The Pond and The Abyss: Tales of the Atlantic Ocean

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Below this unassuming surface is a trove of untold mysteries and rich history


If the Arctic Ocean oozes magic and enchantment, then the Atlantic epitomizes mystery, its power not necessarily crowning its kingdom but hiding underneath the surface. There are no glass shards glittering on the Atlantic. Only quiet blue-gray and teardrop white mingle together to fabricate a crushed charmeuse of shifting shadows and waves that lies upon an arcane world. 

The Atlantic doesn't seem to stand out; it's not the largest or coldest ocean. And there doesn't seem to be anything out there; at least, not at the surface. Whereas the Arctic and Pacific are dotted with icebergs, fjords, islands, or volcanoes, the Atlantic is home to a stretch of blue that connects the Western and Eastern Hemispheres together. 

As the second-largest ocean in the world, the Atlantic Ocean covers 25% of the Earth's surface. But what's the story under the Atlantic's own innocent surface? This ocean is actually the youngest of the big four, forming as a result of the void left behind by broken Pangaea. As the Western and Eastern Hemisphere tectonic plates pushed apart from each other (divergence!), a void was created, which became the Atlantic basin. This would gradually fill up and became an ocean spanning an area of over 106 million sq km. 

There's been incredibly eventful timeline of the Atlantic since this inception, which includes historic events such as Columbus's journey across the ocean blue and the Titanic's failure to make its own. The Atlantic is home to the Triangular Trade, Bermuda Triangle, and trio of ships (The Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria) that discovered the Americas. It's the element that separates two halves of the world but is also somehow what connects them. 

Affectionately nicknamed "The Pond" by Great Britain and later America, the Atlantic Ocean facilitated the formation of America and evolution of Europe. Long used even before the 19th century, the nickname, the Pond, connotes some kind of easy and peaceful waterway. In comparison to the Pacific, perhaps this is true. But talk to those who were in the Great Migration or Slave Trade, and this couldn't be further from the truth. Like a pond, the Atlantic seems innocent. But maybe like a duck desperately paddling its feet, the surface doesn't reveal the turmoil beneath,

rooted

and rotted 

into the bedrock, 

waiting 

to be (or not to be?)

discovered

like a story

lost in a sea of words. 

In the next series of posts, we'll uncover this sea. 


https://www.climatecentral.org/news/atlantic-ocean-changes-may-have-been-natural-20367

https://thefactfile.org/atlantic-ocean-facts/


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