Arabian Sea#Alternative names

The Arabian Sea's surface area is about {{convert|3862000|km2|sqmi|-1|abbr=on}}.[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/31653/Arabian-Sea Arabian Sea], Encyclopædia Britannica The maximum width of the sea is approximately {{convert|2400|km|mi|-1|abbr=on}}, and its maximum depth is {{convert|5395|m|ft|0}}.{{cite web |title=NOAA Bathymetric Data Viewer |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/bathymetry/ |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}} The biggest river flowing into the sea is the Indus River.

The Arabian Sea has two important branches: the Gulf of Aden in the southwest, connecting with the Red Sea through the strait of Bab-el-Mandeb; and the Gulf of Oman to the northwest, connecting with the Persian Gulf. There are also the gulfs of Khambhat and Kutch on the Indian Coast.

The Arabian Sea has been crossed by many important marine trade routes since the 3rd or 2nd millennium BCE. Major seaports include Kandla Port, Mundra Port, Pipavav Port, Dahej Port, Hazira Port, Mumbai Port, Nhava Sheva Port (Navi Mumbai), Mormugão Port (Goa), New Mangalore Port and Kochi Port in India, the Port of Karachi, Port Qasim, and the Gwadar Port in Pakistan, Chabahar Port in Iran and the Port of Salalah in Salalah, Oman. The largest islands in the Arabian Sea include Socotra (Yemen), Masirah Island (Oman), Lakshadweep (India) and Astola Island (Pakistan).

The countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, Iran, India and the Maldives.

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Arabian Sea as follows:{{cite web |url=https://iho.int/uploads/user/pubs/standards/s-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |title=Limits of Oceans and Seas, 3rd edition |year=1953 |publisher=International Hydrographic Organization |access-date=28 December 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171207191813/https://www.iho.int/iho_pubs/standard/S-23/S-23_Ed3_1953_EN.pdf |archive-date=7 December 2017 |pages=20–21}}

• On the west: the eastern limit of the Gulf of Aden.
• On the north: a line joining Ràs al Hadd, east point of the Arabian Peninsula (22°32'N) and Ràs Jiyùni (61°43'E) on the coast of Pakistan.
• On the south: a line running from the southern extremity of Addu Atoll in the Maldives, to the eastern extremity of Ràs Hafun (the easternmost point of Africa, 10°26'N).
• On the east: the western limit of the Laccadive Sea a line running from Sadashivgad on the west coast of India ({{coord|14|48|N|74|07|E}}) to Cora Divh ({{coord|13|42|N|72|10|E}}) and thence down the west side of the Laccadive and Maldive archipelagos to the most southerly point of Addu Atoll in the Maldives.

The International Indian Ocean Expedition in 1959 was among the first to perform hydrographic surveys of the Arabian Sea. Significant bathymetric surveys were also conducted by the Soviet Union during the 1960s.{{cite journal |last1=Hall |first1=John K. |last2=Levenson |first2=Shahar |title=Compilation of a 100m bathymetric grid for the Arabian Plate; Red Sea, Arabian and Oman Seas and Persian Gulf |journal=U.S. HYDRO 2017 Conference |date=March 20, 2017 }}

Significant features in the northern Arabian Sea include the Indus Fan, the second largest fan system in the world. The De Covilhao Trough, named after the 15th century Portuguese explorer Pero de Covilhăo, reaches depths of {{convert|4400|m|ft|0}} and separates the Indus Fan region from the Oman Abyssal Plain, which eventually leads to the Gulf of Oman.

The southern limits are dominated by the Arabian Basin, a deep basin reaching depths over {{convert|4200|m|ft|0}}. The northern sections of the Carlsberg 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 {{convert|5360|m|ft|0}}, traverses the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. The deepest known point is in the Arabian Sea limits at a depth of {{convert|5395|m|ft|0}}. Other significant deep points are part of the Arabian Basin, which include a {{convert|5358|m|ft|0}} deep point off the northern limit of Calrsberg Ridge.{{cite web |title=NOAA Bathymetric Data Viewer |url=https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/maps/bathymetry/ |publisher=National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration}}

Prominent sea mounts off the Indian west coast include Raman Seamount named after C. V. Raman, Panikkar Seamount, named after N. K. Panikkar, and the Wadia Guyot, named after D. N. Wadia.{{cite web |title=Wadia Guyot |url=https://www.marineregions.org/gazetteer.php?p=details&id=5802 |website=Marine Regions Gazetteer |access-date=14 September 2024}}

Sind'Bad Seamount, named after the fictional explorer Sinbad the Sailor, Zheng He Seamount, and the Mount Error Guyot are some notable sea mounts in western Arabian Sea.{{cite web |title=Sind'Bad Seamount |url=https://www.marineregions.org/gazetteer.php?p=details&id=5795 |website=Marine Regions Gazetteer}}{{cite web |title=Mount Error Guyot |url=https://www.marineregions.org/gazetteer.php?p=details&id=5790 |website=Marine Regions Gazetteer |access-date=14 September 2024}}

