O OAntarctic Glacier Ocean or Osouthern ocean is a body of water located below the Antarctic Circle (60º S) and completely circles the Antarctic continent. It covers an area of almost 22 million km², being the fourth ocean in volume and extension.
It is made up of a deep continental shelf and large icebergs, in addition to having a wide biodiversity formed by many species adapted to cold waters. ANDAmong the problems it faces today isto the the global warming and the consequent shrinkage of its frozen areas.
Read too: What is the difference between sea and ocean?
Topics of this article
- 1 - What are the characteristics of the Antarctic Glacial Ocean?
- 2 - Geography of the Antarctic Glacial Ocean
- 3 - What is the importance of the Antarctic Glacial Ocean?
- 4 - Continents and countries bathed by the Antarctic Glacial Ocean
- 5 - Curiosities about the Antarctic Glacier Ocean
What are the characteristics of the Antarctic Glacial Ocean?
The Antarctic Glacial Ocean, which can also be called the Southern Ocean due to its position, is located below the parallel of 60º S, which corresponds to the Antarctic Circle, and
spans the western and eastern hemispheres. It comprises the southern waters of the oceans Pacific, Indian and Atlantic, surrounding the cold lands of the Antarctic continent.Its surface area is 21.96 million km², thus being the larger room in extension. With regard to volume, it holds a total of 71.8 million km³ of water, also ranking fourth among the five subdivisions of the terrestrial ocean. The average depth of OAntarctic ocean is 3270 meters, and its deepest point is between the parallels of 60º S and 24º W, in the South Sandwich Trench, close to the islands of the same name, 7343 meters below the oceanic surface.
The subdivision of the Southern Ocean is given by 14 seas and two straits, which we list below. The largest of these is the Weddell Sea, which occupies an area of 2.8 million km², followed by the Somov Sea, with 1.15 million km².
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seas
weddell sea
Sea of King Haakon VII
sea of lazarev
Riiser-Larsen Sea
sea of cosmonauts
Sea of Cooperation
Davis Sea
mawson sea
Sea of d'Urville
Sea of Somov
Ross Sea
Amudsen Sea
Bellingshausen Sea
Part of the Scotia Sea
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narrow
- Drake Passage, approximately 1,000 km long, located between the southern tip of South America and the Antarctic Peninsula;
Bransfield Strait, about 300 km separating the South Shetland Islands from the Antarctic Peninsula.
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Geography of the Antarctic Glacier Ocean
The Antarctic Glacier Ocean is fully inserted in the Southern Hemisphere, at the southern end of this region of the Earth. Its surface completely bathes the continent TheAntarctic, where did its name come from. Thus, it presents Surface temperatures ranging from 10°C to -2°C, influenced by the occurrence of climate Polar and by currents of warmer waters originating in the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. The transition between these oceans and the Austral takes place in a band called the Antarctic Convergence.
At certain times of the year, frozen areas can reach almost 82% of the entire ocean surface. In months when temperatures are higher, this percentage drops to 11.8%, equivalent to 2.6 million km². The breakup of part of these icy formations gives rise to large icebergs, which float on the ocean surface.
It should be noted that the Antarctic continental shelf has a depth that varies between 400 m and 800 m, a value three to six times greater than the average found in other locations. The ocean floor is formed by few shallow areas, with most of the terrain at depths of four to five thousand meters.
See too: What is an oceanic ridge?
What is the importance of the Antarctic Glacial Ocean?
A economic exploitation of the Antarctic Glacier began at the beginning of the 20th century, led by the seal and whale hunters (in search of raw material for the production of oils, animal feed and meat) intended mainly for livestock, but, in certain quantities, also for human consumption.
Although this predatory activity is highly harmful to the environmental balance and the preservation of species Although it was banned in 1986, fishing for different purposes and not restricted to food continued until the end of gift. Among the most targeted species are krill (which resembles a shrimp) and toothfish.
O tourism It is of great importance for the region and, a few years ago (2014-2016), recorded a flow of more than 30,000 people per year.
It is believed that the existence of natural resources also cover the existence of reserves Petroleum It is natural gas close to the continental shelf, as well as other minerals, such as manganese, and deposits originating from marine currents.
The marine ecosystem of the Southern Ocean is extremely rich and diverse., differing from the Arctic Ocean notably by the number of species. In the south, one finds a wide variety of unique animals that have adaptations to cold waters as well as rare species. Highlights:
Blue Whale;
birds like albatrosses;
penguins;
seals;
squid;
krills;
wide range of plankton, molluscs, crustaceans, sponges;
sea spiders;
corals;
fish non-osseous;
new species are constantly found.
Continents and countries bathed by the Antarctic Glacier Ocean
The waters of the Antarctic Glacial Ocean bathe:
in full, Antarctica
the south end of South America and the Africa
a portion of Oceania
In total, this body of water bathes 17,968 km of coastline.
In the Antarctic Convergence, the following islands are bathed by the Austral (listed according to the territory that claims them):
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UK:
South Orkney Islands
south shetland islands
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
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Norway:
Peter I Islands
Bouvet Islands
Australia: Heard Islands and McDonald's
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New Zealand:
Balleny Islands
Scott Islands
In addition to these, other islands and islets located below the parallel of 60º S are surrounded by the waters of the Antarctic Glacial Ocean. We list the names of the top 30 of them in this table:
Alexander |
anvers |
latedy |
berkener |
Joinville |
Renaud |
Thurston |
charcot |
masson |
Carney |
King George |
Elephant |
roosvelt |
Mill |
Rothschild |
Simple |
sherman |
hearst |
Adelaide |
smyley |
Dean |
spaatz |
Brabant |
D'Urville |
James Ross |
livingston |
Coronation |
ross |
grant |
Sturge |
Facts about the Antarctic Glacier Ocean
There was a lot of difficulty in establishing the limits of the Southern Ocean, which did not occur until the early 2000s, when a draft of the fourth edition of the document “Limits of the Seas and Oceans” of the International Hydrographic Organization was produced (OHI).
The convection currents that form near the Antarctic Convergence promote the rise of water warmer and, therefore, bring nutrients that were at the bottom of the oceans to more superficial. This favors the occurrence of a greater biodiversity in these areas.
The main environmental problems faced today by this ocean are the global warming and consequent melting of its ice shelves, the process of acidification of its waters by the greater capture of CO2 atmosphere, and increasing commercial exploitation.
The extensive areas covered by ice help enormously in the reflection of solar rays and, thus, in regulating the planet's climate.
The Antarctic Ocean has a high index of ecosystem productivity, greater than in areas where waters with higher temperatures predominate.
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography Teacher
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