A circumpolar pelagic regionalisation of the Southern Ocean

This short note describes a circumpolar, pelagic regionalisation of the Southern Ocean south of 40°S, based on sea surface temperature, depth, and sea ice information. The results show a series of latitudinal bands in open ocean areas, consistent with the oceanic fronts. Around islands and continents, the spatial scale of the patterns is finer, and is driven by variations in depth and sea ice. The results are broadly consistent with the earlier circumpolar results of Grant et al. (2006) and regional results from the Ross Sea (Sharp et al. 2010).This short note describes a circumpolar, pelagic regionalisation of the Southern Ocean south of 40°S, based on sea surface temperature, depth, and sea ice information. The results show a series of latitudinal bands in open ocean areas, consistent with the oceanic fronts. Around islands and continents, the spatial scale of the patterns is finer, and is driven by variations in depth and sea ice. The results are broadly consistent with the earlier circumpolar results of Grant et al. (2006) and regional results from the Ross Sea (Sharp et al. 2010).