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CONTENTS
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CHAPTER 1: NATURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY
Oceanography as a branch o f sciences,
oceanography as a branch o f geography,
meaning and definition o f oceanography, scope o f oceanography,
branches o f oceanography,
growth o f oceanography,
summary o f the history o f oceanography, = ?
origin o f atmosphere,
origin o f oceans,
ocean's characteristic features,
CHAPTER 2 : ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS
distributional characteristics o f continents and ocean,
continental drift theory o f Taylor,
continental drift theory o f W agener,
plate tectonic theory,
seam ounts and tablem ounts,
CHAPTER 3 : OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF
m arine provinces,
continental m argins,
contin en tal shelf,
contin en tal slope, subm arine canyons,
d istrib u tio n o f subm arine canyons,
o rigin o f subm arine canyons,
deep sea fans and continental rise, deep ocean basins,, abyssal plains,
abyssal hills, ocean deeps and trenches,
m id-ocean ridge,
bottom reliefs o f A tlantic O cean,
bottom reliefs o f Pacific O cean,
bottom reliefs o f Indian O cean,
bottom reliefs o f A rctic O cean,
CHAPTER 4 : PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER
hydrological cycle,
constituents o f seaw ater,
physical properties o f seawater,
sea temperature,
density o f oceans,
relationship between density, temperature and salinity,
CHAPTER 5 : SALINITY OF SEAWATER
meaning and derivations,
principles o f constant proportion,
com position o f seawater,
sources o f ocean salinity,
controlling factors o f salinity,
horizontal distribution o f salinity,
vertical distribution o f salinity,
significance o f salinity,
CHAPTERS: MARINE SEDIMENTS AND DEPOSITS
nature o f marine sediments, v
 (x)
production, transportation and d ep ssitio n o f marine sediments,
man's impact on marine sediments,
factors of marine sedimentation, <. (
sources o f marine sediments,
mode of marine sedimentation, •
classification of marine sediments,,
lithogenic sediments,
volcanogenic sediments, biogenic sediments,
hydrogenic sediments,
classification of ocean deposits, '■
distribution o f ocean deposits,
CHAPTER 7 : ATMOSPHERE-SEA INTERACTIONS
solar radiation and heating of earth's surface, .
meridional transfer of heat from ocean surface,
heating and cooling of ground and ocean surfaces,
differential heating and cooling of land and ocean surfaces,
atmospheric pressure,
pressure gradient,
horizontal distribution of air pressure and pressure belts,
atmospheric motion, ' *"
global wind belts,
atmospheric cellular circulation,
El Nino-La Nina phenomenon,
W alkar circulation and southern osciellation,
monsoon, •
origin of Indian monsoon,
land and sea breezes,
tropical cyclones,
CHAPTER 8 : SEA WAVES, SHORELINE PROCESSES AND COASTAL SCENERY
sea waves : components and characteristics, '\
generation of sea waves,
types and movement of sea waves,
wave refraction, . . , •’
wave reflection,
sea coasts and sea shores, classification of coasts and shores,
waves and dynamic shorelines,
coastal features and habitats,
depositional coastal features, beaches,
delta,
development o f shorelines o f submergence,
development o f shorelines of emergence,
CHAPTER 9 : TSUNAMIS
tsunamis : nature and characteristics,
tsunamis : causes and origin,
chronology o f tsunami waves,
arrival o f tsunami,
adverse effects of tsunami disaster, Sumatra tsunami,
management of tsunai(ni disaster,
CHAPTER 10: SURFACE OCEAN CURRENTS
, ■ i {.,•**■ i>i<' ia i t s r v?
meaning, concepts and types, 258
 ocean currents : characteristics and significan ce, 260
origin and factors o f ocean currents, 263
;:V circulation gyres, 266
Ekm an spirals and Ekman Uansport, 267
geostrophic circulation, western intensification, 269
surface currents o f the oceans, 274
surface currents o f Atlantic Ocean, 275
sargasso sea, 281
surface currents o f P acific Ocean, 282
El N in o current, 285
effects o f El N in o , 286
su rfa ce c u rre n ts o f In d ia n O cean, 288
e ffects o f surface ocean currents, 290
CHAFFER 11: W ATER MASSES AND DEEP CURRENTS 2 9 4 -3 0 6
w a te r m asse s, 294
ty p e s o f w ater m asses, 295
sources o f w ater m asses, 296
d e e p c u rre n ts and th erm o h alin e circu latio n , 298
c y c lic p a tte rn o f th erm o h alin e circulation, 298
w a te r m asses o f A tlan tic O cean, w ater m asses o f P acific O cean , 299
w a te r m asses and th erm o h alin e circulation in Indian O cean , 300
c o n v e y e r b e lt circu latio n , dow nw elling, 301
u p w e llin g , 302
CHAPTER 12: TIDES 3 0 7 -3 2 2
tid e s : m e an in g and co n cepts, tides : characteristic features, 307
tid e g e n e ra tin g force, 310
tim e o f tide, 311
ty p e s o f tid es, 313
th e o rie s o f th e o rig in o f tides, equilibrium m odel o f tid es, 315
e q u ilib riu m th e o ry o f N ew ton, 316
p ro g re s siv e w ave theory, 317
sta tio n a ry w av e theory, 318
tidal b o res, 319
tidal currents, 320
CHAPTER 13 : CORAL REEFS 323-339
com p on en ts o f coral reefs, 323
c o n d itio n s fo r th e gro w th o f coral polyps, 324
coral e co lo g y , 327
distribution o f coral reefs, 329
typ es o f coral reefs, 330
origin o f coral reefs and atolls, subsidence theory, 332
standstill theory, .. . 334
glacial control theory, concept o f W .M . D avis, 335
coral bleaching, 336
CHAPTER 14: OCEAN HABITATS 340-368
ocean habitats : characteristic features, 340
classification o f ocean habitats, 341
p elagic habitats and environment, 343
benthic habitats and environment, 346
Ite - *u coastal habitats,
estuaries,
Hugli estuary,
lagoons,

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 coastal wetlands, < .■; ?t 358
m angrove swamps, 359
m angrove swamps in India, 361
salt marshes, , 364
r Indian salt marshes, 365
CHAPTER 15 : MARINE BIOMES (BIOZONES) AND SEA ORGANISMS 369-386
marine biomes (b io z o n e s): meaning and characteristic features, 369
types o f marine biomes, 371
classification of marine organism s, 373
plankton com m unity, marine biological com m unities, 377
phytoplanktons, zooplanktons, 378
nekton community, 380
sea mammals, 380
benthos community, . 382
CHAPTER 16 : MARINE ECOLOGY AND BIOLOGICAL PRODUCTIVITY 387-412
m arine ecology, meaning and concept, 387
factors of m arine ecology, 389
adaptation of marine organisms, 393
ecological productivity and biological production, 398
limiting factors of primary production, 399
prim ary producer marine organisms, 401
regional pattern of net marine primary productivity, 401
global pattern of primary production, 1 404
trophic levels and food chains, 406
energy flow in marine ecosystem, 408
m arine biogeochemical cycles, 409
CHAPTER 17 : MARINE RESOURCES 413-429
* m arine resources : meaning and importance, 413
law o f sea : historical perspective, maritime zone, 414
classification o f m arine resources, 416
m arine biological resources, 417
food resources, 418
fishing, m arine farming, 419
ocean ranching, whaling, 421
m ineral resources, - 422
non-conventional m arine energy resources, vitam ins and drugs resources, 426
conservation o f m arine resources, 427
CHAPTER 18 : MAN AND OCEANS 430-451
manipulation o f coastal processes, 431
marine pollution, 435
man and marine ecosystem , 442
overfishing, 443
global w arm ing and oceans, 445
global w arm ing and m arine ecology, 449
CHAPTER 19 : BERMUDA TRIANGLE 452-454
Area o f Bermuda Triangle 452
Disappearance o f aircrafts & ships 453
Supernatural explanations 453
Scientific explanations 454
• IN D E X 455-458
• REFERENCES 459-460
 buttress zone, 328 d e n sity s tra tific a tio n , 108
ab an d o n ed delta, 232 d e s tru c tiv e p la te boundaries, 42
abrasion, 221 d e s tru c tiv e w a v e s, 213
calc a re o u s oo£e, 137
ab so rption, 95 d ia s tro p h ic th e o ry , 68
cap illary w av es, 208
abyssal plain s, 70 d ia to m o o z e , 138
c arb o n ife ro u s g la c ia tio n , 38
abyssal hills, 71 d is p h o tic z o n e , 342
active co n tin en tal m argins, 61 ch em ical o c e a n o g ra p h y , 6
c h lo rin ity , 112, 124 d iv erg en ce-d ep en d en t upwelling
adiabatic h eatin g and cooling,
304
154 c irc u la tio n g y res, 2
ad so rp tion, 116, 124 d iv e rg e n t p la te b ou n d aries, 4 ]
cliff, 221
a herm aty p e co rals, 328 d o w n w e llin g , 301
c lim a tic o p tim u m , 12
algae ridge, 328 d o w n w e llin g o c e a n currents
c o asta l h a b ita ts, 348
ap h o tic zone, 103, 345 260
c o a sta l p la in e stu a rie s, 351
apogean tide, 3 14 d re d g in g , 4 3 4
c o asta l w e tla n d s, 2 2 8 , 358
aq u asp h ere, 28 d rifts , 2 6 0
co ld core rin g s, 279
arcu ate delta, 231 d y n a m ic o c e a n o g ra p h y , 6
co ld w all, 278
atoll, 331
c o llisio n zone, 42
e a st b o u n d a ry c u rre n ts , 266
b a r-b u ilt e stu a rie s, 354 c o m p o u n d sh o re lin e s, 218 e c o lo g ic a l p ro d u c tiv ity , 399
b a rrie r reef, 33 1 c o n ju c tio n , 313 e c o lo g y , 388
bars and b a rrie rs, 227, 228 c o n se rv a tiv e p la te b o u n d a rie s, e c o n o m ic o c e a n o g ra p h y , 6
b ath y m etry , 60 4 1 ,4 3 e c o s o u n d e r, 60
b a th y p elag ic zo n e, 344 c o n stru c tiv e w a v es, 213 edge w av es, 240
b each es, 225 c o n tin e n ta l d rift, 31, 32
E k m a n s p ira l, 167, 268
b each cusps, 227 c o n tin e n ta l m a rg in s, 61
E k m a n tra n s p o rt, 2 6 7 , 269
b each rid g e s, 227 c o n tin e n ta l rise, 70
E l N in o , 176
b eachridge-shelteredsaltm arshes, c o n tin e n ta l sh elf, 62
e n v iro n m e n ta l ocean o g rap h y , 7
366 c o n tin e n ta l slo p e, 65
e p ip e la g ic b io z o n e , 343
b en th ic h a b ita ts, 346 c o n v e rg e n t p la te b o u n d a rie s,
e q u a to r ia l w e s te rlie s , 170
42
b en th ic b io m e , 373 e q u ilib riu m m o d e l, 315
c o n v e y e r b e lt c irc u la tio n , 301
b en th o s c o m m u n ity , 381 e s tu a rie s , 3 5 0
c o ra l a n im a l, 323
b en th o s h y d ro th e rm a l v en t c o m - e u p h o tic z o n e , 3 4 4
m u n itie s, 388 c o ra lite , 324
e x c lu s iv e e c o n o m ic zone, 416
b erm s, 227 c o rio lis d e fle c tiv e fo rc e , 265
b io d e g ra d a tio n , 410 c o rio lis fo rce, 165 F e rre l c e ll, 175
b io g e n ic se d im e n ts, 136 c o rro s io n , 221 f is h in g , 4 2 0
b io lo g ic a l o c e a n o g ra p h y , 6 c u rre n ts , 2 6 0 flo o d tid e , 3 0 8
b io lo g ic a l p ro d u c tio n , 399 c ry o s p h e re , 28 fo o d c h a in s , 4 0 7
b io sy n th e sis, 409 f r ic tio n a l d ra g , 2 6 4
b ird -fo o t d e lta , 231 d a rk ag e, 12 f r ic tio n a l fo rc e , 166
b lo c k ed d e lta , 232 d e e p s, 72 f r in g in g re e f, 3 3 0
b lu e m ud, 136 d e ep o c ea n c u rre n ts , 2 6 0 fr o n tlin e n a tu ra l b u ffe rs, 63
b re a k e rs, 214 d e ep sea fa n s, 70 fu lly d e v e lo p e d sea , 208
b re a k w a te rs, 433 d eep w a te r w a v e s, 2 12
b u lk e m p la c e m e n t, 132, 134 d e lta , 229 g a se s , 93
146 d e n sity , 105 , fit--:
g a s h y d ra te s , 4 2 6
 INDEX
o c ea n w a ter m m m d*, 2 6 7
litto ral zo n e, 347
geological oceanography, 5 ocean w ater v a lle y s * 2 6 6
lith o g e n ic se d im e n ts, 134, 146
geom agnetic field, 47 o p p o sitio n , 3 13
geom orphological oceanogra- living h y d ro sp h e re , H
looped bars, 228 o u tg a ssm g , 2 6
phy, 6
lu n ar tidal b u lg e , 308 o z o n e d ep letio n , 4 4 7
g eo strophic c irc u latio n , 269
g eo strophic cu rren t, 269
global w arm ing, 446 m an g an ese n o d u le, 138 p a la e o m a g n e tis m , 4 7
g lo b ig c rin a ooze, 137 m angrove-sheltered salt m arshes, p a rtia lly m ix e d estu a ries, 3 5 5
g lo u p , 224 365 p a ssi ve co n tin en tal m argins, 62
g ra v ity w a v es, 208 m angro v e sw an y p s, 359 p a tc h re e fs , 3 2 9
g re e n h o u se e ffe c t, 447 m aricu ltu re, 421 p e la g ic b io m e , 3 7 2
green m u d , 136 m arine b io g eo ch em ical c y c le s, p e la g ic h a b ita ts , 3 4 3
g ro in s, 4 3 4 4 1 0 ,4 1 1 p e la g ic s e d im e n ts , 137
g u y o ts, 5 5 , 57, 71 m arine b io m es, 371 p e rig e a n tid e , 3 1 4
g y res, 2 5 8 , 270 m arine eco lo g y , 388, 389 p h o tic z o n e , 103
m arine form ing, 416 p h y s ic a l o c e a n o g ra p h y , 6
h ad al p e la g ic z o n e, 344 m arine o rg an ism s, 376 p h y to p la n k to n s , 3 7 9
H a d le y c e ll, 175 m arine p o llu tio n , 436 p la n k to n c o m m u n ity , 3 7 8
h a lo c lin e , 108, 1 10, 123, 124 m arine p ro v in ces, 59 p la te te c to n ic s , 4 0
h e rm a ty p e c o ra ls, 327 m arine sn o w fall, 126, 132, 147 p la te te c to n ic th e o ry ', 3 9
h ig h sea , 4 1 6 m aritim e zone, 415
h o rs e la titu d e , 1'73 p lu n g e lin e , 2 14
m eso p elag ic bio zo n e, 343
h u rric a n e , 195 p lu n g in g b re a k e rs , 2 1 5
m id -latitu d e circ u latio n , 172
h y d ra u lic a c tio n , 220 p o la r c e ll, 176
m id-ocean ridge, 72
h y d ro c a rb o n s , 4 4 0 p o la r a ir c irc u la tio n , 174
m o n so o n , 181
h y d ro g e n ic s e d im e n ts , 138, 146 p re c a u tio n a ry p r in c ip le s , 4 4 5
m o n stro u s w aves, 213
h y d ro lo g ic a l c y c le , 90 p re s su re g ra d ie n t, 157, 163
h y d ro s p h e ric c o m p o n e n ts, 2 p rim a ry p ro d u c e r, 4 0 2
n a d ir lunar bulge, 31 1
h y d ro th e rm a l v e n ts, 73 p rin c ip le o f c o n s ta n t propor-
n ad ir tide, 3 14
h y p s o m e try (h y s o g ra p h y ), 60 tio n , 1 1 2 ,1 2 4
n atu ral b u ffers, 252 p ro g ra d a tio n , 2 2 7
n atural c h im n ey s, 224 p s e u d o m o n s o o n , 184
ice fo rm a tio n , 117
n ekto n c o m m u n ity , 381 p te ro p o d o o z e , 137
ice ra ftin g , 132
neep tide, 313 p y c n o c lin e , 107, 110, 124
in n e r e s tu a rin e s a ltm a rsh e s, 366
n e re tic h a b ita ts, 343 p y c n o c lin e la y e r, 109
in te rn a l w a v e s , 209
n e re tic m a tte r, 137
is o h a lin e , 122
n et m arin e p rin a ry p ro d u c tiv - q u a d ra tu re , 313
is o th e rm s , 98
ity, 402
n et tra n sp o rt, 269 ra d io la ria n o o z e , 138
k in g d o m fu n g i, 375
n e u tra l s h o re lin e s, 2 18 red c la y , 138
k in g d o m m e ta p h y ta e a , 375
k in g d o m m e ta z o a , 375 n o n -c o n s e rv a tiv e gas, 93 re d m u d , 136
k in g d o m m o n e ra , 375 n o rm a l p o la rity , 50 re e fs , 324
k in g d o m p ro tis ta , 375 n u trie n ts in s e a w a te r, 93 r e e f fa c e, 328
r e e f te rra c e , 3 28
la g o o n s, 357 o c e a n h a b ita ts, 340 re fle c tio n , 95
land b reezes, 192 o c e a n m o rp h o lo g y , 59 re m a n e n t m a g n e tis m , 4 7
land h em isp h ere, 29 o c e a n ra n c h in g , 4 2 2 retail sed im en tation , 132, 147
law o f sea , 4 1 5 o c e a n ic ris e s, 73 retrogradation, 2 2 7
liquid hydrosphere, 8 o c e a n o lo g y , 3 reversal o f p o la rity , 4 9
 OCEANOd
% 8
tu rb id ity c u rre n t th eo ry , 6$ > ;
rogue w a v e s, 213 su b litto ra l zo n e, 347
ty p h o o n , 195
su b m arin e c o n y o n s, 65 -• »- *• _• **'
subm arine density current theory,
s a b k h a , 228 u p w e llin g , 302
s a lin tiy , 111
subpolar c irc u la tio n gyre, 268
s a lin o m e te r, 112, 125 v e r tic a lly m ix e d estu aries, 354
su p ra litto ra l zo n e, 347
sa lt m a rsh e s, 364 v o lc a n o g e n ic sed im en ts, 135
s a lt w e d g e e stu a rie s, 354 s u rf w aves, 208
su rface o cean c u rre n ts, 258
sc a tte rin g , 95 • W a lk a r c ir c u la tio n , 179
sea a re a, 2 0 7 , 214 s u rf zone, 214
w a rm c o re rin g s , 278
sea b re e z e s, 192 s y z y g y ,313
w a rm c u r r e n ts , 261
flo o r s p re a d in g , 44
table m o u n ts, 71 w a te r h e m is p h e re , 29
sea k n o lls, 71
se a m a m m a ls, 381 te rrito ria l sea, 416 w a te r h ill, 2 7 0
sea m o u n ts, 55, 57, 71 th e rm a l eq u ato r, 117 w a te r m a s s e s , 2 9 4
se a w a lls, 432 th e rm o a b ra sio n , 221 w ave base, 212
seic h e s, 207 th e rm o c lin e , 105, 110, 124 w a v e c e le r ity , 2 0 6
s e lf re v e rsa l o f p o la rity , 49 therm oh aline c irc u la tio n , 295 w a v e c re s ts , 2 0 5
sh allo w w a te r w av es, 212 tidal bore, 3 19 w a v e -c u t p la tfo rm , 223
sh o re lin e o f e m erg en c e , 217 tid al bulge, 308 w ave freq u e n cy , 206
sh o re lin e s o f su b m erg en c e , 218 tidal range, 308 w a v e h e ig h t, 2 0 6
silic e o u s o o ze, 137 to m b o lo , 228 w a v e le n g th , 2 0 6
sin k s o f ocean salin ity , 125 trace elem en ts, 93 w a v e o r th o g o n a ls , 215
sk errie s, 224 trade w inds, 172 w a v e p e r io d , 2 0 6
so la r b u lg e, 308 tra n sfo rm faults, 73 w a v e r e f le c tio n , 2 1 6
so lid h y d ro sp h e re , 8 tra n sitio n a l w av es, 213 w a v e r e f r a c tio n , 2 1 5
so u n d in g te ch n iq u e, 60 tra n slato ry w aves, 213 w a v e s te e p n e s s , 2 0 6
so u th ern o sc illa tio n , 179
tre n c h es, 72 w a v e tr a in s , 2 0 7
sp ec ific h eat, 97
tro p h ic level, 407 w a v e tro u g h , 2 0 5
sp illin g b re a k ers, 215
tro p ical c irc u la tio n , 170 w e s t b o u n d a ry c u rre n ts , 265
sp rin g tid e, 313 tro p ic a l cy clo n e s, 193 w e s te r lie s , 173
stan d in g w av es, 216 tru n c a te d d elta, 232 w e s te rn in te n s ific a tio n , 270
storm w av es, 210 tsu n a m is, 239 w h a lin g , 4 2 2
stream s, 261 tsu n am i sy n d ro m e , 240 w h a lin g m o ra to riu m , 445
S tefan -B o ltzm an Jaw, 153 tsu n a m ig e n ic e a rth q u a k e s , 251 W ie n ’s d is p la c e m e n t law , 153
subaerial ero sio n th e o ry , 68 ts u n a m i-ru n n e r-u p , 240 w in d d ra g , 2 6 5
su bduction zo n e, 42 tsu n am i w a rn in g sy ste m , 252
z o o p la n k to n s , 2 79

