Winter storm warnings continue in northern Minnesota 

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

Most of us learned about the world's oceans in elementary school. There's the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian and the Arctic.

Thanks to National Geographic, you'll soon see a fifth ocean on your maps. It's now officially recognizing the Southern Ocean, the waters swirling around Antarctica, marking the first time the organization has made such a change since it started drawing up maps over a century ago.

, National Geographic announced the distinction, which many scientists and researchers have unofficially acknowledged for decades

"Traditionally, there have been the four [oceans] defined primarily by land masses," Alex Tait, National Geographic Society geographer, tells NPR's All Things Considered. "We think it's important to add this fifth ocean region because it's so unique and because we want to bring attention to all areas of the ocean."

National Geographic has produced maps, atlases and globes 

. But this is the first time they're drawing up a new map that will recast the oceans. 

The move catches up with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recognition of the Southern Ocean 

, when it earned approval from the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.

The change made waves for experts already familiar with the area. For instance, it caught Cassandra Brooks, an assistant professor in environmental studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder, off-kilter.

"To be completely honest with you, I was rather surprised because I had always thought of the Southern Ocean as its own ocean," says Brooks. "I think most of the scientists who work down there really understand how the Southern Ocean is its own thing."

But the Southern is special, according to Brooks, who's spent more than 15 years of her career studying the Antarctic. It's defined by the powerful Antarctic Circumpolar Current, a critical flow that she says helps 

Brooks says she thinks about the Southern Ocean as "lungs" or "the heart." The ocean is "pumping water throughout the world's oceans," she says.

Both Tait and Brooks hope that this new recognition will create more awareness for a region that's often forgotten.

"Antarctica is so far away that most people don't think about it on a day-to-day basis. They're not seeing how important it is to literally all of our survival," says Brooks. 

Science

Environmental News

Water

Karen Zamora

Author

Justine Kenin

Emma Bowman

National Geographic has recognized the Southern Ocean as the fifth official ocean. The cartographic update doesn't surprise researchers who study the importance of the waters surrounding Antarctica.

Coming soon to an atlas near you: A fifth ocean

Go Deeper.

Like this?

News you can use in your inbox