Three Oceans That Touch Antarctica

The Southern Ocean and Its Neighbors

• Southern Ocean – Encircles Antarctica (defined by the Antarctic Convergence at ~60°S).
• Atlantic Ocean – Extends south to the Southern Ocean boundary; Weddell Sea and Scotia Sea are its Antarctic marginal seas.
• Indian Ocean – Similarly reaches the Southern Ocean; includes the Cooperation Sea, Davis Sea, and Ross Sea (sometimes considered Pacific).

Note on the Pacific

The Pacific also abuts Antarctica (Ross Sea, Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea), but the three listed above are the ones most commonly cited in the three-ocean model. The five-ocean model includes the Southern Ocean as the primary Antarctic ocean.