Antartic Ocean

Antartic Ocean

One of the oceans that, although it may not seem like it, is quite rich in biodiversity and has great functionality in the planet's climate is the Antarctic Ocean. It is also known by the names of the Southern Ocean and the Southern Ocean. It is one of the oceans that has been considered ocean as such in the last position. We distinguish them from the others since it is the only one that borders a continent and surrounds it completely.

In this post we are going to tell you about all the characteristics, biodiversity and some secrets of the Antarctic Ocean.

Key features

Antarctic protected area

It is an ocean that is located in the southern hemisphere of our planet. The limit of this ocean is the Antarctic convergence that It is located about 60 degrees south latitude and the shores of Antarctica. As mentioned before, it is the only ocean capable of completely encircling a continent. For this reason, it covers all the coasts of the continent of Antarctica. It is an ocean that connects the main southern ocean basins as well as the surface of the sea with the deeper layers of water.

The total area of ​​the Antarctic Ocean is 21.960.000 square kilometers. As with other oceans on the planet, it also has several seas within it. In this case we find the Weddell Seas, the Lazarev Sea, the Riiser-Larsen Sea, the Amundsen Sea, the Sea of ​​Cosmonauts, the Sea of ​​Cooperation, the Davis Sea, the Bransfield Strait, part of the Passage of Drake, the Urville Sea, the Somov Sea, part of the Scottish Sea and the Ross Sea.

One of the biggest ocean currents of our planet is here. It is known as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and has a fairly significant influence on the planet's climate. And it is that this current also has a connection with the other oceans and influence the climate. This current carries 135-145 million cubic meters of water per second from west to east along 20,000 Antarctic kilometers at a speed of 0.5 meters per second.

The main function of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current is to distribute all the heat of the water masses between one place and another on the planet. This heat transfer causes differences in the temperatures of the bodies of water. This is known as the temperature gradient. As we know, given the differences in temperature of both water and air masses, certain movements of winds occur through atmospheric pressure. And it is that the winds circulate from where there is greater atmospheric pressure to where there is less atmospheric pressure.

All these movements of water masses at different temperatures are what have interference in rain and storm patterns.

Properties of the Atlantic Ocean

Penguins

If we analyze all the dimensions of this ocean we see that it has an average depth of between 4.000 and 5.000 meters and completely covers the 17.968 kilometers of Antarctic coastline. In the areas closest to the Antarctic continent we find a Continental platform which is about 260 kilometers wide on average and a maximum of 2.600 kilometers. Throughout this area we find a great wealth of biodiversity and natural resources.

The temperature of this ocean is normally between 10 and -2 degrees. Despite what you might think about the low temperatures of this ocean, it never completely freezes over. The contrast of the ice in the climate of the Antarctic area means that this ocean does not have very strong winds or waves since these temperatures are contrasting between them. We can find during the winter time from 65 degrees south latitude from the Pacific area 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic Ocean area how this ocean freezes.

Winter is the time when the waters of the coasts of Antarctica freeze completely except in some areas. The salinity in the water is lower as we approach north near the Antarctic Convergence. In these places the cold waters tend to sink under the waters that are less cold coming from said convergence. And it is that the waters with a lower temperature are heavier and tend to descend in depth. In contrast, those with higher temperatures tend to rise to the surface. This movement of the waters causes ocean currents.

In this ocean we find a large deposit of carbon that contains about 50 times more than what is in the atmosphere.

Economic importance of the Antarctic ocean

Protection of the Antarctic ocean

As expected, human beings take advantage of all the natural resources and biodiversity that exist in this place. Productivity is not too high due to low levels of iron and sunlight. The low amount of solar radiation is not only due to the inclination with which the sun's rays arrive when it is located at the south pole, but also it has to do with the large amount of cloudiness existing on this continent. Even so, it is an ocean with a high content of nutrients and manganese nodules as well as possible oil and natural gas deposits.

As we have mentioned before, it is a place with great biodiversity that houses more than 10.000 species that are perfectly adapted to these conditions. Among this fauna we find penguins, whales, seals, squid, Antantic krill and a great variety of fish.

Fishing in these places is quite fruitful. Among the specimens that are fished the most we have hake and krill. There are two seaports in this territory: Mcmurdo and Palmer. These seaports are installed in some offshore anchorage points. This is because not all the waters of the Antarctic Ocean are navigable due to the presence of ice blocks. The boats have to be very careful with the shock from fishing.

I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Antarctic Ocean.


Be the first to comment

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked with *

*

*

  1. Responsible for the data: Miguel Ángel Gatón
  2. Purpose of the data: Control SPAM, comment management.
  3. Legitimation: Your consent
  4. Communication of the data: The data will not be communicated to third parties except by legal obligation.
  5. Data storage: Database hosted by Occentus Networks (EU)
  6. Rights: At any time you can limit, recover and delete your information.