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 .• . •vc/^v

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: N A TU R E O F OCEANOGRAPHY 1-28

1
O c ea n o g ra p h y as a branch o f sciences,
o c e a n o g ra p h y as a branch o f geography,
2
m e a n in g and d efin itio n o f oceanography, scope o f o c ea n o g ra p h y , 3
5
b ra n c h e s o f o c ean o g rap h y ,
9
g ro w th o f o c ea n o g ra p h y ,
s u m m a ry o f th e h isto ry o f oceanography, 24
26
o rig in o f a tm o sp h ere ,
27
o rig in o f o c e a n s,
o c e a n 's c h a ra c te ristic featu res, 28
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 NATURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY

H ydrosphere is one o f five m ajor com po- 1.1 OCEANOGRAPHY : A BRANCH OF

nents o f the planet earth, nam ely, lithosphere, SCIENCE
atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere.
About th ree-fo u rth o f the globe (70.8 percent) is G enerally, people think oceanography as a
covered by hydrosphere. Out o f the total surface pure science based on the fundam entals o f
area o f the globe (509,950,000 km 2), lithosphere physics, chem istry, and m athem atics b u t this is
and h y drosphere cover 148,890,000 km2 and not true because the discipline o f oceanography
361,060,000 k m 2 respectively. The oceans and besides dealing with the physical and chem ical
seas covering largest surface area o f the globle are characteristics o f oceans, it also studies m arine
of param ount significance to all o f the living organisms in tem poral and spatial contexts. Thus,
organisms in clu d in g m an o f the biosphere be- oceanography is the am algam ation o f the funda-
cause they help in the functioning o f global mentals o f pure and life sciences (botany,
hydrological cycle through atm ospheric-oceanic zoology, and ecology). It is, thus, apparent that
circulation system ; they are significant sink o f oceanography is an applied branch o f sciences,
carbon dioxide and thus help in reducing the both pure and biological sciences.
greenhouse e ffe ct caused by hum an activities; The exclusion o f geography from the am bit
they help in the dispersal o f seeds and small o f oceanography in no way can be ju stifie d
animals through ocean currents; they provide because different aspects o f oceanography, nam ely
vital m ineral and biological resources, they help distribution o f continents and ocean basins
in the trade and com m erce; they provide varying (including seas), ocean dynamics and m ovem ents
marine habitats fo r the evolution, and develop- (ocean currents and tides), m arine sedim ents and
ment o f m arine organism s etc. This is why the deposits, marine organism s including corals,
marine habitats, m arine resources etc., cannot be
study o f various aspects o f oceans and seas under
studied w ithout spatial consideration. It is also
the banner o f oceanography has alw ays been at the
true that geography being a spatial science, is also
center stage o f the developm ent o f hum an culture a part o f sciences. Thus, it becomes obvious that
and civilization.

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 2
o c e a n o g r a ph y
oceanography is a branch o f sciences including and unification o f earth sciences as referred to
pure sciences, biological sciences, and space above but it also studies the patterns o f interac-
science (geography). tions between human activities and physical
environment. As a distinct branch o f geography,
1.2 OCEANOGRAPHY : A BRANCH OF PHYSI- physical geography studies the spatial patterns
CAL GEOGRAPHY and spatial relationships o f environmental com-
ponents o f the globe in regional context, it also
Physical geography is one o f the two studies the causes o f regional patterns o f such
branches o f geography, namely physical geogra- spatial relationships, sim ultaneously it incorpo-
phy and hum an geography. In fact, the study o f rates the explanation o f spatial and temporal
physical aspects o f the planet earth represents the changes o f environmental components and causes
core o f spatial science, i.e., geography. Most of thereof. It is evident that the focus o f the study of
geographers have pleaded for bifurcation of physical geography is the biosphere (life layer)
geography into physical and human geography comprising the envelope o f land, air and water
but it is rather unwise to ignore biotic aspects of around the globe which supports the life of all
the biospheric ecosystem or the earth and hence biota o f the lithosphere and hydrosphere (plants
there should be trifurcation of geography into and animals) on the earth surface.
physical geography, human geography, and bio- It is, thus, apparent that besides the study of
geography. lithosphere, atmosphere, and hydrosphere, the
Physical geography in terms of its meaning study o f biosphere has also been incorporated in
and definition, scope (subject matter), and meth- physical geography. Recently, one more aspect of
ods o f study has undergone seachange in the past the planet earth e.g. cryosphere, has been added to
few decades. In the beginning, physical geogra- the scope o f physical geography. It may be
phy was defined as the study of only physical mentioned that cryosphere includes frozen parts
environm ent, namely, land (reliefs), air and water o f both continents and oceans. Thus, physical
(hydrosphere) o f the earth as is seen in the geography may be defined in the following terms
follow ing definition :
" The study o f physical environment by itself "Physical geography is the study o f charac-
is physical geography which includes considera- teristic features o f lithosphere (geomorphology),
tion o f surface reliefofthegloble (geomorphology), atmosphere (climatology), biosphere (biogeogra-
o f the seas and the oceans (oceanography), and o f phy), and cryosphere (cryogeography). "
the air (meteorology and climatology) ” Savindra Singh, 2007
Arthur H olm es It is, thus, evident that the study o f
Arthur Holmes further elaborated the definition hydrosphere, say oceanography, is an integral
o f physical geography as follows : part o f physical geography.
“Physical geography is simply the study o f The study o f hydrospheric component in-
unification o f a number o f earth sciences which volves the consideration o f reliefs o f the ocean
give us a general insight into the nature o f man's basins (continental shelves, submarine canyons,
environment. Not in itself a distinct branch o f continental slope, deep sea plains, ocean deeps
science physical geography is a body o f basic etc.); thermal characteristics o f ocean water;
principles o f earth sciences selected with a view to salinity (composition o f seawater, sources and
include primarily the environmental influces that distribution o f oceanic salinity); ocean deposits;
varyfrom place to place over the earth's surface. " ocean tides; ocean currents and coral reefs and
atolls, marine sediments, marine resources, coastal
Arthur Holmes, I960
processes, coastal habitats and biomes, marine
It may be pointed out that presently ecology and marine organisms, m an and marine
physical geography is not only the agglomeration environment etc.

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3
MATURE o f o c e a n o g r a ph y
p a r t o f the earth, an d stu dies tides, currents,
1 3 OCEANOGRAPHY : MEANING AND
p h ysical pro p erties o f ocean water, configuration
' d e f in it io n
o f the coasts and the ocean flo o r, an d life in the
ocean as w ell as its region al distribution. It is ;
T he scien ce o f oceanography consists o f intim ately associated with the exact sciences. •
two G reek w ords e.g. okeanos or oceanus, m eaning ■■■(*)
thereby oceans, and graphia, m eaning thereby
Freeman
description. T hus, based on literal m eaning o f
oceanography, it m ay be defined as follow s : “O c e a n o g r a p h y , the scien ce o f the sea,
"Oceanography is the description o f ma- embraces prim arily the stu dy o f the fo rm and
rine environment, say marine phenomena. nature o f the oceanic basins, the ch a racteristics
-(I) o f the waters in these basins and the m ovem ents to
It m ay be m entioned th at any science cannot which these waters are subjected to. ~ (5)
be m erely th e d escription o f phenom ena, rather it H.A. Maimer
m ust be an in vestig ativ e and in terp retativ e d isci-
I f w e co n sid er the c o n ten ts o f a fo re sa id
pline. B ased on. this prem ise the science o f
definitions o f ocean o g rap h y , it b e co m e s c le a r th a t
ocean o g rap h y m ay be defined as follow s :
m ost o f the above m en tio n ed d e fin itio n s also
“O ceanography is that marine science reveal the contents o f study to be p u rs u e d u n d e r
which investigates and interprets marine environ- the discipline o f ocean o g rap h y . B a se d o n a b o v e
ment and phenomena, and marine processes, facts a com prehensive d efin itio n o f o c e a n o g ra p h y
namely physical, chemical, and biological proc- m ay be presented in the fo llo w in g m a n n e r :
esses. ” ...(2)
"Oceanography is a science that in vesti-
In fact, the term oceanology represents gates and interprets the ch aracteristics and
m arine e n v iro n m en t and processes m ore com pre- origin o f ocean basins and reliefs thereof,
hensively an d m o re pro m in en tly than oceanogra- physical and chemical properties o f sea w a ter
phy but tra d itio n a lly oceanography has been in (temperature, salinity and density), ocean dynam -
w ider use am o n g the general public and hence it ics (tides, sea waves, ocean currents, an d tid a l
could n ev er be rep laced by oceanology, ‘ology’ surges including trunamis), coastal p ro cesses
means ‘science of7, and thus oceanology m eans and coastal scenery, marine sedim ents and ocean
science o f o cean s. T h is term gives m ore scientific deposits, coastal habitats and m arine ecology,
hue to the o cean s an d hence geography o f oceans. marine resources, marine organism s and b io lo g i-
A few o f the trad itio n al definitions o f cal productivity, and man and marine environ-
oceanography are g iv en below : m ent.” --(6 )
"Oceanography em braces all studies p e r- Savindra Singh, 2007
taining to the sea and integrates -the knowledge
gained in the m arine sciences that deal with such 1.4 SCOPE OF OCEANOGRAPHY
subjects as the ocean boundaries and bottom
topography, the ph ysics and chemistry o f sea
A close perusal o f d efin itio n s o f o c e a n o g ra -
water, the type ofcurrents, and the m a n y phases o f
phy, as discussed in the p rev io u s se c tio n 1.3,
marine biology. ” ••■(3)
clearly reveals the scope o f o c ean o g rap h y , say
H.U. Sverdrup,
subject m atter to b e stu d ied in th is d iscip lin e. In a
M.W. Johnson, and very sim ple term the stu d y o f h y d ro sp h ere
R.H. Flemming (oceans and seas), say w atersp h ere c o v erin g 9 7.2
percent o f all w ater, b o th in liq u id and so lid form
"Oceanography like meteorology is a sci-
(ice) is called ocean o g rap h y o r th e geography of
ence which has grown from geographic soil. It is
c°nserned with the hydrosphere, a very mobile oceam, w hich includes the c o n sid e ra tio n o f

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description and analysis o f physical and biologi- (2) marine geomorphological aspect*
cal aspects o f hydrosphere.
reliefs o f the ocean basins
A ccording to J. Proudm an fundamental
principles o f dynam ics and therm odynam ics are (i) continental shelf and slope
also studied in relation to characteristics o f ocean (ii) deep sea plains and trenches
w ater and biological aspects. Thus, the science o f (iii) submarine conyons
oceans, i.e., oceanography includes the studies o f
m arine geology, m arine geomorphology, physical ► coastal processes and coastal landfonos
oceanography, chem istry o f ocean water, and bio- (3) physical and chemical aspects
oceanography. M arine geology and m arine temperature o f ocean water
geom orphology aspects o f oceanography include
the consideration o f the origin o f ocean basins >■ density o f ocean water
(continental drift, and sea-floor spreading on the *- viscosity, pressure and compressibility
basis o f plate tectonics); origin and characteristics
of m arine sedim ents, and deposition thereof; >• water masses and their distributional
mode o f operation o f coastal processes (sea patterns
w aves) and characteristic features o f coastal >■ salinity o f ocean water
landform s. Physical aspects o f oceanography
>■ marine sediments and deposits
study the characteristics o f physical properties o f
ocean w ater (such as temperature, pressure, (4) dynamics of oceans
density, salinity, com pressibility, viscosity, water >- sea waves
m asses and their distributional patterns), and
dynam ics o f ocean water, namely sea waves, >■ ocean currents
ocean currents, tides, tsunamis, tidal and storm ocean tides
surges etc.
tsunamis
Recently, marine meteorology is also in-
>■ tidal surges
cluded in oceanography wherein atmospheric
conditions over ocean water are studied. The (5) global atmosphere-ocean circulation : air-sea
biological aspect o f oceanography includes the interactions
study o f the characteristics, evolution, distribu-
^ atmospheric circulation and ocean
tion and dispersal o f marine organisms; coastal currents
habitats and biome, marine ecology and marine
ecological productivity. *- southern oscillation and Walker cir-
culation
The appearance o f man after industrial
revolution as ‘economic man’ has greatly affected >■ El Nino
m arine environm ent and therefore the study o f the (6) coastal hab ita ts and bionics
im pacts o f hum an activities on marine environ-
m ent has becom e very important subject matter of ► coastal habitats
the scope o f oceanography. (i) estuaries
Thus, the subject matter and contents o f the (ii) wetlands
study o f the science o f oceanography may be
sum m arized as follows : (iii) lagoons
(1) marine geological and tectonic aspects (iv) mangroves
>■ origin o f oceans *■ coastal biomes
>- origin o f ocean basins : continental
(i) littoral biome
drift
v plate tectonics and sea-floor spread- (ii) sublittoral biome
ing (iii) pelagic biome

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 n a t u r e o f o c e a n o g r a ph y
5

(7) m arine organism s and m arine ecology 1.5 BRANCHES OF OCEANOGRAPHY

(i) classificatio n o f m arine organism s

If we consider the contents o f definitions o f
(ii) m arine ecological produtivity oceanography (section 1.3), and the subject
(iii) marine food chains and biogeochemica) matter to be studied in the discipline o f oceanog-
cycles raphy (section 1.4) together, the follow ing branches
o f the discipline may be identified :
(iv) m arine plants
• geological oceanography
(v) m arine anim als
• geom orphological oceanography
(8) coral reefs and atolls
• physical oceanography
(7) m arine resources
• chem ical oceanography
(9) m an and m arine environm ent

Fig. 1 .1 : Branches o f oceanography.

• d y n am ic o c e a n o g ra p h y 5s- p hysical o cean o g rap h y

• b io lo g ic a l o c e a n o g ra p h y (in clu d in g dy n am ic o c ea n o g ra p h y )
s* ch em ical o cean o g rap h y
• econom ic o c e a n o g ra p h y
b io lo g ical o cean o g rap h y
• e n v iro n m e n ta l o c e a n o g ra p h y
(in c lu d in g eco n o m ic an d e n v iro n m e n ta l
The a fo re sa id 8 b ra n c h e s o f o c ea n o g ra p h y
o c ean o g rap h y )
maV be fused to g e th e r so as to fo rm fo u r m a jo r
branches as fo llo w s : Geological Oceanography
v geological o c e a n o g ra p h y
(including g e o m o n o p h o lo g ic a l o c e a n o g ra - G e o lo g ica l o cea n o g ra p h y is p rim a rily c o n -
c ern ed w ith th e stu d y o f th e c h a ra c te ristic fe a tu re s

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
6
controls the d en sity o f seawater, m ovem ent of
and form ation o f sea floor, the origin o f ocean seaw ater, ev ap o ratio n m ech an ism , and marine
basins, the plate m ovem ents and sea-floor spread- organism s. It also in clu d es the co n sid eratio n of
ing through tim e, m arine sedim ents in tem poral
pollution o f seaw ater, and ex tra ctio n o f some
contexts etc. In this context the study o f therm al
chem icals from salin e sea w ater so th at it may
convective currents originating in the m antle
becom e usable atleast for d rin k in g purpose.
becom es necessary.

