THE world has a new ocean – at least according to National Geographic.
The magazine and map maker recently announced that it now recognises the Southern Ocean as the planet’s fifth ocean.
It means the body of water that surrounds Antarctica will now be labelled on Nat Geo maps alongside the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic oceans.
The swift current circling Antarctica keeps the waters there distinct and worthy of their own name, according to Nat Geo cartographers.
It marks the first time in over a century that the National Geographic Society (NGS) has redrawn the world’s oceanic maps.
“The Southern Ocean has long been recognised by scientists,” NGS geographer Alex Tait told the magazine.
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“But because there was never agreement internationally, we never officially recognised it.
“It’s sort of geographic nerdiness in some ways,” he continued. “We’ve always labelled it, but we labelled it slightly differently [than other oceans].
“This change was taking the last step and saying we want to recognise it because of its ecological separation.”
The Southern Ocean was first named in the 1500s and scientists have referred to it in their work for centuries.
However, its status as an ocean has been a topic of contention.
When the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) was founded in 1921, it classed the Southern Ocean as a distinct body of water.
However, the group backtracked and demoted the ocean in guidelines published in 1953.
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Scientists and trade organisations continued to refer to the ocean as such anyway, creating plenty of confusion.
Nat Geo’s decision to recognise the ocean appears to have finally put the debate to rest.
The Southern Ocean encompasses the waters surrounding Antarctica, according to the outlet.
Its boundaries are “roughly centred around a latitude of 60 degrees south”.
According to Tait, the change could help to improve scientific learning in classrooms across the US.
“Students learn information about the ocean world through what oceans you’re studying,” he said.
“If you don’t include the Southern Ocean, then you don’t learn the specifics of it and how important it is.”
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