National Geographic Formally Recognizes Earth's 5th Ocean -- the Southern Ocean

[ancianita]

Yay society, catching up with scientists. Glad the name's made official.

Since National Geographic began making maps in 1915, it has recognized four oceans: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Arctic Oceans.

Starting on June 8, World Oceans Day, it will recognize the Southern Ocean as the world's fifth ocean.

"The Southern Ocean has long been recognized by scientists, but because there was never agreement internationally, we never officially recognized it," says National Geographic Society Geographer Alex Tait.

While the other oceans are defined by the continents that fence them in, the Southern Ocean is defined by a current. Scientists estimate that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) was established roughly 34 million years ago, when Antarctica separated from South America. That allowed for the unimpeded flow of water around the bottom of the Earth. The ACC flows from west to east around Antarctica, in a broad fluctuating band roughly centered around a latitude of 60 degrees south -- the line that is now defined as the northern boundary of the Southern Ocean. Inside the ACC, the waters are colder and slightly less salty than ocean waters to the north.

Extending from the surface to the ocean floor, the ACC transports more water than any other ocean current. It pulls in waters from the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, helping drive a global circulation system known as the conveyor belt, which transports heat around the planet. Cold, dense water that sinks to the ocean floor off Antarctica also helps store carbon in the deep ocean. In both those ways, the Southern Ocean has a crucial impact on Earth's climate.

[SergeStorms]

1. Known by sailors for at least a century as....

the "screaming sixties". Waves can reach incredible heights because there's no land mass at that latitude to slow the wind and waves down.

Call it what you will, it's not a place you want to be in any sort of boat, no matter how big.

[brush]

2. Before the Panama Canal during the clipper ship days, going around...

the horn (Cape Horn of South America) was the most feared and harrowing part of any voyage to the West Coast or to China because of the horrible storms/waves encounter on a passage around the horn. Many ships never made it.

One fast clipper called the "Sea Witch" still holds the mono-hulled record from New York to Hong Kong, some 74 days.

[JudyM]

3. Interesting! Thanks for posting this.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

4. First Pluto, now this?

[Hortensis]

6. :) At least Pluto was a very "odd planet out," so the solar system became

tidier and more conforming once excluded. No doubt that just felt right to a lot of people.

But this? An "ocean" shaped like a narrow ring of water bordered by...real oceans? Sounds ready made for political alignments.

"Sounds like more damned socialist plotting. Next they'll be calling it infrastructure and trying to tax us for it."

Well, if we do at least we won't try to build a spite fence around it.

[Shanti Shanti Shanti]

9. A buncha poindexters had to make their mark on some committee, lol

[Grumpy Old Guy]

5. It certainly puts Shackleton's accomplishments...

... in perspective.

Ernest Shackleton navigated the Southern Ocean with two small, open boats to save his crew. It was an astonishing accomplishment.

[pecosbob]

7. Maybe someday they'll discover that their police-centric cable network is garbage

[Klaralven]

8. What happened to the "Seven Seas"

Arctic, Antarctic, Indian, North & South Atlantic, North & South Pacific Oceans?

[Amishman]

10. The original seven seas were the Atlantic, Arabian, Baltic, Black, Mediterranean, North, and Red

now if we can just get two more bodies of water classified as oceans, we can go back to saying the seven seas more. That appeals to my inner pirate.

[Klaralven]

14. Caspian didn't count?

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. National Geographic is not "official", it's just an American non-profit

The most official body for this is the International Hydrographic Organization.

It has a publication "Limits of Oceans and Seas". However, the most recent edition in circulation is the 3rd, from 1953. In that, it said that since there wasn't agreement, it would extend the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans to the Antarctic continent. In 2000, it issued a new edition which did define the Southern Ocean, but then withdrew it (I'm not sure why). But it does now treat the Southern Ocean as the ocean south of 60 degrees south, eg, from 2012:

Report on the International Bathymetric Chart of the Southern Ocean (IBCSO)

For the generation of the IBCSO following grid specifications were defined. The area covered
is south of 60°S the Antarctic Treaty area, the coordinate system is a conformal polar stereo-
graphic projection (metric coordinates) on the WGS84 ellipsoid with true scale at 65°S. Table
2 gives an outline of the grid specifications.

https://legacy.iho.int/mtg_docs/rhc/HCA/HCA12/HCA12-07.3A_IBCSO_Report.pdf

As far as official American bodies go:

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, so this has yet to be ratified by members of the IHO. The U.S. is a member of the IHO, represented by the NOS Office of Coast Survey.

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/howmanyoceans.html

And, from National Geographic's own article:

The U.S. Board on Geographic Names, however, has used the name since 1999. And in February of this year, NOAA officially recognized the Southern Ocean as distinct.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/theres-a-new-ocean-now-can-you-name-all-five-southern-ocean

[ancianita]

15. I hear you. I was being tongue in cheek. Thanks for the added information.

[Hekate]

12. Kicking!

[chriscan64]

13. My sixth grade teacher (in 1977) tried to tell me there were 5 oceans.

She called the the southern one the Antarctic Ocean. I called bullshit, there were 4 according to my 4th grade teacher.