The world now has a 5th ocean

[Exterous]

Clearly a scam by Big Cartography to sell more globes, maps and updates

Coming Soon To An Atlas Near You: A Fifth Ocean

National Geographic has recognized the Southern Ocean as the fifth official ocean. The cartographic update doesn't surprise researchers who study the importance of the waters surrounding Antarctica.

www.npr.org

Back in my day we had 9 planets and 4 oceans and we liked it!

 

[IronWing]

I’m okay with the Southern Ocean based on the isolating current. Demoting Pluto was just bullshit by astronomers who needed a publication but had nothing to contribute to science.

 

[ch33zw1z]

The penguins must've petitioned hard enough. Represent

 

[uclaLabrat]

Yup. Your mom.

Sorry I couldn't resist.

 

[Indus]

Clearly a scam by Big Cartography to sell more globes, maps and updates

Coming Soon To An Atlas Near You: A Fifth Ocean

National Geographic has recognized the Southern Ocean as the fifth official ocean. The cartographic update doesn't surprise researchers who study the importance of the waters surrounding Antarctica.

www.npr.org

Back in my day we had 9 planets and 4 oceans and we liked it!

The Southern Ocean has been a thing for over 35 years now.. I remember it being theorized as back as 1986.

But as far as globes, maps go.. we also have 8 continents too.. Zealandia is totally independent of Australia.

 

[Ken g6]

But I thought there were always seven seas. 😕 😉

(Apparently they divided the Atlantic and Pacific at the equator to make 7 from 5.)

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

Seems to be a bunch of fiddledeedoodle over naming:

Southern Ocean - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I remember five, Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Antarctic, but there's really only one after all.

 

[Sunburn74]

I never understood why we have 4 oceans and not one ocean.

 

[IronWing]

I never understood why we have 4 oceans and not one ocean.

Tectonics outpaces erosion, barely.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I never understood why we have 4 oceans and not one ocean.

It only has one. It's subdivided into named regions for people purposes, mostly political. Some call the Caribbean and the Gulf Of Mexico as separate while others call them part of the Atlantic:

Seven Seas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The seven seas get a little more complicated with several versions over the centuries:

Seven Seas - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

The Mediterranean, Caspian, Red and Black are more or less landlocked and giant lakes while the Adriatic is basically an extension of the Atlantic and the Arabian is part of the Indian Ocean.