Polar seas Polar seas Polar seas is a collective term for the Arctic Ocean (about 4-5 percent of Earth's oceans) and the southern part of the Southern Ocean (south of Antarctic Convergence, about 10 percent of Earth's oceans). In the coldest years, sea ice can cover around 13 percent of the Earth's total surface at its maximum, but out of phase in the two hemispheres. The polar seas contain a huge biome with many organisms. Among the species that inhabit various polar seas and surrounding land areas are polar bear, reindeer (caribou), muskox, wolverine, ermine, lemming, Arctic hare, Arctic ground squirrel, whale,
South Seas South Seas The term South Seas commonly refers to the South Pacific. Geographically, all areas to the south of Panama's degree of latitude belong to the South Sea. Central archipelagos are the Society Islands (French Polynesia/Tahiti), the Samoa-archipelago and the Fiji islands. The term South Sea is often used synonymously for Oceania and in a narrow sense for Polynesia (Polynesian Triangle). The Hawaii islands, New Zealand (Aotearoa) and the Easter Island ("Rapa Nui") build the vertices. The Spanish conquistador Vasco Núñez de Balboa coined the term "South Sea" when he traveled through the isthmus of Panama and named the ocean