The youngest ocean on the planet is the Southern or Antarctic. It is located in the Southern Hemisphere and has areas of contact with other oceans, excluding the Northern Ocean. The waters of the Southern Ocean wash Antarctica. The International Geographical Organization identified it in 2000, combining the waters of the southern regions of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans into one whole. This ocean has conditional boundaries, since there are no continents or islands in the northern part of its waters.

History of discovery

The Southern Ocean has been an object of interest to people for a very long time. They tried to explore it back in the 18th century, but at that time the ice shell was an insurmountable barrier for travelers. It appeared on the map even earlier, in 1650. In the 19th century, polar Antarctica was visited by whalers from England and Norway. In the 20th century, the Southern Ocean was a whaling area and a site for scientific research.
Currently, the existence of the Southern Ocean is a proven fact, but this decision of the hydrological organization is not legal. Thus, legally there is no such area on the planet. At the same time, the Southern Ocean is marked on the world map. The southern border of its water area is Antarctica, the northern border is considered to be 60 degrees south latitude.

Geographical details

The ocean occupies more than 20 million square meters. km. The South Sandwich Trench is the deepest place in the ocean, where the maximum elevation reaches 8428 m. A map of the Southern Ocean shows that it is formed by the following seas: Commonwealth, Mawson, Ross, Durvel, Somov, Skosh, Lazarev, Cosmonauts, Riiser-Larsen, Amundsen, Weddell, Davis and Bellingshausen. There are many islands of different sizes located in the water area. Almost all of them are of volcanic origin. The largest islands include South Shetland, South Orkney, and Kerguelen.

Climatic features

The Southern Ocean coast is an area dominated by harsh elements. Above the water, marine climate conditions prevail, while on the shore there is an Antarctic climate. It is cold, windy and cloudy here all year round. Snow falls in any season.
Closer to the Arctic Circle, the most powerful winds on the planet are formed. Storms are formed due to the huge temperature difference between the ocean waters and the air. In winter the air reaches 60-65 degrees below zero. The atmosphere above the water area is characterized by environmental purity.
Weather conditions are due to a number of reasons: the proximity of Antarctica, permanent ice cover, and the absence of warm sea currents. A zone of high pressure constantly forms over land. At the same time, an area of ​​low pressure or Antarctic depression is forming around Antarctica. A special feature of the water area is a large number of icebergs, which are formed as a result of the breaking off of parts of glaciers under the influence of tsunamis, swells and waves. There are more than 200 thousand icebergs in the Southern Ocean every year.

Detailed information about the country: Southern Ocean. Photos, maps, population, cities, economy, climate, statistics collected by the US CIA / World factbook

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Convention. The Southern Ocean was first identified in 1650 by the Dutch geographer Benhard Varenius and included both the “southern continent”, which had not yet been discovered by Europeans, and all areas above the southern polar circle.

The term "Southern Ocean" appeared on maps in the 18th century, when systematic exploration of the region began. The name “Southern Ocean” usually meant, according to the boundaries established in 1845 by the Royal Geographical Society in London, the 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 publications of the International Hydrographic Organization, the Southern Ocean was separated from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific in 1937. There was an explanation for this: in its southern part, the boundaries between the three oceans are very arbitrary, while at the same time, the waters adjacent to Antarctica have their own specifics, and are also united by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. However, later they abandoned the distinction of a separate Southern Ocean.

Currently, the ocean itself continues to be considered a body of water, 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.

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

Some sources indicate that the International Hydrographic Organization in 2000 made a legally binding decision to divide the World Ocean into five parts. Other sources record 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 2000 International Hydrographic Organization decision has not yet been ratified. Let me note that ratification should be understood as the process of giving legal force to a document. From the above 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 Hydrogeographical Bureau developed a new division of the World Ocean, according to which There are four oceans, not five. The current definition of oceans from 1953 does not include the Southern Ocean. Therefore, there are currently four oceans.

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

Encyclopedic YouTube

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  There are 14 seas off the coast of Antarctica: Weddell, Scotch, 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 seas washing Antarctica, except 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 Lazarev	0-14° E. d.
  Riiser-Larsen Sea	14-34° E. d.
  Sea of ​​Cosmonauts	34-45° E. d.
  Commonwealth Sea	70-87° E. d.	International cooperation in Antarctica
  Davis Sea	87-98° E. d.
  Mawson's Sea	98-113° E. d.
  Sea of ​​D'Urville	136-148° E. d.
  Sea Somova	148-170° E. d.
  Sea of ​​Rossa	170° E. Long - 158° W d.
  Amundsen Sea	100-123° W. d.
  Bellingshausen Sea	70-100° W. d.
  Sea Scotia	30-50° W. long., 55-60° S. w.
  Weddell Sea	10-60° W. long., 78-60° S. w.
  King Haakon's Sea VII	20° E. 67° S w.
  .

