Indian Ocean

Indian Ocean Region

The Indian Ocean covers one-fifth of the Earth’s waters and is considered to be the youngest of the three oceans, Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Moreover, it is the only ocean that is enclosed by major landmasses. Some of the longest shorelines of the Indian oceans are in the countries Indonesia and Australia. Furthermore, its tropical warm pool climate also leaves very little room for any marine life to thrive. The rivers that branch out of the ocean are shorter in comparison to the ones that branch out from the other oceans. However, despite the young nature of the ocean, its waters are one of the most important areas for carrying out activities like trade and developing the economy.

Origin 

• According to geologists, the genesis of the Indian Ocean region is a very complex region
• It began with the separation of the Gondwana continent, followed by the movement of the Northeast Indian sub-continent. This later collided with Eurasia
• The current shape of the Indian ocean is formed with the movement of Africa and Australia separating from Antarctica

Three Great Shield Areas:

• The land bordering the Indian ocean region comprises three shield areas. This forms a roughly triangular pattern along with the metamorphic and igneous rocks from the Precambrian times
• To the west and northwest lie the African and the Arabian shield. The Indian and the Australian shields are to the north and east
• Metamorphosed Archean rocks which form in the Indian ocean are outside the shield areas
• Geologists believe that the formation of these shields has led to the zone of weakness in the Earth’s crust
• Some of these shields have eroded and contain tread lines and linear patterns that show the effects 

Topography:

• Being the smallest amongst all the oceans, the Indian Ocean extends 9600 km north-south. It is spread from Antarctica to the deep parts of the Bay of Bengal. It also stretches 7800 km in the east-west direction, i.e. southern Africa and western Australia
• The Northwest Australian Shelf is the only significant area part of the continental shelf of the Indian Ocean Region. It lies between southeast Asia and Australia, which continues as the Arafura Seas, the Gulf of Carpentaria, and Timor. These parts, however, are known as the parts of the Pacific Ocean
• The depth of most basins in the Indian Ocean is below 5000 m. However, the Wharton Basin’s depth exceeds 6000 m
• The mean depth is below 3000 m of the Arabian Sea. The mean depth in the Bay of Bengal declines progressively. It starts south of Sri Lanka at 4000 m to 2000 m and even less at 18°N
• The three Mediterranean seas include the hydrographic properties of the Indian ocean. The first one is the Persian Gulf, with a mean depth of 90 m; the second is the Red Sea (nearly 490 m). And the last is the Australasian Mediterranean Sea, with a depth exceeding 7400 m

Tectonic History:

• Tectonic forces affect the various parts of the ocean during several periods. From the Precambrian to modern eras, the rock sequence shows structural motions that are more or less continuous. Still, tectonic movements culminated in significant regional deformations within this time range. This was observed toward the ending period of the Paleozoic, beginning and diminishing Mesozoic and Tertiary periods
• Generally, the horizontal and vertical tectonic forces produce two different structural features. This is because they act in different geomorphologic divisions along the borderlands of the Indian ocean
• Down dropping and Upwarping are two significant faults often seen in the shield areas. This leads to an uncommon rift between western Arabia and eastern Africa

Indian Ocean RIM Association INDIAN OCEAN UPSC Notes(IORA):

• IORA is an intergovernmental organization formulated to strengthen the regional alliances within the Indian ocean zones. Its purpose is to build upon sustainability with the help of the member states through Dialogue between Indian ocean countries
• Earlier, there were only 14 members in the association. However, Indian Ocean Rim Association Members rose to 23 recently 
• Today, it focuses on trade and investment facilitation, disaster management, and maritime security 

SAGAR Policy:

• The SAGAR Policy or the Security and Growth for All in the Region policy was first announced in 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
• The purpose of the policy is to strengthen the economic and security alliance with India’s water neighbors. The policy also aims at bringing sustainable development within the nation
• As stated by the Prime Minister, the SAGAR Policy is ‘our vision’ for this water mass. To determine the characteristics of the Indian Ocean region, a group consisting of professionals from all over the world was made. The rationale was to carry out intensive research using all modern techniques

Conclusion

The Indian Ocean is equally crucial to India as it is to the rest of the world. The location of the waters allow for global trade and connect various international economies. It is also a major hub for conducting commerce, and the water beds are rich with natural resources. These features ensure both economical and sustainable development.