, Somova . The most important islands of the Southern Ocean: Kerguelen, South Shetland, South Orkney. The Antarctic shelf is submerged to a depth of 500 meters.

Southern Ocean in cartography

Many maps of Australia are denoted as " South ocean» offshore areas immediately south of Australia

The Southern Ocean was first identified in 1650 by the Dutch geographer Benhard Varenius, and included as yet undiscovered by Europeans " southern mainland", and all areas above the southern polar circle.

At present, the ocean itself continues to be considered a water mass, which is mostly surrounded by land. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization adopted a five-ocean division, but this decision has never been ratified. The current 1953 definition of the oceans does not include the Southern Ocean.

In the Soviet tradition (1969), the approximate border of the conditional "Southern Ocean" was considered the zone of the Antarctic convergence (the northern border of the Antarctic surface water), near 55° south latitude. In other countries, the border is also blurred - the latitude south of Cape Horn, the border of floating ice, the Antarctic Convention zone (the area south of 60 parallel south latitude). The Australian Government considers the "Southern Ocean" to be the waters immediately south of the Australian continent.

in Russian atlases and geographic Maps the name "Southern Ocean" was included until the first quarter of the 20th century.

History of Southern Ocean exploration

XVI-XIX centuries

Sea lions of Kerguelen Island (drawing by Wijnek 1874/1875)

The first ship to cross the Antarctic Circle belonged to the Dutch; it was commanded by Dirk Geeritz, who sailed in the squadron of Jacob Magyu. In 1559, in the Strait of Magellan, the ship Geeritz, after a storm, lost sight of the squadron and went south. Having descended to 64 ° south latitude, it saw high ground. In 1671, Anthony de la Roche discovered South Georgia; in 1739 Bouvet Island was discovered; in 1772 French Marine officer Kerguelen discovered an island in the Indian Ocean named after him.

Almost simultaneously with the sailing of Kerguelen from England, James Cook set off on his first trip to the southern hemisphere, and already in January 1773, his ships Adventure and Resolution crossed the Antarctic Circle at meridian 37 33" east longitude. After a hard struggle with the ice, he reached 67 ° 15" south latitude, where he was forced to turn north. In December of the same year, Cook again went to the Southern Ocean, on December 8 he crossed the Antarctic Circle at 150 ° 6 "West longitude and at the parallel of 67 ° 5" S. latitude was covered with ice, freed from which, went further south and, in late January 1774, reached 71°15" south latitude, at 109°14" west longitude, southwest of Tierra del Fuego. Here an impenetrable wall of ice prevented him from going further. On his second voyage in the Southern Ocean, Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle twice. During both voyages, he became convinced that the abundance of ice mountains indicates the existence of a significant Antarctic continent. The difficulties of polar navigation were described by him in such a way that only whalers continued to visit these latitudes and the southern polar scientific expeditions ceased for a long time.

steam ship L'Astrolabe in 1838

An American expedition, consisting of three ships: "Vincennes", "Peacock" and "Porpoise", under the command of Lieutenant Willis, set out from the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in February 1839 in order to try to pass the Weddel route to the south, but she was met with the same insurmountable obstacles , like Dumont-Durville, and she was forced to return without any special results to Chile (on the meridian of 103 ° west longitude, she reached almost 70 ° south latitude and then, as if, she saw the earth). In January 1840, the American explorer Charles Wilkes went almost due south along longitude 160° east. Already at the parallel of 64 ° 11 "S, the ice blocked his further path. Turning west and reaching the meridian 153 ° 6" East longitude, at 66 ° South latitude, he saw a mountain 120 km away, which was named by Ringold Knoll. Ross, who visited these places a little later, disputed Wilkes' discovery, but without foundation. Opening honor various parts The land of Wilkes actually belongs to each of the three navigators - Wilkes, Dumont-Durville and Ross - separately. During January and February 1840, Wilkes traveled a considerable distance along the margins of the Antarctic continent and reached the meridian 96° East. For all the time of the voyage, he did not manage to land on the shore anywhere.

