The Lazarev Sea (, ''More Lazareva'') is a proposed name for a

marginal sea This is a list of seas of the World Ocean, including marginal seas, areas of water, various gulfs, bights, bays, and straits. Terminology * Ocean – the four to seven largest named bodies of water in the World Ocean, all of which have "Ocea ...

of the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is regarded as the second-smal ...

. It would be bordered by two proposals from a 2002

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States. A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters ...

(IHO) draft, a

King Haakon VII Sea King Haakon VII Sea ( no, King Haakon VII Hav) is a proposed name for part of the Southern Ocean on the coast of East Antarctica. Geography The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), often recognized as the authority for worldwide wa ...

to the west and a

Riiser-Larsen Sea The Riiser-Larsen Sea is one of the marginal seas located in the Southern Ocean off East Antarctica and south of the Indian Ocean. It is delimited Astrid Ridge in the west and the Gunnerus Ridge and the Kainanmaru Bank in the east. It is border ...

to the east, or between the

Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...

of 0° and 14°E. It would stretch over an area of .

History

The Lazarev Sea was named in 1962 by the

Soviet Antarctic Expedition The Soviet Antarctic Expedition (SAE or SovAE) (russian: Советская антарктическая экспедиция, САЭ, ''Sovetskaya antarkticheskaya ekspeditsiya'') was part of the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute of the S ...

in memory of Russian admiral

Mikhail Lazarev Admiral Mikhail Petrovich Lazarev (russian: Михаил Петрович Лазарев, 3 November 1788 – 11 April 1851) was a Russian fleet commander and an explorer. Education and early career Lazarev was born in Vladimir, a scion of ...

(1788–1851), who discovered the Antarctic mainland with

Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen Fabian Gottlieb Thaddeus von Bellingshausen (russian: Фадде́й Фадде́евич Беллинсга́узен, translit=Faddéy Faddéevich Bellinsgáuzen; – ) was a Russian naval officer, cartographer and explorer, who ultimatel ...

in 1820. The 2002 IHO draft was never approved by the IHO (or any other organization), and the 1953 IHO document (which does not contain this name) remains currently in force. Leading geographic authorities and atlases do not use the name, including the 2014 10th edition World Atlas from

National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, ...

and the 2014 12th edition of the

Times Atlas of the World ''The Times Atlas of the World'', rebranded ''The Times Atlas of the World: Comprehensive Edition'' in its 11th edition and ''The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World'' from its 12th edition, is a world atlas currently published by HarperCo ...

. But Soviet and Russian-state maps do.

Physical geography

The prevailing depth of waters in the Lazarev Sea is , and the maximum depth exceeds . It stretches over an area of . To the south of the Lazarev Sea lies Princess Astrid Coast of

Queen Maud Land Queen Maud Land ( no, Dronning Maud Land) is a roughly region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east. In addi ...

. The Lazarev Sea is a continental margin affected by multiple rifting episodes accompanied with transient volcanism. The Lazarev sea is also known to be very poor in

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sand ...

References

Seas of the Southern Ocean Antarctic region {{Marine-geo-stub