Antarctic Surface Water, Circumpolar Deep Water, and Antarctic Bottom Water. Each water mass has different characteristics, and these differences drive circulation around the continent. The boundaries between the water masses tend to be sharp. The Southern Ocean is critical to life in Antarctica. Sediment traps being deployed in Ross Sea.
Oceanographers monitor how much sediment is in the water and what components make up the sediment.
In the Southern Ocean, the skeletons of diatoms slowly settle to the deep ocean floor. Photograph courtesy of David Mucciarone, Rice University.