The third English expedition, under the command of James Clark Ross, on the steam ships Erebus (Erebus) and Terror (Erebus commander was Crozier), was equipped to explore the south polar countries in general. In August 1840, Ross was in Tasmania, where he learned that Dumont-D'Urville had just discovered the coast of Adélie's Land; this prompted him to begin his explorations further east, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands. In December 1840, the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle on the meridian 169 ° 40 "E. and soon began to fight with ice. After 10 days, the ice strip was passed, and on December 31 (old style) they saw the high coast of Victoria Land, one of the highest mountain peaks which Ross named after the initiator of the expedition - Sabina, and the entire chain of mountains with a height of 2000 - 3000 m - the Admiralty ridge. All the valleys of this chain were littered with snow and huge glaciers descending to the sea. Behind Cape Adar, the coast turned south, remaining mountainous and impregnable Ross landed on one of the Possession Islands, at 71 ° 56 "south latitude and 171 ° 7" east longitude, completely devoid of vegetation and inhabited by a mass of penguins that covered its shores with a thick layer of guano. Continuing his navigation further south, Ross discovered the Kuhlman Islands and Franklin (the latter - at 76 ° 8 "south latitude) and saw the coast directly to the south and high mountain(Erebus volcano) with a height of 3794 meters, and a little to the east another volcano was seen, already extinct, called Terror, 3230 meters high. The further way to the south was blocked by the coast, turning to the east and bordered by a continuous vertical ice wall, up to 60 meters high above the water, which, according to Ross, descends to a depth of about 300 meters. This ice barrier was distinguished by the absence of any significant depressions, bays or capes; its nearly level, vertical wall stretched for a vast distance. Beyond the ice shore to the south were the peaks of a high mountain range, which went deep into the southern polar continent; it is named after Parry. Ross passed from Victoria Land to the east for about 840 km, and throughout this length the character of the ice coast remained unchanged. Finally, the late season forced Ross to return to Tasmania. On this voyage, he reached 78 ° 4 "south latitude, between meridians 173 ° -174 ° west longitude. On the second voyage, his ships crossed the Antarctic Circle again on December 20, 1841 and went south. In early February 1842, on meridian 165 ° west, they reached over high seas and headed straight south, approaching the icy shore a little more to the east than in 1841. At 161°27" west longitude they reached 78°9" south latitude, that is, they approached south pole closer than anyone so far. Further navigation to the east was blocked solid ice(pak), and the expedition turned to the north. In December 1842, Ross made a third attempt to penetrate south; this time he chose the path of Weddel and headed for the Land of Louis-Philippe. Going east, Ross crossed the Arctic Circle on meridian 8° west and on February 21 reached 71°30" south latitude, 14°51 west longitude.

Almost 30 years later, an expedition on the Challenger corvette visited, among other things, the southern polar countries. After visiting Kerguelen Island, the Challenger headed south and reached 65 ° 42 "south latitude. At 64 ° 18" south latitude and 94 ° 47 "east longitude, he determined a depth of 2380 meters, and although, according to the map of Wilkes, the coast should have been at a distance of only 30 kilometers, it was not visible.

Climate and weather

Sea temperatures vary from about −2 to 10 °C. The cyclonic movement of storms is eastward around the continent and often becomes intense due to the temperature contrast between the ice and the open ocean. The ocean region from latitude 40 degrees South to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds on Earth. In winter, the ocean freezes to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, dropping surface temperatures well below 0 °C; at some coastal points permanent strong winds leave the coastline ice-free during the winter.

Icebergs can be found at any time of the year throughout the Southern Ocean. Some of them are capable of reaching several hundred meters; smaller icebergs, iceberg fragments and sea ice (typically 0.5 to 1 meter) also pose problems for ships. The icebergs encountered are 6-15 years old, which implies the simultaneous existence of more than 200 thousand icebergs in the ocean waters, ranging in length from 500 meters to 180 km and a width of up to several tens of kilometers.

Sailors of latitudes from 40 to 70 degrees south latitude, from the era of sailing ships, are known as the "Roaring Forties", "Furious Fifties" and "Shrill Sixties" due to bad weather, stormy winds and big waves, formed due to the movement of air masses, which, flowing around Earth, do not encounter obstacles in the form of any noticeable land masses. Floating ice, especially between May and October, makes this area even more dangerous, and the remoteness of the region from the inhabited areas of the Earth makes search and rescue operations ineffective.

Life

Despite the harsh climate, the Southern Ocean is teeming with life.

Due to the subpolar location of the Southern Ocean, there is a sharp seasonal dynamics here. essential condition photosynthesis - solar radiation. Under such conditions, during the year there is a large amplitude of quantitative changes in phytoplankton and a shift in the flowering zone from the north, where spring begins earlier, to the south, where it is late. IN low latitudes two peaks of flowering have time to develop, and in high ones only one. In surface waters, biological latitudinal zonality is pronounced. The inhabitants of the bottom do not have such zonality, since in their development important role plays the bottom topography and barriers that prevent the exchange of flora and fauna. Among the varieties of phytoplankton of the Southern Ocean, diatoms predominate (about 180 species). Blue-green algae make up a small number. In quantitative terms, diatoms also predominate, especially in high latitudes, where they are almost 100%. During the period of maximum flowering, the number of diatoms reaches its highest peak.

There is a clear relationship between the distribution of algae and the vertical zonality of waters. IN summer time the main mass of algae is in the surface 25-meter layer.

In the direction from south to north, the composition of phytoplankton changes: high-latitude cold-water species gradually drop out of the flora, being replaced by warm-water species.

