5 Facts to Know About the Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean, located at the planet’s southernmost point, forms a massive ring around Antarctica. Its currents, sometimes referred to as the Antarctic Ocean, flow in enormous spirals around the continent, pushing large amounts of cold water into the other oceans.

1. It was once a part of the Pacific Ocean

People have disagreed about whether or not to distinguish the Southern Ocean from the other bodies of water it touches since James Cook explored the southern latitudes in the 1770s. It has been grouped with the Indian and Atlantic oceans in the past, but most recently with the Pacific Ocean.

2. It is separated from the other oceans by currents rather than continents.

Separating saltwater bodies from one another is a difficult task that is usually accomplished using landmasses: Is there a continent that connects these two oceans? Great! Let’s give them new names! The Southern Ocean, on the other hand, is an outlier because it is not separated from the Indian Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, or Pacific ocean by a continent.

3. It is the world’s second-smallest ocean.

The Southern Ocean is located at the far south end of our planet, hugging the coasts of Antarctica up to 60 degrees south latitude, which means it does not even reach the far southmost point of South America. The Arctic Ocean is the only one that is smaller.

4. When the Antarctic and South American continents separated 30 million years ago, the Southern Ocean was formed.

5. It is home to a distinct and vulnerable ecosystem.

The Southern Ocean is the only place on the planet where you can see the Emperor penguin, Wendell seal, and thousands of other unique organisms. Not only that, but it serves as a feeding ground for animals such as the humpback whale, which migrates to the Southern Ocean each summer to fatten up before returning north.

Despite its remoteness, the Southern Ocean deserves to be recognized. Climate scientists have pushed for the Southern Ocean to be included on our maps because it is a hotspot in the climate crisis — two of the largest icebergs ever recorded broke off the continent in 2021 alone. Not only that, but industrial fishing pressure in the area on krill and Patagonian toothfish (which you order in restaurants as Chilean sea bass) has made it even more important to highlight and preserve this vulnerable area of the world.