Southern Ocean Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. As such, it is regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions: smaller than the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans but larger than the Arctic Ocean. This ocean zone is where cold, northward flowing waters from the Antarctic mix with warmer subantarctic waters. By way of his voyages in the 1770s, Captain James Cook proved that waters encompassed the southern latitudes of the
World Ocean Conference enough to push the international community to help developing nations deal with the impacts of climate change, Indonesian Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Freddy Numberi, chairman of the conference, said the WOC had put oceans center stage in world attention and raised awareness of the importance of oceans in climate change. But representatives from both developed and developing countries expressed satisfaction with the results. World Ocean Conference The World Ocean Conference 2009 (WOC) is an international conference to develop a common understanding and firm commitment to address the adverse impact of climate change on the state of the world's oceans,