  Southern Ocean in cartography

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

  Currently, the ocean itself continues to be considered a body of water, 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 so-called “Southern Ocean” was considered to be the Antarctic convergence zone (the northern limit of Antarctic surface waters), near 55° south latitude. In other countries, the border is also blurred - latitude south of Cape Horn, the border of floating ice, the Antarctic Convention zone (the area south of 60 degrees 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 times this term was not used [ ], however, from the end of the 20th century he began to sign on maps published by Roscartography.

  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 - perhaps the South Orkney Islands. In 1671, Anthony de la Roche discovered South Georgia; Bouvet Island was discovered in 1739; in 1772, the French naval officer Kerguelen discovered an island in the Indian Ocean named after him.

  Almost simultaneously with Kerguelen's voyage, James Cook set off from England on his first voyage to the southern hemisphere, and already in January 1773 his ships Adventure and Resolution crossed the Antarctic Circle on meridian 37 °33"E longitude. After a difficult struggle with the ice, he reached 67°15"S latitude, where he was forced to turn north. In December of the same year, Cook again set off for the Southern Ocean; on December 8, he crossed the Antarctic Circle at 150°6" west longitude and, at the parallel of 67°5" south latitude, was covered with ice, freed from which, he 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 indicated the existence of a significant Antarctic continent. He described the difficulties of polar voyages 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 sloops of war "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, leaving the southern polar circle, Bellingshausen walked along it east to 19° east longitude, where he crossed it again and reached in February again almost the same latitude (69°6"). Further east, he rose only to the 62° parallel and continued his journey along the edge of the floating ice, then, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands, he reached 64°55", in December 1820, at 161° west longitude, he passed the southern polar 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 at the 81° meridian, discovered a high coast at 68°40" south latitude; Peter I Island, and going further east, inside the Southern Arctic Circle - the coast of Alexander I Land. Thus, Bellingshausen was the first to complete a complete voyage around the Southern Arctic continent, which he discovered, 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-D'Urville, consisting of two steam ships - "Astrolabe" ("L'Astrolabe") and "Zélée" ("La Zélée"), set off to explore Oceania, to check information Weddel and others. In January 1838, Dumont-D'Urville followed Weddel's path, but ice blocked his path at the parallel of 63° south latitude. South of the South Shetland Islands he saw a high coast called the Land of Louis Philippe; it later turned out that this land was an island, the western shores of which were called Trinity Land and Palmer Land. After wintering in Tasmania, on the way to the south, Dumont-D'Urville encountered the first ice and, after difficult navigation between them, on January 9, 1840, at latitudes 66° - 67°, almost on the Arctic Circle, and 141° east. D. saw a high mountainous coast. Dumont-D'Urville traced this land, called the Land of Adélie, 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 with the aim of trying to follow the Weddel route to the south, but it was met with the same insurmountable obstacles , like Dumont-D'Urville, and she was forced to return without much results to Chile (at the meridian of 103° west longitude she reached almost 70° south latitude and here she seemed to see land). In January 1840, American explorer Charles Wilkes went almost due south along 160° east longitude. Already at the parallel of 64°11" south latitude, 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 he named Ringold Knohl. Ross, who visited the area a little later, disputed Wilkes's discovery, but without reason. The honor of discovering various parts of Wilkes's Earth actually belongs to each of the three navigators - Wilkes, Dumont-D'Urville and Ross - separately. During January and February 1840, Wilkes traveled a considerable distance along the outskirts of the Antarctic continent and reached the meridian of 96° east longitude. During the entire voyage he was unable to land anywhere on the shore.

  The third English expedition, under the command of James Clark Ross, on the steam ships Erebus and Terror (Crozier was the commander of Erebus), 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 shores of the Terre Adélie; this led him to begin his research further east, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands. In December 1840, the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle at the meridian 169°40"E and soon began fighting the 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 - Sabin, and the entire chain of mountains with a height of 2000 - 3000 m - the Admiralty Ridge. All the valleys of this chain were filled with snow and huge glaciers descending to the sea. Beyond Cape Adar, the coast turned to the south, remaining mountainous and inaccessible. 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 voyage further south, Ross discovered the Kuhlman Islands. and Franklin (the latter at 76°8" south latitude) and saw directly to the south a 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. A further path to the south was blocked by a coast that turned east and was bordered by a continuous vertical ice wall, up to 60 meters high above the water, descending, according to Ross, to a depth of about 300 meters. This ice barrier was distinguished by the absence of any significant depressions, bays or capes; its almost flat, vertical wall stretched for an enormous distance. Beyond the icy shore, to the south, the peaks of a high mountain range were visible, extending into the depths of the southern polar continent; she is named after Parry. Ross traveled from Victoria Land to the east about 840 km, and throughout this entire distance the nature 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 longitude, they reached a more open sea and headed due south, approaching the ice coast a little more 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 else had yet. Further voyage to the east was blocked by solid ice (pack), and the expedition turned north. In December 1842, Ross made a third attempt to penetrate the south; this time he chose the path of Weddel and headed towards the Land of Louis Philippe. Going east, Ross, at the meridian of 8° west longitude, crossed the Arctic Circle and on February 21 reached 71°30" south latitude, 14°51 west longitude.

  Almost 30 years later, the expedition on the corvette Challenger visited, among other things, the southern polar countries. Having visited 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 Wilkes's map, the coast should have been only 30 kilometers away, it was not visible.

  Climate and weather

  Sea temperatures vary from approximately −2 to 10 °C. Storms cyclonically move eastward around the continent and are often 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 experiences 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; In some coastal locations, persistent strong winds leave the coastline ice-free during the winter.

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

  Sailors have known latitudes between 40 and 70 degrees south since the age of sail as the "Roaring Forties", "Furious Fifties" and "Shrill Sixties" due to the foul weather, stormy winds and large waves created by 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 region's remoteness from populated 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 circumpolar location of the Southern Ocean, there is a sharp seasonal dynamics of the most important condition for photosynthesis - solar radiation. Under such conditions, a large amplitude of quantitative changes is observed throughout the year.

  14-34° E. d. Hjalmar Rieser-Larsen, major general, creator of the Norwegian Air Force Sea of ​​Cosmonauts 34-45° E. d. The first cosmonauts (1961-1962) Commonwealth Sea 70-87° E. d. International cooperation in Antarctica Davis Sea 87-98° E. d. J. K. Davies, captain of the Aurora, Mawson expedition (1911-14) Mawson Sea 98-113° E. d. Douglas Mawson, geologist, leader of three expeditions Sea of ​​D'Urville 136-148° E. d. Jules Dumont-D'Urville, oceanographer, rear admiral Sea of ​​Somov 148-170°E Mikhail Somov, head of the first Soviet expedition (1955-57) Ross Sea 170° E. Long - 158° W d. James Ross, rear admiral, was the first to cross 78° S. w. Amundsen Sea 100-123° W. d. Roald Amundsen, first to reach the south pole Bellingshausen Sea 70-100° W. d. Thaddeus Bellingshausen, admiral, discoverer of Antarctica Sea of ​​Scotia 30-50° W. long., 55-60° S. w. "Skosha" (English) Scotia), ship of the Bruce expedition (1902-1904) Weddell Sea 10-60° W. long., 78-60° S. w. James Weddell, whaler who explored the region in the 1820s .

  Southern Ocean in cartography

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

  Currently, the ocean itself continues to be considered a body of water, 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 so-called “Southern Ocean” was considered to be the Antarctic convergence zone (the northern limit of Antarctic surface waters), near 55° south latitude. In other countries, the border is also blurred - latitude south of Cape Horn, the border of floating ice, the Antarctic Convention zone (the area south of 60 parallels of 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 times, this term was not used, but since the end of the 20th century it began to be signed on maps published by Roscartography.

  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 Jacob Magyu's squadron. 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 Roche discovered South Georgia; Bouvet Island was discovered in 1739; in 1772, the French naval officer Kerguelen discovered an island in the Indian Ocean named after him.

  Almost simultaneously with Kerguelen's voyage, James Cook set off from England on his first voyage to the southern hemisphere, and already in January 1773 his ships Adventure and Resolution crossed the Antarctic Circle on meridian 37 °33"E longitude. After a difficult struggle with the ice, he reached 67°15"S latitude, where he was forced to turn north. In December of the same year, Cook again set off for the Southern Ocean; on December 8, he crossed the Antarctic Circle at 150°6" west longitude and, at the parallel of 67°5" south latitude, was covered with ice, freed from which, he 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 indicated the existence of a significant Antarctic continent. He described the difficulties of polar voyages 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 sloops of war "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, leaving the southern polar circle, Bellingshausen walked along it east to 19° east longitude, where he crossed it again and reached in February again almost the same latitude (69°6"). Further east, he rose only to the 62° parallel and continued his journey along the edge of the floating ice, then, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands, he reached 64°55", in December 1820, at 161° west longitude, he passed the southern polar 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 at the 81° meridian, discovered a high coast at 68°40" south latitude; Peter I Islands, and going further east, inside the Southern Arctic Circle - the coast of Alexander I Land. Thus, Bellingshausen was the first to complete a complete voyage around the Southern Arctic continent, which he discovered, almost all the time between latitudes 60° - 70°, on small sailing ships.

  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 with the aim of trying to follow the Weddel route to the south, but it was met with the same insurmountable obstacles , like Dumont-D'Urville, and she was forced to return without much results to Chile (at the meridian of 103° west longitude she reached almost 70° south latitude and here she seemed to see land). In January 1840, American explorer Charles Wilkes went almost due south along 160° east longitude. Already at the parallel of 64°11" south latitude, 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 he named Ringold Knohl. Ross, who visited the area a little later, disputed Wilkes's discovery, but without reason. The honor of discovering various parts of Wilkes Land actually belongs to each of the three navigators - Wilkes, Dumont-D'Urville and Ross - separately. During January and February 1840, Wilkes traveled a considerable distance along the outskirts of the Antarctic continent and reached the meridian of 96° east longitude. During the entire voyage he was unable to land anywhere on the shore.

