The CIA World Factbook Every edition, 2000 to 2021 Oceans

Terrain Southern Ocean, in 22 editions.

The entry for Southern Ocean published Terrain in 22 editions of 26, from 2000 to 2021. The text changed in 7 editions. Each is shown as published. Terrain in every entry.

editions changed the text
7
the first edition with it
2000
the latest edition with it
2021

Published as “Terrain” (2000 to 2021).

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe edition shownChoose an edition on the strip beside the text, or step through them with the arrows. Mark changes compares it with the edition before: the marks are ours, words added and words removed.

2021 edition

Changed since 2020

Open the 2021 entry

  • the Southern Ocean is 4,000 to 5,000-m deep over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water;
  • the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m);
  • the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area
major surface currents:
  • the cold, clockwise-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift; 21,000 km long) moves perpetually eastward around the continent and is the world's largest and strongest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers;
  • it is also the only current that flows all the way around the planet and connects the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans;
  • the cold Antarctic Coastal Current (East Wind Drift) is the southernmost current in the world, flowing westward and parallel to the Antarctic coastline

the Southern Ocean is 4,000 to 5,000-m deep over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area
major surface currents: the cold, clockwise-flowing Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift; 21,000 km long) moves perpetually eastward around the continent and is the world's largest and strongest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers; it is also the only current that flows all the way around the planet and connects the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans; the cold Antarctic Coastal Current (East Wind Drift) is the southernmost current in the world, flowing westward and parallel to the Antarctic coastline

Cite this page

Central Intelligence Agency. “Southern Ocean: Terrain.” The World Factbook, 2000–2021 editions. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/southern-ocean/terrain.

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