The Arabian Sea's surface area is about 3,862,000 km2 (1,491,130 sq mi).[4] The maximum width of the sea is approximately 2,400 km (1,490 mi), and its maximum depth is 5,395 metres (17,700 ft).[5] The biggest river flowing into the sea is theIndus River.
On the south: a line running from the southern extremity ofAddu Atoll in the Maldives, to the eastern extremity ofRàs Hafun (the easternmost point ofAfrica, 10°26'N).
TheInternational Indian Ocean Expedition in 1959 was among the first to perform hydrographic surveys of the Arabian Sea. Significant bathymetric surveys were also conducted by theSoviet Union during the 1960s.[7]
Hydrographic features
Significant features in the northern Arabian Sea include theIndus Fan, the second largest fan system in the world. The De Covilhao Trough, named after the 15th centuryPortuguese explorerPero de Covilhăo, reaches depths of 4,400 metres (14,436 ft) and separates the Indus Fan region from the Oman Abyssal Plain, which eventually leads to theGulf of Oman.
The southern limits are dominated by theArabian Basin, a deep basin reaching depths over 4,200 metres (13,780 ft). The northern sections of theCarlsberg Ridge flank the southern edge of the Arabian Basin.
The deepest parts of the Arabian Sea are in the Alula-Fartak Trough on the western edge of the Arabian Sea off the Gulf of Aden. The trough, reaching depths over 5,360 metres (17,585 ft), traverses the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. The deepest known point is in the Arabian Sea limits at a depth of 5,395 metres (17,700 ft). Other significant deep points are part of the Arabian Basin, which include a 5,358 metres (17,579 ft) deep point off the northern limit of Calrsberg Ridge.[5]
Sind'Bad Seamount, named after the fictional explorerSinbad the Sailor, Zheng He Seamount, and the Mount Error Guyot are some notable sea mounts in western Arabian Sea.[9][10]
Names, routes and locations of thePeriplus of the Erythraean Sea
The Arabian Sea has been an importantmarinetrade route since the era of thecoastal sailing vessels from possibly as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, certainly the late 2nd millennium BCE through the later days known as theAge of Sail. By the time ofJulius Caesar, several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended uponwater transport through the sea around the rough inlandterrain features to its north.
These routes usually began in theFar East or down river fromMadhya Pradesh, India withtransshipment via historicBharuch (Bharakuccha), traversed past the inhospitable coast of modern-day Iran, then split aroundHadhramaut, Yemen into two streams north into the Gulf of Aden and thence into theLevant, or south intoAlexandria via Red Sea ports such asAxum. Each major route involved transhipping topack animal caravan, travel through desert country and risk of bandits and extortionate tolls by local potentates.
This southern coastal route past the rough country in thesouthern Arabian Peninsula was significant, and theEgyptianPharaohs built several shallow canals to service the trade, one more or less along the route of today'sSuez Canal, and another from the Red Sea to theNile River, both shallow works that were swallowed up by hugesand storms in antiquity. Later thekingdom of Axum arose inEthiopia to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria.[13]
ThePort of Karachi, Pakistan's largest and busiest seaport lies on the coast of the sea. It is located between theKarachi towns ofKiamari andSaddar.
TheGwadar Port of Pakistan is a warm-water, deep-sea port situated atGwadar inBalochistan at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, about 460 km west of Karachi and approximately 75 km (47 mi) east of Pakistan's border with Iran. The port is located on the eastern bay of a natural hammerhead-shaped peninsula jutting out into the Arabian Sea from the coastline.
Port of Salalah in Salalah, Oman is also a major port in the area. The International Task Force often uses the port as a base. There is a significant number of warships of all nations coming in and out of the port, which makes it a very safe bubble. The port handled just under 3.5mteu in 2009.[16]
The Lakshadweep Islands (formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands) is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea region of Arabian Sea, 200 to 440 km (120 to 270 mi) off the southwestern coast of India. The archipelago is aunion territory and is governed by theUnion Government of India. The islands form the smallest union territory of India with their total surface area being just 32 km2 (12 sq mi). Next to these islands are the Maldives islands. These islands are all part of theLakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos group of islands.
Zalzala Koh was an island which was around for only a few years. After the 2013 earthquake in Pakistan, the mud island was formed. By 2016 the island had completely submerged.[17]
Astola Island, also known asJezira Haft Talar inBalochi, or 'Island of the Seven Hills', is a small, uninhabited island in the northern tip of the Arabian Sea in Pakistan's territorial waters.
Socotra, also spelledSoqotra, is the largest island, being part of a small archipelago of four islands. It lies some 240 km (150 mi) east of theHorn of Africa and 380 km (240 mi) south of the Arabian Peninsula.
Masirah and the fiveKhuriya Muriya Islands are islands off the southeastern coast of Oman.
Oxygen minimum zone
Phytoplankton bloom over the Arabian Sea in winter (NASA)
The Arabian Sea has one of the world's three largest oceanicoxygen minimum zones (OMZ), or “dead zones,” along with the eastern tropical North Pacific and the eastern tropical South Pacific. OMZs have very low levels ofoxygen, sometimes so low as to be undetectable by standard equipment.[18] The Arabian Sea's OMZ has the lowest levels of oxygen in the world, especially in the Gulf of Oman.[19] Causes of the OMZ may include untreated sewage as well as high temperatures on the Indian subcontinent, which increase winds blowing towards India, bringing up nutrients and reducing oxygen in the Arabian Sea's waters. In winter, phytoplankton suited to low-oxygen conditions turn the OMZ bright green.[20]
Environment and wildlife
The wildlife of the Arabian sea is diverse, and entirely unique because of the geographic distribution.
Recent studies[21][22][23] by theIndian Institute of Tropical Meteorology confirmed that the Arabian Sea is warming monotonously; it possibly is due to global warming. The intensification and northward shift of the summer monsoon low-level jet over the Arabian Sea from 1979 to 2015, led to increased upper ocean heat content due to enhanced downwelling and reduced southward heat transport.[22]
^"Arabian Sea".UNBIS Thesaurus. Retrieved28 December 2023.
^Banse, Karl, and Charles R. McClain. "Winter blooms of phytoplankton in the Arabian Sea as observed by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner." Marine Ecology Progress Series (1986): 201-211.
^Pham, J. Peter. "Putting Somali piracy in context." Journal of Contemporary African Studies 28.3 (2010): 325-341.
^Hall, John K.; Levenson, Shahar (March 20, 2017). "Compilation of a 100m bathymetric grid for the Arabian Plate; Red Sea, Arabian and Oman Seas and Persian Gulf".U.S. HYDRO 2017 Conference.
^"Wadia Guyot".Marine Regions Gazetteer. Retrieved14 September 2024.
^Roxy, M. K.; Gnanaseelan, C.; Parekh, Anant; Chowdary, Jasti S.; Singh, Shikha; Modi, Aditi; Kakatkar, Rashmi; Mohapatra, Sandeep; Dhara, Chirag; Shenoi, S. C.; Rajeevan, M. (2020)."Indian Ocean Warming".Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region: A Report of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India. Springer. pp. 191–206.doi:10.1007/978-981-15-4327-2_10.ISBN978-981-15-4327-2.S2CID226643638.
