Southern Ocean

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. However, not all countries agree on the proposed boundaries

Southern Ocean

Borders,sides

Properties of water,currents

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 Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian are known as the three major oceans.

The Southern Ocean is located in the Southern hemisphere south of 60 degrees South latitude and surrounds Antarctica. The area of the ocean of 76.2 million km ², the largest measured depth of 8428 m (Southern Sandvichev the trench).

Salinity-34-34,2 per mil

Clarity-average

current-circumpolar current

The organic world of ocean

Georaphical location

phytoplankton,diatomovy seaweed,Blue-green seaweed,zooplankton,krill, numerous sponges and erinaceouses, there are representatives of several families of fishes.From birds petrels, skua gulls, penguins Whales and seals live

The Antarctic Ocean lies in the farthest edge of the Southern Hemisphere, and is consequently severely impacted by the sun's seasonal influence.

The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.

Adelaide peninsula,Brabant,Zhuenvil, Karney,Koroneyshen,Liege,Paulet ,Signi

The Southern ocean was formed about 30 million years ago when South America has separated from Antarctica, having formed Drake Strait.

АFeatures of a relief of ocean floor

This ocean is predominantly deep water, averaging 4,000-5,000external link m deep, and includes the Antarctic continental shelf, an unusually deep and narrow area with an edge of 400-800external link m deep (over 270-670external link m deeper than average). The lowest point is 7,235external link m deep at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench. There is a seven-fold increase in the size of the Antarctic ice pack between March and September (though this is also changing due to global warming), ranging from 2,600,000 km² to 18,800,000 km². The world's largest ocean current, the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000external link km in length) moves perpetually eastward here and transports 130,000,000 m³ of water per second—100 times the flow of all the world's rivers combined.

A bit of history on the Antactic Ocean and Antarctica

Problems

Facts

The Southern Ocean was originally explored because of a belief in a continent that balanced the northern continents, called a Terra Australis.

The Southern Ocean encompasses the South Pole.

During winter half of the Southern Ocean is covered in icebergs and ice. Some of the ice and icebergs break off of the Antarctic ice sheet and float in the waters of the Southern Ocean.

The world's largest penguin species the emperor penguin lives on the ice of the Southern Ocean and on the Antarctica continent.

Wandering albatrosses also make the Southern Ocean their home.

Tourists

Antarctica is home to 90% of the world's ice. This continent contained within the Southern Ocean's boundaries is the windiest, driest and coldest continent in the world.

The first known explorers who came in contact with the cold waters of the Southern Ocean were Bartolomeo Diaz who circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa in 1487 and Ferdinand Magellan who explored the Tierra del Fuego in South America in 1520. Captain James Cook searched for land in the Southern Ocean but never sighted Antarctica, he landed in Botany Bay/Australia in 1770 instead. He, however, crossed the Antarctic circle and reached as far as 71 degrees South latitude in 1773.

In 1819, for the first time land was sighted south of 60 degrees South latitude. Only in the 19th century Antarctica was discovered and explored during various expeditions. Sir Ernest Shakelton's expedition was the first attempt to cross Antarctica on land, but they only managed to reach 88 degrees South latitude. Roald Amundsen was the first to reach the South Pole in 1911.

To the southern ocean gets from global warming of climate, and interest in sea bioresources and minerals in the region increases. Global warming negatively influences population of penguins in Antarctic: their number since 1975 has decreased more than by 80 percent. And population of penguins of Adele in some regions has decreased by 6 times. Scientists declare that human activity leads to mass acidulation of water of the ocean, and it harms fishes and invertebrates. So, corals, mollusks and other marine organisms, now with great difficulty build the exoskeletons and sinks: they are made of a carbonate of calcium which collapses in the environment with the increased acidity.

Economic use of ocean

The Southern Ocean is used to catch fishes and other living things

Also there can there are tourists.There are no indigenous people on Antarctica. On the coldest continent there are only research stations from various countries, but these researchers, scientists and explorers and their families work and live there only for a limited time. There are only two settlements on Antarctica, where there are people living and working all year round. These settlements are small, with less than 100 people in winter.

Climate

Sea temperatures vary from about −2 to 10 °C (28 to 50 °F). Cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently become intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean. The ocean-area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth.[66] In winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius. At some coastal points, however, persistent intense drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter.