A dense bottom-water mass, formed in the Weddell and Ross Seas, which moves in an easterly direction around Antarctica under the influence of the deep-reaching, wind-driven surface Antarctic Circumpolar Current (West Wind Drift). It is typified by a salinity of 34.66 parts per thousand and a low temperature (−2 °C to −0.4 °C). The high salinity and dense nature is caused by the removal of pure water as sea ice.