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Southern Ocean
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Map centered on Antarctica, showing the surrounding Southern Ocean and its boundaries with the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans. The map includes nearby landmasses such as the southern tip of South America and New Zealand, with features like the Weddell Sea, Ross Sea, Ronne Ice Shelf, and Ross Ice Shelf labeled. The Antarctic Circle and South Pole are also marked. Dive deep into the depths of the ocean.
Close-up of Antarctic deep-sea creatures, including spiny sea urchins and translucent shrimp-like krill, set against a dark background.
Side-by-side thematic maps showing the minimum and maximum sea ice extents in the Arctic (left) and Antarctic (right) regions. The Arctic map centers on the North Pole and Arctic Ocean, with colored lines marking median and recent maximum and minimum ice edges for March and September. The Antarctic map centers on the South Pole and Antarctica, similarly outlining the seasonal and median sea ice boundaries in the Southern Ocean. Surrounding continents and major bodies of water are labeled for geo
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Southern Ocean: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - The Southern Ocean, carbon and climate. Aug 28, 2026
Add new Web site: The Oceanography Society - Southern Ocean Warming. May 07, 2026
Add new Web site: Ocean and Climate Platform - The Southern Ocean (PDF). Aug 14, 2025
Questions and answers added. Mar 17, 2025
Add new Web site: Frontiers - Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution - Global Connectivity of Southern Ocean Ecosystems. May 14, 2024
Add new Web site: National Geographic - There�s a new ocean now�can you name all 5? Mar 01, 2024
Added interactive. Nov 16, 2023
Add new Web site: Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition - The Southern Ocean. Oct 20, 2023
Article revised and updated. Jul 08, 2021
Noted that the Southern Ocean encompasses oceans and tributary seas below 60° S. Jun 15, 2021
Add new Web site: Central Intelligence Agency - The World Factboook - Southern Ocean. Jan 21, 2021
Add new Web site: National Geographic - The Antarctic Ocean. Jun 03, 2019
Corrected display issue. Dec 20, 2018
Added video. May 15, 2015
Add new Web site: Maps of World - Antarctic Ocean. Sep 10, 2013
Add new Web site: Columbia University - Lamount-Doherty Earth Observatory - Antarctic. Apr 03, 2013
Map of the Southern Ocean added. Nov 14, 2011
Article revised and updated. Jan 12, 2007
Added new Web site: CIA - The World Factbook - Southern Ocean. Jul 26, 2006
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
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