The Atlantic waters that enter the Arctic Ocean are important in that they bring a tremendous 

 amount of heat, thanks to which vast areas of the Norwegian, Greenland and Barents Seas are ice- 

 free by the beginning of summer. During the summer, these waters absorb the heat of solar radia- 

 tion in amounts that considerably exceed the heat brought by these waters from the Atlantic. All 

 these tremendous amounts of heat are subsequently released into the atmosphere, which, in turn, 

 transports them basically northward and northeastward, to the mainland and to the arctic ice. Thus, 

 in the Arctic Ocean the three media — air, water and ice — interact on a grandiose scale. 



The water-vapor content of the atmosphere determines its basic properties. Consequently, 

 one might say that in the Arctic Ocean the three phases of water — the gaseous, liquid and solid — 

 interact on a grandiose scale which cannot be repeated an3rwhere else on the earth. 



The water here constantly converts from one phase into another, during which enormous 

 amounts of heat are released or absorbed. Therefore, one cannot approach the study of such an 

 important feature of the arctic as its ice, without considering the interaction of the atmosphere and 

 the ocean. 



UTERATURE: 71, 77, 143, 153. 