  The third English expedition, under the command of James Clark Ross, on the steam ships Erebus and Terror (Crozier was the commander of Erebus), 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 shores of the Terre Adélie; this led him to begin his research further east, on the meridian of the Balleny Islands. In December 1840, the expedition crossed the Antarctic Circle at the meridian 169°40"E and soon began fighting the 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 - Sabin, and the entire chain of mountains with a height of 2000 - 3000 m - the Admiralty Ridge. All the valleys of this chain were filled with snow and huge glaciers descending to the sea. Beyond Cape Adar, the coast turned to the south, remaining mountainous and inaccessible. 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 voyage further south, Ross discovered the Kuhlman Islands. and Franklin (the latter at 76°8" south latitude) and saw directly to the south a 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. A further path to the south was blocked by a coast that turned east and was bordered by a continuous vertical ice wall, up to 60 meters high above the water, descending, according to Ross, to a depth of about 300 meters. This ice barrier was distinguished by the absence of any significant depressions, bays or capes; its almost flat, vertical wall stretched for an enormous distance. Beyond the icy shore, to the south, the peaks of a high mountain range were visible, extending into the depths of the southern polar continent; she is named after Parry. Ross traveled from Victoria Land to the east about 840 km, and throughout this entire distance the nature 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 longitude, they reached a more open sea and headed due south, approaching the ice coast a little more 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 else had yet. Further voyage to the east was blocked by solid ice (pack), and the expedition turned north. In December 1842, Ross made a third attempt to penetrate the south; this time he chose the path of Weddel and headed towards the Land of Louis Philippe. Going east, Ross, at the meridian of 8° west longitude, crossed the Arctic Circle and on February 21 reached 71°30" south latitude, 14°51 west longitude.

  Almost 30 years later, the expedition on the Challenger corvette visited, among other things, the southern polar countries. Having visited 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 Wilkes's map, the coast should have been only 30 kilometers away, it was not visible.

  Climate and weather

  Sea temperatures vary from approximately −2 to 10 °C. Storms cyclonically move eastward around the continent and are often 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 experiences 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; In some coastal locations, persistent strong winds leave the coastline ice-free during the winter.

  Zooplankton in the waters of the Southern Ocean is represented by copepods (about 120 species), bipeds (about 80 species) and others. Of lesser importance are chaetognaths, polychaetes, ostracods, appendicularians and molluscs. In quantitative terms, copepods (copepods) are in 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 its Antarctic regions, is characterized by massive accumulations of krill (Antarctic crustaceans). The krill biomass in these areas reaches 2,200 million tons, which makes it possible to catch up to 50-70 million tons of krill annually. Here, krill is the main food source for toothless whales, seals, fish, cephalopods, penguins and tubenosed birds. The crustaceans themselves feed on phytoplankton.

  The number of zooplankton has two peaks during the year. The first is associated with the rise of species that have overwintered and are observed in surface waters. The second peak is characterized by a large amount of zooplankton throughout the entire water column and is caused by the birth of a new generation. This is the period of summer zooplankton bloom, when most of the zooplankton moves 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.

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  Notes

  1. // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron
  2. Southern Ocean- article from the Great Soviet Encyclopedia.
  4. Southern Ocean. Antarctica // World Atlas / comp. and preparation to ed. PKO "Cartography" in 2009; Ch. ed. G. V. Pozdnyak. - M. : PKO "Cartography": Onyx, 2010. - P. 201. - ISBN 978-5-85120-295-7 (Cartography). - ISBN 978-5-488-02609-4 (Onyx).
  6. Grushinsky, N.; Dralkin, A.. - M.: Nedra, 1988. - 199 p. - ISBN 5-247-00090-0
  10. Antarctica // Great Soviet Encyclopedia (second edition), T. 2 (1950), pp. 484-485.

  Links

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

  History of the Earth Physical properties of the Earth Shells of the Earth Geography and geology Environment See also

  Geography ( English) Nature Development

  North of 40° S. w. Roaring Forties -50° S w. Roaring Fifties -60° S w.

