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3 days ago · Antarctica, the world’s southernmost continent, is almost wholly covered by an ice sheet and is about 5.5 million square miles (14.2 million square km) in size. ... along beneath. The southernmost parts of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans meet the Southern (or Antarctic) Ocean, the cold oceanic water mass below 60° S with unique ...
The Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean) is one of the five great ocean basins on Earth. It was formed around 34 million years ago when Antarctica and South America drifted apart, creating the Drake Passage. This makes it the youngest ocean basin on earth. Today, it is the only ocean that flows around the globe uninterrupted by land, encircling Antarctica like a moat.
The Antarctic Convergence is an invisible climate boundary in the ocean between the Antarctic region and the rest of the ocean, where warm and cold water meet. Since it arose around 20 million years ago, there has been very little exchange of marine life across the convergence.
The waters surrounding Antarctica are a key part of the “ ocean conveyor belt,” a global system in which water circulates around the globe based on density and on currents. The cold waters surrounding Antarctica, known as the Antarctic Bottom Water, are so dense that they push against the ocean floor. The Antarctic Bottom Water causes ...
Dec 6, 2020 · The link is the Antarctic Circumpolar Current – the largest ocean current on the planet. It carries more than 100 times the flow of all the rivers on Earth and transports enough water to fill ...
The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau, and other island territories located on the Antarctic Plate or south of the Antarctic Convergence. The Antarctic region includes the ice shelves , waters, and all the island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence , a zone ...
Jun 11, 2021 · National Geographic has recognized the Southern Ocean as the fifth official ocean. The cartographic update doesn't surprise researchers who study the importance of the waters surrounding Antarctica.
