The Southern Ocean is the body of water encircling Antarctica, generally bounded at 60 degrees south latitude and defined less by coastlines than by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the powerful eastward flow that isolates Antarctic waters from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans to its north. The United States Board on Geographic Names and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration formally recognized it as the world's fifth ocean in 2021, though older atlases folded its waters into the southern reaches of its three neighbors, and some scientific bodies still treat the boundary as a convention rather than a natural one.
Facts
Area (sq km) Maximum Depth (m)South Sandwich Trench, the ocean's deepest known point. Connections
Associated With
Source Antarctica (Wikipedia)
The Ross Sea is a marginal sea of the Southern Ocean, indenting the Antarctic coastline between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.
Source Ross Sea (Wikipedia)
The Twelve Apostles were eroded by the harsh conditions of the Southern Ocean.
Source The Twelve Apostles (Wikipedia)
This source names United States directly: "The United States Board on Geographic Names and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration formally recognized it as the world's fifth ocean in 2021, though older atlases folded its waters..."
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Demonstrates
Carries the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the strongest and most textbook example of wind- and density-driven ocean circulation.
Source National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
In the Other Atlases
Found There
Also in Earth and Environment Atlas: found in this subject.
Source South Orkney Islands (Wikipedia)Quote
The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean
Also in Nature Atlas: found in this subject.
Source Animal Diversity Web: HydrozoaGeographic Range: "Hydrozoans are found in all the oceans, at all l"Quote, Geographic Range: "Hydrozoans are found in all the oceans, at all l"
Hydrozoans are found in all the oceans, at all latitudes.
Sources
1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Wikidata: The Southern Ocean
Wikidata Q7354, label and description confirmed against the entity (w-fix-wikititles2-1002)View the Source Ross Sea (Wikipedia)
Antarctica (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: Antarctica, Geography section, openingQuote, Associated With: Antarctica, Geography section, opening
Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole.
The Twelve Apostles (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationAssociated With: The Twelve Apostles, Lead section, formationQuote, Associated With: The Twelve Apostles, Lead section, formation
The harsh and extreme weather conditions from the Southern Ocean gradually eroded the soft limestone to form caves in the cliffs.
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