Earth has 5 Oceans Now- It's official! Welcome: Southern Ocean

 As someone who has worked in Earth sciences for decades, and reported on scientific findings around the globe, and meteorology and climatology, it's not surprise that the Southern Ocean was finally, officially named. That just happened in mid-June. It's one of the world's five oceans. The others are: Indian, Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic. It makes sense to have a southern ocean, since we have an Arctic (northern) ocean.  An Ocean is defined as "a very large expanse of sea, in particular each of the main areas into which the sea is divided geographically." Here's the story: 

Earth's fifth ocean just confirmed By Tom Metcalfe - Live Science Contributor

The Earth has finally attained popular recognition for its fifth ocean, with a decision by the National Geographic Society to add the Southern Ocean around Antarctica to the four it recognizes already: the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans.

Although the designation of the frigid waters around the icy southern continent as a separate ocean has kicked around for almost 100 years and is widely used by scientists, until now it has not had popular backing.

But on June 8 — World Oceans Day — the society announced it would henceforth be labeling the Southern Ocean as the fifth ocean on its maps of our planet.

(Image: A general delineation of the Antarctic Convergence, sometimes used by scientists as the demarcation of the Southern Ocean Credit: Wikipedia)

 

"The Southern Ocean has long been recognized by scientists, but because there was never agreement internationally, we never officially recognized it," the society's official geographer Alex Tait told the National Geographic website. "It's sort of geographic nerdiness in some ways."

One of the biggest impacts would be on education, he said: "Students learn information about the ocean world through what oceans you're studying. If you don't include the Southern Ocean, then you don't learn the specifics of it and how important it is."

National Geographic began making maps in 1915, but the society had only formally recognized just four oceans, which they defined by the continents that bordered them.

In contrast, the Southern Ocean is defined not by the continents that surround it, but by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) that flows from west to east. Scientists think the ACC was created 34 million years ago when the continent of Antarctica separated from South America, allowing water to flow unimpeded around the "bottom" of the world. 

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