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Locational characteristics of Antartica - Coggle Diagram
Locational characteristics of Antartica
Sourthern Ocean
In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organisation delimited a fifth ocean - the Southern Ocean
This is also known as the Antarctic Ocean, from the southern portions of the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans
Antarctic Convergence
A zone continuously encircling Antartica where cold northward flowing Antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the sub-Antartic
The Antarctic Convergence is a zone approximately 32 to 48km wide, varying in latitude seasonally and in different longitudes, extending across the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans
The Antarctic Convergence zone is a natural boundary that separtes
two distinct hydrological regions
areas of distinct climate
areas of distinctive wildlife
Krill
Cold northward flowing Antarctic waters sink beneath Sub-Antarctic waters.
This forms associated areas of mixing and upwelling currents which are very high in marine productivity, especially Antarctic krill
Antarctic Circumpolar Current
The Convergence zone gives rise to the largest surface current in the world called the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
this flows around Antartica
This current effectively blocks warmer waters travelling southwards
The Circumpolar current flows in an eastwards direction being driven by westley winds, and is otherwise known as the West Wind Drift.
A lesser current, closer to the Antarctica, flows opposite direction westwards, this is known as the East Wind Drift and is driven by easterly polar winds
Antarctic Divergence
The East Wind Drift features prominently in the Ross and Weddell Sea
This area where these opposite flowing currents meet is known as the zone of Antarctic Divergence