In the year 2000, the draft of the human genome was completed. Scientists were finally ready to tread into what had been the dark matter of human DNA. Even with a single reference map to work with, everything changed, as the age of human genomics was born. Drawing the map of DNA was a decades-long.
After decades of debate, National Geographic announced on June 8, 2021, that it will officially recognize the Southern Ocean as the Earth’s fifth ocean. The proclamation coincided with the 2021 World Oceans Day, and as part of the initiative, the exploratory institution said that it would be updating its maps.
Four oceans or five? It s #WorldOceansDay and National Geographic is making a change to recognize the Southern Ocean as a fifth official ocean in our atlases and maps! https://t.co/HSHRUAyWuE
National Geographic Society’s map policy committee noted that it had been considering the change for years and made the decision to move forward after observing scientists and the press increasingly use the term the Southern Ocean.