美國國家地理學會宣布：承認南大洋為世界第五大洋

在世界海洋日當天，美國國家地理學會宣布，南極洲周圍海域?qū)⒈环Q為南大洋，并正式承認南大洋為地球第五大洋。經(jīng)有關國際機構(gòu)認可后，南大洋有望與世界公認的四大洋——大西洋、太平洋、印度洋和北冰洋——并稱為“世界五大洋”。

Anyone who thought the world had four oceans will now have to think again, after the National Geographic Society announced it would recognize a new Southern Ocean in Antarctica, bringing the global total to five.

認為世界上有四大洋的人要再想想了。美國國家地理學會宣布，南極洲周圍海域?qū)⒈环Q為南大洋，這樣一來，四大洋就變成五大洋了。

The National Geographic, a non-profit scientific and educational organization whose mapping standards are referenced by many atlases and cartographers, said the Southern Ocean consists of the waters surrounding Antarctica, out to 60-degrees south latitude.

美國國家地理學會稱，南大洋環(huán)繞南極洲，從大陸的海岸線延伸至南緯60度。美國國家地理學會是一個非營利科學與教育組織，許多地圖集和制圖師都參考該組織的制圖標準。

National Geographic Society geographer Alex Tait said scientists have long known that the waters surrounding Antarctica form a “distinct ecological region defined, by ocean currents and temperatures”.

國家地理學會的地理學家亞歷克斯·泰特稱，科學家很早以前就知道南極洲四周水域組成了一個“由洋流和溫度界定的獨特生態(tài)區(qū)域”。

Tait told the Washington Post that the span of water is yet to be officially recognized as an ocean by the relevant international body: “But we thought it was important at this point to officially recognize it.”

泰特告訴《華盛頓郵報》稱，相關國際機構(gòu)還未正式承認這部分水域為第五大洋，“但是我們認為這時候有必要正式承認第五大洋的地位?！?/p>

The US Board of Geographic Names, a federal body created in 1890 to establish and maintain “uniform geographic name usage” through the federal government, already recognizes the Southern ocean as occupying the same territory, but this is the first time the National Geographic has done so.

先前美國地名委員會已經(jīng)認定南大洋是世界第五大洋，但這是美國國家地理學會第一次承認南大洋的地位。美國地名委員會是一家創(chuàng)立于1890年的聯(lián)邦機構(gòu)，通過聯(lián)邦政府來“統(tǒng)一地名”。

"We think it’s really important from an educational standpoint, as well as from a map-labeling standpoint, to bring attention to the Southern Ocean as a fifth ocean,” Tait told the Post.

泰特告訴《華盛頓郵報》稱：“我們認為，站在教育和地圖注記的立場上，將南大洋認定為第五大洋真的很重要。”

"So when students learn about parts of the ocean world, they learn it’s an interconnected ocean, and they learn there’s these regions called oceans that are really important, and there’s a distinct one in the icy waters around Antarctica.”

“這樣，當學生學習海洋世界的各個部分時，他們會了解到這是一個互聯(lián)互通的海洋，并了解到各個非常重要的大洋，包括環(huán)繞南極洲的這片獨特的冰冷水域?！?/p>

英文來源：衛(wèi)報

翻譯&編輯：丹妮