The Southern Ocean also has huge resources of zooplankton, krill, sponges and echinoderms are numerous, there are representatives of several families of fish, especially abundant Nototheniaceae. Of the birds, petrels, skuas, and penguins are numerous. Whales (blue whale, fin whale, sei whale, humpback and others) and seals (Weddell seal, crabeater seal, leopard seal, fur seal) live.

Zooplankton in the waters of the Southern Ocean is represented by copepods (about 120 species), bipedals (about 80 species) and others. Of lesser importance are the chaetognaths, polychaetes, ostracods, appendicularians, and mollusks. In quantitative terms, copepods (copepods) are in the first place, accounting for almost 75% of the zooplankton biomass of the Pacific and Indian sectors of the ocean. There are few copepods in the Atlantic sector, but Antarctic krill are widespread here.

The Southern Ocean, especially for its Antarctic regions, is characterized by a massive accumulation of krill (Antarctic crustaceans). The biomass of krill in these areas reaches 2200 million tons, which makes it possible to catch up to 50-70 million tons of krill annually. Here, krill is the main food of toothless whales, seals, fish, cephalopods, penguins and tube-nosed birds. The crustaceans themselves feed on phytoplankton.

The number of zooplankton during the year has two peaks. The first is associated with the rise of species that have overwintered and are observed in surface waters. The second peak is characterized big amount zooplankton in the entire water column and is due to the birth of a new generation. This is the period of summer zooplankton bloom, when most of the zooplankton passes into the upper layers and moves north, where its noticeable accumulation occurs in the Antarctic Convergence Zone. Both peaks appear as two latitudinal bands of zooplankton concentration.

Notes

Links

  • // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.

The Southern Ocean is a part of the World Ocean, covering the waters of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic Oceans surrounding Antarctica.
The Southern Ocean formed about 30 million years ago when South America separated from Antarctica to form the Drake Passage.

in the southern ocean great amount plankton and krill are the main elements of the diet of whales. One of the most common whale species in the Southern Ocean, the humpback whale is also one of the most agile whales that loves to perform spectacular acrobatic stunts by jumping high out of the water.
On most marine navigation charts there is no such thing as the Southern Ocean. Mariners also do not use it for practical purposes. Moreover, there is no agreement in the scientific community regarding exact definition its boundaries.
The boundaries of this ocean are extremely conditional because the very definition of the location of the ocean is in question. As a separate ocean, it was marked on maps as early as 1650 by the geographer of German-Dutch origin Bernhard Waren, also called Bernhardus Varenius (1622-1650). IN Last year During the life of Varenius, his main work “Universal Geography: a General Scientific Systematized Description of the Earth’s Surface” was published, in which Varenius tried to collect all the geographical knowledge accumulated by that time by mankind.
The reason why Varenius combined the Antarctic regions of the three oceans into one - the Southern - is that at that time it had not yet been discovered, as well as all other regions above the Antarctic Circle.
In 1845, the Royal Geographical Society in London tried to introduce the name "Southern Arctic Ocean", but it did not catch on.
The Southern Ocean was present on geographical maps until the beginning of the 20th century. In 1937, the International Hydrographic Organization used the name "Southern Ocean" in a number of publications. Moreover, many editions of geographical atlases referred to the Southern Ocean and the territory of the ice-covered continent of Antarctica. At the same time, the latitude of the Antarctic Circle (66°33"44"" S) was considered the boundary of the Southern Ocean.
By the beginning of the XX century. southern regions three oceans have already been sufficiently studied, and disputes have begun in the scientific community regarding the boundary of the Southern Ocean. Each science considered its own way of determining the boundaries of the ocean to be the only true one. Hydrologists and climatologists drew the boundary of the Southern Ocean on the basis of the circulation of water and the atmosphere: 35 ° S. sh. Marine geologists, having studied the nature of the bottom, insisted on drawing a boundary along 60 ° S. sh. When compiling the Atlas of the Antarctic in 1969, oceanologists of the USSR drew the boundary of the Southern Ocean at 55 ° S. sh. - the northern border of the Antarctic Convergence Zone (the zone of convergence of northern, relatively warmer, and southern, cold surface waters).
In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization adopted a division into five oceans, but this decision was not finally ratified.
Since the allocation of a separate ocean had no practical significance, the question of the Southern Ocean gradually disappeared from the practice of navigation, it ceased to be mentioned in nautical manuals. Currently, the topic of the Southern Ocean is sometimes raised by scientists specializing in very narrow branches of oceanology.
The question of the boundary of the Southern Ocean has remained controversial, but as a compromise, most experts draw the northern boundary at 60 ° N. sh., and the southern - along the coast of Antarctica. In accordance with this, the Southern Ocean can be considered the fourth largest.

