We discuss the experimental data on the spectral transmission of the atmosphere along horizontal and vertical paths measured in some regions of the Atlantic during the 40th passage of the research vessel Akademik Vernadskii. The statistical characteristics of the variability of the visibility range and the optical thickness of aerosol in the marine atmosphere are studied in the spectral range 0.4–1.06 μm. It is shown that the investigated regions of the Atlantic ocean can be divided into three specific districts which differ in the statistical properties of the above–mentioned parameters.