguished by very large reserves and production volumes. Oil is extracted here from more than 4,500 wells, from which in 2006 93 million tons of "black gold" were produced. The Gulf of Mexico is considered one of the richest offshore oil and gas regions in the world, believing that only a small part of potential oil and gas reserves have been identified in it at present. 14,500 wells have been drilled at the bottom of the bay. In 2011, 60 million tons of oil and 120 billion m 3 of gas were produced from 270 offshore fields, and in total, 590 million tons of oil and 679 billion m 3 of gas were extracted here during the development period. The most significant of them are located off the coast of the Paraguano Peninsula, in the Gulf of Paria and off the island of Trinidad. Oil reserves here amount to tens of millions of tons.

In addition to the above areas, three large oil and gas provinces can be traced in the western Atlantic. One of them stretches from the Davis Strait to the latitude of New York. Within its limits, commercial oil reserves have so far been identified near Labrador and south of Newfoundland. The second oil and gas province stretches along the coast of Brazil from Cape Calcañar in the north to Rio de Janeiro in the south. 25 deposits have already been discovered here. The third province occupies the coastal areas of Argentina from the Gulf of San Jorge to the Strait of Magellan. Only small deposits have been discovered in it, so far unprofitable for offshore development.

In the shelf zone of the eastern coast of the Atlantic, oil shows have been discovered south of Scotland and Ireland, off the coast of Portugal, in the Bay of Biscay. A large oil and gas region is located near the African continent. About 8 million tons are produced by the oil fields concentrated near Angola.

Very significant oil and gas resources are concentrated in the depths of some seas of the Atlantic Ocean. Among them, the most important place is occupied by the North Sea, which knows no equal in terms of the pace of development of underwater oil and gas fields. Significant underwater deposits of oil and gas have been explored in the Mediterranean Sea, where 10 oil and 17 offshore gas fields are currently operating. Significant volumes of oil are extracted from fields located off the coasts of Greece and Tunisia. Gas is being developed in the Gulf of Sidra (Bol. Sirte, Libya), off the Italian coast of the Adriatic Sea. In the future, the subsoil of the Mediterranean Sea should produce at least 20 million tons of oil per year.

Climate and hydrological regime of the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Hydrological resources.

Diversity climatic conditions on the surface of the Atlantic Ocean is determined by its large meridional extent and the circulation of air masses under the influence of four main atmospheric centers: Greenland and Antarctic max., Icelandic and Antarctic minima. In addition, two anticyclones constantly operate in the subtropics: Azores and South Atlantic. They are separated by an equatorial region of low pressure. This distribution of baric regions determines the system of prevailing winds in the Atlantic. The greatest influence on the temperature regime of the Atlantic Ocean is exerted not only by its large meridional extent, but also by water exchange with the Arctic Ocean, the seas of the Antarctic and the Mediterranean Sea. Tropical latitudes are characterized by tempera. - 20°C. To the north and south of the tropics are subtropical zones with more noticeable seasonal ones (from 10 ° C in winter to 20 ° C in summer). Tropical hurricanes are a frequent occurrence in the subtropical zone. In temperate latitudes, the average temperature of the warmest month is kept within 10-15 °C, and the coldest -10 °C. Precipitation is about 1000 mm.

surface currents. North Equatorial Current (t)> Antilles (t)> Mexico. Gulf>Florida(t)>Gulf Stream>North Atlantic(t)>Canary(x)>Northern Equatorial Current(t) – northern circle.

South trade winds> Guiana temp. (North) and the Brazilian Warm. (south)>tech. Western winds (x)> Benguela (x)> South trade winds - southern circle.

There are several levels in the Atlantic Ocean deep currents. A powerful countercurrent passes under the Gulf Stream, the main core of which lies at a depth of up to 3500 m, with a speed of 20 cm/s. The powerful deep Louisiana current is observed in the eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean, formed by the bottom runoff of saltier and warmer Mediterranean waters through the Strait of Gibraltar.

