Discovery of an Ocean?
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Geographers, cartographers and atlas
companies have long struggled with decisions about place names. When a place
name is increasingly being used, but is
not universally accepted, atlas companies
must decide when to begin using it in their
publications. A perfect example of a debated place name is “Southern Ocean,” long
known to sailors, but recently in the news
when a Japanese whaling ship disabled by
fire became stranded near Antarctica.
There are four oceans about which everyone agrees: the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian
and Pacific. It is unclear exactly where the
southern limits of the Atlantic, Pacific and
Indian oceans are located. Some would say
these three oceans extend to Antarctica.
Others, however, say that the ocean encircling Antarctica has a distinctive physical geography distinguishing it from the
other oceans of the world. Since there is no
natural boundary delimiting it, there has
been continued discussion about whether
a name should be officially assigned to it.
Up until 2000, most of the distinction of
the Southern Ocean came from sailors and
whalers, who recognized many years ago
the much different character of the ocean
that surrounds Antarctica.
In 2000, the International Hydrographic
Organization (IHO) recognized the Southern Ocean as a distinctly separate ocean.
Of the 68 non-landlocked countries with
membership in the IHO, however, only 28
responded to a request from IHO headquarters to designate a new ocean. Twenty-seven agreed it should have a separate ocean
designation, with only Argentina voting
against recognition. Only nineteen of the
68 IHO countries, however, recommended
naming it the Southern Ocean. Based on
this very limited participation, the IHO
approved the designation, although some
countries, including the United States, do
not recognize it as a separate ocean. The
weak participation and the lack of support
by the United States government leaves
the decision somewhat in limbo.
Nonetheless, under the new IHO crite-
Oc
A SOUTHERN
OCEAN?
Storms over the Southern Ocean can
be extremely dangerous and life threatening. Hurricane force winds are common,
with sleet, snow and freezing rain driven
horizontally by the wind. The world’s
sailors often get into trouble as they risk
the dangers of heavy storms while taking
a short cut around Antarctica to reduce
the distance to circumnavigate the earth.
Combined with the near freezing water
temperatures of the ocean near Antarctica,
even minor accidents disabling a vessel
can be deadly.
The IHO designation certainly does not
end the debate about the naming of the
Southern Ocean. The fact that the Southern Ocean has arbitrary boundaries means
that some will refuse to recognize it as the
world’s fifth ocean and the fourth largest.
Some companies choose to designate
“Southern Ocean” in their atlases, as it is
gradually becoming recognized as a separate ocean. Universal acceptance of any
new place name of something as large as
an ocean, however, is a slow process.
And that is Geography in the News™.
March 9, 2007. #875.
(Neal Lineback is a Professor Emeritus of
Geography at Appalachian State University,
Boone, NC. University News Director Jane
Nicholson serves as technical editor.)
ian
Neal G.
Lineback
ria, the Southern Ocean officially extends
from the Antarctic ice and landmass northward to 60 degrees south latitude around
the continent. This line does not cross any
landmass and avoids most territorial conflicts that might arise outside the continent
of Antarctica.
There are three very distinctive characteristics within the Southern Ocean. There
is no landmass in the Southern Ocean
that can deflect the wind or reduce wind
speeds at this latitude, thus creating some
of the world’s highest sustained wind velocities. Because the source of ocean waves
is almost totally driven by wind, these
sustained winds create enormously turbulent seas. And the cold seas that surround
Antarctica are ideal for abundant sea life,
such as krill and small fish, on which other
larger animals, such as whales and penguins, feed.
The IHO’s Southern Ocean contains 7.8
million square miles (20.2 sq. km), making
it twice the size of the United States. The
Antarctic Circumpolar Current, also called
the West Wind Drift, encircles the Antarctic
continent from west to east and helps complete the world’s ocean circulations. This
is one of the world’s largest ocean currents
whose movement of water is 100 times
greater than all of the world’s rivers.
Ind
Geography
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©2007
R. Huerta
Geography in the News 3/09/07
Sources: http://geography.about.com/od/learnabouttheearth/a/fifthocean.htm and
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
©2007 Maps.com