  Excerpt describing the Southern Ocean

  Soon after the uncle, the door opened, obviously a barefoot girl from the sound of her feet, and a fat, ruddy, beautiful woman of about 40, with a double chin, and full, ruddy lips, entered the door with a large tray in her hands. She, with hospitable presence and attractiveness in her eyes and every movement, looked around at the guests and bowed respectfully to them with a gentle smile. Despite her greater-than-usual thickness, which forced her to stick her chest and stomach forward and hold her head back, this woman (the uncle’s housekeeper) walked extremely lightly. She walked up to the table, put down the tray and deftly with her white, plump hands removed and placed bottles, snacks and treats on the table. Having finished this, she walked away and stood at the door with a smile on her face. - “Here I am!” Do you understand uncle now?” her appearance told Rostov. How not to understand: not only Rostov, but also Natasha understood her uncle and the meaning of the frowning eyebrows, and the happy, self-satisfied smile that slightly wrinkled his lips as Anisya Fedorovna entered. On the tray were herbalist, liqueurs, mushrooms, cakes of black flour on yuraga, comb honey, boiled and sparkling honey, apples, raw and roasted nuts and nuts in honey. Then Anisya Feodorovna brought jam with honey and sugar, and ham, and freshly fried chicken.
  All this was Anisya Fedorovna’s farming, collecting and jamming. All this smelled and resonated and tasted like Anisya Fedorovna. Everything resonated with richness, purity, whiteness and a pleasant smile.
  “Eat, young lady countess,” she said, giving Natasha this and that. Natasha ate everything, and it seemed to her that she had never seen or eaten such flatbreads on yurag, with such a bouquet of jams, nuts on honey and such chicken. Anisya Fedorovna came out. Rostov and his uncle, washing down dinner with cherry liqueur, talked about the past and future hunt, about Rugai and the Ilagin dogs. Natasha, with sparkling eyes, sat straight on the sofa, listening to them. Several times she tried to wake Petya up to give him something to eat, but he said something incomprehensible, apparently not waking up. Natasha was so happy in her soul, so happy in this new environment for her, that she was only afraid that the droshky would come for her too soon. After an occasional silence, as almost always happens when people welcome their acquaintances into their home for the first time, the uncle said, answering the thought that his guests had:
  - So here I am, living out my life... If you die, it’s a pure matter of marching - there will be nothing left. So why sin?
  Uncle's face was very significant and even beautiful when he said this. At the same time, Rostov involuntarily remembered everything that he had heard good from his father and neighbors about his uncle. Throughout the entire region of the province, the uncle had a reputation as the noblest and most disinterested eccentric. He was called upon to judge family matters, he was made an executor, secrets were entrusted to him, he was elected to judge and other positions, but he stubbornly refused public service, spending the autumn and spring in the fields on his brown gelding, sitting at home in the winter, lying in his overgrown forest in the summer. garden.
  - Why don’t you serve, uncle?
  - I served, but quit. I’m no good, it’s just a matter of march, I won’t understand anything. This is your business, but I don’t have enough sense. As for hunting, it’s a different matter; it’s pure marching! “Open the door,” he shouted. - Well, they closed it! “The door at the end of the corridor (which my uncle called the kolidor) led to the hunting room: that was the name of the men’s room for hunters. Bare feet quickly padded and an invisible hand opened the door to the hunting room. From the corridor the sounds of a balalaika, which was obviously played by some master of this craft, could be clearly heard. Natasha had been listening to these sounds for a long time and now went out into the corridor to hear them more clearly.
  “This is my coachman Mitka... I bought him a good balalaika, I love it,” said the uncle. “It was my uncle’s habit that when he came home from hunting, Mitka would play the balalaika in the hunting lodge. Uncle loved listening to this music.
  “How good, really excellent,” said Nikolai with some involuntary disdain, as if he was ashamed to admit that he really liked these sounds.
  - How great? – Natasha said reproachfully, feeling the tone in which her brother said this. - Not great, but what a delight it is! “Just as her uncle’s mushrooms, honey and liqueurs seemed to her to be the best in the world, so this song seemed to her at that moment the height of musical charm.
  “More, please, more,” Natasha said through the door as soon as the balalaika fell silent. Mitka set it up and again brilliantly rattled Barynya with busts and interceptions. Uncle sat and listened, tilting his head to the side with a barely noticeable smile. The Lady's motive was repeated a hundred times. The balalaika was tuned several times and the same sounds rattled again, and the listeners did not get bored, but only wanted to hear this game again and again. Anisya Fedorovna entered and leaned her corpulent body against the ceiling.
  “Please listen,” she said to Natasha, with a smile extremely similar to her uncle’s smile. “He plays well for us,” she said.
  “He’s doing something wrong in this knee,” the uncle suddenly said with an energetic gesture. - Here we need to scatter - it’s a pure matter of march - scatter...
  - Do you really know how? – Natasha asked. – Uncle smiled without answering.
  - Look, Anisyushka, are the strings intact or something on the guitar? I haven’t picked it up for a long time - it’s pure marching! abandoned.
  Anisya Fedorovna willingly went with her light gait to carry out her master’s instructions and brought a guitar.
  The uncle blew off the dust without looking at anyone, tapped the lid of the guitar with his bony fingers, tuned it and adjusted himself in the chair. He took (with a somewhat theatrical gesture, placing the elbow of his left hand) the guitar above the neck and, winking at Anisya Fedorovna, began not the Lady, but struck one sonorous, clean chord, and measuredly, calmly, but firmly began to finish the famous song at a very quiet pace: Po li and ice pavement. At the same time, in time with that sedate joy (the same one that Anisya Fedorovna’s whole being breathed), the motive of the song began to sing in the souls of Nikolai and Natasha. Anisya Fedorovna blushed and covered herself with a handkerchief, laughing and leaving the room. Uncle continued to finish the song cleanly, diligently and energetically, looking with a changed, inspired look at the place from which Anisya Fedorovna had left. There was just a little something laughing in his face on one side, under his gray mustache, and he laughed especially when the song progressed further, the beat quickened, and something came off in places where it was too loud.
