Amundsen Basin

Summary

The Amundsen Basin, with depths up to 4.4 km (2.7 mi), is the deepest abyssal plain in the Arctic Ocean, and contains the geographic North Pole. The Amundsen Basin is embraced by the Lomonosov Ridge (from 81°N 140°E / 81°N 140°E / 81; 140 (Lomonosov Ridge, Siberian Side) to 80°N 40°W / 80°N 40°W / 80; -40 (Lomonosov Ridge, Greenland Side)) and the Gakkel Ridge (from 81°N 120°E / 81°N 120°E / 81; 120 (Arctic Mid Ocean Ridge, Siberian Side) to 85°N 10°E / 85°N 10°E / 85; 10 (Arctic Mid Ocean Ridge, Greenland Side)). It is named after the polar researcher Roald Amundsen. Together with the Nansen Basin, the Amundsen Basin is often summarized as Eurasian Basin.

Profile of the Arctic Ocean from the Barents Sea towards the (geographic) North Pole

The Russian-American cooperation Nansen and Amundsen Basin Observational System (NABOS) aims "to provide a quantitative observationally based assessment of circulation, water mass transformations, and transformation mechanisms in the Eurasian and Canadian Basins of the Arctic Ocean".

Formation edit

The Amundsen Basin formed during the Cenozoic Era from seafloor spreading.[1]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Chernykh, A.A.; Krylov, A.A. (October 2011). "Sedimentogenesis in the Amundsen Basin from geophysical data and drilling results on the Lomonosov Ridge". Doklady Earth Sciences. 440 (2): 1372–1376. doi:10.1134/S1028334X11100011.