# How many oceans? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 30, 2013, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690 "2013-05-30T06:46:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/1 "2013-05-30T06:46:28Z")
When I was learnin’ stuff in school, I was taught four oceans: pacific, atlantic, indian, arctic. I just learned that there is a 5th ocean named The Southern Ocean which surrounds Antarctica. This was news to me and I’m a fairly learned 27 year old man! So, how many oceans have you learned about in your life? Is this 5 ocean model very commonly taught or very widely used? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/2 "2013-05-30T07:22:55Z")
5 oceans is what I learned. Being in the Southern hemisphere might have something to do with not ignoring the Southern Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 9:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/3 "2013-05-30T09:23:09Z")
Wut?! I learned 4, same as **drew**! People be makin’ up oceans, Pluto isn’t a planet. Maybe it was a deal? “OK, we’ll degrade Pluto, but you gotta give us an ocean?” ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/4 "2013-05-30T10:11:15Z")
MrDibble, could you please elaborate on your usage of Southern Ocean? I’m not sure which continent you hail from, but for example, if it’s Australia, do you usually see it labeled on maps as Southern Ocean, does it get referred to in the news like “a boat sank in the Southern Ocean today”, etc? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 10:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/5 "2013-05-30T10:11:49Z")
It’s hardly “made up” when the Southern Ocean is, in fact, bigger than the Arctic Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![Gullible\_s\_Travels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de0a6/32.png) [@Gullible\_s\_Travels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gullible_s_Travels)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/6 "2013-05-30T10:47:21Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > MrDibble, could you please elaborate on your usage of Southern Ocean? I’m not sure which continent you hail from, but for example, if it’s Australia, do you usually see it labeled on maps as Southern Ocean, does it get referred to in the news like “a boat sank in the Southern Ocean today”, etc? Not wanting to answer for MrDibble, but yes it’s on maps and yes you hear that such and such happened in the Southern Ocean. Tony Bullimore from Britain was rescued by the Australian navy in the Southern Ocean when his boat capsized during a single handled around the world yacht race some years ago. Apparently he survived for days in complete darkness in the upturned hull in freezing waters with only a chocolate bar to eat. I think there was also another sailor rescued in a similar (but less remote) area during the same race. It was big news here (Australia), and also around the world I would have thought? Most people were amazed that he was still alive when the navy got to the yacht. They knocked on the hull, just like in the movies. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/7 "2013-05-30T10:47:24Z")
There’s only one ocean the world around, in reality. Anything else is made up. ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/8 "2013-05-30T11:15:19Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > It’s hardly “made up” when the Southern Ocean is, in fact, bigger than the Arctic Ocean. Hey, are you telling the ocean its -ss is fat? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/9 "2013-05-30T11:48:11Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > MrDibble, could you please elaborate on your usage of Southern Ocean? I’m not sure which continent you hail from, but for example, if it’s Australia, do you usually see it labeled on maps as Southern Ocean, does it get referred to in the news like “a boat sank in the Southern Ocean today”, etc? Yes. I’m South African. It’s generally used in the context of our Antarctic base and our annual missions there. I’m reasonably sure we use the 60deg S definition for it. Maps vary, some label it “Antarctic Ocean” and some (under NGS influence, no doubt) don’t include it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/10 "2013-05-30T12:00:16Z")
Huh. I just checked my class globe, and while the four other seas are labeled with capital letters, and various Antarctic seas are labeled along with various trenches and wind patters, there’s no Southern Ocean. [Wikipedia enlightens:](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Ocean) > [@](#): > > Different organizations and nations have differing points of view over the extents and existence of the Southern Ocean, though many mariners have long regarded the term as traditional. > The 1937 second edition of the International Hydrographic Organization’s (IHO) Limits of Oceans and Seas publication included a definition of an ocean around Antarctica. However, this ocean did not appear in the 1953 third edition because “the northern limits … are difficult to lay down owing to their seasonal change” - instead the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans were extended southward.[6] > The IHO readdressed the question of the ocean’s existence in a survey in 2000. Of its 68 member nations, 28 responded, and all responding members except Argentina agreed to define a new ocean, reflecting the importance placed by oceanographers on ocean currents. The proposal for the name Southern Ocean won 18 votes, beating the alternative Antarctic Ocean. Half of the votes supported a definition of the ocean’s northern limit at 60°S (with no land interruptions at this latitude), with the other 14 votes cast for other definitions, mostly 50°S, but a few for as far north as 35°S. However, the 4th edition of Limits of Oceans and Seas was never ratified or published due to a reservation lodged by Australia,[7][improper synthesis?] and so the 3rd edition (which does not delineate a separate Southern Ocean) has not been superseded. If and when the 4th edition is published, it will restore the Southern Ocean as originally outlined in the 2nd edition and subsequently omitted from the 3rd.[citation needed] I left all the "citation needed"s in because I don’t want to pretend the article is authoritative :). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/11 "2013-05-30T12:29:45Z")
There is either one ocean, or as many as you want there to be. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/12 "2013-05-30T12:36:11Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > There’s only one ocean the world around, in reality. Anything else is made up. Two, if you count the Caspian Sea. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 12:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/13 "2013-05-30T12:45:23Z")
The Caspian is landlocked. It’s a huge inland salt lake with no outlet. What’s unique about the Southern Ocean is that it’s the only one that allows unimpeded\* circumnavigation of the globe. \*With respect to land; ice might be a problem, though. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/14 "2013-05-30T13:41:13Z")
I was never taught that there was only one ocean. Of course, we knew all the oceans connected and that the boundaries might be a little fuzzy. But I’m talking about what people were TAUGHT and what they think of immediately when someone asks “how many oceans?” So drop the pedantic crap and answer my question as I asked it. How many oceans were you taught? Do you know about the Southern Ocean, and do you use that term and hear it regularly? ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/15 "2013-05-30T13:44:19Z")
I was taught that they are 7 continents and 5 oceans. And the Southern Ocean was one of the later. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/16 "2013-05-30T14:04:23Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The Caspian is landlocked. It’s a huge inland salt lake with no outlet. It’s not surrounded by land. The land is surrounded by _it_. (Actually the ancients considered it an ocean; it used to be part of the world ocean; and it has some geological characteristics of an ocean. So an argument could be made that it is an ocean.) ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/17 "2013-05-30T14:10:55Z")
I was taught seven continents and five oceans. And, it was called the ‘Antarctic Ocean’. That seems more symmetrical than ‘Southern Ocean’ to me. But then there are the ‘Seven Seas’. How does that fit in? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/18 "2013-05-30T14:11:18Z")
Van the man Morrison taught me there are seven oceans. [QUOTE=Tupelo Honey] You can take all the tea in china Put it in a big brown bag for me Sail right around the seven oceans Drop it straight into the deep blue sea [/QUOTE] ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/19 "2013-05-30T14:15:33Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > There is either one ocean, or as many as you want there to be. For most of us, there are as many oceans as the people who devote their lives to studying such questions say that there are. I see no reason not to defer to their expertise on such a matter. Honestly, this is the first I’ve ever heard of the Southern Ocean, except possibly in a Captain Jack Aubrey novel where I glossed over it, thinking it some weird nautical term like mainmast and jibberdeflibbet. ---
**Author:** ![Carnacki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b5e925/32.png) [@Carnacki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnacki)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690/20 "2013-05-30T15:02:04Z")
Is the Department of Figuring Out How Many Oceans There Are affiliated with the Ministry of Decided Whether or Not Tomatoes are Fruit? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-oceans/659690.md?page=2)