Dynamic Oceanography
Geomorphological Oceanography

G eom orphological oceanography includes D ynam ic o cean o g rap h y is p rim a rily con-
the consideration o f m echanism s o f coastal cerned w ith the study o f g en esis and ch aracteris-
processes o f denudation and characteristc result- tics o f various types o f m o tio n s o f sea w ater such
ant coastal iandform s, such as sea cliffs, wave-cut as sea w aves, ocean cu rren ts, tid es, tsu n am is, and
platform s, sea coves and caves, skerries, stacks, tidal and storm surges. It also in clu d es th e study of
w ave-built platform s, sea beaches etc. It may be air-sea interactions and resu ltan t s o u th e r n oscilla-
m entioned that these landforrns provide ideal tion and Walker c irc u la tio n . B esid es, E l Nino
habitats for different types o f marine organisms phenom ena, and tsunam is are given m o re focussed
including m arine plants, animals and m icro- attention because these affect m arin e organism s
organism s. It is, thus, obvious that these different to great extent. It m ay be m en tio n ed th at the study
geom orphological habitats and niches creat ma- o f air-sea interactions is called m a rin e m eteo ro lo g y .
rine environm ents o f varying spatial scales.
Biological Oceanography
Physical Oceanography
Biological oceanography is b asiccally the
Physical oceanography studies basically study of different aspects o f m arine organism s
the physical properties o f ocean water in terms of (e.g. characteristics and distribution o f sea plants,
therm al conditions, density, turbidity, viscosity, sea anim als, and sea m icro-organism s); ch arac-
com pressibility o f ocean waters etc. In fact it teristic features o f coastal habitats such as
includes the study of temperature and density of wetlands, corals, m angroves, sea beaches, la-
ocean w ater in tem poral and spatial contexts goons etc.; m arine biom es; ecological p ro d u c tiv -
because these two properties determine the ity, marine food chains, and marine biogeochem ical
m otions o f sea w ater and movement o f water mass cycle.
in the oceans. Some scientists advocate for the
inclusion o f dynamics o f oceans such as sea
Economic Oceanography
w aves, ocean currents, tides etc. in physical
oceanography, while others argue for the discus-
sion o f ocean dynamics in a separate branch of Econom ically, oceans have becom e very
oceanography, as dynamic oceanography. The significant resource base because these provide
types, characteristics and origin, and the distribu- both biological and m ineral resources for hum an
tional patterns o f marine sedim ents are also use. B esides, oceans have alw ays been used for
studied in physical oceanography. trade and com m erce since tim e im m em orial.
Oceans becam e o f m uch strategic im portance
Chemical Oceanography since 19th century. The econom ic oceanography
deals w ith the characteristics, origin, im portance,
classification, and distribution o f m arine re-
Basically, chemical oceanography is the sources. O ceans besides providing a num ber of
study o f chemical com position and charactcritics biological resources (food and non-food), also
o f seawater. The study o f salinity o f oceans is provide very vital resources o f great economic
given more attention because it affects and
im portance (such as m ineral oil and natural gas),

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 NATURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY 7

and non-conventional energy resources, namely crude oil from dam aged oil tankers), industrial
tidal energy, w ave energy, and biomass energy. and urban growth in the im m ediate hinterlands o f
The study o f strategic aspects o f oceans is called sea coasts, d e fo re sta tio n (on the continents) etc.
strategic oceanography, while international oceanog- cause m arine pollution o f various sorts. It may be
raphy deals w ith strategic aspects o f oceans, and m entioned that forests are the largest sinks o f
international laws o f seas. atm ospheric carbon dioxide. D eforestation re-
duces consum ption o f carbon dioxide, and hence
oceans (w hich are second largest sinks o f carbon
Environmental Oceanography
dioxide) have to absorb more atm ospheric carbon
dioxide. This leads to increase in the acidity o f
Environm ental oceanography is prim arily ocean water. The m elting o f continental glaciers
concerned w ith the study o f interactions o f man and ice sheets, and ice sheets o f the A rctic Sea due
and m arine environm ent, adverse impacts in the to greenhouse effect and global w an n in g caused
form o f pollution resulting therefrom , and reme-- by anthropogenic sources leads to rise in sea level
dial m easures thereof. The everincreasing human and clim ate changes, w hich introduce large-scale
presence in the oceans and hum an economic changes in ocean-atm ospheric circulation. The
activities such as extraction o f m inerals including study o f these aspects has gained currency in the
m ineral oil, harvesting o f m arine biological present century.
resources (m ainly food resources), dredging o f
sea beds for different purposes (e.g. dredging o f
1.6 OCEANOGRAPHY AND OTHER SCIENCES
harbours, construction o f ship canals, for exam -
ple, Sethusam udram Ship Canal through the bay
o f M annar and Palk Bay in India), plying o f oil It is true that oceanography is not pure
tankers (and resultant oil slicks due to spilling o f science like m athem atics, physics, and chem istry,

■>V'
Fig. 1.2 : Relationships between oceanography and other sciences.
ri ; I

■::©i
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 OCEANOGRAPHY

8 nam ics and h y d ro d y n am ics d e riv e d from physic,.

rather it is an applied science inv°lving fun ^ Such m otions in clu d e sea w av es, ocean currents,
m entals o f other disciplines o f scienc , tidal currents and tid a l su rg es, sto rm surges,
science such as physics, chemistry, > tsunam is etc. T h e o re tic al p h y sics h elp s in under-
geology, (fig. 1.2), and interdisciplinary sciences standing the c h a ra c te ristic s, o rig in and m ode of
namely geophysics, geochemistry (which are operation o f th ese m o tio n s o f o c ea n m otions. A
interrelated with physics, geology, and chem is- few devastating ev en ts o f tsu n am is in th e recent
try), biophysics (outcome o f physics and b io l- past (like S um atra tsu n am i o f D e c e m b e r 26,2004)
ogy), biochem istry (related directly with biology have m ade the stu d y o f o cean d y n a m ic s as a whole
and chem istry), and geography, which is a space
significant, and o f m uch h u m an im p o rtan ce. The
science (fig. 1.2). study o f the nature o f tsu n am is, tid a l and storm
Oceanography includes the study o f liquid surges has draw n m ore fo c u sse d a tte n tio n from
hydrosphere (ocean water), solid hydrosphere (crust the scientists o f d ifferen t d isc ip lin e s a fte r killer
o f the ocean basins), and living hydrosphere tsunam i o f D ecem b er 26, 2 0 0 4 w h ic h claim ed
(marine organism s). Since the ocean w ater rests m ore than 200,000 hum an liv es in th e countries
on ocean crusts and hence it becomes necessary to bordering Indian O cean, m a in ly In d ia, Srilanka,
investigate the origin and evolution o f ocean
T hailand, and Indonesia.
basins, and structure and com position o f ocean
crusts and the sedim ents resting on them, volcanic C hem istry helps in understanding the chemical
and seism ic events occurring on ocean beds. The properties o f ocean w aters. C o m p o sitio n of
knowledge of geology helps in understanding these seaw ater in term s o f salt c o n ten ts o f different
aspects o f oceanography. types o f salts affects m arin e life, m o v em en t o f
ocean w ater, and e v ap o ratio n co m p o n en t .of
The geom orphological evolution o f bottom
reliefs and coastal landscapes, which form suit- global hydrological cycle. T he k n o w led g e o f
able habitats o f different sorts for marine organ- chem istry also helps in sep aratin g ch em ica ls from
isms, is closely related with geomorphology ocean w aters and to m ake th em u sab le fo r hum an
w hich is itse lf related with geology and geogra- being. For example, desalinization and dealkalization
phy. Thus geomorphology helps in understanding o f ocean w ater m ay be carried th ro u g h a p p ro p ri-
the coastal configuration. ate chem ical process.

It may be m entioned that oceanography is a Geophysics helps in the study o f th e n a tu re

branch o f physical geography which is closely and mode o f plate tectonics w hich reveal the secret
related to pure sciences (physics and chem istry), o f sea-floor spreading and continental drift, o rig in
earth sciences (geology, geophysics, and geogra- o f various types o f fractures and faults on th e sea
phy), and biological sciences (botany, zoology, beds, nature o f vertical endogenetic m o v em en ts
and ecology). Geography in itself being an leading to the occurrences o f u n d ersea earth q u ak es
interdisciplinary science, is related with biologi- and vulcanicity, undersea landslides, w h ich m ay
cal sciences, earth sciences, and pure sciences, generate pow erful tsunam i w aves.
and thus oceanography draws much from geogra- Marine life is closely related to biological
phy. B esides, geography being a spatial science, sciences. The principles and p rocesses o f evolution
helps in determ ining boundaries, and m apping o f life, biotic succession , b io g eo ch em ica l cycles,
different m arine attributes, such as tem perature,
ecological productivity and transfer o f energy etc.
density, salinity, m arine deposits etc., and in
greatly help in understanding the characteristics
identifying distributional patterns o f these at-
o f marine organisms including marine plants,
tributes. In nut shell it may be m entioned that
animals, and m icro-organism s.
geography helps in the study o f locational aspects
o f sea phenom ena. B esides, other disciplin es such as marine
m eteorology, ocean engineering, marine archae-
The study o f motions o f ocean waters is
° l° g y , international law s, disaster management,
very significant in oceanography, and this is
cryogeography (Savindra Singh, 200 7 ) etc. also
facilitated through the principles o f thermody-
help in the study o f oceans.

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w •

NATURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY 9

1.7 GROWTH OF OCEANOGRAPHY : HISTORI- >- early period : from the age o f H om er (4000
CAL PERSPECTIVE B .C .) to the age o f H ecatius (500 B .C.).
>- period of m easurem ent from 500 B.C. to the
,w
The growth o f oceanography is closely tim e o f Strabbo (54 B .C .— 25 A .D .)
related to the developm ent o f knowledge o f skill > period of m apping of oceans from 1st century
o f making vessels, and navigation leading to the to 2nd century A.D.
explorations and discovery o f different oceans,
The ancient period o f the gro w th o f k now l-
seas, and islands, and sea phenomena through
edge o f oceanography spread in g o v er a long
successive stages in tune with the advancement o f
period o f about 4200 years (from 4 0 0 0 B.C. to 2nd
science and technology and human skill, and state
century A .D .) is also know n as classical period o f
o f art. Thus, the growth o f knowledge o f
historical developm ent o f o cean o g rap h y . The
oceans may be studied in a number o f ways as
follow ing are the salien t features o f d ev elo p m en t
follow s :
o f know ledge o f oceans, seas and n av ig atio n
Growth o f Oceanography during three sub-periods o f an cien t age :
• stage o f individual approach (1) Early Period : This period sp read o v er about
• dark age 3500 years (from 4000 B.C. to 500 B .C .) w as
• stage o f system atic approach m arked by the navigation o f certain p o rtio n s o f
the Pacific O cean and M ed iterran ean sea by
• stage o f international approach
individual m ariners. T hus the early sta g e o f
or navigation o f oceans and seas w as b a se d on
Growth o f Oceanography invidual voyages. It is not p recisely k n o w n as to
• ancient or classical period who developed first the art o f n av ig atio n b u t it is
generally believed that the E gyp tian s d e v e lo p e d
• middle period or darke age
the art o f m aking o f v essels and n a v ig a tio n o f
• modern period or age o f discovery and coastal areas as early as 4000 B .C . T he fo llo w in g
exploration are the salient features o f d e v e lo p m e n t o f
or know ledge o f vessel m aking and n a v ig a tio n
Growth o f Oceanography during early period o f th e g ro w th o f o c e a n o g ra -
phy :
• early history
3- E gyptians developed the art o f b u ild in g o f
• m iddle a g e ,
vessels for n av ig atio n , and sta rte d c o a sta l
• m odem age pioloting in the M ed iterran e a n S ea as early
as 4000 B.C.
1. Stage of Individual Approach (Ancient Pe- »- It is believed th a t the a n c e sto rs o f th e
riod)
inhabitants o f the P a c ific isla n d s w e re n o t
the natives o f th ese isla n d s, ra th e r th ey
The initial stage or first stage o f the cam e from o th e r areas.
know ledge o f oceans was characterized by indi-
3- M ost o f the islan d s o f th e cen tral P a c ific
vidual efforts o f the early mariners. This period is O ceans w ere settled b y th e P o ly n e sia n s
also known as ancient or classical period which was b etw een 2000 B .C . and 500 B .C . T he
enriched by the know ledge o f seas and oceans by P acific islands are d iv id e d in th re e g ro u p s
individual mariners, historians, philosphers and as follow s :
travelers. This period covering a long period o f
• M icronesia re p re se n ts g ro u p o f sm all
time from pre-historic period (4000 B.C.) to 2nd
islan d s (m icro = sm all, n e s ia = isla n d s)
century A .D . is divided in 3 sub-periods or 3 lo cated b etw ee n th e la titu d e s o f 0°
stages o f the developm ent o f know ledge o f oceans (e q u ato r) an d 23.5° N , an d lo n g itu d e s
and seas, as fo llo w s : o f 125° E an d 180° E (fig. 1.3).

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■■
OCEANOGRAPHY

10 tioned that the people living in the eastern

• M elanesia (melan - bl^ck> ^ eS . marginal coastal areas o f the Mediterra-
islands, i.e., islands inhabited by black nean Sea, representing the present position
skinned people) consists o f islands o f o f Syria, Lebanon and Israel, were called
the Pacific located to the south M icro- Phoenesians, w ho developed the art o f
nesia betw een the equator-30 S lati- navigation. Phoenesians explored the en-
tude, and 125°- 180° E longitude. tire Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea,, and parts
Significant islands are N ew Ireland, o f Indian Oceans betw een 1000 B.C. and
B orneo, Papua New G uinea, B runei,
600 B.C.
C alebes, New H ebrides etc.
Phoenesians are believed to have first
• P o ly n esia (poly = many, nesia = islands,
circum-navigated A frica in 590 B.C.
group o f many islands) includes the
islands o f the central and eastern » Phoenesians also sailed in the A tlantic
Pacific Ocean. Important islands are Ocean and reached C om w al, England.
Howaiian islands, Marquesas islands, » The early navigators used coastal land
Samoa islands, Toga, Easter Islands, marks and stars to sail their v essels,
Samoa etc. and thus they seldom ventured in the deep
5- Phoenesians are considered to be the first sea.
n avigators from Europe. It may be men-

Fig. 1.3 : Exploration o f Pacific islands.

(2) Early Period of M easurem ent : This period was attempts were made to measure various c o m p o n e n t s
spread over about 500 years from 500 B.C. to the o f the oceans. The follow in g are the s ig n ifie s ^
time o f Strabbo (54 BC - 25 A.D .). A number o f contributions in the field o f oceanography :

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NATURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY
tides in the A tlan tic O cean w as in tune w ith
>- Pytheas w as probably the first navigator
various phases o f the m oon.
from G reece w ho circum -navigated E ng-
land and m easu red the length o f coastlines H erodotus p roduced a m ap o f the M ed iter-
o f E n g lan d in the 4th century B.C.; then he ranean Sea in 4 50 B .C ., w hich w as
sailed to Iceland in 325 B.C. Pytheas was surrounded by th ree co ntinents, nam ely
b asically astronom er-geographer, so he Europe (E uropa), A sia, and L ybia (now the
attem p ted to determ ine latitudes and no rthernm ost p art o f A frica. It is apparent
longitudes o f a place w ith the help o f stars. from fig. 1.4 that H ero d o tu s b eliev ed in v ast
D uring his voyage he also studied tides and extent o f oceans w hich su rro u n d ed three
propounded the concept o f lunar origin o f continents. H e n am ed the oceans m are. H e
tides. In other w ords, according to Pytheas visualized 3 m ajor oceans (m are) su r-
tides w ere originated due to influence o f rounding three continents (as m en tio n ed
m oon. Pytheas is also given credit to study above). T hese oceans w ere m ark ed on the
the ocean processes such as tidal process. map (fig. 1.4) as (1) M are E ry th raeu m , (2)
A ccording to him the regular variation o f M are A ustralis, and (3) M are A tlan ticu m .

e&o,
’n8s
Mas:SaQetae
r.a m c a s ^5
Araxes
Phrygia Sogdi

/ A rm enia f\ra * eS Bactri

Caspapyrus

Fig. 1.4 : The Herodotus ’map o f the world-the Greek world, sou rce: Challenger, Report, 1S95 A.D., in P. R. Pinet, 2000.

»■ Eratosthenes (276-192 B .C .) was a G reek accuracy. H e calculated the polar circum ferce
scholar and librarian in A lexandria o f (through north and south p o les) on the
Egypt. H e is given credit to determ ine the basis o f trig n o m etry , as 40,000 k m (2 4 ,8 4 0
circum ference o f the earth w ith great m iles), w hich fell sh o rt o f only 32 k m from

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
12
the present day accurate polar circum fer- nean region was dom inated by the A rabs after the
ence of 40,032 km (24,875 miles) o f the fall o f the Roman Em pire in the 5th century A.D.
earth. The entire long period o f about 1200 years was
dominated by religious orthodoxy. The initiatives
s- strabbo (54BC-25A.D.) presented detailed
taken by the Roman philosophers, historians,
description of land and sea.
thinkers, and navigators were overshadow ed by
(3) E arly P eriod of M apping of Oceans : This period the Arabs who were in command. Consequently,
o f developm ent of knowledge of oceanography ‘the western concept o f w orld geography degen-
includes a time span of 200 years (1st and 2nd erated considerably, one notion envisioned in the
century A.D.). The following contributions are world as a disc with Jerusalem at the cen ter’ (H. V.
noteworthy in the field of the science o f oceans, Thurman and A.P. Trujillo, 1999).
say oceanography :
It may be m entioned that the A rabs were
s- Roman thinker Seneca (54 B.C. - 30 A.D.) trading communities and hence they used to
observed inflow of water through rivers
extensively trade with north and east Africa,
into the oceans and seas, the evaporation of Southeast Asia, and India across Indian Ocean.
ocean water, and sea level. On the basis of
They understood the seasonal pattern o f wind
his observations, he opined that inspite of
circulation over Indian Ocean and thus they used
huge volume of water brought by the rivers
to navigate with their ships carrying goods from
into the seas and oceans, the sea level
the eastern parts o f Africa towards east follow ing
remains constant because the additional
the S. W. Monsoon winds across Indian Ocean
input o f water was suitably compensated
while they used to return back during w inter
by proportionate loss of water through
season following the direction o f N.E. M onsoon
evaporation. Thus Seneca visualized glo-
winds. The following are the significant contribu-
bal hydrological cycle.
tions in the field o f oceanography during dark
>- G reek Ptolem y compiled the map of entire age :
Roman world in about 150 A.D. This map
>■ A.D. 673 - 735 : Bede, an English monk,
carried longitudes and latitudes. This map
contained 3 continents of Europe, Asia, observed the tidal phenomena, and opined
and Africa. Indian ocean was shown as that ocean tides were largely controlled by
closed sea surrounded by landmasses, the moon, which he called lu n a r co n tro l. He
which were not identified and named by also described tidal behaviour and ob-
Ptolemy. He visualized all the oceans like served that there were monthly variations
seas. It appears that he was influenced by in ocean tides, and the height o f tides was
the presence o f Mediterranean Sea. greatly influced by the force o f wind. His
publication, De T em porum R atio n e, con-
>■ P osidonium measured the depths o f ocean
tained his descriptions o f oceans and tides.
upto 1000 fathoms near Sardinia.
>■ Unlike Arab world, the inhabitants of
northwestern Europe, called as V ikings of
2. Middle Age : Dark Age Scandinavia (Norway and Sweden) ven-
tured to sail through N orth A tlantic Ocean.
M iddle age, very often known as dark age in The Vikings reached Iceland and colo-
the scientific world, continued from the end o f the nized the island in the late 9th century
2nd century A.D. to the 14th century A.D. when because o f warming o f climate in the
no significant contributions could be made in the northern hemisphere.
field of oceanography. The significant turn in the
>• The period from 950 to 1250 A.D., i.e., 300
political scene in the regions surrounding the year - period is called as a phase o f ‘little
M editerranean Sea was very much reflected in the climatic optinum’ when climate became
sluggish development o f knowledge in the field o f warm and relatively dry as average tem-
sciences including oceanography. The M editerra- perature increased by 1° to 2°.C from the

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 13
n a t u r e o f o c e a n o g r a ph y
Ericson who nam ed the island as V inland,
present-day global average tem perature. which later on becam e N ewfoundland. It
The clim ate o f G reenland and Iceland may be m entioned that Ericson sailed
becam e m ild and attracted the Vickings directly from the southern tip o f Greenland
from Iceland to settle in Greenland. The
to V inland (fig. 1-5).
clim ate in the southern G reenland allowed
the grow th o f stunted vegetation, pasture, ^ The period from 1250 A.D. to HSO A . a
and agriculture to support newly settled was characterized by the reversal o f m ild
hum an population, (fig. 1.5). climate o f 10th to 13th centuries, as
tem perature began to drop causing accu-
>- The V ikings reached southern Greenland mulation o f more ice over G reenland,
from Iceland under the leadership or Eric drifting o f ice sheets and num erous ice-
th e R ed, who further sailed westward from bergs in the North Atlantic Ocean. The
G reenland and reached Baffin Island of drifting icebergs disrupted physical
Canada. Thus, Eric the Red is given credit connection o f G reenland with Iceland and
to discover Baffin island (fig. 1.5). Europe. This clim atic change discouraged
H erjolfsson started from Iceland for
B jarn i voyages through the N o rth A tlan tic
Greenland but unknowingly reached Vinland, Ocean.
m odern N ewfoundland because he took
more southerly route. Soon after he real- 3. The Great Age of Discovery and Exploration
ized his m istake and returned back without
landing on the island.
The period from 15th to 16th century is
L eif E ricson, the son o f Eric the Red, learned called ‘the great age o f discovery and exploration
about Vinland from Bjarni Herjolfsson, because efforts were made during this period to
and sailed to Vinland and colonized it in discover and explore new areas. C olum bus
the y ear 995. In fact, it was discovered America and M agellan circum navi-
gated the globe. The map presented by O rtelius m
1570 provided new knowledge about the distribu-
tion of land and seas. Significant contributions
vmuumuiuu' - . '1" ' " 1'!71
were made in the fields o f origin o f coastal
' Greenland geomorphology, theoretical base o f the origin o f
tides, ocean currents, and sea w aves during this
period of renaissance. The following are the salient
features o f discovery and exploration during this
period o f renaissance :
>- Navigators from P o rtu g a l and S p a in are
given full credit for discovering new areas
like A m ericas, and opening o f new
routes to India, East Indies etc. via Cape
o f Good Hope (southern tip o f South
Africa).
First Viking voyage to Iceland >■ Question arises as to why there was sudden
-------- Leif Eriksson spurt in discovery and exploration by the
Europeans? In fact, the econom ic im por-
Fig 1 .5 : The voyages of Vikings of Scandinavia and tance o f the New W orld, India, and S.E.
discovery o f Greenland, Newfoundland and Asia on one hand, and the fall o f C onstan-
Vinlarul (N e w fo u n d la n d ) . Source : based on tinople in the hands o f Sultan M oham m ed
and modified from Thurman and Trujillo, II in the year 1453, and consequential
1999.

