The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land.
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The Ross Sea was discovered by James Ross in 1841. In the west of the Ross Sea is Ross Island with the Mt. Erebus volcano, in the east Roosevelt Island. The southern part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf.[1] Roald Amundsen started his South Pole expedition in 1911 from the Bay of Whales, which was located at the shelf. In the west of the Ross sea, McMurdo Sound is a port which is usually free of ice during the summer. The southernmost part of the Ross Sea is Gould Coast, which is approximately two hundred miles from the Geographic South Pole.
All land masses in the Ross Sea are claimed by New Zealand to fall under the jurisdiction of the Ross Dependency, but few non-Commonwealth nations recognise this claim.
A 10 metre (32.8 feet) long colossal squid weighing 495 kilograms (1,091 lb) was captured in the Ross Sea on February 22, 2007.
Flora and fauna are just like the southern Antarctic marine regions. The nutrient-rich sea water supports abundant planktonic life which in turn provides food for larger species, such as fish, seals, whales, and sea- and shore-birds. Among the latter, rookeries of Adélie and Emperor can be seen at a number of places around the Ross Sea.[2] The Ross Sea is one of the last stretches of seas on Earth that has not been harmed by human activities. But still it is yet to be damaged extensively by pollution, overfishing and introducing invasive species. The world now has a rare opportunity to protect the Ross Sea from a growing number of threats and destruction. The Ross Sea has incredible biological diversity and a long history of human exploration and scientific research.[3]
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