Davis Sea is an area of the

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

along the coast of East Antarctica between

West Ice Shelf The West Ice Shelf is a prominent ice shelf extending about in an east–west direction along the Leopold and Astrid Coast in East Antarctica between Barrier Bay and Posadowsky Bay, and up to 120 km northwards from the continental mar ...

in the west and the

Shackleton Ice Shelf Shackleton Ice Shelf is an extensive ice shelf fronting the coast of East Antarctica from 95° E to 105° E. It extends for an along-shore distance of about , projecting seaward about in the western portion and in the east. It occu ...

in the east,USGS Geographic Names Information System, Antarctica Data, Davis Sea
/ref> or between 82° and 96°E. The name "Davis Sea" appears in most leading geographically authoritative publications such as the 2014 10th edition World Atlas from the

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, an ...

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 ...

'', unlike neighboring proposed water body names such as the Russian-proposed

Cooperation Sea Cooperation Sea, also called Commonwealth Sea (erratum) or Sodruzhestvo Sea (russian: Море Содружества), is a proposed sea name for part of the Southern Ocean, between Enderby Land (the eastern limit of which is 59°34'E) and West I ...

to the west. According to the ''Great Soviet Encyclopedia'', it stretches from 87°E to 98°E, and is up to deep. Its area is given as only .Gazetteer «About countries»: Davis Sea
/ref> Other authorities such as National Geographic assign it a much smaller extent. The sea borders the

Leopold and Astrid Coast The Leopold and Astrid Coast () is that portion of the coast of Antarctica lying between the western extremity of the West Ice Shelf, at 81°24′E, and Cape Penck, at 87°43′E. It is located in the eastern half of Princess Elizabeth Land. Explo ...

portion of

Princess Elizabeth Land Princess Elizabeth Land is the sector of Antarctica between longitude 73° east and Cape Penck (at 87°43' east). The sector is claimed by Australia as part of the Australian Antarctic Territory, although this claim is not widely recognized. ...

, then

Kaiser Wilhelm II Land Kaiser Wilhelm II Land is a part of Antarctica lying between Cape Penck at 87° 43'E and Cape Filchner at 91° 54'E. Princess Elizabeth Land is located to the west, and Queen Mary Land to the east. The area is claimed by Australia ...

, Pravda Coast and Queen Mary Land. The never-approved 2002 draft fourth edition of ''Limits of Oceans and Seas'' identifies that the Tryoshnikova Gulf (named after Alexey Tryoshnikov) is located in the southern part of the Davis Sea. About off the coast of Queen Mary Land is

Drygalski Island Drygalski Island is an ice-capped island that is long and rises to in the Davis Sea of the Southern Ocean, about north of the coast of Queen Mary Land and north-northeast of Cape Filchner. The island has an area of . Drygalski Island was f ...

. The

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

Mirny Station The Mirny Station (russian: Мирный, literally ''Peaceful'') is a Russian (formerly Soviet) first Antarctic science station located in Queen Mary Land, Antarctica, on the Antarctic coast of the Davis Sea. The station is managed by the ...

was built on the coast of Queen Mary Land in 1956.

Roscoe Glacier Roscoe Glacier () is an Antarctic channel glacier, 12 nautical miles (22 km) long and 3 to 5 nautical miles (9 km) wide, debouching from a small valley onto the west portion of Shackleton Ice Shelf, midway between Cape Moyes and Juncti ...

flows into the eastern part of Davis Sea. Close offshore are Bigelow Rock and the Gillies Islands. The sea was discovered by the Australian Antarctic Expedition (1911–1914) from the ''Aurora''. It was named by Sir

Douglas Mawson Sir Douglas Mawson OBE FRS FAA (5 May 1882 – 14 October 1958) was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer, and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Sir Ernest Shackleton, he was a key expedition leader duri ...

for Captain

John King Davis John King Davis (19 February 1884 – 8 May 1967) was an English-born Australian explorer and navigator notable for his work captaining exploration ships in Antarctic waters as well as for establishing meteorological stations on Macquar ...

, master of the ''Aurora'' and second in command of the expedition.

References

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

See also

References