The proposal for the name Southern Ocean won 18 votes, beating the alternative Antarctic Ocean. Half of the votes supported a definition of the ocean's northern limit at 60°S (with no land interruptions at this latitude), with the other 14 votes cast for other definitions, mostly 50°S, but a few for as far north as 35°S. The 4th edition of Limits of Oceans and Seas has yet to be published due to 'areas of concern' by several countries relating to various naming issues around the world. The IHB circulated a new draft of the 4th edition of the publication in August 2002, however there were still various changes, 60 seas were added or renamed from the 3rd edition, and even the name of the publication was changed. A reservation had also been lodged by Australia regarding the Southern Ocean limits. Effectively, the 3rd edition (which did not delineate the Southern Ocean leaving delineation to local hydrographic offices) has yet to be superseded and IHO documents declare that it remains "currently in force." Despite this, the 4th edition definition has de facto usage by many organisations, scientists and nations - even at times by IHO committees. Some nations' hydrographic offices have defined their own boundaries; the United Kingdom used the 55°S parallel for example. Other sources, such as the National Geographic Society, show the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans as extending to Antarctica, although articles on the National Geographic web site have begun to reference the Southern Ocean. In Australia, cartographic authorities defined the Southern Ocean as including the entire body of water between Antarctica and the south coasts of Australia and New Zealand. This delineation is basically the same as the original (first) edition of the IHO publication and effectively the same as the second edition. In the second edition, the Great Australian Bight was defined as the only geographical entity between the Australian coast and the Southern Ocean. Coastal maps of Tasmania and South Australia label the sea areas as Southern Ocean, while Cape Leeuwin in Western Australia is described as the point where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet. See also References External links Limits of Oceans and Seas (Draft of the 4th edition, 2002) Oceans Oceans Coastal geography Oceans