Last Tuesday (8), exactly on World Oceans Day, the US National Geographic Society cartographers decided to present planet Earth with another ocean by adding the Southern Ocean, which surrounds Antarctica, to its four "brothers" older Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic.
According to Seth Sykora-Bodie, a marine scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), while it's hard to explain what's different about the region, “everyone will agree that the glaciers are bluer, the air cooler, the mountains more intimidating and the landscapes more captivating than anywhere else you can go,” he told National Geographic.om another ocean by adding the Southern Ocean, which encircles Antarctica, to its four older “brothers” Atlantic, Pacific , Indian and Arctic.
NOAA's official geographer Alex Tait also spoke to the NatGeo website, explaining that official recognition just didn't happen before because “there was never an international agreement”. “It's kind of a geographic geek in some ways,” he summed up. But as of June 8, 2021, the nerd is over: the Southern Ocean is officially the fifth ocean on Earth.
Although the difference between sea and ocean is clear, the size, it is still difficult to say exactly what an ocean is, other than to repeat that they are more extensive liquid masses (the smallest of them is 73 million square kilometers) and deeper. The Spanish navigator Vasco Nuñez de Balboa already recognized, in the beginning of the 16th century, that those waters at the bottom of the world were the "Antarctic Ocean".
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Yes, I think so. The Southern Ocean has very different properties and circulation that are separate from the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans.
According to classical geography, ocean is each of the four great extensions of salt water that is understood by the Atlantic (it is located between Europe, the Americas and Africa), the Pacific (which bathes the Americas, Asia and Australia), the Indian Ocean (bounded by South Asia, the east coast of Africa and Australia), and the Arctic Ocean at the North Pole, surrounded by Russia, Canada and other countries. These four oceans are partially bounded by continents and islands. While the Southern Ocean is not well delimited by land masses. It is an extension of the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Jaclyn Clement Kinney Aref Wazwaz Esteban Rodríguez Torres
Thanks for the answers dear doctors.
https://api.nationalgeographic.com/distribution/public/amp/environment/article/theres-a-new-ocean-now-can-you-name-all-five-southern-ocean
Faraed Salman Raed Rahim Khuder Thanks for the answers dear doctors.
Interesting development from an interesting group of cartographers. They have a good point, but it is a just a group of people thinking in that direction.
I had a run-in with NG years ago when I pointed to them that their religion statistics reported on their maps may not be accurate or true (with reference to Turkey). They rejected my point nevertheless, because they thought that way at the time.
Other groups have different opinions. Is Pluto a planet or a minor planet? Many opinions and good discussions. Many people learn about science from such activities.
Scientists have used that name for many decades. The name has no significance in any scientific sense, though. Nor do words like "Atlantic Ocean", etc. There is no sense in which any place name is 'correct', because the names have no significance beyond convention.
@Dan E Kelley, The division of Earth into continents and oceans is scientific. Before the first space probes, there was no correct idea of what the surface of our planet was like. With new technologies, it was possible to visualize and precisely define the dimensions of continents and oceans. This is science, it's not a mere idea. Therefore, dividing the earth into 4 or 5 oceans is scientific, based on observation of space photographs of the earth's surface. It is not an imagination of the human mind.
Very interesting and important topic
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Thank you for your interest doctor Lamia Mustafa Al-Naama
Good question! but it is out of my field.
we follow to learn from experts. Good luck!
Thank you for your interest doctors, Shaker A.N. Al-Jadaan Nesreen Mohamed El-Said.
National Geographic decided to designate Antarctic waters as a separate ocean (and not just the southern Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans) to draw attention to these waters and contribute to their conservation.
Dear Dr. Hadeel Hassan Yuriy Kotlyar thank you for the clarification.
I fully agree and support the opinion of our distinguished colleague Marcelo Araujo da Nóbrega. Thanks!
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