66 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
66 lines
5.2 KiB
Plaintext
INDIAN OCEAN
|
|
GEOGRAPHY
|
|
Total area: 73,600,000 km2; Arabian Sea, Bass Strait, Bay of
|
|
Bengal, Java Sea, Persian Gulf, Red Sea, Strait of Malacca, Timor Sea,
|
|
and other tributary water bodies
|
|
|
|
Comparative area: slightly less than eight times the size of the
|
|
US; third-largest ocean (after the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean, but
|
|
larger than the Arctic Ocean)
|
|
|
|
Coastline: 66,526 km
|
|
|
|
Climate: northeast monsoon (December to April), southwest monsoon
|
|
(June to October); tropical cyclones occur during May/June and
|
|
October/November in the north Indian Ocean and January/February in the
|
|
south Indian Ocean
|
|
|
|
Terrain: surface dominated by counterclockwise gyre (broad,
|
|
circular system of currents) in the south Indian Ocean; unique reversal
|
|
of surface currents in the north Indian Ocean--low pressure over
|
|
southwest Asia from hot, rising, summer air results in the southwest
|
|
monsoon and southwest-to-northeast winds and currents, while high
|
|
pressure over northern Asia from cold, falling, winter air results in the
|
|
northeast monsoon and northeast-to-southwest winds and currents; ocean
|
|
floor is dominated by the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridge and subdivided by the
|
|
Southeast Indian Ocean Ridge, Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and Ninety
|
|
East Ridge; maximum depth is 7,258 meters in the Java Trench
|
|
|
|
Natural resources: oil and gas fields, fish, shrimp, sand and
|
|
gravel aggregates, placer deposits, polymetallic nodules
|
|
|
|
Environment: endangered marine species include the dugong, seals,
|
|
turtles, and whales; oil pollution in the Arabian Sea, Persian Gulf, and
|
|
Red Sea
|
|
|
|
Note: major choke points include Bab el Mandeb, Strait of Hormuz,
|
|
Strait of Malacca, southern access to the Suez Canal, and the Lombok
|
|
Strait; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme south near
|
|
Antarctica from May to October
|
|
|
|
ECONOMY
|
|
Overview: The Indian Ocean provides a major transportation highway
|
|
for the movement of petroleum products from the Middle East to Europe
|
|
and North and South American countries. Fish from the ocean are of
|
|
growing economic importance to many of the bordering countries as a
|
|
source of both food and exports. Fishing fleets from the USSR, Japan,
|
|
Korea, and Taiwan also exploit the Indian Ocean for mostly shrimp and
|
|
tuna. Large reserves of hydrocarbons are being tapped in the offshore
|
|
areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, India, and Western Australia. An estimated
|
|
40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean.
|
|
Beach sands rich in heavy minerals and offshore placer deposits are
|
|
actively exploited by bordering countries, particularly India, South
|
|
Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
|
|
|
|
Industries: based on exploitation of natural resources,
|
|
particularly marine life, minerals, oil and gas production, fishing, sand
|
|
and gravel aggregates, placer deposits
|
|
|
|
COMMUNICATIONS
|
|
Ports: Bombay (India), Calcutta (India), Madras (India),
|
|
Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Fremantle (Australia),
|
|
Jakarta (Indonesia), Melbourne (Australia), Richard's Bay (South Africa)
|
|
|
|
Telecommunications: no submarine cables
|
|
|
|
|