The highest tide values ​​are confined to the Atlantic Ocean, which are noted in the fjord bays of Canada (in Ungava Bay - 12.4 m, in Frobisher Bay - 16.6 m) and Great Britain (up to 14.4 m in Bristol Bay). The highest tide in the world is recorded in the Bay of Fundy, on the east coast of Canada, where the maximum tide reaches 15.6-18 m.

Salinity. The highest salinity of surface waters in the open ocean is observed in the subtropical zone (up to 37.25 ‰), and the maximum in the Mediterranean Sea is 39 ‰. In the equatorial zone, where the maximum amount of precipitation is noted, salinity decreases to 34 ‰. A sharp desalination of water occurs in the estuarine areas (for example, at the mouth of La Plata 18-19 ‰).

Ice formation. Ice formation in the Atlantic Ocean occurs in the Greenland and Baffin Seas and Antarctic waters. The main source of icebergs in the South Atlantic is the Filchner Ice Shelf in the Weddell Sea. Floating ice in the northern hemisphere reaches 40°N in July.

Upwelling. A particularly powerful upwelling zone stretches along the entire western coast of Africa, due to the wind<связан. с пассатной циркуляцией. Также это зоны у Зелёного мыса, у берегов Анголы и Конго. Эти области наиболее благоприятны для развития орг. мира.

The bottom flora of the northern part of the Atlantic is represented by brown (mainly fucoids, and in the subditoral zone - kelp and alaria) and red algae. In the tropical zone, green (caulerpa), red (calcareous lithotamnia) and brown algae (sargasso) predominate. In the southern hemisphere, bottom vegetation is mainly represented by kelp. Phytoplankton of the Atlantic Ocean has 245 species: peridine, coccolithophorids, diatoms. The latter have a clearly defined zonal distribution, the maximum number of them lives in temperate latitudes of the northern and southern hemispheres. The population of diatoms is most dense in the strip of the Current of the Western Winds.

The distribution of the fauna of the Atlantic Ocean has a pronounced zonal character. In the subantarctic and antarctic In the waters of fish, notothenia, blue whiting and others are of commercial importance. Benthos and plankton in the Atlantic are poor in both species and biomass. In the subantarctic zone and in the adjacent zone of the temperate zone, the biomass reaches its maximum. Copepods and pteropods predominate in zooplankton, while whales (blue whales), pinnipeds, and nototheniids predominate in nekton. In the tropical zone, zooplankton is represented by numerous species of foraminifera and pteropods, several species of radiolarians, copepods, larvae of molluscs and fish, as well as siphonophores, various jellyfish, large cephalopods (squids), and octopuses among benthal forms. Commercial fish are represented by mackerel, tuna, sardines, in areas of cold currents - anchovies. To tropical and subtropical corals are confined to zones. temperate latitudes northern hemisphere are characterized by abundant life with a relatively small diversity of species. Of the commercial fish, the most important are herring, cod, haddock, halibut, sea bass. The most common zooplankton species are foraminifera and copepods. The greatest abundance of plankton is in the area of ​​the Newfoundland Bank and the Norwegian Sea. The deep-sea fauna is represented by crustaceans, echinoderms, specific fish species, sponges, and hydroids. Several species of endemic polychaetes, isopods, and holothurians have been found in the Puerto Rico Trench.

There are 4 biogeographic regions in the Atlantic Ocean: 1. Arctic; 2. North Atlantic; 3. Tropical-Atlantic; 4. Antarctic.

biological resources. The Atlantic Ocean provides 2/5 of the world catch and its share decreases over the years. In subantarctic and antarctic waters, notothenia, blue whiting and others are of commercial importance, in the tropical zone - mackerel, tuna, sardine, in areas of cold currents - anchovies, in temperate latitudes of the northern hemisphere - herring, cod, haddock, halibut, sea bass. In the 1970s, due to overfishing of some species of fish, the volume of fishing fell sharply, but after the introduction of strict limits, fish stocks are gradually restored. Several international fisheries conventions operate in the Atlantic Ocean basin, which aim at the efficient and rational use of biological resources, based on the application of scientifically based measures to regulate fishing.