O OIndian ocean is a body of water located in the southern hemisphere of the planet. It's the third largest ocean in volume and also in surface area, bathing three continents: Africa, Asia and Oceania.
Its about a young ocean compared to the others, with a complex formation process. Its ocean floor is formed by ridges, plains, hills and trenches, among which the Java trench stands out. It houses important seaports and commercial routes, such as the Suez Canal in Egypt. The oil spill is, today, one of the main threats to its biodiversity.
Read too: What is the influence of ocean currents on the climate?
What are the characteristics of the Indian Ocean?
The Indian Ocean is a extensive pool of waters what form the big Ocean terrestrial, and is in the southern hemisphere of the planet. It has surface area of 70.56 millions of km², which makes it the third largest of the oceans, behind only the Atlantic It's from Pacific. In terms of volume, the Indian Ocean holds a total of 264 million km³ of water.
The average depth found in the Indian Ocean is 3741 meters. It is positioned on a region full of geological faults, which characterizes this area as tectonically active and subject, therefore, to earthquakes and volcanic activities. Its deepest point is located in the Java trench and has 7192 meters. This area corresponds to a subduction stretch of tectonic plates which is south of the island of Java in Indonesia.
The waters of the Indian ocean bathe important port areas in Asia, Africa and Oceania, among which we highlight the ports of Mumbai and Calcutta (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), Melbourne (Australia) and Richards Bay (South Africa). This body of water also houses some of the routes of greater strategic value for international maritime trade, like the suez channel, in Egypt, the Strait of Babelmandeb, between Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula, the Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and Oman, and the Strait of Malacca, between Indonesia and Malaysia.
The seas and gulfs that belong to the Indian Ocean are as follows:
Red Sea
Arabian Sea
Bay of Bengal
Gulf of Aden
Gulf of Oman
Persian Gulf
Read too: What are tides?
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Name origin
The geographical position of the Indian Ocean gave rise to its name. The largest continental extension bathed by it corresponds to the Indian subcontinent, where only the Indian band represents 10.5% of the entire your coastal zone inserted, the equivalent of seven thousand kilometers. Furthermore, the presence of Indonesia is highlighted, and also part of the history of exploration of this ocean, which began in the Indus valley.
Indian Ocean Geography
The features found on the bottom of the Indian Ocean are associated with its complex training process, which happened from the separation of the Gondwana supercontinent, the collision of the Eurasian and Indian and by the adjustments that gradually occurred in the Indian, Antarctic and Pacific.
The Indian Ocean relief is composed of a extension of dorsal mid-ocean, which is nothing more than a mountain range (Y-shaped in the ocean region in question) that form in the expansion areas of the ocean floor and can reach up to three thousand meters of height. On the lower outer part of these formations (on the flanks), the ocean plains, formed by sediments and with a flat surface.
In areas where tectonic plates meet, there is a formation of cesspools oceanic, like the Java cesspool. Furthermore, due to the large degree of tectonism we mentioned above, seamounts formed by volcanoes extinct and located in lowland areas; are concentrated between Reunion and Seychelles.
Ocean temperatures and atmospheric pressure over these areas are influenced by at least four atmospheric circulation regimes in the north-south direction:
in monsoons
in trade winds
seasoned
Arctic
How important is the Indian Ocean?
Some of the first human civilizations developed in the vicinity of the Indian Ocean, which started their exploration very early. Trade also developed rapidly in that region, as did the Egyptian, Arab and Chinese peoples. Today, important merchant ports and routes that interconnect the African, Asian (especially East Asia) and the Middle East with Europe are located in its coastal zone.
One of the main maritime routes that promote the connection between these areas is the çanal from suez, responsible for a significant portion of international trade. The main cargoes transported through the waters of the Indian Ocean are raw materials of high commercial value, such as Petroleum, iron, rubber, coal, and also tea.
