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How is the Southern Ocean defined?
Southern Ocean, also called Antarctic Ocean, body of salt water covering approximately one-sixteenth of Earth’s total ocean area. The Southern Ocean is made up of the portions of the world ocean south of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans and their tributary seas surrounding Antarctica below 60° S.
How do the Arctic and Southern oceans differ from the other oceans?
The oceans that are in the polar regions are a bit different from other oceans on Earth. There is often sea ice at their surface, especially during the winter months. And those chilly waters are home to some unique marine life. Seawater from polar regions can be denser than seawater from other places.
How big is the Southern Ocean?
7.849 million mi²
Southern Ocean/Area
Which ocean is larger than the Southern Ocean?
The Pacific Ocean is the largest body of water on Earth. Located between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the landmasses of the Western Hemisphere, the Pacific Ocean contains almost twice as much water as the world’s second largest body of water, the Atlantic Ocean.
What is different about the Southern Ocean?
But what makes the Southern Ocean different from the others is that rather than being largely defined by the land that surrounds it, this body of water is unique because of a current that lies within. The ocean also serves as a vital component of Earth’s changing climate.
Is the Southern Ocean considered an ocean?
There is only one global ocean. Historically, there are four named oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic. However, most countries – including the United States – now recognize the Southern (Antarctic) as the fifth ocean. The Southern Ocean is the ‘newest’ named ocean.
What is the difference between an ocean and a sea?
In terms of geography, seas are smaller than oceans and are usually located where the land and ocean meet. Typically, seas are partially enclosed by land. Seas are found on the margins of the ocean and are partially enclosed by land. Here, you can see that the Bering Sea is part of the Pacific Ocean.
Is the Southern Ocean the smallest ocean?
As such, it is regarded as the second-smallest of the five principal oceanic divisions: smaller than the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans but larger than the Arctic Ocean. This oceanic zone is where cold, northward flowing waters from the Antarctic mix with warmer Subantarctic waters.
What makes the Southern Ocean unique?
As described in National Geographic by NOAA marine scientist Seth Sykora-Bodie, the Southern Ocean is unique in that “the glaciers are bluer, the air colder, the mountains more intimidating and the landscapes more captivating than anywhere else you can go.”
What is the 4th biggest ocean?
The Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean is the world’s fourth-largest body of water. It encircles Antarctica and is actually divided among the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans.
Is the Southern Ocean new?
The Southern Ocean is the ‘newest’ named ocean. It is recognized by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names as the body of water extending from the coast of Antarctica to the line of latitude at 60 degrees South. The boundaries of this ocean were proposed to the International Hydrographic Organization in 2000.
Is the Southern Ocean in the limits of oceans and seas?
The Southern Ocean did not appear in the 1953 third edition of Limits of Oceans and Seas, a note in the publication read:
Which is the fourth largest ocean in the world?
The Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world’s five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean).
Is the Southern Ocean bigger than the Arctic?
There are some debates regarding the actual size of the Southern Ocean as governments across the world do not unanimously agree on where the other oceans end and the Southern begins. Located in the north polar region, the Arctic is the smallest of all five oceans, making up only 4.3 percent of the global ocean.
What is the fifth and newest ocean in the world?
Updated April 09, 2018. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization created the fifth and newest world ocean – the Southern Ocean – from the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WyWTOstxOQ