Antarctic Convergence: Difference between revisions

The '''Antarctic Convergence''' or '''Antarctic Polar Front''' is a curvemarine continuouslybelt encircling [[Antarctica]], varying in latitude seasonally, where cold, northward-flowing Antarctic waters meet the relatively warmer waters of the [[subantarctic|sub-Antarctic]]. Antarctic waters predominantly sink beneath the warmer subantarctic waters, while associated zones of mixing and [[upwelling]] create a zone very high in marine productivity, especially for [[Antarctic krill]].

The Antarctic Convergence was first crossed by [[Anthony de la Roché]] in 1675,<ref>R.K. Headland, ''The Island of South Georgia'', Cambridge University Press, 1984.{{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=September 2021}}</ref> and described by Sir [[EdmundEdmond Halley]] in 1700.,<ref>Alan Gurney, ''Below the Convergence: Voyages Toward Antarctica, 1699-18391699–1839'', Penguin Books, New York, 1998.{{ISBN?}}{{page?|date=September 2021}}</ref> and first described by the British [[Discovery Investigations]] and the German [[German Meteor expedition|Meteor Expedition]] in 1925–1927.<ref name=Chronology>Headland, Robert Keith. (2009). ''A Chronology of Antarctic Exploration''. London: Bernard Quaritch. 716&nbsp;pp. / [https://web.archive.org/web/20230320085732/https://southgeorgiaassociation.org/south-georgia-chronology-2/ Extract]</ref>

The Antarctic Convergence is a zone approximately {{convert|32|to|48|km|mi|abbr=on}} wide, varying in latitude seasonally and in different [[longitude]]s, extending across the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]], [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]], and [[Indian Ocean|Indian]] [[Oceanocean]]s between the [[48th parallel south|48th]] and [[61st parallel south|61st]] parallels of south latitude. Although the northern boundary varies, for the purposes of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources 1980, it is defined as "50°S, 0°; 50°S, 30°E; 45°S, 30°E; 45°S, 80°E; 55°S, 80°E; 55°S, 150°E; 60°S, 150°E; 60°S, 50°W; 50°S, 50°W; 50°S, 0°."<ref>Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources 1980, Article 1(4).</ref> Although this zone is a mobile one, it usually does not stray more than half a degree of latitude from its mean position. The precise location at any given place and time is made evident by the sudden drop in seawater temperature from north to south of, on average, {{convert|2.8|C-change|abbr=on}} from {{convert|5.6|°C|°F|abbr=on}} to below {{convert|2|°C|°F|abbr=on}}.

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140104230111/http://www.grida.no/graphicslib/detailresources/the-antarctic-convergence_26e05505 Map of Antarctic Convergence]

[[Category:AntarcticCurrents region|Convergenceof the Southern Ocean]]