Border and basin countries:{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Iran}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/IntroductiontoPakistan/coastlineofPakistan.htm|title=Introduction to Pakistan: Section 5: Coastline|website=www.wildlifeofpakistan.com|access-date=2020-08-28|archive-date=2020-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626173333/http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/IntroductiontoPakistan/coastlineofPakistan.htm|url-status=dead}}

1. {{IND}} - 2,500 km coastline
2. {{PAK}} - 1,050 km coastline
3. {{IRI}}
4. {{MDV}}
5. {{OMA}}
6. {{YEM}}
7. {{SOM}}

File:Bandra Sea Link aerial.jpg|right|Arabian Sea above Bombay/Mumbai

File:Arabian Sea - October 2012.jpg|right|Arabian Sea seen from space

File:Arabian Sea in Karachi.jpg|right|Arabian Sea in Karachi, Pakistan

{{Expert needed|geography|talk=Alternative_names|reason=This article possibly contains synthesis of material and claims which does not verifiably relate to the topic|date=April 2023}}

The Arabian Sea historically and geographically has been referred to with different names by Arabian and European geographers and travelers, including Erythraean Sea, Indian Sea, Oman sea,{{cite web|url=http://www.kamat.com/indica/geography/arabian_sea.htm|title=Kamat's Potpourri: The Arabian Sea|work=kamat.com}} Erythraean, Persian Sea in para No 34-35 of the Voyage.{{cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/periplus/periplus.html|title=The Voyage around the Erythraean Sea|work=washington.edu}} In Indian folklore, it is referred to as Darya, Sindhu Sagar, Arab Samudra.{{Cite web|url=http://www.kamat.com/indica/geography/arabian_sea.htm|title=Kamat's Potpourri: The Arabian Sea|website=www.kamat.com}}{{Cite web|url=http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/periplus/periplus.html|title=The Voyage around the Erythraean Sea|website=depts.washington.edu}}{{Cite web |url=http://www.scribd.com/doc/8583367/The-Periplus-of-the-Erythraean-Sea |title=The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea |access-date=2012-04-03 |archive-date=2013-12-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131202223335/http://www.scribd.com/doc/8583367/The-Periplus-of-the-Erythraean-Sea |url-status=dead }}

Arab geographers, sailors and nomads used to call this sea by different names, including the Akhdar (Green) Sea, Bahre Fars (Persian Sea), the Ocean Sea, the Hindu sea, the Makran Sea, the sea of Oman; among them Zakariya al-Qazwini, Al-Masudi, Ibn Hawqal and Hafiz-i Abru. They wrote: "The green sea and Indian sea and Persian sea are all one sea and in this sea there are strange creatures." in Iran and Turkey people call it Oman sea.{{cite web|url=https://japan.mfa.gov.ir/en/newsview/536034|title=Ministry of MoFA Iran: Introducing a Book and Atlas|work=mfa.gov.ir}}

In the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, as well as in some ancient maps, Erythraean Sea refers to the whole area of the northwestern Indian Ocean, including the Arabian Sea.{{cite web |url = http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:1794_Anville_Map_of_the_Ancient_World_-_Geographicus_-_AncientWorld-anville-1794.jpg |title = 1794, Orbis Veteribus Notus by Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville |work=Picture at commons.wikimedia.org |year = 1794}}

File:Soulier, E.; Andriveau-Goujon, J. Anciens Empires Jusqua Alexandre. 1838.jpg|Erythraean Sea 1838.

File:1658 Jansson Map of the Indian Ocean (Erythrean Sea) in Antiquity - Geographicus - ErythraeanSea-jansson-1658.jpg|1658 Jansson Map of the Indian Ocean (Erythraean Sea)

File:The western part of the Indian Ocean, by Vincenzo Maria Coronelli, 1693, from his system of global gores the south.jpg|The western part of the Indian Ocean,1693

File:PeriplusAncientMap.jpg|17th century map depicting the locations of the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea

File:A horizontal Malabar Coast miniature, a reprint by Petrus Bertius, 1630.jpg|A horizontal Malabar Coast miniature, a reprint by Petrus Bertius, 1630

File:Basra-ps64.JPG|Persian Sea

File:Asia in the shape of the mythical winged horse Pegasus..jpg|Asia. Sinus Persicus and the Mare Persicum

File:Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg

The Arabian Sea has been an important marine trade route since the era of the coastal sailing vessels from possibly as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, certainly the late 2nd millennium BCE through the later days known as the Age of Sail. By the time of Julius Caesar, several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended upon water transport through the sea around the rough inland terrain features to its north.

