So far people on our planet know of four large water bodies
which we know as the Oceans. The Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic oceans.
But there is one more which is unheard of by most of us except the scientists
who knew about it for a long time.
This is not the first time that the Southern Ocean is taken
into consideration. "The Southern Ocean has long been recognized by
scientists, but because there was never agreement internationally, we never
officially recognized it," Alex Tait, the society's geographer said.
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) had
recognized the Southern Ocean in 1937. But later on, they repealed that status
in 1953.
Where is the Southern Ocean

The Southern
Ocean marked by the red area on the map
Credit:
Matthew W. Chwastyk and Greg Ugiansky, NG Staff
Sources:
NASA/JPL; IHO

The Southern
Ocean marked by the red area on the map
Credit:
Matthew W. Chwastyk and Greg Ugiansky, NG Staff
Sources:
NASA/JPL; IHO
NG Society recognizes the Southern Ocean as a water body surrounding Antarctica out to 60° South latitude. The Scotia Sea and the Drake Passage at the tail end of South America are excluded from that region.
It shaped up when Antarctica and
South America separated. This unfolded the Drake Passage approximately 34
million years ago. That makes it the youngest ocean geologically.
There are quite a few differences
between the Southern Ocean and the other ones. The northern boundary, the
largest of the Southern Ocean does not connect with any land. Its northern
limit is with the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. This making it the only
ocean which links with the other three oceans.
The four oceans we know of are all
recognized by the continents that surround them. But the Southern Ocean defines
itself by a current.
Identified by a current
![]() |
ACC closing
upon itself in a circumpolar loop Source: Andrew
Thompson, Caltech |
Antarctic Circumpolar Current
(ACC) came into existence with the birth of the Southern Ocean when Antarctica
and South America split up. This made the flow of water around the bottom of
the earth unrestricted. It flows clockwise (when seen from the South Pole) from
west to east around Antarctica.
The ACC transports more water than
any other ocean current in the world. It pulls in water from the Atlantic, Pacific,
and Indian oceans to help drive a global ‘conveyor belt ' system that transfers
heat around the globe.
Water in most of the Southern
Ocean is much colder and a bit less salty than other oceans in the north of the
planet. Cold, dense water that falls to the floor of Antarctica helps in storing carbon in the deep ocean.
Preserving the ocean
“Anyone who has been there will
struggle to explain what's so mesmerizing about it, but they'll all agree that
the glaciers are bluer, the air colder, the mountains more intimidating, and
the landscapes more captivating than anywhere else you can go,” says Seth
Sykora-Bodie, a marine scientist and a National Geographic Explorer.
National Geographic has taken this
step to spread awareness about preserving the oceans. They are under threat
because of the drastic impact of human activities in the marine world.
The Southern Ocean is home to
thousands of marine species that are found there only on the whole planet.
Fishing of Krill and Patagonian toothfish near Antarctica for industrial
purposes has been a concern for a long time.
To counter this, catch limits were imposed in the region in 1982. In 2016, as a part of this initiative, the Ross sea of West Antarctica was entrenched as a marine protected area (MPA). It is the largest MPA in the world.
Global acceptance
With this recognition by National
Geographic, the Southern Ocean has gained a lot of popularity to be officially
established as the fifth ocean. Still, the member nations of IHO have not voted
to add one more ocean to the tally of four pre-existing.
Most of the school texts around
the world will not have a mention of a fifth ocean till it is approved by all
countries. This will keep the students away from learning about a huge part of
the earth. Including the fifth ocean in the studies will spread awareness at
the quickest. This can be the easiest way we can help preserve a valuable part
of the planet.