Two huge ocean waves clashing. Photo credit: David Bostoc/Shutterstock.com

There are five oceans on earth, and all of them are connected with each other to form a continuous body of water. Historically, there were only four oceans, namely Atlantic, Pacific, Indian and Arctic. In the year 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to carve out a new ocean surrounding the least populated continent at the bottom of the earth—Antarctica—based on the evidence that this water body has a distinct ecosystem and a unique impact on global climate. The Antarctic Ocean, also called the Southern Ocean, became the fifth ocean on earth and the fourth largest of the world's five oceans, larger than the Arctic Ocean.