According to the "News Hyperlink" report of Voice of China Central Radio and Television, the National Geographic Society announced on the 8th that the waters around Antarctica will be called the Southern Ocean.

According to the National Geographic Society, the Southern Ocean will receive the same treatment as the four oceans, and it will be included in the world ocean science books.

　　As soon as the news came out, some netizens raised objections: there is no mid-ocean ridge, and it is not worthy of being called a big ocean.

So what is the standard for dividing the ocean?

Is this recognized authority of the National Geographic Society?

Will the textbook and world map be revised?

In the long geological age, what sort of division and recombination has the ocean experienced, and what impact will it have in the future?

　　The area surpasses the Arctic Ocean, and there are big treasures on the seabed

　　According to the news released by the United States on June 8, the specific boundary of the Southern Ocean has not yet been defined, but according to the definition of the Southern Ocean by the International Hydrological Organization in 2000, the Southern Ocean has a large area of ​​approximately 20.327 million square kilometers, which will exceed the Arctic Ocean. , Becoming the fourth largest ocean in the world.

　　Not only will the area surpass the Arctic Ocean to become the world's fourth largest ocean, the rich marine resources of the Southern Ocean itself are even more precious to humans.

Lin Yongxin, director of the Maritime Silk Road Research Institute of the China South China Sea Research Institute, said that the resources of the Southern Ocean are rich and varied, and the main resources can be divided into three categories.

One is biological resources, such as: seabirds, seals, fish, lobsters, cancer, seaweed and so on.

One of the more concerned is the prawn resources in the Southern Ocean, estimated to be about 600 to 1 billion tons, and the highest annual catch can reach 100 to 150 million tons.

The second is mineral resources. The Southern Ocean is rich in more than 200 mineral resources such as iron, coal, copper, lead-zinc, manganese, gold and silver, wood, oil and natural gas.

According to the data of the US Geological Survey, there are about 451 barrels of oil and 1.15 million cubic feet of natural gas in the Southern Ocean, and the mineral content is very considerable.

The third is freshwater resources. The importance of freshwater resources to mankind is self-evident. The Southern Ocean also has abundant freshwater resources.

　　Can't it be called an ocean without a mid-ocean ridge?

Ideas should be updated

　　There is a belief that the ocean must have a mid-ocean ridge, but Lin Yongxin said that the mid-ocean ridge is just one of the ways to distinguish the oceans. There are many different factors involved in determining whether a sea area can be called an ocean. With the deepening of human understanding of the ocean, the criteria for distinguishing the ocean will continue to be updated.

　　The ocean is the central part of the ocean, accounting for about 89% of the total area of ​​the world’s oceans, and its water depth is more than 3 kilometers. The ocean has a unique ocean current and tidal system. Because it is farther from the land, it is less affected by the land. Therefore, the water temperature and salinity do not change much, and the water quality is more transparent.

For the Southern Ocean, it has a unique ocean current system, ecosystem and hydrological system, which can be distinguished from other oceans and become an independent ocean.

　　In fact, as early as 2000, the name Southern Ocean has been widely used in the field of marine research.

The National Geographic Society has certain academic authority for the recognition of the Southern Ocean.

The importance of the National Geographic Society and this recognition is not to discover and name a new ocean, but to use the huge audience of its National Geographic magazine to popularize the Southern Ocean to the public and allow the Southern Ocean to move from the field of professional academic research. Enter the homes of ordinary people and increase the recognition of the Southern Ocean by the international community.

　　Expand or shrink?

How does the changes in the ocean affect our lives?

　　Continental drift theory, submarine expansion theory, plate tectonics-our theory of the ocean is constantly changing.

According to the theory of plate tectonics, the ocean was originally surrounded by a whole plate, affected by the driving force inside the earth, the plate moved slowly, and the original plate began to split into different plates, thus forming different oceans between the plates.

The formation and changes of the ocean will first be clearly reflected in the drawing of our textbooks and maps.

Lin Yongxin said that after the Southern Ocean is gradually accepted by the public, new changes will occur in the drawing of the world map. The four oceans will become five oceans, and the geography textbooks of various countries will also produce corresponding results under the evaluation of the authoritative departments of each country. change.

　　In addition to having an impact on maps and textbooks, the movement of the oceans will have a greater impact on the geomorphological and geological conditions of the earth.

Lin Yongxin said that the Atlantic is currently in a continuous process of expansion.

When it expands, it shrinks. Unlike the Atlantic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean is shrinking due to plate movement.

Whether it is expanding or shrinking, oceanic movement will bring about changes in geology and geomorphology.

For example, the collision zone between two plates is often an earthquake-prone zone, a mountain range or a plateau.

If the ocean and land plates collide, trenches, islands and lakes will be formed.

The separation of plates will form growth boundaries. For example, the Great Rift Valley is the result of plate expansion.

　　In the future, with the strengthening of popular science work, the Southern Ocean will be recognized by more people, and we need to continue to protect and develop it.

　　Producer丨Bai Zhonghua

　　Reporter丨Liu Hejia