The
Southern OceanThe Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60° S latitude. The International Hydrographic Organization has designated the Southern Ocean as an oceanic division encircling...
is defined by Australia as all the ocean south of Australia, extending to
Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
. Other countries describe some of that water as either the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
or
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
, with the Southern Ocean only the part closest to Antarctica (ie south of
60°SThe 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. The latitudes below this parallel are often referred to as the Screaming 60's due to the prevailing, high-speed, westerly winds which can generate large waves in excess of 50 feet and peak wind...
latitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
).
Australia defines the open waters south of the continent as the
Southern Ocean. Both
Geoscience AustraliaGeoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian federal government. It carries out geoscientific research.On a user pays basis it produces geospatial products such as topographic maps and satellite imagery.It has a free and its can be freely accessed....
and the
Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic ServiceThe Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service is the agency of the Australian Commonwealth Government responsible for the mapping and surveying of undersea terrain and irregularities on and under the water's surface . It is primarily operated by the Royal Australian Navy, and makes up one of the...
online gazetteers represent the Southern Ocean close to the mainland.
Since 2000, the
International Hydrographic OrganizationThe International Hydrographic Organization was originally established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau . The present name was adopted in 1970 as a result of a revised international agreement among member nations...
(IHO) has defined the "Southern Ocean" as those waters surrounding
Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
south of the
60° SThe 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. The latitudes below this parallel are often referred to as the Screaming 60's due to the prevailing, high-speed, westerly winds which can generate large waves in excess of 50 feet and peak wind...
circle of latitudeA circle of latitude, on the Earth, is an imaginary east-west circle connecting all locations that share a given latitude. A location's position along a circle of latitude is given by its longitude....
, and this definition is widely applied to the name.
Discussion
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The
Southern OceanThe Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60° S latitude. The International Hydrographic Organization has designated the Southern Ocean as an oceanic division encircling...
is defined by Australia as all the ocean south of Australia, extending to
Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
. Other countries describe some of that water as either the
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
or
Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
, with the Southern Ocean only the part closest to Antarctica (ie south of
60°SThe 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. The latitudes below this parallel are often referred to as the Screaming 60's due to the prevailing, high-speed, westerly winds which can generate large waves in excess of 50 feet and peak wind...
latitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
).
Australia
Australia defines the open waters south of the continent as the
Southern Ocean. Both
Geoscience AustraliaGeoscience Australia is an agency of the Australian federal government. It carries out geoscientific research.On a user pays basis it produces geospatial products such as topographic maps and satellite imagery.It has a free and its can be freely accessed....
and the
Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic ServiceThe Royal Australian Navy Hydrographic Service is the agency of the Australian Commonwealth Government responsible for the mapping and surveying of undersea terrain and irregularities on and under the water's surface . It is primarily operated by the Royal Australian Navy, and makes up one of the...
online gazetteers represent the Southern Ocean close to the mainland.
International Hydrographic Organisation
Since 2000, the
International Hydrographic OrganizationThe International Hydrographic Organization was originally established in 1921 as the International Hydrographic Bureau . The present name was adopted in 1970 as a result of a revised international agreement among member nations...
(IHO) has defined the "Southern Ocean" as those waters surrounding
Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
south of the
60° SThe 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. The latitudes below this parallel are often referred to as the Screaming 60's due to the prevailing, high-speed, westerly winds which can generate large waves in excess of 50 feet and peak wind...
circle of latitudeA circle of latitude, on the Earth, is an imaginary east-west circle connecting all locations that share a given latitude. A location's position along a circle of latitude is given by its longitude....
, and this definition is widely applied to the name. Formally, however, the IHO do not yet recognise the name, as the 2000 decision to reinstate it is still awaiting ratification. Australia has lodged a reservation to the definition.
CIA World Fact Book
The CIA World Fact Book mistakenly identified the water south of Australia as the South Pacific Ocean on one of its primary reference maps. Their world maps over the past five years and their primary "
OceaniaOceania is a geographical, often geopolitical, region consisting of numerous lands—mostly islands in the Pacific Ocean and vicinity. The term "Oceania" was coined in 1831 by French explorer Dumont d'Urville...
" -
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
map (produced in May 2007) instead place "
Indian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
" below Australia and/or carefully place "
Southern OceanThe Southern Ocean, also known as the Great Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Ocean and the South Polar Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean south of 60° S latitude. The International Hydrographic Organization has designated the Southern Ocean as an oceanic division encircling...
" only between
60 degrees southThe 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. The latitudes below this parallel are often referred to as the Screaming 60's due to the prevailing, high-speed, westerly winds which can generate large waves in excess of 50 feet and peak wind...
latitude and Antarctica.