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 14
OCEANOGRAPHY
isolation o f the port cities bordering the Atlantic Ocean and sailed to Panama and
M editerranean Sea from the access to became successful in crossing the Isthmus
India, Asia, and East Indies on the other o f Panama and sailed in the Pacific. It may
land, forced the Europeans to search new be mentioned that Balboa could see a vast
routes.
sea to the west o f Panama by clim bing a
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519 A.D.) stud- mountain top.
ied currents and waves and presented ► Peter Maty r observed and studied the nature
detailed accounts about them. He postu- o f the G ulf Stream and described the mode
lated that there were fluctuations in sea o f its origin in the year 1515 A.D.
level. His observation was based on the
study o f marine fossils found over the >• The age o f great discovery reached its
m ountains o f Italy. culmination when Ferdinand Magellan made
a successful circum navigation o f the globe
C hristopher Columbus (of Spain) discov-
covering largest distance through oceans
ered North America. Columbus started his
and seas, which was never achieved by
voyage from Canary Islands on August 3,
any navigator earlier. The historic voyage
1492 with 88 men and 3 ships. In fact]
started on September 20, 1519 from
Colum bus planned to sail westward to
Sanlucar de Barrameda o f Spain under the
reach East Indies (till then Americas were
leadership o f M agellan, who started his
not known) but reached West Indies. Thus
voyage with 5 ships and 280 sailors. He
in place of reaching India, he discovered
sailed south-westward across the A tlantic
North America and islands in the Carribbean
Sea. Ocean to the eastern coast o f South
America, and reached the southernm ost tip
Prince H e n r y th e N a v ig a to r o f Portugal is of this continent. Here he located a strait
given credit to establish marine observa- measuring 500 km in width in the year
tory in Portugal so that Portuguese naviga- 1519 (in December). This strait was named
tors and sailors could he trained in sailing Magellan Strait in the honour o f the great
skill so that they could search new alterna- explorer. From here Magellan sailed through
tive sea routes to India and East Indies but the Pacific Ocean, and discovered PhiliD-
this could not be possible till I486 A.D. pmes on March 15, 1521. M agellan was
when B a r th o lo m e u D ia z became successful killed on 27 April, 1521 by the inhabitants
in rounding the Cape Agulhas. It may be o f Mactan island. Though M agellan was
m entioned that prior to this successful killed but the onward voyage o f circum -
attem pt several abortive attempts were navigation o f the globle continued.
made to circumnavigate the Cape of
A gulhas. ^ took the command o f the
S eb a stia n d el C an o
voyage after the death o f M agellan and
»• It was the year 1500 A.D. when P ed ro completed the task o f circum navigating the
A lv a r e s C a b r a l sailed across the Atlantic globe. He sailed on the ship V ictoria across
Ocean and discovered B razil of South n ian Ocean and after navigating around
Am erica. Africa ultimately reached Spain on 8
observed the currents
>• J u a n P o u n c e d e L eon September 1522 A.D. Out o f 280 sailors
in the G u lf o f M exico and described the only 18 could survive to reach Seville.
nature o f Florida current, which was found >■ Geradus Mercator constructed a map pro-
to be a powerful current with great velocity jection in the year 1569 for the preparation
in the year 1513 A.D. o f world map which could be used by the
mariners tor navigational purposes. It may
>• The Pacific Ocean became known to
e mentioned that this is a true direction
Europeans in the year 1513 when V a sco
Nunez de Balboa sailed through the central map projection and hence it is still used by
the navigators.

I
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 TO W-
■’*83
!

15
NA TU RE o f o c e a n o g ra p h y

160° 140* 120* 100"80“ 50” 4fT 20* 0* 20* 40' 60* 80* 100‘ 120'140* 160*

o f Columbus, and circumnavigation of globe by Magellan and Sebastian de Cano.

Fig. 1 .6 : Voyage

‘O b serv atio n s and E x p e rim e n ts on th e S a lti-

4. Period of Early Scientific Investigations of the
ness o f th e S ea’ in the y ear 1674.
Oceans
>- N ew ton presented his theory o f the origin o f

T he study o f seas and oceans began on ocean tides.

>- L uigi M arsig li for the first tim e p resen ted
scientific and technological basis since 17th
century and continued upto 18th century during the description o f re g io n a l o c e a n o g ra p h y
w hich m athem atical m ethods and scientific prin- based on his studies o f botto m relief,
ciples w ere used for the interpretation o f em piri- tem perature, salinity, w ater p ressure, tid es,
cal know ledge and description about oceans. and currents o f the M editerranean Sea. H e
O cean tides becam e the focal theme o f oceanic is given credit to com pile a co m p reh en siv e
study. D etailed studies were carried out regarding book on the science o f sea for the first tim e
the m easurem ent and m apping o f ocean depth, in the history o f oceanography. T h is book,
variation in the horizontal and vertical distribu- captioned as ‘H istoir P hysique de la M e r’
tion o f salinity, pressure o f ocean w ater, ocean in the year 1725.
tides and currents on the basis o f investigations o f L e o n h a rd E u le r attem pted to study the
these variables in G ibralter Strait. The follow ing causative factors o f ocean tides, m ainly
are the salien t features o f the developm ent o f the forces w hich caused ocean tides. A fter
know ledge o f the oceans and their phenom ena calculating the m agnitude o f tid e g en erat-
ing forces he opined in the y ear 1740 that
during this period :
ocean tides are caused by the attractive
> - R o b e rt B oyle studied ocean salinity, tem -
(gravitational) force o f the m oon.
perature and density o f seaw ater and tried
B e n jam in F ra n k lin studied d ifferen t aspects
to understand the relationships am ong
o f the G u lf Stream , and presented the first
three variab les in different depth zones.
ocean chart o f the G u lf S tream during
T he results o f studies w ere published in

1% ■: k m
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16
OCEANOGRAPHY
1769-70, which were regularly used by the • Second voyage : Cook completed his sec-
navigators who sailed across the North ond voyage between 1772 and 1775
Atlantic Ocean.
aboard the HMS Adventure, and HMS
^ Captain James Cook Resolution. He sailed in the direction of
The study o f oceans received greater and westerly winds to round the Cape o f Good
more focussed attention with the exploration of Hope and to circumnavigate the globe,
but in order to avoid icebergs he followed
n T ™ ClflC Region by CaPtain James Co<*
k '■ c °ok is given full credit for almost 60 S latitude for the navigation
gathering mass dataset and valuable information • Third voyage : Captain Cook started his
i erent aspects o f oceans such as geography third voyage in the year 1778 and
o f oceans and environs, geology of coastal areas ventured into the Pacific Ocean again to
n l » n t ° C ean CrUSt’ m a r i n e org a n i sms in c lud ing discover numerous islands. He discov-
t u r e S' a n i m a l s ' a nd n i i c ro-org a n i sm s, t em p e ra - ered a number o f islands including
ocean ° CCan WatCr’ ° CCan dynami« , namely Hawaiian islands in the Pacific Ocean. He
ocean currents and ocean tides etc He also
sailed to the Bering Sea but could not
>*■»» o f coas.lines. Besides giving continue his voyage beyond 70°44' N
“ J* uValUable in^ormati°n about the latitude due to the presence o f pack ice.
oceans he” l l0gy ° f hethert0 un^P l« red He then returned to the Hawaii where he
and heh ' 3 S° P^esented accounts on customs was killed by the natives o f Hawaii island
and behaviours o f native people of discovered on Feb. 14, 1779.
locations. In fact, Cook was the first nav.gator
who c ° ncent d Qn the study Qf phys.cal J Cook also used John H arrison’s chronom -
o f the oceans. He was also the first navigator who eter to determine the vicinal location (longitudes)
succeeded in sailing the polar seas of both the of the discovered areas. Cook also compiled huge
hem ispheres by crossing the Arctic and Antarctic data regarding coral reefs. He is given credit for
circles. His voyages of the world oceans convering the preparation o f the first authentic world map
almost the entire globe were completed in three with vicmal locations. Captain Cook extensively
stages as follows : sailed m the largest ocean, ,the Pacific, and
prepared the detailed outline o f this great ocean It
• First voyage : Captain James Cook, an
English mariner, started his first major h» r ’ 7 i fr° m the above mentioned facts
hat Captain Cook contributed much in the
voyage aboard HMS Endeavour in the advancement of scientific knowledge o f the
year 1768 and set out to explore Terra
A ustralis which was then considered to be
the Southern Land’, now better known as
Antarctica, which was supposed to exist 5’ Century016"* ° f ° cea"°9raphy in the 19th
in the polar latitudes. He discovered New
Zealand and prepared the detailed charts
o f its shorelines. He opined that New The development o f the science ofoceanog-
Zealand was not a part o f Terra Australis. 19thyceSnty ma" nescience’ gained currency in the
He believed that Terra Australis did not h ,C ntUry' during " h ic h a number o f marine
exist, if it exists at all, it may be beyond expeditions were launched to understand the
the polar ice fields. He then sailed secrets o f seas and oceans. This period is divided
westward and reached eastern coasts of into 3 stages of the development o f knowledge o f
oceanography as follows :
A ustralia after crossing over the Great
Barrier Reef, where he lost one o f his
ships. He mapped the eastern coastlines ^ sors°d ° f EdWar<l F° rb' S '“ d his Pred' ces-
o f A ustralia and presented a detailed *• period o f Challenger Expedition
chart thereof.
post-Challenger period

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 ■■■ w

P¥

17
n a t u r e o f o c e a n o g r a ph y
published in a book form entitled ‘Origin of
(1) Period of Edward Forbes S p e c ie s ’ in 1859. He also studied coral reefs
in different environm ents and propounded
This period includes the tim e span from his ‘su b sid en ce theory o f coral reefs’ in the
1815 A.D. to 1854 A.D. The follow ing contrib- year 1837. He m odified his theory in the
uted in the advancem ent o f scientific knowledge year 1842 during his voyage on Beagle.
in the field o f oceanography : This theory w ill be elaborated in the
>■ N a th a n ie l B o w d itc h made a significant con- chapter on coral reefs and atolls.
tribution in the field o f sea navigation by ^ S ir J a m e s R o ss started his scientific expedi-
publishing a navigational mannual in the tion in the year 1839 and com pleted the
year 1802, popularly known as the ‘N ew voyage in the year 1843. The main
A m e r ic a n P r a c tic a l N a v ig a to r ' which ib very objective o f this expedition was to study
often used in the present-day navigation. the benthos organism s (bottom living
>■ A great effort was made to prepare the marine organism s) on the basis ot sam ples
detailed chart o f the entire coastlines o f the derived from the depth o f 7 kilom eters.
USA as per order o f the US President » S ir E d w a rd F orb es (1815-1854) w as a
Thom as Jefferson. The US Coast and m arine biologist. His contribution to the
G eodetic Survey was established to ac- developm ent o f oceanography included
com plice the preparation o f the charts of the study o f sea anim als upto the depth ot
US coastlines. 230 fathoms near G reat B ritain, H ebrides,
S ir J o h n R o ss sailed to the Arctic Ocean to and M editerranean Sea; study o f bottom
explore Baffin Island o f Canada during reliefs o f some parts o f the A tlantic O cean,
1817-1818. He measured the sea bottom by discovery o f sites o f subm erged ancient
sounding method and studied marine or- cities near Lybian coast; distribution o f
ganism s upto the depth ot about 2 km. marine life in the A egean Sea; preparation
o f map show ing w orld distribution o f
A le x a n d e r M e r c a to r , a London-based Brit-
marine life etc. Forbes studied the star
ish scientist studied the chemical com posi-
fishes around B ritain and published the
tion o f the oceans and concluded in 1820 that
the basic chem ical com position o f seawater history o f these fishes in a book form
entitled ‘T h e H is to r y o f B r itis h S ta r F is h e s ’ in
was alm ost sim ilar in all the oceans.
the year 1841. He also studied the m arine
^ C h a r le s D a r w in a n d B e a g le E x p ed itio n
life in different depths and published his
The Beagle expedition under the command observations and findings in his fam ous
o f Captain Robert started on 27 December, book, ‘D is tr ib u tio n o f M a r in e L if e ’ in the
1831 from D evonport o f England. C h a r le s year 1854. He concluded that m arine life
D a r w in was also aboard the HMS Beagle as cannot survive below the depth o f 600
m em ber o f the expedition team. The main m eters (This observation was later on
objective o f the Beagle expedition was to invalidated by others as m arine benthos
survey the coastlines o f Pantagon.a and life was found to exist even at m uch greater
Terra del Fuego and to determ ine longitudes depth).
and latitudes. D arw in, who was a natural-
> • M a tth e w F o n t a in e M au ry , a naval o fficer in
ist, had the opportunity to study the plants the US N avy, is given a credit to com pile
and anim als o f the surveyed locations The
and analyse num erous data and inform a-
close observation o f plants and anim als in tion regarding ocean currents, w inds over
different environm ents and biom es le sea surface, and m arine w eather condi-
D arwin to postulate his classical theory o tions, w hich w ere recorded in the ship
the evolution o f species on the basis ot logbooks o f the D epot o f N aval C harts and
natural selection and adaptation. His views Instrum ents o f the U.S. N avy, and sum m a-
regarding the origin o f species were

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 18
QGEANOGRAPHY
rized the information and presented them
>■ to study the characteristics o f bottom
in a book form entitled ‘The Physical
deposits in the oceans in terms o f their
Geography of the Sea’ in the year 1855.
physical and chemical composition, and to
^ Charles Wyville Thomson undertook his find out the mode o f origin o f various types
ambitious expedition using HMS Light- o f sediments o f bottom deposits.
ning, and HMS Porcupine from 1868 to
to assign scientific explanations to the
1870 to measure the temperature of seawater different ocean phenomena.
at greater depths. Thus, he collected ample
data o f deep-sea temperature. He also It is significant to point out that the
found presence of marine life at great achievements o f the Challenger Expedition were
depth. So, he disproved the findings of so great on scientific note that the year 1872, when
Forbes that marine life cannot be possible the expedition started in December, is considered
beyond the depth o f 600 m. as the yeai' o f the birth o f ocea n o grap h y ’ in the
history of oceanography. The mission o f the
^ In order to study and monitor fish commu-
expedition was completed in May, 1876, when the
nities in the oceans the U.S. Fish Commis-
sion was established in the year 1871 and vessel Challenger returned back to England after
was equipped with modem laboratory at covering a long distance o f 127,500 kilometers,
and circumnavigating the globe. The expedition
Woods Hole in the state of Massachusetts
ot New England Region of the U.S.A. adopted scientific methodology o f investigation
with uniform workplans at each station as follows
(2) Period of Challenger Expedition
>- to measure and record the atmospheric and
Challenger expedition is considered to be meteorological environmental conditions
one o f the most significant and successful above the sea surface in and around the
scientific voyages as regards the search of both work station.
abiotic and biotic components of the oceans. The >- to measure the depths o f ocean as accurate
Challenger expedition was commanded by Charles as possible by using sounding method.
W yville Thom son and the expedition ship was
to callect the specimen o f marine organ-
named HMS Challenger. Recommended by the
isms at different depths. °
Royal Society and funded by the British govern-
ment the Challenger Expedition was assigned the >■ to delineate sea bottom topography.
following objectives to study the secrets of the to collect samples o f marine sediments o f
sea, and to resolve tne conflicting findings about ocean deposits at the bottom. *
the existence o f life in deep oceans, physical and ^ to collect the sample o f water o f ocean
chemical conditions at great depths, the nature of bottom to determine the chemical compo-
deep sea deposits etc : sition of seawater.
>- to find out the distribution of marine
^ *° ™easure temperature o f seawater at all
organisms including' both plants and ani- depths in general and the bottom in
mals (also microbes) at all depths of the particular.
oceans starting from sea surface to the
ocean bottoms. >■ to identify, name, and describe the species
ot marine organisms. 1
>■ to find out the physical environmental
conditions viz. temperature of seawater, The findings of the Challenger expedition
density o f seawater, sea dynamics at great made significant contributions in the fields
depths mainly in ocean basins. Of ocean bottom relief,, seawater tempemu e
marme depo!it5_ marine organisms £ . , •
>■ to find out chemical composition of seawater
at all depths from sea surface to sea featarerr
bottoms through photic and aphotic zones. features „offthe
V rChallenger
, . ’Ii!,e f° " Expedition
0wing are (1872-1876
,he sali“ «

t.

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 19
n a t u r e o f o c e a n o g r a ph y

• The expedition follow ed the following ber, 1874 —» Japanese coast, June 1875 —>
routes w ith dates o f arrival and w ork at H ow aiian Islands, A ugust 1875 - » Peru
different locations (fig. 1.7): coast, O ctober, 1875 -» return, M ay 1876,
through A tlantic O cean.
start from U .K .. D ecem ber, 1872 —> N.E.
• The entire expedition program m e covered
c o a s to fth e U .S.A ., M ay 1873 -> Brazilean
a distance o f 127, 500 kilom ers.
coasts. Septem ber 1873 —» Cape Town,
• The expedition spent m ost o f 4 -y ear period
O ctober. 1873 —» K erguelen Island, Janu-
in the A tlantic and the P acific O ceans.
ary 1874 M anila (Philippines), Novem-

Fig. 1 .7 : Tracks of investigations followed by the Challenger Expedition ( 1872-1876).

• Soundings w ere m ade to determ ine ocean • 7,000 specim ens o f m arine o rg an ism s
depth at 492 locations, dredgings were also including plants and anim als w ere c o l-
accomplished at these locations and sediments lected, described, and w ere p re serv e d fo r
sam ples were collected. their analysis in the laboratories.
• W ater sam ples were collected upto the • M arine organism s w ere found to e x ist at
depth o f 1830 m eters, and tem peratures o f great depth, as deep as 9,000 m e te rs (9
seaw ater w ere recorded at 263 locations. km ).