These routes usually began in the Far East or down river from Madhya Pradesh, India with transshipment via historic Bharuch (Bharakuccha), traversed past the inhospitable coast of modern-day Iran, then split around Hadhramaut, Yemen into two streams north into the Gulf of Aden and thence into the Levant, or south into Alexandria via Red Sea ports such as Axum. Each major route involved transhipping to pack 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 the southern Arabian Peninsula was significant, and the Egyptian Pharaohs built several shallow canals to service the trade, one more or less along the route of today's Suez Canal, and another from the Red Sea to the Nile River, both shallow works that were swallowed up by huge sand storms in antiquity. Later the kingdom of Axum arose in Ethiopia to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria.

{{cite web |website=japan.mfa.gov.ir | url = https://japan.mfa.gov.ir/en/newsview/536033| title = Documents on the Persian Gulf's name the eternal heritage ancient time by Dr. Mohammad Ajam}}

Jawaharlal Nehru Port in Mumbai is the largest port in the Arabian Sea, and the largest container port in India.

Major Indian ports in the Arabian Sea are Mundra Port, Kandla Port, Nava Sheva, Kochi Port, Mumbai Port, Vizhinjam International Seaport Thiruvananthapuram and Mormugão.{{cite web |url=http://shipping.gov.in/writereaddata/l892s/7yearsTRAFFIC-42175832.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://shipping.gov.in/writereaddata/l892s/7yearsTRAFFIC-42175832.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=TRAFFIC HANDLED AT MAJOR PORTS (LAST 7 YEARS) |website=shipping.gov.in}}{{Dead link|date=October 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web |url=http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/WORLD%20PORT%20RANKINGS%202009.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://aapa.files.cms-plus.com/PDFs/WORLD%20PORT%20RANKINGS%202009.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=WORLD PORT RANKINGS |year=2009 |website=aapa.files.cms-plus.com}}

File:Container terminal.JPG at Kochi Port in India]]

The Port of Karachi, Pakistan's largest and busiest seaport lies on the coast of the sea. It is located between the Karachi towns of Kiamari and Saddar.

The Gwadar Port of Pakistan is a warm-water, deep-sea port situated at Gwadar in Balochistan at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, about 460 km west of Karachi and approximately {{convert|75|km|mi|abbr=on}} 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 3.5m teu in 2009.[http://www.portofsalalah.com/port_news_item.aspx?id=16655 Salalah’s versatility beats the slump] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025024826/http://www.portofsalalah.com/port_news_item.aspx?id=16655 |date=October 25, 2012 }}, Port of Salalah

File:Socotra satview.jpg

There are several islands in the Arabian Sea, with the most important ones being Lakshadweep Islands (India), Socotra (Yemen), Masirah (Oman) and Astola Island (Pakistan).

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, {{convert|200|to|440|km|mi|abbr=on}} off the southwestern coast of India. The archipelago is a union territory and is governed by the Union Government of India. The islands form the smallest union territory of India with their total surface area being just {{convert|32|km2|abbr=on}}. Next to these islands are the Maldives islands. These islands are all part of the Lakshadweep-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.{{cite web | url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1305482/gwadars-quake-island-disappears | title=Gwadar's quake island disappears |website=www.dawn.com | date=31 December 2016 }}

Astola Island, also known as Jezira Haft Talar in Balochi, 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 spelled Soqotra, is the largest island, being part of a small archipelago of four islands. It lies some {{convert|240|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of the Horn of Africa and {{convert|380|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of the Arabian Peninsula.

Masirah and the five Khuriya Muriya Islands are islands off the southeastern coast of Oman.

• Aden
• Colombo
• Gwadar
• Karachi
• Mogadishu
• Mumbai
• Muscat

File:Winter Phytoplankon Arabian Sea.jpg

The Arabian Sea has one of the world's three largest oceanic oxygen minimum zones (OMZ), or “dead zones,” along with the eastern tropical North Pacific and the eastern tropical South Pacific. OMZs have very low levels of oxygen, sometimes so low as to be undetectable by standard equipment.{{Cite journal |last1=Lüke|first1=Claudia |last2=Speth|first2=Daan R. |last3=Kox|first3=Martine A. R. |last4=Villanueva|first4=Laura |last5=Jetten|first5=Mike S. M. |date=2016-04-07 |title=Metagenomic analysis of nitrogen and methane cycling in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone |journal=PeerJ |language=en|volume=4 |pages=e1924|doi=10.7717/peerj.1924|issn=2167-8359 |pmc=4830246|pmid=27077014 |doi-access=free }} The Arabian Sea's OMZ has the lowest levels of oxygen in the world, especially in the Gulf of Oman.{{Cite journal |last1=Queste|first1=Bastien Y. |last2=Vic|first2=Clément |last3=Heywood|first3=Karen J. |last4=Piontkovski|first4=Sergey A. |date=2018 |title=Physical Controls on Oxygen Distribution and Denitrification Potential in the North West Arabian Sea |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |language=en|volume=45 |issue=9|pages=4143–4152 |doi=10.1029/2017GL076666 |bibcode=2018GeoRL..45.4143Q |issn=1944-8007 |doi-access=free}} 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.{{Cite news |last=Bhanoo|first=S.N. |title=A Green Blanket on the Arabian Sea |work=The New York Times}}

The wildlife of the Arabian sea is diverse, and entirely unique because of the geographic distribution.

