According to the National Geographic Society, Earth now has a new ocean: the Southern Ocean.
Geographers have debated whether the waters around Antarctica had enough unique characteristics to deserve their own name, or whether they were simply cold, southern extensions of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
With a range stretching the circumference of Antarctica to the 60-degrees South latitudinal line, the Southern Ocean “encompasses unique and fragile marine ecosystems that are home to wonderful marine life such as whales, penguins, and seals,” explains National Geographic’s Enric Sala. The region includes such creatures as migrating humpback whales and many different seabirds.
Many oceanographers and other scientists have referred to the area as the Southern Ocean for years, with the US Board on Geographic Names having designated the separate region as such over two decades ago. The National Geographic Society’s new designation will hopefully raise awareness to conservation efforts in the region.
Scientists are currently studying how human-driven climate change is altering the Southern Ocean. Ocean water moving through its current is warming, but it is unclear how much this is impacting Antarctica.