Geography

The Southern Ocean is located in the South Polar Region of the Earth. Most often, the southern parts of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans adjacent to Antarctica. The coast of Antarctica is considered to be the southern boundary of the ocean, the northern boundary is conventionally drawn approximately along the parallel of 60 ° S. sh. Here (more precisely, up to 55 ° S. latitude) is the northern boundary of the Antarctic surface waters (Antarctic circumpolar current).
"Roaring Forties" sailors called the oceanic space between 40 ° and 50 ° latitude in the southern hemisphere of the Earth, where strong and steady westerly winds constantly blow, causing frequent storms.
A distinctive feature of the Southern Ocean is atmospheric circulation air masses moving a considerable distance over the open ocean, never encountering obstacles in the form of mountains or large areas of flat land.
Over the water area of ​​the Southern Ocean, intense cyclonic activity is extremely developed. Most cyclones move from west to east. This zone is included in the area between the 60th and 70th parallels of south latitude, called the “howling sixties” due to the strongest wind that constantly prevails in this region, reaching a speed of 145 km / h and raising waves 15 m high and higher.
Another one distinguishing feature Southern Ocean - Current Western winds, which spreads throughout the entire water column and carries them eastward. To the south of this current, the Western Coastal Current is formed. The cold and dense water masses formed here move from the shores of Antarctica along the ocean floor far to the north.
It is here, in the Southern Ocean, that the largest icebergs are formed, constantly breaking off from the Antarctic ice sheet. At the same time, there are more than 200 thousand icebergs in the Southern Ocean. The average length of an iceberg is about 500 m, but there are colossal ice floes up to 180 km long and several tens of kilometers wide. Currents carry icebergs to the north, and they can even reach 35-40 ° S. sh .: a significant mass melts under the sun for a long time. Average duration the existence of an iceberg in the Southern Ocean - 6 years, but there are also "veterans" aged 12-15 years.

Flora and fauna

Climatic conditions for the flora and fauna of the Southern Ocean only seem harsh. On the contrary, plants and animals have perfectly adapted to use the cold as a protective element. The Southern Ocean is distinguished by giant accumulations of phyto- and zooplankton, krill, many species of sponges and echinoderms live on the bottom. There are several families of fish here, but nototheniids predominate.
Birds are very peculiar: the southern giant petrel, black-browed albatross, skuas are able to travel long distances through the air, and the flightless penguin can walk on ice. The abundance of food explains the exceptional species diversity of whales ( blue whale, fin whale, sei whale, humpback whale) and seals (Weddell seal, crabeater seal, leopard seal, fur seal). Industrial fishing for cetaceans has seriously reduced their numbers, and now whaling is prohibited. Among other dangers, threatening numbers local fauna - poaching overfishing, breeding of rats on the Antarctic islands, where the number of bird nests is very large.

Population

On the islands and the continental coast South Sea the population is unstable and not numerous: it is primarily polar explorers. Other settlers in accordance with the Convention on Antarctica cannot be there, since the continent and islands located south of 60 ° S. sh., cannot belong to any state, and only scientific activity. Unfortunately, this does not mean that the member states of the convention do not have territorial claims: very large territories on the continent are considered by Great Britain, Norway, Australia, since 1908 Great Britain claims, since 1940 - Chile, since 1943 - Argentina. The US and Russia also have their sights set on them. Since 1929, Norway has laid claim to the island of Peter I. There are a number of disputed islands in the Southern Ocean, but there is no permanent population on all of them, only in summer the islands are visited by scientific expeditions.

general information

Location: Southern hemisphere.
Composition: water area around Antarctica (southern regions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans).

Seas: Atlantic Ocean (Lazarev, Riiser-Larsen, Skosha,), Indian (Davis, Cosmonauts, Mawson, Commonwealth), Pacific (Amundsen, Bellingshausen, Durville, Somov).

Geographic boundaries: northern - 60 ° S sh., southern - the coast of Antarctica.

Largest islands: Ross, Adelaide, archipelagos: Palmer South Shetland Islands, South Orkney Islands, including the largest islands of Antarctica completely surrounded by shelf ice: Alexander I Land, Berkner, Thurston.

Numbers

Area: 20.327 million km 2.

Average depth: 3500 m.

Max Depth: South Sandwich Trench (Atlantic Ocean, 8428 m).

Depth of the Antarctic shelf: up to 500 m.

Ice cover area in September-October: 1819 million km 2, in January-February - 2-3 million km 2.

■ Natural: Ross Ice Shelf, Una Peaks (Le Mer Channel), Bunger Oasis (West Wilkes Land), tabular icebergs, bird colonies.

Curious facts

■ The 60th parallel of south latitude is not only the northern boundary of the Southern Ocean, but also the northern boundary of the demilitarized zone free from nuclear weapons(Antarctic Treaty 1959).

■ In the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth, 61% of its surface is occupied by water, and in the Southern - 81%.

