Indian Ocean

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For the rock band, see Indian Ocean (band).
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Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean-CIA WFB Map.png
Extent of the Indian Ocean according to The World Factbook
Location South Asia, Southeast Asia, Western Asia, Northeast Africa, East
Africa, Southern Africa and Australia
Coordinates 20S 80ECoordinates 20S 80E
Type Ocean
Max. width 6,200 mi (10,000 km)
Surface area 70,560,000 km2 (27,240,000 sq mi)
Average depth 3,741 m (12,274 ft)
Max. depth 7,906 m (25,938 ft)
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering
70,560,000 km2 (27,240,000 sq mi) (approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's
surface).[1] It is bounded by Asia on the north, on the west by Africa, on the east
by Australia, and on the south by the Southern Ocean or, depending on definition,
by Antarctica.[2] It is named after the Indian subcontinent.[3] The Indian Ocean is
known as Ratnakara (Sanskrit ???????), the mine of gems in ancient Sanskrit
literature, and as Hind Mahasagar (Hindi ????? ???????), in Hindi.

Contents [hide]
1 Geography
1.1 Marginal seas
2 Climate
3 Oceanography
4 Geology
5 Marine life
6 History
6.1 First settlements
6.2 Era of discovery
6.3 Industrial era
6.4 Contemporary era
7 Trade
7.1 Major ports and harbours
8 Bordering countries and territories
9 See also
10 References
10.1 Notes
10.2 Sources
11 External links
Geography[edit]

A -17th century- 1658 Naval Map by Janssonius depicting the Indian Ocean, India and
Arabia.
The borders of the Indian Ocean, as delineated by the International Hydrographic
Organization in 1953 included the Southern Ocean but not the marginal seas along
the northern rim, but in 2000 the IHO delimited the Southern Ocean separately,
which removed waters south of 60S from the Indian Ocean, but included the northern
marginal seas.[4] Meridionally, the Indian Ocean is delimited from the Atlantic
Ocean by the 20 east meridian, running south from Cape Agulhas, and from the
Pacific Ocean by the meridian of 14655'E, running south from the southernmost
point of Tasmania. The northernmost extent of the Indian Ocean is approximately 30
north in the Persian Gulf.

The Indian Ocean covers 70,560,000 km2 (27,240,000 sq mi), including the Red Sea
and the Persian Gulf but excluding the Southern Ocean, or 19.5% of the world's
oceans; its volume is 264,000,000 km3 (63,000,000 cu mi) or 19.8% of the world's
oceans' volume; it has an average depth of 3,741 m (12,274 ft) and a maximum depth
of 7,906 m (25,938 ft).[5]

The ocean's continental shelves are narrow, averaging 200 kilometres (120 mi) in
width. An exception is found off Australia's western coast, where the shelf width
exceeds 1,000 kilometres (620 mi). The average depth of the ocean is 3,890 m
(12,762 ft). Its deepest point is Diamantina Deep in Diamantina Trench, at 8,047 m
(26,401 ft) deep; Sunda Trench has a depth of 7,2587,725 m (23,81225,344 ft).
North of 50 south latitude, 86% of the main basin is covered by pelagic sediments,
of which more than half is globigerina ooze. The remaining 14% is layered with
terrigenous sediments. Glacial outwash dominates the extreme southern latitudes.

The major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz, the Lombok Strait,
the Strait of Malacca and the Palk Strait. Seas include the Gulf of Aden, Andaman
Sea, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, Great Australian Bight, Laccadive Sea, Gulf of
Mannar, Mozambique Channel, Gulf of Oman, Persian Gulf, Red Sea and other tributary
water bodies. The Indian Ocean is artificially connected to the Mediterranean Sea
through the Suez Canal, which is accessible via the Red Sea. All of the Indian
Ocean is in the Eastern Hemisphere and the centre of the Eastern Hemisphere is in
this ocean.

Marginal seas[edit]
Marginal seas, gulfs, bays and straits of the Indian Ocean include

Andaman Sea
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Great Australian Bight
Gulf of Mannar
Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Aqaba
Gulf of Tadjoura
Gulf of Bahrain
Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Kutch
Gulf of Khambat
Gulf of Oman
Indonesian Seaway (including the Malacca, Sunda and Torres Straits)
Laccadive Sea
Mozambique Channel
Palk Strait connecting Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal
Persian Gulf
Red Sea
Sea of Zanj
Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb connecting Arabian Sea
Strait of Hormuz connecting Persian Gulf
Climate[edit]
The climate north of the equator is affected by a monsoon climate. Strong north-
east winds blow from October until April; from May until October south and west
winds prevail. In the Arabian Sea the violent Monsoon brings rain to the Indian
subcontinent. In the southern hemisphere, the winds are generally milder, but
summer storms near Mauritius can be severe. When the monsoon winds change, cyclones
sometimes strike the shores of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.

The Indian Ocean is the warmest ocean in the world. Long-term ocean temperature
records show a rapid, continuous warming in the Indian Ocean, at about 0.71.2 C
(1.32.2 F) during 19012012.[6] Indian Ocean warming is the largest among the
tropical oceans, and about 3 times faster than the warming observed in the Pacific.
Research indicates that human induced greenhouse warming, and changes in the
frequency and magnitude of El Nio events are a trigger to this strong warming in
the Indian Ocean.[6]

Oceanography[edit]
Among the few large rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean are the Zambezi, Shatt al-
Arab, Indus, Godavari, Krishna, Narmada, Ganges, Brahmaputra, Jubba and Irrawaddy.
The ocean's currents are mainly controlled by the monsoon. Two large gyres, one in
the northern hemisphere flowing clockwise and one south of the equator moving
anticlockwise (including the Agulhas Current and Agulhas Return Current),
constitute the dominant flow pattern. During the winter monsoon, however, currents
in the north are reversed.

Deep water circulation is controlled primarily by inflows from the Atlantic Ocean,
the Red Sea, and Antarctic currents. North of 20 south latitude the minimum
surface temperature is 22 C (72 F), exceeding 28 C (82 F) to the east.
Southward of 40 south latitude, temperatures drop quickly.

Precipitation and evaporation leads to salinity variation in all oceans, and in the
Indian Ocean salinity variations are driven by (1) river inflow mainly from the Bay
of Bengal, (2) fresher water from the Indonesian Throughflow; and (3) saltier water
from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf.[7] Surface water salinity ranges from 32 to 37
parts per 1000, the highest occurring in the Arabian Sea and in a belt between
southern Africa and south-western Australia. Pack ice and icebergs are found
throughout the year south of about 65 south latitude. The average northern limit
of icebergs is 45 south latitude.

Geology[edit]