The seas and oceans of the planet

The area of ​​the oceans is 71% of the surface area of ​​the Earth.

The Southern Ocean is the fourth largest ocean in the Earth surrounding Antarctica.

Although the concept of the Southern Ocean is not widespread in Russia and its territory is divided between the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific, in 2000 the International Hydrographic Union adopted a division into five oceans, and this has its own logic.In the southern part of the border between the three oceans are very arbitrary, at the same time, the waters adjacent to Antarctica have their own specifics and are also united by the Antarctic circumpolar current.

In the Russian tradition, the Southern Ocean is a conditional concept. Its approximate boundary is the Antarctic convergence zone (the northern boundary of the Antarctic surface waters).