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20
o c e a n o g r a ph y

• A bout 5,000 new species o f marine organ- (6) No study could be conducted in the
ism s w ere found. These species were then N orthern Indian O cean, and the A rctic Sea.
classified and catalogued.
(7) The results o f the C hallenger Expedition
• A w ater depth o f 8,185 m was recorded in were published in a book entitled ‘Voyage*
the M ariana Trench. of the Challenger-the A tlantic’ in the year
• It took a long period o f 23 years to process 1877, while Charles Thom son published a
and analyze all o f the data and specimen o f book on oceanography entitled ‘The Depths
various sorts which were collected during of the Sea’ in 1873.
4-year C hallenger Expedition.
• The final findings o f the expedition were (3) Post-Challenger Period
published in 55 volumes.
• The sam ples o f seawater, 77 in number, The m om entum o f ocean searching gained
w ere analyzed by a famous chemist William during the C hallenger expedition continued in the
D ittm ar in the year 1884 to determine the later part o f the 19th century w herein Louis
chem ical constituents. Agassiz (1877-1880 A.D .), and N ansen contrib-
The follow ing are the m ajor findings and uted significantly in the developm ent o f oceanog-
ach ievem ents o f the C hallenger Expedition : raphy. Besides, a few group attem pts w ere also
made in this precarious field. The follow ing are a
(1) The controversy o f existence or non-
few significant events o f ocean searching :
existence o f m arine life beyond 600-m
depth was resolved. The concept o f Edward • Louis Agassiz made detailed study o f Florida
Forbe about non-existence o f marine life Reefs and Keys. He studied different
b eyond 600-m depth was summararily aspects o f the ocean from F lorida coast to
rejected, and it was finally concluded on Sans Fransisco around South A m erican
the basis o f am ple and convincing evi- coasts.
dences o f collected specim ens o f marine • John M urray (1841-1914) laid the fo unda-
organism s from all depths that marine life tion o f m odern oceanography. H is m ajor
exists at all depths. contributions, based on Triton (1882), and
(2) O cean floo r was not flat but was full o f Challenger Expedition (1872-1876) include
reliefs o f varying altitudes and depths discovery o f subm arine ridge o f W ayville
(such as M ariana Trench). Thom son Ridge located to the northw est of
(3) M anganese nodules were discovered from Scottland, study o f planktons; deposits on
m arine deposits o f ocean bottoms. sea bottoms, form ation and origin o f coral
reefs; form ulation o f the theory o f the
(4) T h e chem ical com position o f seawater was
origin o f atolls; determ ination o f fish
found alm ost uniform in all oceans. ‘Not
zones, and mud lines based on M ichael
only w ere the ratios between various salts
Sars Expedition (1910); and preparation o f
v irtu ally constant across the surface from
map o f ocean deeps o f the A tlantic Ocean.
o cean to ocean, but they were also distinc-
tiv ely constant at depth, establishing the • Alexander Agassiz, an A m erican naturalist
“ c o n sisten cy o f sea w a te r” principle (Thurman and son o f Louis A gassiz, undertook
and T rujillo , 1999), which is now known as Survey covering a distance o f
the ‘p rin c ip le o f c o n sta n t p ro p o rtio n ’ in terms 160,000 km through Blacke and Albatross
o f salin ity o f the oceans. Expedition during 1877-1880. H is m ajor
contributions include location and origin
(5) M aps (sketch) o f bottom reliefs o f the
ot the G u lf Stream betw een N ew foundland
oceans, and distribution o f sedim entary
an Florida, studies o f coral reefs near
deposits on deep sea beds were prepared
Bahamas and Cuba, B erm uda and Florida;
for the first tim e.
Great B arrier Reefs o f A ustralia; Fizi

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n a t u r e o f o c e a n o g r a ph y 21

Islands and M aldives etc. He rejected the and international levels. The follow ing are the
D arw inian sub sid en ce theory o f the origin salient features o f 20th century oceanography ;
o f coral reefs and atolls. A ccording to him >• D evelopm ent and pursuance o f elaborate
atolls and b a rrie r reefs are form ed due to experim ent designs involving in terd isci-
b io lo g ical, m e ch a n ic al and chem ical proc- plinary approach.
esses. H e stu d ie d m arine life in the deep
>- U se o f advanced and com plex instrum ents
sea. It m ay b e m e n tio n e d th at he perform ed
for obtaining and analysing m ass datasets
the stu d ies o f deep sea m arine life w ith the
o f different aspects o f biotic and abiotic
ship B lake, p ro v id e d by the U .S. C oast and
com ponents o f m arine biom es o f varying
G eodetic S u rv ey during 1877-1880. He is
given c re d it for estab lish in g the M useum spatial scales.
o f C o m p arativ e Z oology at H arw ard U n i- >■ D evelopm ent and ap p licatio n o f a p p ro p ri-
v ersity , and first U .S. m arine station, ate scientific sam pling devices for c o lle ct-
nam ed as ‘the A n d erso n School o f N atural ing sam ples ° f m arine o rg an ism s, m arine
H is to ry ’ on P enikese Island, M assachu- deposits, and seaw ater to d eterm in e its
setts o f N ew E ngland R egion o f the U.S.A. physical and chem ical ch aracteristics.
• E ffo rts w ere m ade to establish laboratories >- D elineation o f rugged bo tto m to p o g rap h y
to study the sam ples o f different species o f o f sea bottom s o f c o n tin en tal sh elv es,
m arin e organism s w hich w ere collected continental slope, deep sea p la in s, and
from d ifferen t depth zones o f the oceans. In deeps and trenches.
the process, the M arine B iological L abora- »- M easurem ent o f salinity, w ater te m p e ra -
tory w as established in the year 1888 A.D. ture, and dissolved oxygen in v ertical
at W oods H ole, M assachusetts. profiles o f oceans at num erous lo catio n s.
• F r i d t j o f N a n se n , a N orw egian explorer, was >- Initiation o f am bitious large o cean su rv ey s
first to reach the N orth Pole (86° 14') by using latest technologies, m e th o d o lo -
a b o ard his v essel the F ra m . He studied the gies, and appropriate equipm ents.
a tm o sp h eric and oceanic circulation pat- >■ Positive im pacts o f tw o w orld w ars on th e
tern s o f the A rctic Sea. N ansen concluded developm ent o f oceanic re search es, as the
th a t th ere w as no no rth ern continent like w ars necessitated for the d ev elo p m en t and
the so u th ern p o la r continent-A ntarctica. design o f m ore so p h isticated v e sse ls (w a r-
N an sen stu d ie d the pattern s o f the m ove- ships) fitted w ith electronic e q u ip m e n t so
m ent o f p a c k ice'in the A rctic Sea. It m ay be that the U .S. navy can u n d e rsta n d the
m entioned th a t his v essel Fram w as so accurate nature and b e h a v io u r o f the
designed th at it could m ove, though slu g - oceans and processes o p e ra tin g th e re in so
gishly, through frozen sea surface but it that the navy can b e tte r p lan th e sea
could not m ove upto the north pole as it was w arfare. This led to su b sta n tia l fin a n c ial
stu c k in the ice and fell short o f 400 km grant from the U .S. g o v ern m en t fo r o c e a -
fro m th e n o rth pole. C onsequently, N ansen nographic researches.
and h is com p an io n s left the vessel and
>- ‘This financial su p p o rt by g o v ern m en t
m ove on dog driv en sledges to reach the
agencies stim u lated la rg e -sca le research
no rth pole.
en terp rises, and re stric ted the a c tiv itie s o f
m any o cean o g rap h ers to p ro b lem s that
6. Growth of Oceanography in the 20th Century w ere o f in terest m ainly to th e m ilitary .
P ost-w ar g o v ern m en t-sp o n so red su p p o rt
T he b eg in n in g o f the 20th century h eralded led not only to g reat and ra p id ad v an ces in
the daw n o f m o d ern o cean o g raph ic researches in stru m en tatio n , but also e v en tu a lly to the
equipped w ith late st v essels, instrum ents, and estab lish m en t o f sea -g ra n t c o lle g e s ’ (P.R .
greater co o p eratio n and p articip atio n s at national P inet, 2000).

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
^ Establishm ent o f marine institutions to >- Initiation o f in tern atio n al program m es
prom ote marine researches. Numerous an d m u ltin a tio n a l o rg a n iz a tio n s and
institutes o f oceanography with varying cooperations in th e field o f m arine re-
nom enclatures were established in many searches as follow s :
countries to develop and facilitate marine
• International C ouncil for th e E x p lo ra-
reseasrches as follow s :
tions o f Sea (IC E S ) form ed by D anish
• E stab lishm ent o f Friday H arbour O cea- m arine scientists and funded and backed
nographic Laboratory at Seattle, U.S.A. by the G ovt, o f D enm ark in the year
in 1902. 1902.
• E stab lish m en t o f the Scripps In stitu - • International W haling C om m ission w as
tion o f B iological R esearch in 1903, organized in the y e ar 1932 to study
w h ich w as later nam ed as the Scripps w hole com m unities in term s o f p o p u -
In stitu tio n o f O ceanography, at La lation o f different w hale sp ecies, th e ir
Jo lla o f C alifornia in the U.S.A . illegal hunting, and trade, and to
• E stab lish m en t o f the W oods Hole suggest m easures for c o n tro llin g w hale
O ceanographic Institution,at Cape Cod hunting.
o f M assach u setts, U .S.A ., in the years • 1957-1958 w as m ade In te rn a tio n a l
1930.
G eophysical year (IG Y ) to c o o rd in a te
• E stab lish m en t o f Lam ont G eological researches being carried o u t in g e o -
O b serv ato ry at the U niversity o f C o- physical in v estig atio n s o f th e earth
lum bia in N ew York in the year 1949, including oceans and seas.
w hich w as later renam ed as Lam ont • The U nited N ations O rg a n iz atio n d e -
D o h erty G eological O bservatory. clared the decade 1970s as th e In te rn a -
• A d o ption o f Sea G rant College by the tional D ecade o f O cean E x p lo ratio n
U .S. G overnm ent in 1966 to provide (ID O E ) in o rd er to c o o rd in a te, in te -
fu n d in g for education and research in grate, and p ro m o te m arin e re se a rc h
the m arin e sciences. being co n d u cted in d iffe re n t p a rts o f
• E stab lish m en t o f the G eophysical In- the oceans by d ifferen t g ro u p s o f
stitu te, the H ydrographic B iological scientists and agencies.
C om m ission in Scandinavia. • O rganization o f the G eochem ical O cean
• T h e U .K . founded the M arine B iologi- Sections Study (G E O S E C S ) at in te r-
cal A ssociation. national level in the y e a r 1972 to get
m easu rem en ts o f ch em ical p ro p e rty o f
• C reation o f the N ational O ceanic and seaw ater so th at the m ode o f c irc u la -
A tm o sp h eric A dm inistration (N O A A ) tion p atterns in the o cean s and m ix in g
by the governm ent o f the U.S A. in the o f seaw ater h av in g v a ry in g c h em ica l
y e ar 1970. co m p o sitio n can b e e x p la in e d and
m onitored.
• E stab lish m en t o f M arine B iological
A sso ciatio n in U .K .; the O cean o- • T he y ear 1998 w as o rg a n iz e d as
g rap h ic In stitu te in Paris (F rance); In tern atio n al Y e ar o f th e O cean to
In stitu tes o f O ceanography in C anada m ake the g en eral p u b lic fa m ilia r w ith
and R ussia. the im p o rtan ce o f th e o c ea n s, m arin e
e n v iro n m en t, and m a rin e re so u rce s.
• Establishment ofNational Hydrographic
O ffic e at D ehra D un, and the ^ T h e 2 0th cen tu ry w as c h a ra c te riz e d b y the
Department o f Ocean D evelopm ent in lau n ch in g o f a n u m b e r o f o c ea n ex p ed i-
India. tions e q u ip p ed w ith te ch n o lo g ic a lly ad -
vanced v e rsio n o f v e sse ls w ith latest

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NATURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY 23

equipments and trained scientists o f differ- comprising 20 countries, and 38 re-

ent disciplines for comprehensive investi- search ships.
gations o f ocean phenomena. A few >> Technological achiev em ent s include the
investigation expeditions include the fol- launching o f sea-satellites to get sea
lowing : images. Thus the r e m o te s e n s in g tec h n iq u e
• in the South Atlantic
M e te o r E x p e d itio n and GIS were introduced in oceanographic
Ocean from 1925 to 1927. This was a researches from 1970.
Ge rma n effort using the vessel Meteor • Seasat-A. was the first oceanographic
for extensive research in the Atlantic satellite which was launched in the
Ocean in general, and in the South year 1978.
Atlantic Ocean in particular. This • T O P E X / P o s i d o n s e a - s a te ll i te was
expedition aimed at the study o f launched by N A S A (USA) in the year
physical oceanography. The scientists 1998 with the main objective o f getting
aboard the Meteor used echo-sounder satellite images o f the ocean surfaces
for the first time in the history o f which may help in moni tor ing the
scientific investigations o f the secret trend o f fluctuations in we at he r and
o f the sea. climatic conditions.
• The G a z e lle E x p e d itio n in the North • J a s o n - 1 satellite was launched join tly
Atlantic Ocean. by the United States o f Amer ic a
(NASA) and French Space A ge ncy in
• Fishing Commission, and Albatross
the year 2000 A.D. inorder to get
Expedition in the East Pacific Ocean.
accurate information o f ocean c u r -
• Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) rents, atmospheric circulation over the
with the vessel G lo m a r C h a lle n g e r , was oceans so that there ma y be correct
lanched by the U.S. Science Founda- forecast o f sea m o v e m en t and climatic
tion in the year 1968 for drilling the fluctuations.
sed im ent s and bedrocks o f the ocean
>■ Several renowned o cea no gr ap h ers na m el y
basins to understand the nature o f
Nansen, A m un ds en, Pettersson, Shepard
ma rin e geological formations and
etc. enriched the science o f o c e a n o g r a p h y
se diments resting upon them.
through their elaborate studies o f different
• The Deep Sea Drilling Project was aspects o f oceans and seas. F.B. T ay lor and
again reorganized and named as the A.G. W ege ner postulated the con ce p ts o f
International Pr ogr am m e o f Ocean continental drift to ac co unt for the origin o f
Drilling (IPOD) in 1975 which was continents and ocean basins. In the 1960s
sponsored and funded by France, U.K., Hary Hess (1960) p ro po un d ed the con ce pt
the then Soviet Union, Japan, G er- o f sea floor sp rea d in g w h ic h further
many, and the United States o f America. validated the hy pot he si s o f continental
This project was terminated in the year drift. With the postulation o f plate tectonic
1983, but the deep sea drilling re- theory the riddle o f origin o f o c e a n basins,
started with anot her vessel J o id e s R e so - bottom reliefs o f the oc ea ns, d is p la ce m e n t
lu tio n . and drifting o f co nt in en ts an d oc ea n basins
• The United Nations sponsored an could be suc ces sf ull y solved. Recently,
am bit io us plan o f the study o f Indian new inf ormation abo ut m a ri n e e n v i r o n -
Ocean. The first co-operative work for ment and ma rine e c o l o g y are f o rth com ing
the study o f various aspects o f the thro ugh the institutes o f o ce a n og r ap hy ,
Indian Ocean, was initiated in the year oce an d e p a r t m e n t s and o c e a n expe dition s
1959 with the launching o f the In terna- es tab li sh ed a n d f u n d e d by several c o u n -
tional Indian Ocean Expedition ( 110 E) tries and or ga ni za ti on s.

. ■ id !

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24 OCEANOGRAPHY
a
a

7. Future Trends in Oceanographic Researches geochem ists etc., funded by the Discovery Channel,
spent 17 days on board the ship Perform er in M ay,
It may be pointed out that recently the study 2005 to find out the exact cause o f the origin of
o f occeanography has gained currency because tsunam i o f 2004 in the Indian O cean. The team
the economic and strategic importance o f seas and found that h a lf o f the 2400 km long fault in the
oceans is increasing very fast. Thus, more Indian Ocean ruptured on D ecem ber 2 6 ,2 0 0 4 due
attention is paid towards applied oceanography to subduction o f Indo-A ustralian plate below
which includes the consideration o f delineation, Burmese plate, a part o f A sian plate, and resultant
mapping, exploitation, utilization and m anage- upthrusting o f seaw ater upto 12 m in height.
ment o f marine biotic and abiotic resources.
M arine ecology and marine ecosystem have Summary of the History of Oceanography
become the focal themes o f oceanography. There
is a need to introduce and develop ‘economic
oceanography’ (resource oceanography) as a new The detailed accounts o f the grow th o f the
branch o f oceanography. science o f oceanography during various phases o f
its developm ent, as discussed above, m ay be
The 21st century oceanography is destined sum m arized as follows :
to be enriched by scientific researches involving
multidisciplinary and collective approaches through »- The early phase o f the ancient period o f the
international cooperations and application of growth o f oceanography w as m arked by
latest equipments, and remote sensing techniques individual efforts o f early m ariners. T his
and GIS. The fluctuations o f sea level, say trend continued from 4000 B.C. to 500
possible rise in sea level as predicted by the IPCC B.C. The Egyptians are believed to have
(Intergovernm ental Panel on Climate Change) developed the art and skill o f m aking
Reports 2001 and 2007, increase in the number vessels as early as 4000 B.C.
and severity o f tropical cyclones, massive coral >- Phoenesians are considered to be first
bleaching in the Indian Ocean during 1997-98, navigators from Europe, w ho explored the
increase in the incidence o f El Nino penomena, entire M editerranean Sea, R ed Sea and
m elting o f ice sheets o f the Arctic Sea, Southern Parts o f Indian O cean, and first circum -
O scillation and W alker circulation, incidence of navigated A frica in 590 B.C.
killer Sumatra tsunami waves in the Indian Ocean
Pytheas was probably the first navigator
on December 26, 2004 etc. have made the
from Greece, who circum navigated E ng-
oceanographic researches more relevant in the
land, measured the lengths o f the co ast-
present century. The powerful large computers
lines o f England in 4th century B .C ., and
have also facilitated the marine scientists to
sailed to Iceland in 325 B.C.
process the data more quickly, efficiently, and
accurately. The study o f ocean-atm osphere inter- >■ H ero d o tu s p ro d u c e d a m ap o f the
actions has become relevant in order to m onitor M ediferranean Sea in 450 B.C.
clim ate change. Eratosthenes determ ined the circum fer-
R ecently, more attention is paid to investi- ence of the earth w ith great accuracy,
gate the causes o f tsunam is by studying the nature calculated the polar circum ference through
o f sea floors in terms o f undersea earthquakes north and south poles as 40,000 km, which
undersea volcanic eruptions, underw ater massive fell short o f only 32 km from the present
landslides caused by sudden tectonic movements day accurate polar circum ference o f 40,032
km.
such as faulting and rupture o f seabeds, collision
o f covergent plate boundaries and upthrusting. **■ Ptolem y com piled the m ap o f entire Ro-
The expedition team o f the experts o f several man w orld in about 150 A.D.
disciplines including tsunami m odellers, marine
Middle age, very often known as dark age in
b io lo g ists, m arine ecologists, seism ologists, the scientific world, continued from the

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0P"

NATURE OF OCEANOGRAPHY 25

end o f the 2nd century A.D. to the 14th >- The developm ent o f the science o f ocea-
century A.D. w hen no significant contribu- nography gained currency in the 19th
tions could be m ade in the field o f century during w hich a num ber o f ocean
oceanography except some sporadic w orks expeditions w ere launched in order to
by the E uropeans like Bede (673-735 A.D.) understand the secrets o f the seas and the
w ho found lunar control as the prim ary oceans. Significant contributions were
cause o f ocean tides, V ikings from Scandi- made by Sir John Ross (A rctic O cean and
navia sailed to Iceland, southern G reen- B affin Island during 1817-1818), A lexan-
land and B affin Island. der Marcet (chemical composition o f oceans),
C harles D arw in (B eagle E xpedition, origin
>- The period from the 15th to 16th centuries
o f species, subsidence theory o f coral
A.D. is called ‘the g re a t age o f discovery and
reefs), Sir Janies Ross (deep sea o rg an -
e x p lo ra tio n ’ because efforts w ere made
isms), Sir Edw ard Forbes (1815, 1854,
during this period to discover and explore
new areas. C olum bus discovered Am erica, study o f sea anim als, bottom reliefs o f
and M agellan circum navigated the globe. A tlantic Ocean, distribution o f m arine life
S ignificant contributions w ere made in the in the A egean Sea, m ap show ing w orld
fields o f origin o f coastal landform s, distribution o f marine life), M athew Fontaine
th eo retical base o f the origin o f tides, M aury (com pilation and analysis o f n u -
ocean currents, and sea waves during this merous data o f ocean currents, w inds over
p e rio d o f re n a issa n c e . Significant contribu-
sea surface, and m arine w eather c o n d i-
tions, publication Physical G eography, the
tions w ere m ade by Leonardo da Vinci
Sea), Charles W yville Thom son (sea te m -
(1452-1519 A .D .), C hristopher Columbus,
perature, deep sea m arine life) etc.
Prince H enry the N avigator, Juan Pounce
de Leon, V asco N uneze de Balboa, Peter C hallenger Expedition is considered to be
M atyr, Ferdinand M agellan, Sebastian del one o f the m ost significant and successful
C ano, G eradus M ercator etc. scientific voyages as regards the search for
both biotic and abiotic com ponents o f the
>- The 200-year period, 17th & 18th centu-
ries, is know n as th e p erio d o f th e scientific oceans. The findings o f the C h allen g er
Expedition (1872 to 1876 A .D .) m ade
in v e s tig a tio n s o f th e oceans, when the study
significant contributions in the fields o f
o f seas and oceans began on scientific and
ocean bottom reliefs, seaw ater te m p e ra -
tech n o lo g ical basis. O cean tides became
ture, m arine sedim ents and deposits, m a-
the focal them e o f oceanic studies. D e-
rine organism s including coral reefs. The
tailed studies w ere carried out regarding
the m easurem ent and m apping o f ocean previous concept o f non-existence o f m a-
depths, variation in the horizontal and rine life beyond 600m depth as prop o u n d ed
vertical distribution o f ocean salinity, by Edw ard Forbes, w as rejected, and it w as
p ressu re o f seaw ater, ocean tides and finally concluded that m arine life ex isted
at all depths.
currents. The significant contributions in
d ifferent fields o f oceanography came The m om entum o f ocean search in g during
from R obert B oyle (ocean salinity, seaw ater C hallenger E xpedition co n tin u ed during
tem perature, density o f seaw ater), N ew ton p ost-C hallenger period w hen Lois A gassiz
(origin o f tides), Luigi M arsigli (regional (study o f F lorida R eefs and K eys), John
oceanography), L. E uler (ocean tides), M urray (location o f W ayville T hom son
B enjam in Franklin (G u lf Stream ), C aptain R idge, study o f planktons, deposits on sea
Jam es Cook (exploration o f South Pacific bottom s, form ation and origin o f coral
region, physical nature o f oceans, ex p lo ra- reefs), A lexander A gassiz (1877-1880,
tion o f polar seas o f both the hem ispheres, coastal survey o f 160,000 k m ., location o f
p reparation o f w orld m ap) etc. G u lf Stream , G reat B arrier R eef, study o f