  - Lovely, lovely, uncle; more, more,” Natasha screamed as soon as he finished. She jumped up from her seat, hugged her uncle and kissed him. - Nikolenka, Nikolenka! - she said, looking back at her brother and as if asking him: what is this?
  Nikolai also really liked his uncle’s playing. The uncle played the song a second time. The smiling face of Anisya Feodorovna appeared again at the door and from behind her there were still other faces... “Behind the cold key, she shouts: girl, wait!” Uncle played, made another deft move, tore it off and moved his shoulders.
  “Well, well, my dear, uncle,” Natasha moaned in such a pleading voice, as if her life depended on it. The uncle stood up and it was as if there were two people in him - one of them smiled seriously at the merry fellow, and the merry fellow made a naive and neat prank before the dance.
  - Well, niece! - the uncle shouted, waving his hand towards Natasha, tearing off the chord.
  Natasha threw off the scarf that was draped over her, ran ahead of her uncle and, putting her hands on her hips, made a movement with her shoulders and stood.
  Where, how, when did this countess, raised by a French emigrant, suck into herself from that Russian air that she breathed, this spirit, where did she get these techniques that pas de chale should have long ago been supplanted? But these spirits and techniques were the same, inimitable, unstudied, Russian ones that her uncle expected from her. As soon as she stood up and smiled solemnly, proudly and slyly with gaiety, the first fear that gripped Nikolai and everyone present, the fear that she would do the wrong thing, passed and they were already admiring her.
  She did the same thing and did it so precisely, so completely accurately that Anisya Fedorovna, who immediately handed her the scarf she needed for her business, burst into tears through laughter, looking at this thin, graceful, so alien to her, well-bred countess in silk and velvet. , who knew how to understand everything that was in Anisya, and in Anisya’s father, and in her aunt, and in her mother, and in every Russian person.
  “Well, the countess is a pure march,” the uncle said, laughing joyfully, having finished the dance. - Oh yes niece! If only you could choose a good guy for your hubby, it’s pure business!
  “It’s already been chosen,” Nikolai said, smiling.
  - ABOUT? - the uncle said in surprise, looking questioningly at Natasha. Natasha nodded her head affirmatively with a happy smile.
  - What a great one! - she said. But as soon as she said this, another, new system of thoughts and feelings arose in her. What did Nikolai’s smile mean when he said: “already chosen”? Is he happy about this or not? He seems to think that my Bolkonsky would not approve, would not understand this joy of ours. No, he would understand everything. Where is he now? Natasha thought and her face suddenly became serious. But this only lasted for one second. “Don’t think, don’t dare think about it,” she said to herself and, smiling, sat down next to her uncle again, asking him to play something else.
  Uncle played another song and a waltz; then, after a pause, he cleared his throat and sang his favorite hunting song.
  Like powder since the evening
  It turned out well...
  Uncle sang as the people sing, with that complete and naive conviction that in a song all the meaning lies only in the words, that the melody comes by itself and that there is no separate melody, and that a melody is only for the purpose. Because of this, this unconscious melody, like the melody of a bird, was unusually good for my uncle. Natasha was delighted with her uncle's singing. She decided that she would no longer study the harp, but would only play the guitar. She asked her uncle for a guitar and immediately found the chords for the song.
  At ten o'clock a line, a droshky and three horsemen sent to look for them arrived for Natasha and Petya. The Count and Countess did not know where they were and were very worried, as the messenger said.
  Petya was taken down and placed like a dead body in a line; Natasha and Nikolai got into the droshky. Uncle wrapped Natasha up and said goodbye to her with completely new tenderness. He escorted them on foot to the bridge, which had to be forded, and ordered the hunters to go ahead with lanterns.
  “Farewell, dear niece,” his voice shouted from the darkness, not the one that Natasha knew before, but the one that sang: “Like powder since evening.”
  The village we were passing through had red lights and a cheerful smell of smoke.
  - What a charm this uncle is! - Natasha said when they drove out onto the main road.
  “Yes,” said Nikolai. - Aren't you cold?
  - No, I’m great, great. “I feel so good,” Natasha even said with bewilderment. They were silent for a long time.
  The night was dark and damp. The horses were not visible; you could only hear them splashing through the invisible mud.
  What was going on in this childish, receptive soul, which so greedily caught and assimilated all the varied impressions of life? How did it all fit into her? But she was very happy. Already approaching the house, she suddenly began to sing the tune of the song: “Like powder since the evening,” a tune that she had been catching all the way and finally caught.
  - Did you catch it? - said Nikolai.
  - What were you thinking about now, Nikolenka? – Natasha asked. “They loved asking each other that.”
  - I? - Nikolai said, remembering; - you see, at first I thought that Rugai, the red male, looked like his uncle and that if he were a man, he would still keep his uncle with him, if not for the race, then for the frets, he would have kept everything. How nice he is, uncle! Isn't it true? - Well, what about you?
  - I? Wait, wait. Yes, at first I thought that we were driving and we thought that we were going home, and God knows where we were going in this darkness and suddenly we would arrive and see that we were not in Otradny, but in a magical kingdom. And then I also thought... No, nothing more.
  “I know, I was right about him,” Nikolai said, smiling, as Natasha recognized by the sound of his voice.
  “No,” Natasha answered, although at the same time she really was thinking about Prince Andrei, and about how he would like his uncle. “And I keep repeating, I repeat all the way: how well Anisyushka performed, well...” said Natasha. And Nikolai heard her ringing, causeless, happy laughter.
  “You know,” she suddenly said, “I know that I will never be as happy and calm as I am now.”
  “This is nonsense, nonsense, lies,” said Nikolai and thought: “What a charm this Natasha is! I don’t have and never will have such another friend. Why should she get married, everyone would go with her!”
  “What a charm this Nikolai is!” thought Natasha. - A! there’s still a fire in the living room,” she said, pointing to the windows of the house, which shone beautifully in the wet, velvety darkness of the night.