File:Karachi Mangroves.jpg|Mangrove forests of Karachi, Pakistan

File:The-Worlds-Most-Isolated-and-Distinct-Whale-Population-Humpback-Whales-of-the-Arabian-Sea-pone.0114162.s001.tif|Critically endangered Sea Creatures

File:Dugong.jpg|Dugong mother & her offspring in shallow waters

File:Red Coast of Makoran sea Iran.jpg|Makran Coast, Iran

Recent studies{{cite journal |last1=Roxy |first1=Mathew Koll |last2=Ritika |first2=Kapoor |last3=Terray |first3=Pascal |last4=Murtugudde |first4=Raghu |last5=Ashok |first5=Karumuri |last6=Goswami |first6=B. N. |title=Drying of Indian subcontinent by rapid Indian Ocean warming and a weakening land-sea thermal gradient |journal=Nature Communications |date=16 June 2015 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=7423 |doi=10.1038/ncomms8423 |pmid=26077934 |bibcode=2015NatCo...6.7423R |s2cid=7061499 |language=en |issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free }}{{cite journal |last1=Pratik |first1=Kad |last2=Parekh |first2=Anant |last3=Karmakar |first3=Ananya |last4=Chowdary |first4=Jasti S. |last5=Gnanaseelan |first5=C. |title=Recent changes in the summer monsoon circulation and their impact on dynamics and thermodynamics of the Arabian Sea |journal=Theoretical and Applied Climatology |date=1 April 2019 |volume=136 |issue=1 |pages=321–331 |doi=10.1007/s00704-018-2493-6 |bibcode=2019ThApC.136..321P |s2cid=126114281 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00704-018-2493-6 |language=en |issn=1434-4483}}{{cite book |last1=Roxy |first1=M. K. |last2=Gnanaseelan |first2=C. |last3=Parekh |first3=Anant |last4=Chowdary |first4=Jasti S. |last5=Singh |first5=Shikha |last6=Modi |first6=Aditi |last7=Kakatkar |first7=Rashmi |last8=Mohapatra |first8=Sandeep |last9=Dhara |first9=Chirag |last10=Shenoi |first10=S. C. |last11=Rajeevan |first11=M. |title=Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region: A Report of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India |date=2020 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-981-15-4327-2 |pages=191–206 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-4327-2_10 |language=en |chapter=Indian Ocean Warming|doi=10.1007/978-981-15-4327-2_10 |s2cid=226643638 }} by the Indian 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.{{cite journal |last1=Pratik |first1=Kad |last2=Parekh |first2=Anant |last3=Karmakar |first3=Ananya |last4=Chowdary |first4=Jasti S. |last5=Gnanaseelan |first5=C. |title=Recent changes in the summer monsoon circulation and their impact on dynamics and thermodynamics of the Arabian Sea |journal=Theoretical and Applied Climatology |date=1 April 2019 |volume=136 |issue=1 |pages=321–331 |doi=10.1007/s00704-018-2493-6 |bibcode=2019ThApC.136..321P |s2cid=126114281 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00704-018-2493-6 |language=en |issn=1434-4483}}

{{Portal|Oceans}}

• Indian Ocean Rim Association
• North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone
• Piracy off the coast of Somalia

{{Reflist}}

{{EB1911 |wstitle=Arabian Sea}}

• [https://japan.mfa.gov.ir/en/newsview/536034 A book and Atlas]

{{Commons}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20110523064712/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/arabian_sea.cfm Arabian Sea (World Wildlife Fund)]

{{List of seas}}

{{Waters of South Asia}}

{{Countries bordering the Arabian Sea}}

{{Authority control}}

Sea

Category:Marine ecoregions

Category:Bodies of water of Iran

Category:Bodies of water of the Maldives

Category:Bodies of water of Pakistan

Category:Bodies of water of Oman

Category:Bodies of water of Somalia

Category:Seas of Africa

Category:Seas of Asia

Category:Seas of India

Category:Seas of the Indian Ocean

Category:Seas of Iran

Category:Seas of Yemen

Category:India–Pakistan border

Category:Oman–Yemen border