Geo Quiz

Antarctic waters

By The World ⋅ December 4, 2009 ⋅ Post a comment

We’re searching for a remote and icy sea near Antarctica. This part of the Southern Ocean was named by a British seal boat captain back in the 1820′s.

The seals that swim in these chilly waters are also named after the captain. They hang out on icebergs and sometimes look like they’re smiling because of the shape of their mouths. This sea is one of the roughest stretches of water in the world.

Geo Answer:

And the body of water we’re looking for is the Weddell Sea, which is part of the Southern Ocean.

Discussion

3 comments for “Antarctic waters”

  • Mark McPherson

    McMurdo Station is located on the Ross Sea, more than 1000 miles from the nearest point of the Weddell Sea.

  • Ron Thoreson

    I very much enjoy listening to your always informative, interesting,and very entertaining program. However, I must respectfully submit a correction to your Geo Quiz answer today. The sea properly associated with McMurdo Station is the Ross Sea. This sea supports the well-known Ross Ice Shelf, and extends northward towards New Zealand. The Weddell Sea is adjacent to the Antarctic Penninsula and is, as your guest experienced, the preferred area for most tour boat activity. And while the Weddell seal is the common seal seen near McMurdo, the Ross seal is a much rarer species, not frequently spotted.
    Sincerely,
    Ron Thoreson
    McMurdo Winter-Over Bio Lab Manager
    Operation Deepfreeze ’70 (1969-70)

  • John G McDonald

    Did somebody drop their scripts, running back to the studio?

    You did ask about Ross Island a couple of weeks ago, so . . .

    And, could we have some less esoteric points on the globe?

    I have a mid-size atlas for ‘cheating’ and it never heard of the Khentii mountains either, nor did my larger but older geographical dictionary.

    Well, we are learning something.

    Never (almost) miss your show.