  Count Ilya Andreich resigned from the leadership because this position was associated with too much expense. But things didn’t improve for him. Often Natasha and Nikolai saw secret, restless negotiations between their parents and heard talk about the sale of a rich, ancestral Rostov house and a house near Moscow. Without a leader there was no need to have such a large reception, and Otradnensky life was conducted more quietly than in previous years; but the huge house and outbuildings were still full of people, and more people still sat down at the table. All these were people who had settled into the house, almost members of the family, or those who, it seemed, had to live in the count’s house. These were Dimmler - a musician with his wife, Yogel - a dance teacher with his family, the old lady Belova, who lived in the house, and many others: Petya's teachers, the young ladies' former governess and simply people who were better or more profitable to live with the count than at home. There was not such a big visit as before, but the course of life was the same, without which the count and countess could not imagine life. There was the same hunting, even increased by Nikolai, the same 50 horses and 15 coachmen in the stable, the same expensive gifts on name day, and ceremonial dinners for the entire district; the same count whists and bostons, for which he, throwing out cards to everyone, allowed himself to be beaten by hundreds every day by his neighbors, who looked at the right to form Count Ilya Andreich’s game as the most profitable lease.
  The Count, as if in a huge snare, walked about his affairs, trying not to believe that he was entangled and with each step becoming more and more entangled and feeling unable either to break the nets that entangled him or to carefully, patiently begin to unravel them. The Countess felt with a loving heart that her children were going bankrupt, that the count was not to blame, that he could not be different from what he was, that he himself was suffering (although he hid it) from the consciousness of his own and his children’s ruin, and she was looking for means to help the cause. From her female point of view, there was only one remedy - Nikolai's marriage to a rich bride. She felt that this was the last hope, and that if Nikolai refused the match that she had found for him, she would have to say goodbye forever to the opportunity to improve matters. This party was Julie Karagina, the daughter of a beautiful, virtuous mother and father, known to the Rostovs from childhood, and now a rich bride on the occasion of the death of the last of her brothers.
  The Countess wrote directly to Karagina in Moscow, proposing her daughter's marriage to her son, and received a favorable response from her. Karagina replied that she, for her part, agreed that everything would depend on her daughter’s inclination. Karagina invited Nikolai to come to Moscow.
  Several times, with tears in her eyes, the countess told her son that now that both of her daughters were settled, her only desire was to see him married. She said that she would have gone to bed calm if that had been the case. Then she said that she had a beautiful girl in mind and asked his opinion about marriage.
  In other conversations, she praised Julie and advised Nikolai to go to Moscow for the holidays to have fun. Nikolai guessed where his mother’s conversations were heading, and in one of these conversations he called her to complete frankness. She told him that all hope of improving matters was now based on his marriage to Karagina.
  - Well, if I loved a girl without a fortune, would you really demand, maman, that I sacrifice my feelings and honor for the fortune? - he asked his mother, not understanding the cruelty of his question and only wanting to show his nobility.
  “No, you didn’t understand me,” said the mother, not knowing how to justify herself. “You didn’t understand me, Nikolinka.” “I wish your happiness,” she added and felt that she was telling a lie, that she was confused. - She cried.
  “Mama, don’t cry, just tell me that you want this, and you know that I will give my whole life, everything, so that you can be calm,” said Nikolai. I will sacrifice everything for you, even my feelings.
  But that’s not how the countess wanted to pose the question: she didn’t want a sacrifice from her son, she herself would like to sacrifice to him.
  “No, you didn’t understand me, we won’t talk,” she said, wiping away her tears.
  “Yes, maybe I love the poor girl,” Nikolai said to himself, well, should I sacrifice my feelings and honor for my fortune? I'm surprised how my mother could tell me this. Because Sonya is poor, I cannot love her, he thought, “I cannot respond to her faithful, devoted love. And I’ll probably be happier with her than with some Julie doll. I can always sacrifice my feelings for the good of my family, he told himself, but I cannot command my feelings. If I love Sonya, then my feeling is stronger and higher than anything else for me.”
  Nikolai did not go to Moscow, the countess did not resume conversation with him about marriage, and with sadness, and sometimes even embitterment, she saw signs of greater and greater rapprochement between her son and the dowryless Sonya. She reproached herself for this, but could not help but grumble and find fault with Sonya, often stopping her for no reason, calling her “you” and “my dear.” Most of all, the good countess was angry with Sonya because this poor, dark-eyed niece was so meek, so kind, so devotedly grateful to her benefactors, and so faithfully, invariably, selflessly in love with Nicholas, that it was impossible to reproach her for anything. .
  Nikolai spent his vacation with his relatives. A fourth letter was received from Prince Andrei's fiancé, from Rome, in which he wrote that he would have long been on his way to Russia if his wound had not unexpectedly opened in a warm climate, which forces him to postpone his departure until the beginning of next year . Natasha was just as in love with her fiancé, just as calmed by this love and just as receptive to all the joys of life; but at the end of the fourth month of separation from him, moments of sadness began to come over her, against which she could not fight. She felt sorry for herself, it was a pity that she had wasted all this time for nothing, for no one, during which she felt so capable of loving and being loved.
  It was sad in the Rostovs' house.

