For the first time in over a century, there's a new ocean on the map.
That's according to National Geographic, which Tuesday announced that it is officially recognizing the body of water surrounding the Antarctic as the Southern Ocean, making it the fifth ocean alongside the Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific.
“The Southern Ocean has long been recognized by scientists, but because there was never agreement internationally, we never officially recognized it,” National Geographic Society Geographer Alex Tait told the magazine.
The new ocean extends in a ring from Antarctica's coastline to 60 degrees south latitude, according to National Geographic, and differentiates from other oceans in its designation by current, not by continent. The area is slightly bigger than twice the size of the U.S., the Central Intelligence Agency website says.
