Sargasso Sea: Is it really a sea?

Post Reply New Topic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_sea

In the coastal ocean, bodies of water are naturally defined, in part, by the coasts they lie against. In the open ocean, however, bodies of water are bounded by atmospheric pressure systems and the currents those systems create. In other words, air, not land, defines the body of water.

I heard it's actually a gyre.

yes, i like that word gyre. apparently they swirl with non-biodegradable plastic trash.

I don't know about trash, but it's chock full of seaweed.

It's especially interesting because not all maps and globes even label it, yet they label the so-called "Southern Ocean" that surrounds Antarctica.

Unless it is separated from the ocean no.

Simple answer: yes.

I have no idea what an "actual" sea might mean to you.

It's certainly not one of the "seven seas": the Arctic, Antarctic, North and South Pacific, North and South Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.

It's also not one of the "four seas": the English Channel, the North Sea, the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean.

Which other seas are you counting as "actual".

Wikipedia lists it as a sea. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea I couldn't find a better source. Even after much searching I couldn't even find a decent definition of a sea.

If I'm understanding the subject correctly, it would seem that the gyre is made up of the currents surrounding the Sargasso Sea. The gyre causes the sea, but is not the sea itself.

Interesting question, Tim.

http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/sea

According to this, a sea is an ocean or a subdivision of an ocean, so I would call it a sea.

Thanks, MrMark.