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26
OCEANOGRAPHY
coral reefs near Bahama and Cuba, Ber- more relevant in order to m onitor climate
m uda and Florida), Nansen (sailed through change.
110 A rctic sea, reached almost North Pole,
only 400 km aw ay) made important contri- 1.8 ORIGIN OF ATMOSPHERE AND OCEANS
butions in the developm ent o f oceanogra-
phy. '
The exact m ode o f origin o f the earth’s
■
Ss* The beginning o f the 20th century heralded atm osphere and oceans is not precisely known.
the dawn o f modern oceanographic re- There are two view points regarding their origin
searches equipped with latest vessels, namely ( I) external source, (2) internal source. It
instrum ents, and with greater cooperations is, thus, desirable to discuss both the sources and
at national and international levels. modes o f origin o f the atm osphere and oceans.
^ The 20th Century oceanography was marked
by the developm ent o f experim ent design 1. Origin of Atmosphere
and adoption o f interdisciplinary approach;
use o f advanced and com plex instrum ents
for obtaining and analysing mass datasets; T.C. Cham berlin postulated his ‘planetesinal
developm ent and application o f appropri- hypothesis’ to explain the origin o f the earth in the
ate scientifc sam pling devices for collect- year 1749. He m aintained that in the initial stage
ing sam ples o f m arine organism s, marine o f the origin o f the earth there was no atm osphere
sedim ents and deposits, seaw ater etc.; on it but as the earth grew in size, it captured
delineation o f bottom reliefs o f the oceans; ‘atm ospheric m aterials and e lem en ts’ by gravita-
m easurem ent o f salinity, seaw ater tem - tional force which was continuously increasing
perature, and dissolved oxygen in vertical due to everincreasing size o f the earth.
prof i les o f oceans at num erous locations; The e arth ’s atm osphere was form ed from
initiation o f am bitious large ocean surveys two basic sources. (I ) External source-w hen the
by using latest technologies, m ethodolo- earth grew in size it becam e successful in
gies, and appropriate equipm ents; finan- capturing free atm ospheric m olecules. The supply
cial support by governm ent agencies; o f atm ospheric m olecules was m ore but it
establishm ent o f m arine institutions to decreased with the passage o f tim e as m ost o f the
prom ote m arine researches; initiation o f molecules were already captured by the earth. (2)
international program m es, and m ulti-na- Internal sources provided carbon dioxide, w ater
tional organizations and cooperations in vapour and nitrogen gases. A nother source o f the
m arine researches; launching o f a num ber ‘atm ospheric m a te ria l’ w as o f occluded gases
o f ocean expeditions equipped with tech- carried by the planetesim als captured by the
nologically advanced version o f vessels ‘nu cleu s’ o f the earth. These occluded gas
with latest equipm ents and trained scien- particles cam e out o f the interior o f the earth
tists o f different disciplines etc. through volcanic eruptions and becam e part and
»- The 21 st century oceanography is destined parcel o f the present day atm osphere. O xygen,
to be enriched by scientific researches thus, was provided by the volcanic eruptions.
involving m ulti-dissciplinary and co llec-
The process o f com ing out o f gases from
tive ap p ro ach es through internatio n al
w ithin the earth is called outgassing. It is believed
cooperations and application o f latest
that the nature o f in itial gases com ing o f the
equipm ents, and rem ote sensing tech -
e a rth ’s interior during volcanic eruptions was
niques and GIS. The pow erful large com -
sim ilar to gases w hich are p resently emitted
puters have also facilitated the m arine
through volcanic eru p tio n s, hot springs and
scientists to process the data more quickly,
geysers. T hese gases include largest proportion of
efficiently, and accurately. The study o f
w ater vapour in the form o f steam , and smaller ;
ocean-atm osphere interactions has becom e
volum e o f carbon dioxide, hydrogen, oxygen etc. j

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wm

I '# ' : ■
n a t u r e o f o c e a n o g r a ph y
s« '.
It is believed that there was no free oxygen fires, combustion o f fossil fuels (coal and
in the original earth’s atmosphere. The molecular petroleum) etc.
oxygen probably was formed only after the
development o f photosynthesising organisms due 2. Origin of Oceans
to splitting o f water molecules by plant cells.
W ater is split by plant cells and is reconstituted in
about every 2 million years and thus oxygen T.C. Chamberlin opined that the primitive
produced circulates in the atmosphere through oceans were first formed under the fragmented
various components and is again recycled after and crevice-ridden outer permeable zone o f the
about 2000 years. Thus, it is obvious that the earth’s surface. Later on the crevices were
residence time o f oxygen in the atmosphere is cemented and thus water derived through the
much longer (2000 years, that is oxygen is condensation of water vapour accumulated in
recycled in 2000 years) than the residence time of these crevices and volcanic craters and the earth’s
carbon (300 years, that is the carbon released by surface, thus, looked as if filled with numerous
plants and animals through respiration is avail- lakes. Gradually and graduallly these lakes were
able again for them after 300 years). The oxygen connected due to their expanding areal extents
continued to concentrate in the atmosphere from and thus different oceans were formed. Basic
the time o f its formation and now it constitutes materials were weathered and eroded and were
about 21 percent o f the total gaseous composition ultimately carried away by running w ater from the
o f the atmosphere. It is important to note that upstanding land masses (continents) and were
oxygen remains in molecular oxygen form ( 0 2) deposited in the submerged areas o f the earth
for very short time because it readily combines (oceans). Thus, there was gradual increase in the
with C 0 2 or H?0 or with other oxide forms. acidic material o f the landmasses because most o f
the basic material was removed in solution form
Oxygen is produced through the process of
from the landmasses. This caused reduction o f the
photosynthesis by the autotrophic green plants of
specific gravity o f the continental m aterial. In
terrestrial ecosystems and phytoplanktons of
other words, the weight of continental m aterial
marine ecosystems and to a lesser extent by the
started decreasing whereas there was increase in
reduction o f various mineral oxides. Oxygen, thus
the weight o f oceanic material. This caused
produced, enters the atmospheric storage pool.
further submergence o f the lowlying parts o f the
Every year some oxygen is also added to the
continents. Continuous deposition o f w eathered
atm osphere from volcanic eruption through
and eroded debris and the weight o f the w ater
outgassing mainly in the form o f C 0 2 and H20 .
itself further depressed the submerged parts o f the
Oxygen from the atmospheric storage pool is used
earth (oceans). This process caused further
by marine and terrestiral animals during respira-
extension of the oceans. A ccording to J.A Steers
tion. Oxygen is also consumed during burning of
‘as long as the earth as a whole continued
wood and fossil fuels. Some portion of oxygen in
appreciably to grow by the accession o f the
the form o f oxides is incorporated in the drainage
planetesimals, the oceanic regions expanded and
water and ultim ately reaches the oceans and is
deepened.’
incorporated in the sediments. Thus, oxygen
enters the sedim entary storage pool and remains It is generally believed that vast volum e o f
there for considerably a longer period o f geologi- water vapour was emitted during the process o f
cal time scale. Thus, the oxygen cycle involves outgassing from within the earth through volcanic
the input o f oxygen to the atm ospheric storage eruptions, hot spings, and geysers during the
pool from the photosynthesis o f marine and initial period o f the evolution and developm ent o f
terrestiral autotrophic plants and from volcanic the earth. The w ater vapour was soon condensed
eruption and the loss o f oxygen from the and fell down on the earth’s surface in the form o f
atmospheric storage pool through respiration o f rainw ater, snow and other forms o f precipitation
marine and terrestiral organism s and mineral and accum ulated in the low er portions o f the
oxidation, burning o f wood, grasses and forest earth’s surface to form the early prim itive w ater

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28 OCEANOGRAPHY

bodies about 4 billion years before present. These world is stored in the oceans. The ocean surface
prim itive w ater hndies gradually grew and devel- comprises aquasphere representing liquid portion
oped lino the present form o f the world oceans. o f the oceans, and cryosphere, representing solid
portion o f the ocean (Savindra Singh, 2008).
Cryosphere includes frozen seas and oceans such
1.9 OCEAN’S CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES
as the Arctic Ocean. The ocean surface including
both aquasphere and cryosphere, covers an area of
As stated earlier world oceans, representing 361 million square kilom etes (70.8 percent of
w ater sphere o f the earth comprise 70.8 percent of total surface area o f the globe) while the
the total surface area o f the earth against 29.2 continents occupy 149 m illion square kilometers
percent area of the continents representing lithosphere. area (29.2 percent). The follow ing are the vital
A bout 97.2 percent water (including ice) o f the statistics o f 4 m ajor oceans (table 1.1) :

Table 1.1 : W orld oceans

Oceans Area Average Percent o f Percent o f the

(106 km2) depth the area o f area o f ocean
(m) earth ’s surface surface

1. Pacific Ocean 181.344 3,940 35.5 50.1

2. Atlantic Ocean 94.314 3,844 18.4 26.0
3. Indian Ocean 74.118 3,840 14.5 20.5
4. Arctic Ocean 12.257 1.117 2.4 3.4

Source : H. V. Thurman and A.P. Trujillo, 1999.

The Atlantic and Indian Oceans are charac- and longest coastlines which are subjected to
terized by m id-oceanic ridges, while the Pacific convergence o f plates, and consequent folding,
Ocean does have oceanic ridge in its eastern part, faulting, volcanic, seismic activities. The Pacific
known as the East Pacific Rise. The Pacific Ocean coasts are surrounded by m ountain chains, and are
is characterized by the largest number o f islands often frequented by tsunam is o f varying magnitude.

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CHAPTER 2 : O R IG IN O F OCEAN BASINS 29-58
d is trib u tio n a l c h a ra c te ris tic s o f co n tin en ts and ocean, 29
c o n tin e n ta l d rift th eo ry o f T ay lo r, 31
c o n tin e n ta l d rift th e o ry o f W ag en er, 32
p la te te c to n ic th e o ry , 39
s e a m o u n ts a n d ta b le m o u n ts, 35
on

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 2
ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS

2.1 CONTINENTS AND OCEAN BASINS : DISTRI- Before examining these views about their origin
BUTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS we should know the characteristic features o f the
distributional patterns and arrangem ent o f the
One cannot think of ocean basins without continents and ocean basins as seen at present
considering continents. In fact, continents and (fig. 2.1). About 70.8 per cent o f the total surface
ocean basins are inseparable major reliefs of the area of the globe is represented by the oceans
globe. The ocean basins are huge depressions of whereas remaining 29.2 per cent is represented by
great depth, usually more than 2000 m, having the continents. Even the distribution o f different
basaltic floors w ith varying topographic features. continents and oceans in both the hem ispheres is
The solid basaltic floors o f the ocean basins not uniform. The following characteristic features
representing the oceanic plates move, though very of the distributional pattern o f the continents and
slowly, away from the mid-oceanic ridges. This is ocean basins may be highlighted :
the reason that the ocean crust is much younger >- There is overwhelming dom inance o f land
than the continental crust. Before attempting the areas in the northern hem isphere. M ore
origin and evolution o f ocean basins and conti- than 75 per cent o f the total land area o f the
nents it is desirable to discuss certain characteris- globe is situated to the north o f the equator
tics o f the distributional patterns o f the continents (i.e. in the northern hem isphere). Contrary
and ocean basins. to this water bodies dom inate in the
Continents and ocean basins being funda- southern hemisphere. If we devide the
mental re lie f features o f the globe are considered globe in two such hem ispheres w here the
as ‘relief features of the first o rd e r’. It is, north pole stands located in the English
therefore, desirable to inquire into their mode o f Channel and the south pole near New
possible origin and evolution. D ifferent views, Zealand, then the northern hem isphere
concepts, hypotheses and theories regarding the would be ‘land hemisphere’ w hile the
origin o f the continents and ocean basins have southern hem isphere as ‘water hemisphere1.
been put forth by the scientists from time to time. Thus, the land hem isphere w ould represent

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30
OCEANOGRAPHY
83 p er cent o f the total land area o f the carry 90.6 per cent o f the total oceanic
globe w hile the w ater hem isphere would areas o f the globe.

180° 150° 120" 90° 60° 30° 0° 30° 60° 90° 120° 150° 180'

Fig. 2.1 : Present position o f the continents and ocean basins.

>- C ontinents are arranged in roughly trian- o f oceans are in the south w hile their apices
gular shape. M ost o f the continents have are in the north. The base o f the Atlantic
their bases (o f triangle) in the north while Ocean extends betw een Cape Horn and
their apices are pointed towards south. If Cape o f G ood H ope w hile its apex is
we take N orth and South Am ericas to - located to the east o f G reenland. The base
gether, they represent equibilateral trian- o f the Indian O cean is in the south but its
gles, the base o f which w ould be along the two apices are located in the Bay o f Bengal
A rctic Sea w hile the apex would be and A rabian Sea. The apex o f the Pacific
represented by Cape Horn. If we take these Ocean is near A leutian Islands while its
tw o continents separately, again they form base lies in the south.
tw o separate triangles. Sim ilarly, Eurasia The north pole is surrounded by oceanic
also assum es the form o f a triangle the base w ater w hile south pole is surrounded by
o f which is along the A rctic Sea while its land area (o f the A ntarctic continent).
apex is near East Indies. The base o f >• There is antipodal arrangem ent (situation)
A frican triangle is tow ards north w hile its o f the continents and oceans. O nly 44.6 per
apex is the Cape o f Good Hope. A ustralia cent oceans are situated opposite to oceans
and A ntarctica are the exceptions o f this and 1.4 per cent o f the total land area o f the
rule. globe is opposite to land area. M ore than 95
>• R oughly, the oceans are also triangular in per cent o f the total land area is situated
shape. C ontrary to the continents the bases diam etrically opposite to w ater bodies.

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 O R I G I N OFOCEAN BASINS

T h e re are only two cases o f exceptions to and South A m ericas and w est-east extent o f the
this general rule i.e\ (i) Patagonia is A pline m ountains (A lps, C aucasus, H im alayas
situated diam etrically opposite to a part o f etc.) posed a serious problem before Taylor w hich
north China, and (ii) N ew Zealand is needed careful explanation. H e could not find any
situated opposite to Portugal and Spain help from the ‘contraction theory’ to explain the
(the Iberian Peninsula) peculiar distribution o f T ertiary folded m ountains
and hence he propounded his ‘d rift’ o r displace-
>- The great Pacific Ocean basin occupies
ment theory’. The concept o f T aylor, thus, is
alm ost one-third o f the entire surface area
considered to be first attem pt in the field
o f the globe.
o f continental drift though A ntonio S nider p re -
The validity and authenticity o f any hypoth- sented his view s about ‘drift’ in the y ear 1858 in
esis or theory dealing with the origin and France. M ain purpose behind the p o stu latio n o f
evolution o f the continents and the ocean basins ‘drift hypothesis’ o f Snider was to explain th e
would be determ ined in the light o f aforesaid sim ilarity o f the fossils o f the coal seam s o f
characteristics o f the distributional pattern o f the C arboniferous period in N orth A m erica and
continents and ocean basins. The presence o f the Europe.
great Pacific O cean basin and island arcs and
Taylor started from C retaceous perio d .
festoons o f the Pacific O cean is teething problem
A ccording to him there w ere tw o land m asses
before scientists who venture in the precarious
d u rin g C re tac e o u s p e rio d . L a u ra tia a n d
field o f the postulation o f the relevant theory o f
G ondw analand w ere located near the n orth and
the origin o f the continents and ocean basins.
south poles respectively. He further assum ed th a t
K eeping the above facts in mind Low thian Green
the continents w ere m ade o f sial w hich w as
postulated his ‘T etrahedral H ypothesis’ to ex-
practically absent in the oceanic crust. A cco rd in g
plain the intricate problem s o f the origin o f the
to Taylor continents m oved tow ards the equator.
continents and oceans and characteristic features
The main driving force o f the co n tin en tal d rift w as
o f their distributional pattern. Besides, Lord
tidal force. A ccording to T aylor co n tin en ts w ere
K elvin, Sollas, Love etc. also attem pted to explain
displaced in two w ays e.g. (i) e q u ato rw ard
the origin o f the continents and ocean basins but
m ovem ent, and (ii) w estw ard m ovem ent b u t the
th eir view s are not discussed here because they
are based on discarded and obsolete argum ents driving force responsible fo r b o th ty p es o f
and assum ptions. In fact, all the previous hypoth- m ovem ent was tidal force o f the m oon.
eses and theories dealing with the origin o f the Lauratia started m oving aw ay from th e
continents and ocean basins have faded away after north pole because o f enorm ous tid a l force o f th e
the postulation o f plate tectonic theory. T here- moon tow ards the equator in a rad ial m an n er. T h is
fore, only continental drift theory is being m ovem ent o f land m ass re su lted into te n sio n al
discussed here. force near the north pole w hich cau sed stre tch in g ,
splitting and rupture in the lan d m ass. C o n se -
2.2 CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY OF TAYLOR quently, B affin B ay, L ab rad o r S ea and D a v is
Strait w ere form ed. S im ilarly , th e d isp la ce m e n t o f
F.B. T aylor postulated his concept o f the G ondw analand from the so u th p o le to w a rd s
‘horizontal d isplacem ent o f the co n tin en ts’ in the the equator caused sp littin g and d isru p tio n and
year 1908 but it could be published only in the hence the G ondw analand w as sp lit into sev e ra l
year 1910. The m ain purpose o f his hypothesis parts. C onsequently, G reat A u stra lia n B ig h t an d
was to explain the problem s o f the origin o f the R oss Sea w ere fo rm ed aro u n d A n ta rc tic C o n ti-
folded m ountains o f T ertiary period. In fact, F.B. nent. A rctic sea w as fo rm ed b e tw ee n G reen lan d
Taylor w anted to solve the p eculiar problem o f the and Siberia due to eq u ato rw ard m o v e m e n t o f
distributional pattern o f T ertiary folded m oun - L auratia. A tlantic and Indian o cean s w ere
tains. The n o rth -so u th arrangem ent o f the R ockies supposed to have been form ed b e ca u se o f fillin g
and the A ndes o f the w estern m argins o f the N orth o f gaps b etw een the d riftin g co n tin en ts w ith

