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Difference between revisions of "Southern Ocean"
→Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Antarctic Convergence
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===Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Antarctic Convergence=== | ===Antarctic Circumpolar Current and Antarctic Convergence=== | ||
[[File:Circumpolar.jpg|thumb|right|Antarctic Circumpolar Current]] | [[File:Circumpolar.jpg|thumb|right|Antarctic Circumpolar Current]] | ||
The Antarctic Circumpolar Current moves perpetually eastward – chasing and joining itself, and at 21,000 km (13,000 mi) in length – it comprises the world's longest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters per second of water – 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers. | The [[Antarctic Circumpolar Current]] moves perpetually eastward – chasing and joining itself, and at 21,000 km (13,000 mi) in length – it comprises the world's longest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters per second of water – 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers. | ||
Several processes operate along the coast of Antarctica to produce, in the Southern Ocean, types of water masses not produced elsewhere in the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. One of these is the Antarctic Bottom Water, a very cold, highly saline, dense water that forms under sea ice. | Several processes operate along the coast of Antarctica to produce, in the Southern Ocean, types of water masses not produced elsewhere in the oceans of the Southern Hemisphere. One of these is the Antarctic Bottom Water, a very cold, highly saline, dense water that forms under sea ice. | ||