Beaufort Gyre in the Arctic Ocean; the majority of the Arctic's freshwater supply originates from Russian rivers as runoff. The clockwise circulation of the Beaufort Gyre is induced by the wind patterns associated with the permanent anticyclonic high pressure system over the western part of the Arctic. In a clockwise-rotating gyre in the Northern Hemisphere, the Coriolis force causes the ocean water to flow inward toward the gyre's center where it accumulates, effectively forming a dome of water. If the wind patterns shift into a cyclonic circulation due to the residence of a low pressure system (rising air induced by warmer ocean
Ocean area and volume – are defined in part by the continents, various archipelagos, and other criteria. Oceans are fringed by smaller, adjoining bodies of water such as seas, gulfs, bays, bights, and straits. The mid-ocean ridges of the world are connected and form a single global mid-oceanic ridge system that is part of every ocean and the longest mountain range in the world. The continuous mountain range is long (several times longer than the Andes, the longest continental mountain range). The total mass of the hydrosphere is about 1.4 quintillion metric tons ( long tons or short tons), which is