■I

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 32 OCEANOGRAPHY

w ater. Taylor assum ed that the landmasses began 2.3 CONTINENTAL DRIFT THEORY OF WEGENER ^
to m ove in lobe form while drifting through the
zones o f lesser resistance. Thus, mountains and Aims and Objectives
island arcs w ere form ed in the frontal part o f the
m oving lobes. The H im alayas, Caucasus and Alps Professor A lfred W egener o f G erm any was
are considered to have been formed during prim arily a m eteorologist. He propounded his
equatorw ard m ovem ent o f the Lauratia and concept on continental drift in the year 1912 but it
Gondwanaland from the north and south poles could not come in light till 1922 when he
respectively while the Rockies and Andes were elaborated his concept in a book entitled ‘Die
form ed due to w estw ard movement o f the Entstehung der K ontinente and O zeane’ and his
landmasses. book was translated in English in 1924. W egener’s
displacement hypothesis was based on the works
Evaluation and findings o f a host o f scientists such as
geologists, palaeo-clim atologists, palaeontolo-
Since F.B. Taylor’s main aim was to gists, geophysicists and others. The main problem
explain the origin o f Tertiary folded mountains before W egener, which needed explanation, was
and hence he made the continents to move at a related to climatic changes. It may be pointed out
very large scale. In fact, some sort o f horizontal that there are ample evidences w hich indicate
movement o f the land masses was essential for the widespread climatic changes throughout the past
origin o f m ountains but the displacem ent o f land history o f the earth. In fact, the continental drift
masses upto 32-64 km would have been sufficient theory o f W egener ‘grew out o f the need o f
enough for the purpose. Contrary to this Taylor explaining the m ajor variations o f clim ate in the
has described the displacem ent o f the landmasses p ast’ . The clim atic changes w hich have occurred
for thousands o f kilometers. Secondly, the mode on the globe may be explained in two ways.
o f drift as suggested by Taylor has also been ( 1) If the continents rem ained stationary at
erroneous. If the tidal force o f the moon was so their places throughout geological history o f the
enormous during Cretaceous period that it could earth, the clim atic zones m ight have shifted from
displace the landmasses forthousands ofkilometers one region to another region and thus a particular
apart then it might have also put a break on the region might have experienced varying climatic
rotatory motion o f the earth and thus the rotation conditions from tim e to time.
o f the earth m ight have stopped within a year.
(2) If the clim atic zones rem ained station-
A ccording to A. Holmes neither tidal force nor
ary the land m asses m ight have been displaced
any external force can drift the continents apart
and drifted.
and can help in the formation o f mountains. The
responsible force m ust come from within the W egener opted for the second alternative as
earth. Though the concept o f F. B. Taylor is not he rejected the view o f the perm anency of
acceptable but his hypothesis is considered to be continents and ocean basins. T hus, the m ain
significant on the ground that Taylor raised his objective o f W egener behind his ‘displacement
voice very forcefully through deductive postula- h y p o t h e s is ’ was to explain the global clim atic

tion against the prevalent concept o f the perm a- changes w hich are reported to have taken place
nency o f the continents and ocean basins and during the past earth history.
forcefully objected to the ‘contraction theory’ and
showed a new direction to solve the problem o f B asic Prem ise of th e T heory
the origin o f the continents and ocean basins.
A. H olm es has rightly rem arked, ‘but Taylor Follow ing E dw ard Suess, W egener be-
must be given credit for m aking an independent lieved in three layers system o f the earth e.g. outer
and slightly an earlier start in this precarious layer o f ‘s ia l’, interm ediate lay er o f ‘s im a ’ and the
fie ld .’ low er layer o f ‘n ife. According to W egener si*

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ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS 33

w as considered to be lim ited to the continental >- A ccording to W egener there is geographi-
m asses alone w hereas the ocean crust was cal sim ilarity along both the coasts o f the
represented by upper part o f sima. Continents or A tlantic Ocean. B oth the opposing coasts
sialic m asses w ere floating on sim a without any o f the A tlantic can be fitted together in the
resistance offered by sima. He assum ed, on the sam e w ay as two cut o ff pieces o f w ood can
basis o f evidences o f palaeo-clim atology, palae- be refitted (jig-saw fit) (fig. 2 .2 ).
ontology, palaeobotany, geology and geophysics, G eological evidences denote that the C aledo-
that all the landm asses were united together in the nian and H ercynian m ountain system s o f
form o f one landm ass, which he named P an gaea, in the w estern and eastern coastal areas o f the
C arboniferous period. There were several sm aller A tlantic are sim ilar and id entical (fig. 2.3).
inland seas scattered over the Pangaea which was The A pplachians o f the north-eastern
surrounded by a huge w ater body, which was regions o f North A m erica are com patible
nam ed by W egener as ‘P a n th a la s a ’ (fig. 2.4) with the m ountain system s o f Ireland,
representing prim eval Pacific Ocean. Lauratia W ales and north-w estern Europe.
consisting o f present N orth A m erica, Europe and
A sia form ed northern part o f the Pangaea while
G o n d w a n a la n d consisting o f South America, Af-
rica M adagascar, Peninsular India, A ustralia and
A ntarctica represented the southern part o f the
Pangaea. South pole was located near present
D urban (near N atal in southern Africa) during
C arboniferous period. Thus, W egener’s theory o f
continental drift begins from Carboniferous pe-
riod, he does not describe the conditions during
pre-C arboniferous tim es “but the postulation o f a
C arboniferous Pangaea does not mean that he
disbelieves in pre-C arboniferous drift : events
before this tim e are known with much less
certainty, and the distribution o f plants and
anim als can largely be explained by movements
w hich have taken place since the C arboniferous’
(J. A. Steers, 1961,.p. 160). The Pangaea was
disrupted during subsequent periods and broken
landm asses drifted aw ay from each other and thus
the present position o f the continents and ocean Fig. 2.2 ; Jig-sawfitting(juxtaposition) o f South America
basins becam e possible. and Africa.

Evidences in Support of the Theory >■ G eologically, both the coasts o f the A tlantic
are also identical. Du T oit, after detailed
W egener has successfully attem pted to study o f the eastern coasts o f South
prove the unification o f all landm asses in the form A m erica and w estern coasts o f A frica, has
o f a single landm ass, the Pangaea, during C arbon- said that the geological stru ctu res o f bo th
iferous period, on the basis o f evidences gathered the coasts are m ore o r less sim ilar. A cco rd -
from geological, clim atic and floral records. He ing to D u T oit both the landm asses (i.e.,
claim ed that all the present-day continents could South A m erica and A frica) can n o t be
be jo in ed to form Pangaea. The follow ing actually brought to g eth er b u t n ear to each
evidences support the concept o f the existence o f other because a gap o f 400-800 km would
Pangaea during C arboniferous period. separate them due to the existence o f

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34
OCEANOGRAPHY
continental shelves and slopes o f these two behaviour o f lemmings proves the fact that
landm asses. the landmasses were united in the ancient
There is marked sim ilarity in the fossils times and the animals used to m igrate to far
and vegetation remains found on the off places in the western direction.
eastern coast o f South America and the
w estern coast o f Africa. >• The distribution o f glossopteris flora in
It has been reported from geodetic evi- India, South Africa, A ustralia, Antarctica,
dences that Greenland is drifting westward Falkland islands etc. proves the fact that all
at the rate o f 20 cm per year. The evidences the landmasses w ere previously united and
o f seafloor spreading after 1960 have contiguous in the form o f Pangaea.
confirm ed the movement o f landmasses >■ The evidences o f Carboniferous glaciation
with respect to each other. o f Brazil, Falkland, South Africa, Peninsu-
The lemmings (small sized animals) o f the lar India. Australia and A ntarctica further
northern part o f Scandinavia have a ten- prove the unification o f all landmasses in
dency to run westward when their popula- one landmass (Pangaea) during Carbonif-
tion is enormously increased but they are erous period.
drowned in the sea water due to absence of
any land beyond Norwagian coast. This Process of the Theory

As stated earlier the main aim o f W egener

behind the postulation o f his ‘drift theory’ was to
explain major climatic changes which are re-
ported to have taken place in the past geological
history of the earth, such as Carboniferous
glaciation o f major parts o f the Gondwanaland.
Besides, W egener also attempted to solve other
problems o f the earth e.g. origin o f mountains,
island arcs and festoons, origin and evolution of
continents and ocean basins etc.
(1 ) Force responsible for the d rift : According to
W egener the continents after breaking away from
the Panagaea moved (drifted) in two directions
e.g. (i) equatorw ard m ovem ent, and (ii) westward
movement. The equatorw ard movement o f sialic
blocks (continental blocks) was caused by gravi-
tational differential force and force o f buoyancy.
As already stated the continental blocks, accord-
ing to W egener, were formed o f lighter sialic
materials (silica and alum inium ) and w ere float-
ing w ithout any friction on relatively denser
‘sim a’. Thus , the equatorw ard m ovem ent o f the
Cretaceous Eocene Pre-Silurian sialic blocks (continental blocks) w ould depend
Silurian-Carboniferous on the relation o f the centre o f gravity and the
centre o f buoyancy o f the floating continental
mass. G enerally, these two type o f forces operate
Fig. 2.3 : Geological similarity on the eastern coast of in opposite directions. ‘But because o f the
South America and the western coast of Af-
ellipsoidal form o f the earth, these forces are not
rica.
in direct opposition, but are so related that, if the

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S?V
•MM

ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS 35

A. Present

buoyancy point lies under the centre o f gravity, dragged the outer sialic crust (continental blocks)
the resultant (force) is directed toward the over the interior o f the earth, towards the west. It
equator’ (J. A. Steers, 1961, p. 164). may be pointed out that in any drift theory the
The westward movement o f the continents weakest point and the most difficult problem is
was caused by the tidal force o f the sun and the related to the competent force responsible for the
moon. According to Wegener the attractional movement o f the continents. ‘Such a force (tidal
force o f the sun and the m o o n ,. which was force/attractional force o f the sun and the moon) is
maximum when the moon was nearest to the earth, extraordinarily small, but, as in the case o f other

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 OCEAN)

38

f ig 2.6 : Different positions o f Poles and Equator.

Americas (e.g. Rockies and A ndes and other A ngaraland) w as m o v in g w estw ard, the eastern
m o u n t a i n chains associated with them ) were m argin o f this block could not keep pace w ith the
formed. Similarly, the Alpine ranges o f Eurasia w estv'ard m oving m a jo r landm ass, rather lagged
were folded due to equatorw ard m ovem ent o f behind, co n seq u en tly the island arcs and festoons
Eurasia and Africa together with Peninsular India consisting o f S akhalin, K u rile, Japan, Philippines
(equator was passing through Tethys sea at that etc. w ere form ed. S im ilarly, som e portions of
time). Here, W egener postulated contrasting view N orth and South A m ericas w h ile they were
points. According to W egener sial (continental m oving w estw ard, w ere left b ehind and the island
blocks) was floating upon sima without any arcs o f W est Indies and so u th ern A n tilles were
friction and resistance but during the later part o f form ed.
his theory he pointed out that m ountains were
(5) C arboniferous glaciation : T here are
formed at the frontal edges o f floating and drifting
am ple evidences to d em o n strate that there was
continental blocks (sialic crust) due to friction and
large-scale g laciation d u rin g C arb o n ifero u s pe-
resistance offered by sima. How could it be
riod when B razil, F alk lan d , S o u th ern Africa,
possible? The question remains unanswered.
P eninsular India, A u stralia, A n ta rc tica etc. were
Inspite o f this serious flaw in the continental drift
extensively glaciated. A cco rd in g to W egener all
theory of Wegener, S. W. W ooldridge and R.S.
Morgan have remarked, ‘certainly the problem o f ; continental blocks w ere u n ited to g e th e r in the
mountain building is one in which the hypothesis form o f one land m ass called P angaea. South pole
of continental drift solves more difficulties than it was located near the p resen t p o sitio n o f D urban in
creates.’ N atal. Thus, south pole w as lo cated in the middle
(4) Origin of island a rc s : W egener has related o f Pangaea. C onsequently, ice sheets might have
* e process of the origin o f island arcs and spread from south pole o u tw ard at the tim e of
estoons (of eastern Asia, W est Indies and the arc glaciation and the afo resaid land areas, which
and e.SOUt^ern Antilles between Tierra del Fugo w ere closer to south pole, m ight have been
rnntin nta^ct*ca) to the differential rates o f covered w ith thick ice sheets. At much later date,
en drift. When the A siatic block (part o f these land areas might have parted away due to

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ORIGrN OF OCEAN BASINS 39

disruption o f Pangaea and related continental others can but rem em ber that it is largely to him
drift G lossopteris flora m ight have also been that we owe our more recent views on world
distributed over the aforesaid areas w hen these tectonics’ (J.A. Steers, 1961, p. 174). Though
were united together.
most points o f W egener’s theory were rejected
but its central theme o f horizontal displacement
was retained. In fact, the postulation o f plate
Evaluation of the Theory
tectonic theory after 1960 is the result o f this
continental drift theory o f W egener. W egener is,
It may be pointed out that W egener’s thus, given credit to have started thinking in this
continental drift theory widely departed from the precarious field.
contemporary orthodox geological ideas o f the
nineteenth century and the tim e-honoured ther- 2.4 : PLATE TECTONICS AND CONTINENTAL
mal contraction theory o f the mountain building DRIFT
and thus it was obvious that the believers of
contraction theory should also discard it. It is
The ocean basins are characterized by four
now w idely agreed that he (W egener) handled his
physiographic regions, namely continental shelves,
case as an advocate rather than as an impartial
continental slopes, deep sea plains, and ocean
scientific observer, appearing to ignore evidences
deeps and trenches. The most characteristic
unfavourable to his ideas and distort other
evidences in harmony with the theory’ (Wooldridge features o f the ocean basins are m id-ocean ridges
& M organ, 1959). and deep trenches. The mid-ocean ridges com -
prised of volcanic rocks (igneous, mostly basalts)
The follow ing flaws and defects have been
run almost through the central positions o f the
pointed out by different scientists in W egener’s
oceans, and represent the zone o f sea floor
theory o f continental drift :
spreading, and creation o f new ocean crust
>- The forces (gravitational forces, tidal through continuous upwelling o f magma. Thus,
forces o f the sun and the moon, and force of mid-ocean ridges are, in fact, sp r e a d in g z o n e s .
buoyancy) applied by W egener are not These mid-ocean ridges rise upto 2,500 m (2.5
sufficient enough to drift the continents so km) from the ocean floor, and at places come out
apart. of the sea level. These also represent active
>- W egener described several contrasting volcanism and newest basalt rocks. As one goes
view points about ‘sial , and sima . away from the mid-ocean ridges, the basaltic crust
Both the coasts o f the Atlantic Ocean becomes older. It is, thus, clear that m id-ocean
cannot be com pletely fitted, and hence the ridges are the centers o f divergence and accretion
concept o f ‘jig saw fit’ cannot be validated. o f new ocean crust. On the other hand, the ocean
»- W egener could not elaborate the direction trenches are the centers o f subduction o f crustal
and chronological sequence o f the dis- part due to convergences o f crusts. Thus, the
placem ent o f the continents. subduction zones are centers o f loss o f ocean
crusts. Ocean trenches also represent deepest
>- The concept o f ‘pole w andering’ was also
parts o f the oceans. These characteristic features
invalidated in 1960s on the basis o f plate
o f ocean basins must be explained on the basis o f
tectonics. It may be mentioned that the
evidences o f ‘sea floor spreading’, and any acceptable theory. It may be m entioned that
p a l a e o m a g n e t i s m have proved the fact that plate tectonic theory based on the evidences o f sea
it is not the poles which move, rather floor spreading and palaeom agnetism offers
continents m ove, and hence the relative plausible explanation o f the origin o f ocean basins
position o f poles change over time. and their characteristic features. It is, thus,
desirable to discuss salient aspects o f plate
It may be concluded that ‘even if all the
tectonics and continental drift.
matter o f his theory is w rong, geologists and

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40 OCEANOGRAPHY
The rigid lithospheric slabs or rigid and o f currents and w in d s’ (A . N . Strahler and A . H I
solid crustal layers are technically called ‘p lates’. Strahler, 1978, p. 373). Plate tecton ic theory, * *
The w hole m echanism o f the evolution, nature great scien tific achievem en t o f the decade o f
and m otion o f plates and resultant reactions is 1960s, is based on tw o major scie n tific concepts
called ‘plate tectonics’. In other words, the w hole e.g. (i) the con cep t o f continental drift, and (ii) the
concept o f sea floor spreading. L ithosphere is
process o f plate m otions is referred to as plate
internally m ade o f rigid p lates (fig . 2 .7 ). S ix major
tectonics. ‘M oving over the weak asthenosphere,
and 20 m inor plates have been id en tified so far
individual lithospheric plates glide slow ly over (Eurasian plate, Indian-A ustralian plate, A m eri-
the surface o f the globe; much as a pack o f ice o f can plate, P acific plate, A frican plate and Antarc-
the Arctic Ocean drifts under the dragging force tic plate).

EURASIAN
PLATE NORTH
AMERICAN

’ PLATE^ EURASIAN
^ JU AN DE
" K' 2 8 ^ — p LATE
,4.0 \ u r .A
FUCA i ATP
PLATE
p A
A ndreas
ndreas f
Faull^XARIBBEANy'2'5
’HILIPPINE 1 p la te : . r 2 /
PLAT
ARABIAN
COCOS KLAI
PLATEh ^ — J- s _____PLATE 3 0 ^ ^ 1
- - / “ ■i f ------- 1 « / E-ast
1 2 0° '-'6:-
12 ]v s oO uU tThH^ S)
S ^ - r4:- —►—►N \ PjAfricar
JXlNDO-AUSTRALIANy\ PACIFIC I ~~ V^M ERICANf " 3r"- ) \ ( Rift
PLATE -v -^ . PLATA/ AFRICAN ' V a lle y
PLATE if ! -■£- p l a t e ' s / ^

' V i / «, • J « ^
„ '- ' r' ; f t
ANTARCTIC
PLATE
' ■i s ™
\ . i r r ’C v v ''. PLATt —

AN p u t e TIC .f t a n t a r c t i c p la th

g 27 7 ^ ^ ej ^ d8eS- ArrOWS indiCate direction movements.

was first “s e d Cby ^ ^ r i ^ c o X S t r T at m id -ocean ic ridges and destroyed at the

renc es. Isacks and S yk es confirm ed the ‘paving
stone h y p o th esis’ in 1967. W J . M organ and Le
ichon elaborated the various aspects o f plate
ecton ics in 1968. N o w the continental drift and
oceanic o n ,., WM c o ^ ^ c ^ f o ™ ^ isplacem ent are considered a reality on the basis
o f plate tectonics.
.

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ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS 41
It may be hig h lig h ted that te c h n ic a lly plate m ountain building, faulting etc. T hus, the detailed
boundaries o r p late m argins are m ost im portant study o f p late boundaries is not only desirable but
because all tectonic activities occur along the is also necessary. Plate b o u n d aries are generally
plate boundaries e.g. seism ic events, vulcanicity, divided into three groups, as follow s :

Fig. 2.8 : Diagramatic presentation o f main aspects o f plate tectonics (based on A.N. Strahler, 1971).

(1) Constructive or Divergent Plate Boundaries

thus new oceanic crust is continuously form ed. In
C onstructive plate boundaries are also called fact, oceanic plates split apart along the m id-
divergent plate boundaries or accreting plate boundaries. oceanic ridges and move in opposite directions
C onstructive plate m argins (boundaries) (fig. 2.9).
represent zones o f divergence where there is There is continuous creation o f new cru st at
continuous upw elling o f m olten m aterial (lava) and the trailing ends o f divergent plates w h ich m ove

Continental V£ iC CONVERGENCE DIVERGENCE

crust S e a floor spreading
O ceanic crust (basalt)

Fig. 2.9: Diagramatic presentation of different types o f plate boundaries.