■ Sectors are distinguished in the Southern Ocean: the Atlantic - between the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope, the Indian - between the meridian of the Cape of Good Hope and the meridian of the South East Cape on the island of Tasmania, and the Pacific - between the meridian of the South East Cape on the island of Tasmania and the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

■ The South Sandwich Trench is not only the deepest in the Southern Ocean, but also the second deepest in Atlantic Ocean- after the Puerto Rico trench (8742 m).

■ Most of the southern ocean species of fauna that live at water temperatures close to freezing (up to -1.9 ° C) have in their blood and other body fluids a kind of car “anti-freeze”: glycoproteins are a special combination of sugars with proteins that prevents the formation of ice in organism.

■ The grey-headed albatross is listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the bird with the fastest horizontal flight: 127 km/h, the speed that the albatross kept for more than 8 hours, returning to the nest on South Georgia Island. The wandering albatross living there has the largest wingspan among birds: up to 325 cm.

■ Another Antarctic bird record holder, the Falkland Islands gentoo penguin, at 36 km/h underwater, is the fastest of all penguins.

In particular, it is signed in the 3rd edition of the fundamental Atlas of the world and in other atlases published already in the 21st century.

Encyclopedic YouTube

  • 1 / 5

    14 seas stand out off the coast of Antarctica: Weddell, Scotia, Bellingshausen, Ross, Amundsen, Davis, Lazarev, Riiser-Larsen, King Haakon VII, Cosmonauts, Commonwealth, Mawson, D'Urville, Somov. The most important islands of the Southern Ocean: Kerguelen, South Shetland, South Orkney. The Antarctic shelf is submerged to a depth of 500 meters.

    All the seas washing Antarctica, except for the Scotia and Weddell Seas, are marginal. In the tradition accepted in most countries, they divide its coast into sectors as follows:

    Seas of the Southern Ocean
    Name Sector In whose honor is it named
    .
    Sea Lazareva 0-14° in. d.
    Sea Riser-Larsen 14-34° in. d.
    Sea Cosmonauts 34-45° in. d.
    Sea Commonwealth 70-87° in. d.

    International cooperation in Antarctica
    Sea Davis 87-98° in. d.
    Sea Mawson 98-113° in. d.
    Sea Durville 136-148° in. d.
    Sea Somova 148-170° in. d.
    Sea Rossa 170° in. - 158°W d.
    Sea Amundsen 100-123°W d.
    Sea Bellingshausen 70-100°W d.
    Sea Scotia 30-50°W 55-60°S sh.
    Sea Weddell 10-60°W d., 78-60°S sh.
    Sea King Hawkon VII 20° in. 67°S sh.
    .

    Southern Ocean in cartography

    The Southern Ocean was first identified in 1650 by the Dutch geographer Bernhard Varenius and included both the "southern mainland" not yet discovered by Europeans, and all areas above the Antarctic Circle.

    At present, the ocean itself continues to be considered a water mass, which is mostly surrounded by land. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization adopted a division into five oceans, but this decision was never ratified. The current definition of oceans from 1953 does not include the Southern Ocean.

    In the Soviet tradition (1969), the approximate boundary of the conditional "Southern Ocean" was considered the zone of the Antarctic convergence (the northern boundary of the Antarctic surface waters), near 55 ° south latitude. In other countries, the border is also blurred - the latitude south of Cape Horn, the border of floating ice, the Antarctic Convention zone (the area south of 60 parallel south latitude). The Australian Government considers the "Southern Ocean" to be the waters immediately south of the Australian continent.

    The name "Southern Ocean" was included in atlases and geographical maps until the first quarter of the 20th century. IN Soviet time this term was not used ], however, since the end of the 20th century, he began to sign on maps published by Roskartografiya.

    History of Southern Ocean exploration

    XVI-XIX centuries

    The first ship to cross the border of the Southern Ocean belonged to the Dutch; it was commanded by Dirk Geeritz, who sailed in the squadron of Jacob Magyu. In 1559, in the Strait of Magellan, Geeritz's ship, after a storm, lost sight of the squadron and went south. Descending to 64° south latitude, it saw high land - possibly the South Orkney Islands. In 1671, Anthony de la Rocher discovered South Georgia; in 1739 the island of Bouvet was discovered; In 1772, the French naval officer Kerguelen discovered an island in the Indian Ocean, named after him.

