Ask Mapman.Q: Who or what determines where oceans are divided? --from a group of curious 6th-graders in Gallipolis, Ohio Gallipolis is a chartered village in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Gallia CountyGR6. The municipality is located in southern Ohio on the Ohio River. A: The International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an international organization established in 1921 to coordinate the hydrographic activities of the member states. The IHO was the outgrowth of international conferences and congresses held as early as 1889. [IHO IHO International Hydrographic Organization IHO In Honor Of IHO Institute of Human Origins (Arizona State University) IHO Impartial Hearing Officer IHO Integrated Health Care Organization ]. Founded in 1898, the IHO consists of 74 member nations, including the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . One of its many responsibilities is to set the limits of oceans and seas. The Arctic, Atlantic, Indian, Pacific, and Southern oceans can be considered one vast ocean, covering about 71 percent of Earth's surface. When looking at those waters as five separate bodies, however, not all scientists, sailors, and cartographers Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. Before 1400
The boundaries between oceans are usually determined by the landmasses that border them, or by ridges on the ocean floor. Sometimes, though, such geographic features are absent. For instance, look at the area near Antarctica [see map]. At what point do the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans end and the Southern Ocean begin? That was a question for the IHO. In the spring of 2000, the group decided that the Southern Ocean is the world's fifth ocean--and that its boundaries include all bodies of water between 60[degrees] S latitude and the coast of Antarctica. --Jim McMahon, Mapman |
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