The economic importance of the Indian Ocean, in addition to transport, also lies in the exploration of natural resources and animal extraction (as through fishing activity), which are central economic activities for some of the nations bathed by this ocean, in addition to guaranteeing the supply of the internal market. We cannot fail to score, however, the environmental impact that can generate for the waters and for the balance of marine life.
Although the animal population that lives in this ocean is relatively small compared to those that cover a larger area, it houses some unique species of sea turtles, whales, sharks and even the rare dugong. This represents a family of mammals in the process of extinction, being its last representative; it is only present in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific. Thus, the Indian Ocean is of great value for maintaining the biological diversity of terrestrial oceans.
Indian Ocean Resources
the indian ocean is home to some of the largest producing areas of Petroleum of the world, of which the Persian Gulf stands out. Thus, this is the main natural resource of high value and interest found within the limits of this ocean. with him is O natural gas, also widely found and produced.
Other resources with high exploratory potential are the nodules of manganese (or polymetallic), zircon, chromite, monazite, tin and ilmenite. Much of its marine fauna and flora is also considered to be natural resourcethere.
Environmental problems
The Indian Ocean, like the other bodies of water that bathe the planet, is currently facing serious environmental problems. THE pollution is one of the biggest concerns regarding the process of degradation of marine environments and consequent threat to its already restricted biodiversity.
Beyond the industrial and urban waste, which are often released without any type of treatment into rivers that flow into the ocean, oil exploration bases and the large number of tankers that travel through this route pose a great risk to the Indian Ocean, which has already suffered on several occasions with O oil spill.
Another alert situation concerns the melting of polar ice caps and consequent increase in water level of the oceans, which includes the Indian Ocean and can lead to the disappearance of islands surrounded by it. Associated with this problem is the rise in ocean water temperatures, which directly affects its fauna and flora, and may lead to the extinction of certain species. Furthermore, this change has the ability to affect atmospheric patterns, which will influence weather conditions on continental lands.
See too: Tsunami - result of an earthquake in the ocean floor
Continents and countries bordered by the Indian Ocean
The waters of the Indian ocean bathe countries and islands on three continents, being them:
Africa
Asia
Oceania
Some islands located in the area called the Antarctic Convergence, which marks the transition from the southern oceans to the Antarctic Ocean, are also surrounded by the Indian Ocean. The coastal strip bathed by this ocean totals 66,526 km.
Below, we list all the territories, including the insular ones, bathed by the Indian Ocean.
Africa
South Africa |
Egypt |
Mauricio Islands |
Kenya |
Comoros |
Eritrea |
seychelles |
Somalia |
Mayotte Department |
Reunion Island |
|
|
Djibouti |
Prince Edward Islands |
|
Tanzania |
Asia
Saudi Arabia |
Kuwait |
|
Oman |
Bangladesh |
Yemen |
Will |
Pakistan |
Bahrain |
Cocos Islands |
Iraq |
Sinai Peninsula (Egypt) |
Burma |
Christmas Island |
Israel |
Sri Lanka |
Qatar |
Maldives Islands |
Jordan |
Thailand |
United Arab Emirates |
India |
Malaysia |
East Timor |
Oceania
Australia |
Ashmore and Cartier Islands |
Heard and McDonald Islands |
other locations
- Land Adelia
- Crozet Islands
- Sparse Islands
- Kerguelen Islands
- Sao Paulo Islands
- Amsterdam Island
- British Indian Ocean Territory
Curiosities about the Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the warmest of the oceans that bathe the planet, with temperatures ranging between 22 ºC and 28 ºC. As a result, its biodiversity is limited when compared to others.
It is considered the ocean with the most complex formation process.
It is the youngest among the five oceans.
A strong earthquake in its area unleashed one of the most violent tsunamis in the world in Indonesia in 2004.
Important Asian rivers flow into the Indian Ocean, such as the river ganges.
- Some researchers claim to have found evidence of a lost continent in the Indian Ocean, Mauritia, whose disappearance dates back 200 million years. There is no consensus in the scientific community regarding this fact.
By Paloma Guitarrara
Geography teacher