    Almost simultaneously with the sailing of Kerguelen from England, James Cook set off on his first journey to the southern hemisphere, and already in January 1773, his ships Adventure and Resolution crossed the Antarctic Circle on meridian 37 33" east longitude. After a hard struggle with the ice, he reached 67 ° 15" south latitude, where he was forced to turn north. In December of the same year, Cook again went to the Southern Ocean, on December 8 he crossed the Antarctic Circle at 150 ° 6 "West longitude and at the parallel of 67 ° 5" S. latitude was covered with ice, freed from which, went further south and, in late January 1774, reached 71°15" south latitude, 109°14" west longitude, southwest of Tierra del Fuego. Here an impenetrable wall of ice prevented him from going further. On his second voyage in the Southern Ocean, Cook crossed the Antarctic Circle twice. During both voyages, he became convinced that the abundance of ice mountains indicates the existence of a significant Antarctic continent. The difficulties of polar navigation were described by him in such a way that only whalers continued to visit these latitudes and the southern polar scientific expeditions ceased for a long time.

    In 1819, the Russian navigator Bellingshausen, commanding the warships Vostok and Mirny, visited South Georgia and tried to penetrate deep into the Southern Ocean; for the first time, in January 1820, almost on the Greenwich meridian, he reached 69 ° 21 "south latitude; then, having gone beyond the limits of the southern polar circle, Bellingshausen passed along it to the east to 19 ° east longitude, where he crossed it again and reached in February again almost the same latitude (69°6"). Further east, it rose only to 62 ° parallel and continued its journey along the margin of the floating ice, then, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands, it reached 64 ° 55 ", in December 1820, at 161 ° west longitude, passed the Antarctic Circle and reached 67 ° 15 "south latitude, and in January 1821, between the meridians 99 ° and 92 ° west longitude, reached 69 ° 53" south latitude; then, almost on the meridian 81 °, opened in 68 ° 40 "south latitude, a high coast islands Peter I, and going even to the east, inside the southern polar circle - the coast of the Earth Alexander I. Thus, Bellingshausen was the first to make a full voyage around the South Arctic continent, discovered by him, almost all the time between latitudes 60 ° - 70 °, on small sailing ships.

    At the end of 1837, a French expedition, under the command of Dumont-Durville, consisting of two steam ships - Astrolabe (L'Astrolabe) and Zele (La Zélée), set off to explore Oceania, to verify information Veddel and others. In January 1838, Dumont-D'Urville took the path of Weddel, but ice blocked his path at the parallel of 63 ° south latitude. South of the South Shetland Islands, he saw a high coast called Louis Philippe Land; later it turned out that this land is an island, the western shores of which are called Trinity Land and Palmer Land. After wintering in Tasmania, on the way to the south, Dumont-D'Urville met the first ice and after a difficult navigation between them, on January 9, 1840, in latitudes 66 ° - 67 °, almost on the Arctic Circle, and 141 ° E. D. saw a high mountainous coast. This land, called the Land of Adélie, Dumont-D'Urville traced along the Arctic Circle to the meridian of 134 ° east longitude On January 17, at 65 ° south latitude and 131 ° east longitude, another coast was discovered, called the Clary Coast.

    An American expedition, consisting of three ships: "Vincennes", "Peacock" and "Porpoise", under the command of Lieutenant Willis, set out from the Tierra del Fuego archipelago in February 1839 in order to try to pass the Weddel route to the south, but she was met with the same insurmountable obstacles , like Dumont-Durville, and she was forced to return without any special results to Chile (on the meridian of 103 ° west longitude, she reached almost 70 ° south latitude and then, as if, she saw the earth). In January 1840, the American explorer Charles Wilkes went almost due south along longitude 160° east. Already at the parallel of 64 ° 11 "S, the ice blocked his further path. Turning west and reaching the meridian 153 ° 6" East longitude, at 66 ° South latitude, he saw a mountain 120 km away, which was named by Ringold Knoll. Ross, who visited these places a little later, disputed Wilkes' discovery, but without foundation. The honor of discovering various parts of the Earth Wilks belongs in reality to each of the three navigators - Wilkes, Dumont-Durville and Ross - individually. During January and February 1840, Wilkes traveled a considerable distance along the margins of the Antarctic continent and reached the meridian 96° East. For all the time of the voyage, he did not manage to land on the shore anywhere.

