Southern Ocean

[suhth-ern oh-shuhn]

noun

1. the waters surrounding Antarctica, comprising the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, with its deepest section in the South Sandwich Trench. 8,478,800 square miles (21,960,000 square kilometers).

Southern Ocean

noun

1. another name for the Antarctic Ocean

Word History and Origins

Origin of Southern Ocean¹

First recorded in 1660–70, referring to any southern sea; current sense dates from 1700–10

Example Sentences

That is what an international team of particularly adventurous researchers did earlier this year in the remote Antarctic Peninsula, on a mission aiming to reveal centuries of scientific secrets about the Southern Ocean.

From BBC

Scientists have spent years probing the animal's annual migration in Antarctic waters, or the Southern Ocean, and what it means for climate change.

From BBC

The findings are "remarkable", says lead author Dr Guang Yang from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, adding that it forces a re-think about how much carbon the Southern Ocean stores.

From BBC

Of that figure, the Southern Ocean is responsible for about 40%, and a lot of that is down to zooplankton.

From BBC

But what happened when the animals migrate in the Southern Ocean had not been quantified.

From BBC