What is the ocean?The ocean - a global water shell of the Earth, which surrounds the continents and islands.More than seventy percent (to be precise, 71%) of the earth's surface is covered by oceans.What is the ocean?The continents and large islands divide the world ocean into five parts.On maps produced in the Russian Federation, you are not likely to find in the Southern Ocean.However, in 2000, the International Hydrographic Union decided on the division of the world water space on five oceans.Known throughout the Pacific, Indian, Atlantic and Arctic added the Southern Ocean.Why is it added to this list?Despite the fact that the southern boundary of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans fairly conventional, water, adjacent to Antarctica, have specific properties.However, it should be noted that the decision of the International Hydrographic Union has not been ratified.
Southern Ocean and s an northern border, which is considered the Antarctic convergence zone (the zone of convergence of surface currents).Some scientists, oceanographers believe that the physical boundaries of the Southern Ocean are somewhat to the north, namely in an arc from the southern part of Tierra del Fuego to South Africa.Its area is over 76 million square kilometers, the largest measured depth South Sandwich trough is about 8428 meters.
first described the Southern Ocean in 1650, a Dutch geographer B. Varenius.Later, in the 18th century, it began a study of the region.
In 1845, the London Royal Geographical Society has offered all the space, which is limited to the southern polar circle and extends to the Antarctic continent, called the Southern Arctic Ocean.Southern Ocean in the documents of the International Hydrographic Organization was isolated in 1937 from the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian, but then refuse it.
From the history of the study of the Southern Ocean is known that the first vessel, which in 1559 crossed the Antarctic Circle, was a Dutch ship, under the command of Dirk Geerittsa, a member of the squadron Jacob Magyu.D. Geerittsa ship in the Strait of Magellan after a strong storm had lost sight of the squadron and went to the south.Going down to about 64 ° south latitude, the team saw the high ground.
In 1772, the year of the Great Britain set sail on his first sea campaign in the southern hemisphere of the famous explorer D. Cook, and at the beginning of 1773rd year two of his ships reached the southern polar circle.However, after a desperate battle with the ice, they turned back.A few months later Cook again went to the Southern Ocean, and Dec. 8, 1773 reached the southern polar circle, but the ship was zatёrt ice.However, he freed from ice captivity and went further south.But then it was stopped by an impenetrable wall of ice, which is not allowed to go further.In the second expedition to the South Pole Cook twice crossed the Antarctic Circle, and was convinced that a huge number of icebergs indicates that more needs to be significant Antarctic continent.Their adventures in polar marine expedition he so vividly and colorfully described that more than anybody, except whalers desperate for a long time did not dare to go to those places and explore.
In June 1819 Russian explorers F. Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev went on two military sloops from Kronstadt towards the Southern Ocean.In January 1820, the year they came out of the southern polar circle, passed along it on the east, in January 1821 discovered the islands of Peter I, and later - the land of Alexander I. The expedition under the command of Bellingshausen first made full sail in small sailingCourts around Antarctica, the open sea during this scientific expedition.