    The third English expedition, under the command of James Clark Ross, on the steam ships Erebus (Erebus) and Terror (Erebus commander was Crozier), was equipped to explore the southern polar countries in general. In August 1840, Ross was in Tasmania, where he learned that Dumont-D'Urville had just discovered the coast of Adélie's Land; this prompted him to begin his explorations further east, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands. In December 1840, the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle on the meridian 169 ° 40 "east longitude and soon began to fight the ice. After 10 days, the ice strip was passed, and on December 31 (old style) they saw the high coast of the Earth Victoria, one of the highest mountain peaks which Ross named after the initiator of the expedition - Sabina, and the entire chain of mountains with a height of 2000 - 3000 m - the Admiralty ridge. All the valleys of this chain were littered with snow and huge glaciers descending to the sea. Behind Cape Adar, the coast turned south, remaining mountainous and impregnable Ross landed on one of the Possession Islands, at 71 ° 56 "south latitude and 171 ° 7" east longitude, completely devoid of vegetation and inhabited by a mass of penguins that covered its shores with a thick layer of guano. Continuing his navigation further south, Ross discovered the Kuhlman Islands and Franklin (the latter at 76 ° 8 "south latitude) and saw directly to the south the coast and a high mountain (Erebus volcano) 3794 meters high, and a little to the east another volcano was seen, already extinct, called Terror, 3230 meters high. The further way to the south was blocked by the coast, turning to the east and bordered by a continuous vertical ice wall, up to 60 meters high above the water, which, according to Ross, descends to a depth of about 300 meters. This ice barrier was distinguished by the absence of any significant depressions, bays or capes; its nearly level, vertical wall stretched for a vast distance. Outside the ice shore, to the south, the peaks of a high mountain range were visible, extending into the depths of the southern polar continent; it is named after Parry. Ross passed from Victoria Land to the east for about 840 km, and throughout this length the character of the ice coast remained unchanged. Finally, the late season forced Ross to return to Tasmania. On this voyage, he reached 78 ° 4 "south latitude, between meridians 173 ° -174 ° west longitude. On the second voyage, his ships on December 20, 1841, again crossed the Antarctic Circle and went south. At the beginning of February 1842, on meridian 165 ° west, they reached more open sea and headed due south, approaching the icy shore a little further east than in 1841. At 161°27" west longitude they reached 78°9" south latitude, that is, they came closer to the south pole than anyone hitherto. Further navigation to the east was blocked by solid ice (pak), and the expedition turned to the north. In December 1842, Ross made a third attempt to penetrate south; this time he chose the path of Weddel and headed for the Land of Louis-Philippe. Going east, Ross crossed the Arctic Circle on meridian 8° west and on February 21 reached 71°30" south latitude, 14°51 west longitude.

    Almost 30 years later, an expedition on the Challenger corvette visited, among other things, the southern polar countries. After visiting Kerguelen Island, the Challenger headed south and reached 65 ° 42 "south latitude. At 64 ° 18" south latitude and 94 ° 47 "east longitude, he determined a depth of 2380 meters, and although, according to the map of Wilkes, the coast should have been at a distance of only 30 kilometers, it was not visible.

    Climate and weather

    Sea temperatures vary from about −2 to 10 °C. The cyclonic movement of storms is eastward around the continent and often becomes intense due to the temperature contrast between the ice and the open ocean. The ocean region from 40 degrees south latitude to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds on Earth. In winter, the ocean freezes to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, dropping surface temperatures well below 0 °C; at some coastal points, persistent strong winds leave the coastline ice-free during the winter.

    Icebergs can be found at any time of the year throughout the Southern Ocean. Some of them are capable of reaching several hundred meters; smaller icebergs, iceberg fragments and sea ice (typically 0.5 to 1 meter) also pose problems for ships. The icebergs encountered are 6-15 years old, which implies the simultaneous existence of more than 200 thousand icebergs in the ocean waters, ranging in length from 500 meters to 180 km and a width of up to several tens of kilometers.

    Sailors from 40 to 70 degrees south latitude, from the era of sailing ships, are known as the "Roaring forties", "Furious 50s" and "Shrill sixties" due to bad weather, gale-force winds and large waves formed due to the movement of air masses , which, flowing around the globe, do not encounter obstacles in the form of any noticeable land masses. Floating ice, especially between May and October, makes this area even more dangerous, and the remoteness of the region from the inhabited areas of the Earth makes search and rescue operations ineffective.

    Life

    Despite the harsh climate, the Southern Ocean is teeming with life.

    Due to the subpolar location of the Southern Ocean, there is a sharp seasonal dynamics of the most important condition for photosynthesis - solar radiation. In such conditions, a large amplitude of quantitative changes is observed throughout the year.

    Conventionality. The Southern Ocean was first identified in 1650 by the Dutch geographer Benhard Varenius and included both the “southern mainland” not yet discovered by Europeans, and all areas above the Antarctic Circle.

    The term "Southern Ocean" appeared on maps in the 18th century, when systematic exploration of the region began. The name of the "Southern Arctic Ocean" was usually meant, according to the boundaries established in 1845 by the Royal geographical society in London, a space bounded on all sides by the southern polar circle and extending from this circle to the south pole to the limits of the Antarctic continent. In the publications of the International Hydrographic Organization, the Southern Ocean was separated from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific in 1937. This had its own explanation: in its southern part, the boundaries between the three oceans are very arbitrary, at the same time, the waters adjacent to Antarctica have their own specifics, and are also united by the Antarctic circumpolar current. However, later on, the allocation of a separate Southern Ocean was abandoned.

    At present, the ocean itself continues to be considered a water mass, which is mostly surrounded by land. In 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization adopted a division into five oceans, but this decision has never been ratified. The current 1953 definition of the oceans does not include the Southern Ocean.

