Changes

{{Cquote|A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which, in turn, allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization delimited the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty region and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/print_oo.html Southern Ocean]</ref>}}

{{Cquote|A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which, in turn, allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization delimited the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty region and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.<ref>[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/print_oo.html Southern Ocean]</ref>}}

According to Encyclopedia Britanica:

According to ''Encyclopedia Britannica'':

{{Cquote|The structure of the ocean floor includes a continental shelf usually less than 160 miles (about 260 km) wide that attains its maximum width of more than 1,600 miles (2,600 km) in the vicinity of the Weddell and Ross seas. There are oceanic basins farther north that are as much as 14,800 feet (4,500 metres) deep, defined by oceanic rises and often marked by ranges of abyssal hills. There are also narrow oceanic trenches with high relief, such as the South Sandwich Trench on the eastern side of the South Sandwich Islands. Other relief features include oceanic plateaus that rise from the oceanic basins to depths of less than 6,650 feet (2,000 metres) below sea level and form rather flat regions, which are often covered by relatively thick sedimentary deposits. The most extensive such plateau is the Campbell, or New Zealand, Plateau, which rises southeast of New Zealand and extends southward beyond the Campbell Islands.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Southern-Ocean Southern Ocean]</ref>}}

{{Cquote|The structure of the ocean floor includes a continental shelf usually less than 160 miles (about 260 km) wide that attains its maximum width of more than 1,600 miles (2,600 km) in the vicinity of the Weddell and Ross seas. There are oceanic basins farther north that are as much as 14,800 feet (4,500 metres) deep, defined by oceanic rises and often marked by ranges of abyssal hills. There are also narrow oceanic trenches with high relief, such as the South Sandwich Trench on the eastern side of the South Sandwich Islands. Other relief features include oceanic plateaus that rise from the oceanic basins to depths of less than 6,650 feet (2,000 metres) below sea level and form rather flat regions, which are often covered by relatively thick sedimentary deposits. The most extensive such plateau is the Campbell, or New Zealand, Plateau, which rises southeast of New Zealand and extends southward beyond the Campbell Islands.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/place/Southern-Ocean Southern Ocean]</ref>}}

[[File:Gentoo penguin 1.jpg|thumbnail|200px|[[Penguin]] ]]

[[File:Gentoo penguin 1.jpg|thumbnail|200px|[[Penguin]] ]]

== History of exploration ==

== History of exploration ==

{{Cquote|Bartolomeo Diaz was the first known explorer to have reached the Southern Ocean, when he circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. In 1770, Captain [[James Cook]] searched for land in the Southern Ocean but found none, but discovered the prize of Botany Bay, Australia instead. In 1819, land was first sighted in the Antarctic Circle and it took until 1911 for the first person, Roald Amundsen, to reach the South Pole.<ref>[https://www.hurtigruten.com/destinations/antarctica/inspiration/sailing-the-southern-ocean/ Sailing the Southern Ocean]</ref>}}

{{Cquote|Bartolomeo Diaz was the first known explorer to have reached the Southern Ocean, when he circumnavigated the Cape of Good Hope in 1487. In 1770, Captain [[James Cook]] searched for land in the Southern Ocean but found none, but discovered the prize of Botany Bay, Australia instead. In 1819, land was first sighted in the Antarctic Circle and it took until 1911 for the first person, Roald Amundsen, to reach the South Pole.<ref>[https://www.hurtigruten.com/destinations/antarctica/inspiration/sailing-the-southern-ocean/ Sailing the Southern Ocean]</ref>}}