  Christmastide came, and besides the ceremonial mass, except for the solemn and boring congratulations of neighbors and courtyard servants, except for everyone wearing new dresses, there was nothing special to commemorate Christmastide, and in the windless 20-degree frost, in the bright blinding sun during the day and in the starry winter light at night, I felt the need for some kind of commemoration of this time.
  On the third day of the holiday, after lunch, all the household went to their rooms. It was the most boring time of the day. Nikolai, who went to see his neighbors in the morning, fell asleep in the sofa. The old count was resting in his office. Sonya was sitting at the round table in the living room, sketching a pattern. The Countess was laying out the cards. Nastasya Ivanovna the jester with a sad face was sitting at the window with two old women. Natasha entered the room, walked up to Sonya, looked at what she was doing, then walked up to her mother and stopped silently.
  - Why are you walking around like a homeless person? - her mother told her. - What do you want?
  “I need it... now, this very minute, I need it,” said Natasha, her eyes sparkling and not smiling. – The Countess raised her head and looked intently at her daughter.
  - Don't look at me. Mom, don't look, I'm going to cry now.
  “Sit down, sit with me,” said the countess.
  - Mom, I need it. Why am I disappearing like this, mom?...” Her voice broke off, tears flowed from her eyes, and in order to hide them, she quickly turned and left the room. She went into the sofa room, stood, thought, and went to the girls' room. There, the old maid was grumbling at a young girl who had come running out of breath from the cold from the yard.
  “He will play something,” said the old woman. - For all the time.
  “Let her in, Kondratyevna,” said Natasha. - Go, Mavrusha, go.
  And letting go of Mavrusha, Natasha went through the hall to the hallway. An old man and two young footmen were playing cards. They interrupted the game and stood up as the young lady entered. “What should I do with them?” thought Natasha. - Yes, Nikita, please go... where should I send him? - Yes, go to the yard and please bring the rooster; yes, and you, Misha, bring some oats.
  - Would you like some oats? – Misha said cheerfully and willingly.
  “Go, go quickly,” the old man confirmed.
  - Fyodor, get me some chalk.
  Passing by the buffet, she ordered the samovar to be served, although it was not the right time.
  Fok's barman was the angriest man in the whole house. Natasha loved to try her power over him. He didn't believe her and went to ask if it was true?
  - This young lady! - said Foka, feigning a frown at Natasha.
  No one in the house sent away as many people and gave them as much work as Natasha. She could not see people indifferently, so as not to send them somewhere. She seemed to be trying to see if one of them would get angry or pout with her, but people didn’t like to carry out anyone’s orders as much as Natasha’s. “What should I do? Where should I go? Natasha thought, walking slowly down the corridor.
  - Nastasya Ivanovna, what will happen to me? - she asked the jester, who was walking towards her in his short coat.
  “You give rise to fleas, dragonflies, and blacksmiths,” answered the jester.
  - My God, my God, it’s all the same. Oh, where should I go? What should I do with myself? “And she quickly, stamping her feet, ran up the stairs to Vogel, who lived with his wife on the top floor. Vogel had two governesses sitting at his place, and there were plates of raisins, walnuts and almonds on the table. The governesses were talking about where it was cheaper to live, in Moscow or Odessa. Natasha sat down, listened to their conversation with a serious, thoughtful face, and stood up. “The island of Madagascar,” she said. “Ma da gas kar,” she repeated each syllable clearly and, without answering m me Schoss’s questions about what she was saying, left the room. Petya, her brother, was also upstairs: he and his uncle were arranging fireworks, which they intended to set off at night. - Petya! Petka! - she shouted to him, - take me down. s - Petya ran up to her and offered her his back. She jumped on him, clasping his neck with her arms, and he jumped and ran with her. “No, no, it’s the island of Madagascar,” she said and, jumping off, went down.
  As if having walked around her kingdom, tested her power and made sure that everyone was submissive, but that it was still boring, Natasha went into the hall, took the guitar, sat down in a dark corner behind the cabinet and began plucking the strings in the bass, making a phrase that she remembered from one opera heard in St. Petersburg together with Prince Andrei. For outside listeners, something came out of her guitar that had no meaning, but in her imagination, because of these sounds, a whole series of memories were resurrected. She sat behind the cupboard, her eyes fixed on the strip of light falling from the pantry door, listened to herself and remembered. She was in a state of memory.

  
  
  

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