The Arctic Ocean， Atlantic Ocean， Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean are the four oceans we learned about in the geography class. But now we have a new ocean.

On the 13th World Oceans Day， whichfell on June 8，2021，the US NationalGeographic Society announced it wouldrecognize the southern ocean inAntarctica， bringing the global total to five.

Unlike the Arctic， Atlantic， Indian and Pacific Oceans—which are defined by the continents that bound them—the Southern Ocean is instead characterized by the Antarctic Circumpolar Current （ACC）. According to National Geographic， the Southern Ocean includes most of the waters surrounding Antarctica out to 60 degrees south latitude.

“Rimmed by the formidably swift ACC， it is the only ocean to touch three others and to completely embrace a continent rather than being embraced by them，” Sylvia Earle， US marine biologist and oceanographer， told Daily Mail.

Those familiar with the Southern Ocean know its unlike any other. “Anyone who has been there will struggle to explain whats so mesmerizing about it， but theyll all agree that the glaciers are bluer， the air colder， the mountains more intimidating and the landscapes more captivating than anywhere else you can go，” Seth Sykora-Bodie， a marine scientist at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration， told National Geographic.

Due to the ecologically distinct environment of the Southern Ocean， its home to thousands of unique species. The ocean also has wider ecological effects. For example， humpback whales are known to feed on small shrimp off Antarctica during the summer before migrating north to the warmer climates of Central and South America for the colder winter months， according to Daily Mail.

National Geographic hopes their revised maps will bring public awareness to the region， thereby encouraging Southern Ocean conservation—but its significance is beyond that.

“We think its really important from an educational standpoint， as well as from a maplabeling standpoint， to bring attention to the Southern Ocean as a fifth ocean，” Alex Tait， a US National Geographic Society geographer， told The Post. “So when students learn about parts of the ocean world， they learn its an interconnected ocean， and they learn there are these regions called oceans that are really important， and that theres a distinct one in the icy waters around Antarctica.”

北冰洋、大西洋、印度洋和太平洋是我們在地理課上學(xué)過的“四大洋”。而如今，我們又有了一個(gè)全新的大洋。

在 2021 年 6月8日舉行的第十三屆“世界海洋日”上，美國國家地理學(xué)會(huì)宣布承認(rèn)南極洲的南大洋為地球第五大洋。

不同于北冰洋、大西洋、印度洋和太平洋，南大洋并不由周圍的大陸劃分，而是依據(jù)南極繞極流劃分。據(jù)美國《國家地理》報(bào)道，南大洋包括了南緯 60 度以南的南極洲周圍大部分水域。

“南大洋由強(qiáng)勁湍急的南極繞極流環(huán)繞，是唯一的與其他三大洋相接、完全包圍一塊大陸而非被大陸所包圍的海洋。”美國海洋生物學(xué)家及海洋學(xué)家席薇亞·厄爾在接受《每日郵報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示。

熟悉南大洋的人都知道它與眾不同。“任何去過南大洋的人都很難解釋其迷人之處，但他們都會(huì)同意，與你能去的任何其他地方相比，那里的冰川更藍(lán)，空氣更冷，山川更令人生畏，風(fēng)景更迷人?！泵绹鴩液Ｑ蠛痛髿夤芾砭值暮Ｑ罂茖W(xué)家賽斯·西克拉 - 博迪在接受美國《國家地理》采訪時(shí)說道。

南大洋擁有獨(dú)特的生態(tài)環(huán)境，因此成為數(shù)千種獨(dú)特物種的棲息地。南大洋還擁有更廣泛的生態(tài)影響。例如，據(jù)《每日郵報(bào)》報(bào)道，眾所周知，座頭鯨在夏季以南極附近的小蝦為食，后向北遷移，到氣候更溫暖的中美洲和南美洲度過更寒冷的冬季。

美國《國家地理》希望修訂地圖能夠增強(qiáng)公眾對該地區(qū)的認(rèn)知，從而鼓勵(lì)對南大洋的保護(hù)——但其意義還不止于此。

“從教育以及地圖注記的角度而言，我們認(rèn)為讓公眾關(guān)注南大洋成為‘第五大洋這點(diǎn)非常重要?！泵绹鴩业乩韺W(xué)會(huì)的地理學(xué)家亞歷克斯·泰特在接受《華盛頓郵報(bào)》采訪時(shí)表示，“這樣學(xué)生們學(xué)習(xí)海洋世界的部分時(shí)，會(huì)了解到這是一片相互連通的海洋，了解到這些被稱為海洋的區(qū)域意義重大，了解到在南極洲周圍的冰水中，還有一片獨(dú)特的海洋?！?/p>