    There are currently four oceans in the world: Pacific, Indian, Atlantic and Arctic.

    Some sources indicate that the International Hydrographic Organization made a decision in 2000 that has legal force, divide the oceans into five parts. In other sources, it is recorded that this decision has no legal force. It is necessary to understand whether the decision of the International Hydrographic Organization of 2000 has legal force?

    Most sources indicate that the decision of the International Hydrographic Organization of 2000 has not yet been ratified. I note that ratification should be understood as the process of giving legal force to any document. From the foregoing, it follows that the decision of the International Hydrographic Organization of 2000 does not yet have legal force, that is, the number of oceans is currently four, not five. I note that in 1953 the International Hydrogeographic Bureau developed a new division of the World Ocean, according to which There are four oceans, not five. The current 1953 definition of the oceans does not include the Southern Ocean. Therefore, there are currently four oceans.

    The Southern Ocean - until recently, a conditionally distinguished water area surrounding Antarctica. In 2000, the international mapping organization decided to name the waters from Antarctica to 60 ° S. latitude. Southern Ocean. This version was supported by numerous studies by scientists who proved that this water area is unique in its geology, geophysics and natural world. But this decision was not ratified, although, starting from the 21st century, the term "Southern Ocean" is found on all maps of the world.

    Russian scientists define the boundary of the ocean along the boundary of the Antarctic surface waters. In a number of other countries, such a boundary is drawn along the latitude, beyond which floating ice and icebergs.

    Characteristics

    Area: 20.327 million sq. km

    Average depth: 3500 m, maximum - 42 m (South Sandwich Trench)

    Average temperature: -2°C to +10°C

    Currents of the Southern Ocean

    Western winds(or Antarctic Circumpolar) - the main course of the Southern Ocean, which has a significant impact on water circulation, temperature changes and coastline formation. The current penetrates the entire water column, reaching the bottom. It moves around the globe in the region of 40 ° S. latitude. It is this current that becomes the "culprit" of the emergence of powerful hurricanes and typhoons. average speed currents - 30-35 cm / sec.

    Western coastal the current moves from east to west. Located south of the current West winds, approximately in the region of 65 ° S.l. Average speed - 15-30 cm/sec.

    Underwater ocean world

    Despite the harsh climatic conditions, characteristic of the Arctic and subarctic belts, the nature of the Southern Ocean is striking in its abundance and uniqueness.

    The flora is represented by a variety of phytoplankton, which has two flowering peaks in the Southern Ocean. Many diatoms, blue-green much less.

    The ocean is rich in zooplancon, it lives in its waters a large number of species of echinoderms, sponges, krill. Of the fish family (more than 100 species), most of all are representatives of notothenia (blue and green notothenia, sculpins, toothfish, Antarctic silverfish trematomes).

    Birds: 44 species (petrels, skuas, arctic terns), colonies of penguins are especially numerous, of which there are 7 species here.

    Animals: whales, seals and seals. Most large predators - sea ​​leopards. Since 1965, the waters of the Southern Ocean have become the center of whaling. Whaling has been banned since the 1980s. Since then, the Southern Ocean has become a fishing ground for krill and fish.

    Southern Ocean exploration

    The history of exploration of the Southern Ocean can be divided into three stages:

    1. From the era of the Great geographical discoveries to the 19th century - geographical discoveries of islands, seas, an attempt at research underwater world and depths.

    2. Early XIX century - the end of XX - the discovery of Antarctica, the beginning of scientific oceanographic research.

    3. XX century. - today - a comprehensive study of the ocean in all areas of oceanography.

    (I. Aivazovsky. "Ice Mountains in Antarctica" 1870)

    Important dates and openings:

    1559 - voyage of D. Geeritz, who was the first to cross the border of the ocean.

    1773 - "round the world" D. Cook, who reached the Antarctic Circle and suggested that the abundance of ice mountains indicates the presence of the mainland in the south.

    1819-1821 - F.F. Bellingshausen's round-the-world Antarctic expedition, discovery of Antarctica.

    1821-1839 - more than a dozen whaling ships, in search of a catch, reach the shores of Antarctica and discover islands along the way.

    1840 - Expedition of the Englishman D.K.

    Officially, Antarctica does not belong to any country, but many states have put forward their claims to own individual islands and parts of the continent. While the bottom line is, the Americans have already set up the issuance of the Antarctic currency: the Antarctic dollar.

    In 1956, the largest iceberg was discovered in the Southern Ocean, covering an area of ​​​​about 31 thousand square kilometers.

    The number of seals in the Southern Ocean is 65% of all pinnipeds in the world.

    The name "Antarctica" is translated from ancient Greek as "opposite the Arctic".

    Antarctica is the only continent that does not have time zones. The people who work here calculate the time according to the time of their country.