Britannica Sources used in this answer

What are the two main deep basins of the Arctic Ocean?

Created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

The Arctic Ocean is not a single, uniform basin; rather, it is divided into two principal deep basins by the Lomonosov Ridge, a massive submarine mountain range.1

These two main basins are:

Eurasia Basin: Located on the European side of the Lomonosov Ridge.1
Amerasia Basin: Located on the American side of the Lomonosov Ridge.1

While historical beliefs once characterized the Arctic as a single basin, modern exploration has revealed this complex topography, with these two primary basins further subdivided into four smaller subbasins by additional submarine ridges.1