Sea
Weddell Sea
The Weddell Sea is a huge, icy bay of the Southern Ocean on the coast of Antarctica. Much of its southern part lies hidden under an enormous floating sheet of ice, the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.
Picture credit: NASA ICE (Public domain) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Weddell Sea?
Part of: Southern Ocean.
Continents on its shores: Antarctica.
The story behind it
The sea is named after James Weddell, a Scottish sailor who sailed into it in 1823. Thick pack ice makes it very hard for ships to get through. In 1915 the explorer Ernest Shackleton's ship, the Endurance, got stuck in the ice and was crushed. For more than 100 years nobody knew exactly where it lay, until the wreck was found in 2022 at a depth of 3 008 m. The water here can be amazingly clear: in 1986 scientists could still see a white disc 80 m below the surface. Weddell seals, named after this sea, live on the ice, and Adélie penguins are the most common penguins. Scientists have even found about 60 million nests of an icefish on the seabed. Here very cold, heavy water also sinks into the deep, which helps to drive the great currents of the oceans.
Find it on the globe
Weddell Sea is there as a name written across its water — tap the water and its card opens. From far away the planet is only a blue ball; detail arrives as you zoom in, and this one appears once you are close enough. Open it on the globe.
Questions children ask
How big is the Weddell Sea?
The Weddell Sea covers about 2.8 million km². At its widest point it is around 2 000 km across.
What happened to Shackleton's ship Endurance?
In 1915 the Endurance was trapped by the pack ice of the Weddell Sea and crushed. Its wreck was found in 2022, lying 3 008 m deep on the seabed.
How clear is the water of the Weddell Sea?
It can be as clear as distilled water, which is extremely pure. In 1986 scientists lowered a white disc into the sea and could still see it 80 m down.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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