Ross Sea
The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.
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Description [edit]
The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf.[1] Roald Amundsen started his South Pole expedition in 1911 from the Bay of Whales, which was located at the shelf. In the west of the Ross sea, McMurdo Sound is a port which is usually free of ice during the summer. The southernmost part of the Ross Sea is Gould Coast, which is approximately two hundred miles from the Geographic South Pole.
All land masses in the Ross Sea are claimed by New Zealand to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ross Dependency, but few non-Commonwealth nations recognise this claim.
A 10 metre (32.8 feet) long colossal squid weighing 495 kilograms (1,091 lb) was captured in the Ross Sea on February 22, 2007.[citation needed]
Ecological importance and conservation [edit]
The flora and fauna are considered similar to other southern Antarctic marine regions. Particularly in Summer, the nutrient-rich sea water supports an abundant planktonic life in turn providing food for larger species, such as fish, seals, whales, and sea- and shore-birds.
The coastal parts of the sea contain a number of rookeries of Adélie and Emperor penguins, which have been observed at a number of places around the Ross Sea, both towards the coast and outwards in open sea.[1]
The Ross Sea is one of the last stretches of seas on Earth that remains relatively unaffected by human activities. Because of this, it is remains almost totally free from pollution, overfishing and the introduction of invasive species. Consequently, the Ross Sea has become a focus of numerous environmentalist groups who have campaigned to make the area a world marine reserve, citing the rare opportunity to protect the Ross Sea from a growing number of threats and destruction. The Ross Sea is regarded by marine biologists as having a very high biological diversity and as such has a long history of human exploration and scientific research.[2]
In October 2012, Philippa Ross, James Ross' great, great, great granddaughter, voiced her opposition to a New Zealand proposal to expand fishing in the area. New Zealand says it is protecting its toothfish industry, while the United States wants more restrictions on fishing so it can conduct scientific research. [3] Ms Ross lives in New Zealand's Northland region.
See also [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ a b "Ross Sea (sea, Pacific Ocean) - Britannica Online Encyclopedia". Britannica.com. Retrieved 2012-08-13.
- ^ (dead link)
- ^ "Ross descendant wants sea protected". 3 News NZ. 29 October 2012.
External links [edit]
- J.Glausiusz, 2007, Raw Data: Beacon Bird of Climate Change. Discover Magazine.
- Gunn, B., nd, Geology The Ross Sea Dependency including Victoria-Land Ross Sea, Antarctica, Including the Ross Sea Dependency, the Sub-Antarctic Islands and sea, up to New Zealand from the Pole.
- K.Hansen, 2007, Paleoclimate: Penguin poop adds to climate picture. Geotimes.
- International Polar Foundation, 2007, Interview with Dr. Steven Emslie: The Adélie Penguins' Diet Shift. SciencePoles website.
- C.Michael Hogan. 2011. Ross Sea. Eds. P.Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
- Locarnini, R.A., 1995, the Ross Sea. Quarterdeck, vol. 1, no. 3.(Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas.)
- "Nth Korean boats caught fishing in conservation area". Radio New Zealand. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
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