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
42
tran sfo rm faults, (v) occurrence o f shallow focus
in op p osite directions from m id-oceanic ridges.
earth q u ak es, (vi) d riftin g o f oceanic plates etc.
T his is V uy d iv e rg e n t plate boundaries are called
accreting plate boundaries.
(2) Convergent Plate Boundaries
D iv e rg e n t p late m argins are constructive in
th e sen se th at th ere is continuous form ation o f C onvergent plate bo u n d aries are also called
new cru st along th ese m argins because o f cooling
d e s tru c tiv e p la te b o u n d a rie s or co n su m in g plate
and so lid ific a tio n o f basaltic lava w hich com es up
b o u n d a rie s because tw o plates m ove tow ards each
as m agm a due to riftin g o f plates along the m id-
other or tw o p lates converge along a line and
o ceanic ridges. D iv erg en t m ovem ent o f plates
leading edge o f one plate overrides the other plate
(i.e. m ovem en t o f tw o plates in opposite d irec-
and the overridden plate is subducted or thrust
tio n s) resu lts in (i) volcanic activity o f fissure
into the m antle and thus part o f cru st (plate) is lost
flow o f b a sa ltic m agm a, (ii) creation o f new
in the m antle (fig 2.10). These are the centres of
o ceanic crusts, (iii) form ation o f subm arine
deep ocean trenches.
m ountain ridges and rises, (iv) creation o f

Continental O cean ic

Fig. 2.10 : Convergent plate boundaries, and subduction zone representing the region o f loss o f plate.

The zone o f collision o f convergent plates is plates), (ii) continent-continent collision (colli-
also called as ‘collision zon e’, ‘subduction zone- and sion o f two continental plates), and (iii) ocean-
continent collision (collision o f oceanic an
‘B enioff zo n e’ (after the scientist Hugo B e m o f^
continental plates). O cean-ocean collision involves
C onvergence, collision and resultant subduction
collision o f two convergent plates having oceanic
o f heavier plate m argin under lighter plate margin
crusts where one oceanic crust having relative y
results in (i) the occurrence o f explosive type o f
denser m aterial is subducted into upper mantle.
volcanic eruptions, (ii) deep focn earthquakes,
Such collision and subduction occurs along eas
(iii) form ation o f folded m ountains, island arcs
Asia and the resultant tectonic expression oipia.
and festoons, oceanic trenches etc.
collision and subduction includes deformation
Plate collisions are o f three types viz. (i) crustal area, vulcanism , metam orphism ,
ocean— ocean collision (collision o f two oceanic

1 . ::
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ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS
43
tion o f oceanic tre n c h e s , is la n d arcs and festoons
ridge to ridge transform f a u l t ’ The other m anifesta-
etc., and o c c u rre n c e o f e arth q u ak e s. Ocean-
tions o f conservative plate m argins include no
continen t collision in v o lv e s c o llisio n o f one oceanic
volcanic activity, seism ic events, creation o f
plate h a v in g o c e a n ic c ru st and o th er one o f
ridge and valley, fractures zone etc.
co n tin en tal p la te h a v in g c o n tin e n ta l crust along
Benioff zone (su b d u c tio n zo n e) and the resu ltan t H. H ess pro stu lated the concept o f ‘plate
te cto n ic e x p re ss io n s are d efo rm atio n o f crustal te cto n ics’ in 1960 in support o f contin en tal drift.
ro c k s, m e ta m o rp h ism , v o lc an ic eruptions, fo rm a- The continents and oceans m ove w ith the m ove-
tio n o f fo ld e d m o u n ta in s and occurrence o f deep- m ent o f these plates. The present shape and
fo cu s e arth q u ak e s. C o llisio n o f A m erican and arrangem ent o f the continents and ocean basins
P a c ific p la te s is a ty p ic a l exam ple o f this category co u ld be a tta in e d b e c a u se o f c o n tin u o u s
and fo rm atio n o f m ajestic w estern co rdillera o f N. relative m ovem ent o f d ifferen t p lates o f the
A m e ric a an d A ndes o f S. A m erica is significant second Pangaea since C arboniferous period. Plate
re su lta n t te c to n ic ex p ressio n o f such situation. It tectonic theory is based on the evidences o f
m ay be m e n tio n e d th a t one o f the m anifestions o f (1 ) sea-floor spreading, and (ii) p alaeom agn etism .
c o n tin e n t-o c e a n ic p la te collisio n is the exposure
o f d eep o c ea n ro ck s th ro u g h their thrusting in 1. Forces of Plate Movements
re s u lta n t m o u n ta in m asses. T his process is called
obduction w h ich is o p p o site to su b d u ctio n as the
It has been finally agreed th at the forces
fo rm e r im p lie s th ru stin g up w hile the latter m eans
th ru s tin g dow n. responsible for the m ovem ent o f p lates in
d ifferent directions cannot be external rath er they
C o n tin en t-co n tin en t collision involves co lli-
com e from w ithin the earth. It has been com m only
sio n o f tw o c o n tin e n tal plates along B en io ff zone
agreed that therm al convective currents o rig in at-
an d is re sp o n sib le for the creation o f folded
ing in the upper m antle o f the interior o f the earth
m o u n ta in s and o ccu rren ces o f earthquakes o f
v a ry in g m a g n itu d e s. The co llisio n o f A siatic- (fig. 2 . 11) are responsible for dragging the p lates
In d ia n p la te s, A n d E uro p ean -A frican plates is in different directions i.e. in opposite d irectio n s
ty p ic a l e x a m p le o f su ch situ atio n and the form a- (divergent m ovem ent o f p lates), in face to face
tio n s o f A lp in e and H im alay an m ountain chains direction (convergent m ovem ent), and la te ral and
are m a jo r m a n ife stio n s. parallel but in opposite d irectio n (c o n v erg en t
m ovem ent o f plates).
(3) Conservative Plate Boundaries The divergent m ovem ent o f p lates is cau sed
by rising (ascending) therm al co n v ectiv e c u r-
C o n se rv a tiv e p late bou n d aries are also rents. The ascending therm al convectiv e cu rren ts
c a lle d sh ea r p la te b o u n d a ries or transform b oun d a- diverge ju st below the m id -o cean rid g es (fig.
ries b e c a u s e o f th e fo rm atio n o f tran sfo rm faults. 2 . 11) and thus drag the o cean cru st in o p p o site
H e re tw o p la te s p a ss or slide past one another directions and cause sp read in g o f sea floor,
alo n g tra n s fo rm fa u lts and thus cru st is n either u pw elling o f m agm a in the form o f b a sa ltic lavas
created n o r d e stro y e d . w hich cool and so lid ify to .fo r m new basaltic
ocean crusts (accretio n o f p lates). O n the o ther
T he significant te c to n ic e x p re ssio n o f such
hand, tw o sets o f th erm al co n v ectiv e cu rren ts
situation is th e c re a tio n o f tra n sfo rm faults w hich
c o m in g fro m o p p o site d ire c tio n s c o n v erg e
m ove, on an a v e ra g e , p a ra lle l to the d ire c tio n o f
below the cru st (fig. 2 . 11) and thus m ake
plate m otion. T ra n s fo rm fa u lts o ffse t m id-o cean ic
the p la te s c o llid e a n d s u b d u c tio n th e re o f
ridges. B esid e s o c e a n ic tra n sfo rm fau lts, th ere are
at su bduction or B e n io ff zone re su ltin g into
also c o n tin e n tal tra n sfo rm fa u lts e.g ., San A ndreas
form ation o f m o untain ran g es an d d eep ocean
fault (C a lifo rn ia , U S A ), A lp in e fa u lt (A frica) etc.
tren ch es.
It m ay b e m e n tio n e d th a t S an A n d re as fau lt is

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44
o c e a n o g r a ph y i

Mid-Ocean
ridge Plateau Deep-sea
basalts trench

Fig. 2.11 : Pattern of thermal convective currents and plate movements.

2. Sea-Floor Spreading

The concept o f sea floor spreading was first

propounded by professor Hary Hess of the
Princeton U niversity in the year 1960. His
concept w as based on the research findings of
num erous m arine geologists, geochemists and
geophysicists. M ason o f the Scripps Institute of
O ceanography obtained significant information
about the m agnetism o f the rocks of sea-floor of
the Pacific Ocean with the help o f magnetometer.
Later on he surveyed a long stretch o f the sea-floor
o f the Pacific Ocean from M exico to British
C olum bia along the w estern coast o f North
A m erica. W hen the data o f magnetic anomalies
obtained during the aforesaid survey were dis-
played on a chart, there emerged well defined
patterns o f stripes (fig. 2.12). Based on these
inform ation Hary Hess propounded that the mid-
oceanic ridges were situated on the rising thermal
convection currents coming up form the mantle
(fig. 2.11). The oceanic crust moves in opposite
directions from m id-oceanic ridges and thus there
is continuous upw elling o f new molten materials
(lavas) along the m id-oceanic ridges. These
m olten lavas cool down and solidify to form new
crust along the trailing ends o f divergent plates
(oceanic crust). Thus, there is continuous creation
o f new crust along the m id-oceanic ridges. This, Fig. 2.12 : Patterns of positive magnetic anomalies off
according to Hess, proves the fact that sea-floor the coast of Sanfransisco.

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 45
ORIGIN o f o c e a n b a s in s

spreads along the m id-oceanic ridges and the (iv) there is parallelism in the tim e sequence o f
expanding crusts (plates) are destroyed along the palaeom agnetic epochs and events calcu -
oceanic trenches. T hese facts prove that the lated for 4.5 m illion years on the basis o f
continents and ocean basins are in constant m agnetism o f basaltic rocks or sedim en-
tary rocks. Fig. 2.13 depicts the p osition o f
motion.
m agnetic stripes on either side o f the m id-
W .G . V ine and M attheus conducted the oceanic ridge along w ith the tim e-scale o f
m agnetic survey o f the central part o f Carlsberg
their form ation.
R idge in Indian O cean in 1963 and computed the
m agnetic profiles on the basis o f general m agnet-
ism. W hen he com pared the com puted magnetic
profiles with the profiles o f m agnetic anomalies
plotted on the basis o f actual data obtained during
the survey, he found sizeable difference between
the two profiles. W hen he plotted the magnetic
profiles on the basis o f alternate bands o f normal
and reverse m agnetism in separate stripes o f 20
km w idth on either side o f the ridge, he found
complete parallelism betw een the computed
profiles and observed profites.
Vine and M attheus have opined on the basis
o f the evidences o f tem poral reversal in the
geomagnetic filed and the concept o f sea-floor
spreading as propounded by Deitz and Hess that
when m olten hot lavas come up with the rising Fig. 2.13 : Diagramatic presentation o f magnetic stripes
therm al convection current along the mid-oceanic on either side o f the mid-oceanic ridge accord-
ridges and get cooled and solidified, these (lavas) ing to Vine and Matheus, The period o f the
also get magnetized, at the same time, in formation o f these stripes have been named
accordance with the then geomagnetic field and after known scientists (e.g. Gillbert, Gass,
thus alternate bands or stripes of magnetic Matuyama and Bruhnes).
anomalies are formed on either side o f the mid-
oceanic ridge. In other words, when molten lavas
are upw elled along the mid-oceanic ridges, these It may be concluded, on the basis o f above
divide the earlier basaltic layer into two equal discussion, that there is continuous spreading o f
halves and these basaltic layers slide horizontally seafloor. New basaltic crust is continuously
on either side o f the mid-oceanic ridges. The formed along the m id-oceanic ridges. T he new ly
findings o f Cox, Doell and Dalrympal (1964), formed basaltic layer is divided into tw o equal
Opdyke (1966) and H eritzler (1966) have vali- halves and is thus displaced aw ay from the m id-
dated the follow ing facts : oceanic ridge. A lternate stripes o f positive and
(i) there is reversal in the m ain m agnetic field negative magnetic anom alies are found on either
o f the earth (know n as geocentric dipole side o f the m id-oceanic ridges. Such m agnetic
magnetic field), anomalies (positive and negative) are form ed
because o f tem poral reversal in the geom agnetic
(ii) normal and reverse m agnetic amomalies
are found in alternate m anner on either side field. The rocks form ed during norm al m agnetic
o f the m id-oceanic ridges, field contain positive m agnetic anom alies w hile
the rocks form ed during reverse polarity (re-
(iii) there is com plete parallelism in the m ag-
netic anom alies on either side o f the mid- versed geom agnetic field) denote negative m ag-
oceanic ridges, and netic anomalies.

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46
o c e a n o g r a ph y
Rates of Plate Movements and Sea Floor
Spreading the rate o f expansion only on one side o f the mid-
ocean ridges. F o r exam ple, if the rate o f sea floo^
spreading is reported to be 1.0 cm p er year, the
T he age o f m agnetic stripes, the rate o f sea total spreading o f the concerned ocean w ould be 1
floor spreading and the tim e o f drifting o f + 1 = 2 cm per year. Though d ifferent rates o f plate
different continents are calculated on the basis o f m ovem ents and sea floor spreading have been
above facts. The dating o f the m agnetic stripes reported by different sources but the generalized
form ed upto 4.5 m illion years before present has average rates are as follow s :
been com pleted on the basis o f inform ation
obtained from the survey o f palaeom agnetism o f 5=* The m axim um spreading o f the Pacific
the sea floor o f different oceans. The rate o f sea Ocean is 6 to 9 cm per year along the
floor spreading is calculated on the following two eastern Pacific ridge betw een equator and
bases: 30° S latitude, w hile it ranges between 2.5
cm to 3 cm per year along the western
**■ on the basis o f the age o f isochrons North A m erican coasts (fig. 2.14).
(isochrons are those lines which join the
>■ The southern A tlantic Ocean is expanding
points o f equal dates o f m agnetic stripes
plotted on the map), and along the southern A tlantic ridge at the rate
o f 2 cm per year.
^ on the basis o f distance between two
isochrons. The Indian Ocean is expanding at the rate
o f 1.5 cm to 3 cm per year.
Thus the rates o f spreading (drifting) of
All o f the above m entioned spreading rates
different oceans have been determined on the
are only on one side o f the m id-ocean ridges. The
basis o f above principles. It may be mentioned
figures should be doubled to get total rate o f sea
that the rate o f sea floor spreading always means
floor spreading.

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ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS

3. Evidence of Palaeomagnetism Doris L. Holmes, 1978). I f perm anent geom agnetic

field is not possible then the continuous produc-
tion and m aintenance o f geom agnetic field m ay be
Palaeom agnetism refers to the preservation
possible only when there would be presence o f
o f m agnetic properties in the older rocks o f the
materials o f high electrical conductivity in the
earth. It may be m entioned that when any rock,
core so that electrical currents m ay be generated.
w hether sedim entary or igneous, is formed it gets
It is further pointed out that the generation o f
m agnetised depending on the presence o f iron
electrical currents is possible only in m etallic
content in the rock and is preserved (frozen at
liquid m aterials and such situation is found in the
tem perature below C urie point, which is gener-
outer core o f the earth which functions as self
ally 600°C). It was the year 1600 A.D. when
exciting dynam o. Thus, the energy coming out o f
W illiam G ilbert, the physician o f Queen Eliza-
the core is transform ed into electrical currents
beth, postulated that the earth behaved like a giant
which in association with m etallic liquid sub-
m agnet and m agnetism o f the earth was produced
stances produce geocentric dipole m agnetic field.
in the inner part o f the earth. The magnetic field of
the earth is like a giant bar magnet o f dipoles,
located in the centre (core) o f the earth and is (2) Remanent Magnetism
aligned approxim ately along the axis o f rotation
o f the earth. W hen the long axis o f dipole bar The geocentric axial dipole m agnetic field
m agnet is extended it intersects the earth’s surface represents 95 per cent o f a earth’s total m agnet-
at two centres which are called north and south ism. The remaining portion is represented by
m agnetic poles. It may be pointed out that irregular, scattered and weak m agnetic fields. It
m agnetic south pole o f the earth is near its may be pointed out that there is no such giant bar
(earth’s) geographical north pole and vice-versa magnet inside the earth but there is more
(i.e. m agnetic north pole is located near geo- concentration o f magnetism in the rocks o f the
graphical south pole). If an ordinary small magnet core o f the earth in the shape o f a bar m agnet. The
is freely suspended at the earth’s surface then the hot and liquid lava and m agm a w ith high
earth ’s south m agnetic pole attracts north pole o f ferrom agnesian contents, when cooled and solidi-
sm all m agnet and earth’s north magnetic pole fied to form igneous rocks, get m agnetised, the
attracts south pole o f small magnet. It may be records o f which are preserved in the rocks. Such
clarified that as per general rule when two magnetism preserved (frozen) in the rocks are
m agnets are brought together, then their similar called re m a n en t or palaeo m ag n etism . It is to be
poles repel each other but opposite poles attract remembered that the newly form ed rocks are
each other. magnetised in the direction o f existing geom agnetic
field, and thus the m agnetic inclination/dip o f
(1) S o u r c e o f G e o m a g n e tic Field newly formed rocks is the same as that o f the
geom agnetic field at the tim e o f the form ation o f
said igneous rocks. Thus, it is evident that the
The origin o f geom agnetic field is in no case
o rie n ta tio n and m a g n etic in c lin a tio n o f
related to m antle rath er it is related to the outer
palaeom agnetism preserved in the rocks is alw ays
core o f the earth because o f the fact that there is
in accordance w ith the prevailing m agnetic
gradual w estw ard m igration o f geom agnetic field
inclination o f geom agnetic field. The intensity o f
at the rate o f 0.18° p e r year w hich proves that the
such palaeom agnetism /rem anent m agnetism de-
rotation o f geom agnetic field is slow er than the
pends on the com position o f m inerals o f lava and
rotation o f the earth. This indirectly proves that
m agm a at the tim e o f cooling and solidification
the core o f the earth rotates at slow er rate than the
and on the intensity o f geom agnetic field o f that
overlying m antle. It m ay be stated that the
period (w hen the concerned igneous rocks were
magnetic field cannot be a perm anent property o f form ed). Sim ilarly, sedim entary rocks, at the time
the material o f the c o r e ........... m ust therefore be o f their form ation, are also m agnetised, the
continuously produced and m ain ta in ed ’ (A, and

am

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48
OCEANOGRAPHY
intensity o f w hich depends on the am ount o f experienced m ag n etic changes; (iii) so m e errors I
ferrom agnesian m inerals present therein. Som e- m ay crop up at the tim e o f o rien tatio n etc. In order
tim es, the m agnetism (w eak) o f sedim entary to rem ove th ese erro rs sev eral ro ck sam p les o f
rocks is destroyed due to chem ical changes. sam e age are co lle cte d and the p o sitio n o f poles is
R em anent m agnetism preserved in the rocks is determ ined after the study o f their palaeom agnetism
recorded w ith the help o f galvanometer. and calculation o f average v alue on the b asis o f
statistical m ethods.
(3) Reconstruction of Palaeomagnetism B ased on the above m eth o d th e p o sitio n s o f
poles w ere d eterm in ed in Jap an , Ita ly , F ran c e etc.
The reconstruction o f palaeom agnetism on the basis o f p alaeo m ag n etic re c o n stru c tio n o f
involves the collection o f rock sam ples o f the C enozoic lavas. B lack ett and h is asso ciates
sam e age from different places and determ ination determ ined the p o sitio n o f p o le s b e fo re 200
and recording o f their orientation. It may be m illion years in B ritish Isles on th e b a sis o f
pointed out that som e changes may take place in p alaeom agnetic re c o n stru ctio n o f san d sto n es.
the original orientation o f m agnetism due to The study revealed co n sid e ra b le c h a n g e s in the
tectonic events. Any w ay, after the determ ination positions o f poles in the p ast. T h is stu d y , thus,
o f orientation o f palaeom agnetism , the m agni- revealed the fact, 'that m agnetic p o le s have
tude, declination and inclination o f local force are changed their positions and there has been
m easured w ith the help o f m a g n e to m e te r. It is considerable wandering in the position o f poles. ’
assum ed th at generally at the tim e o f m agnetisa- On the basis o f this rev elatio n tw o in fe re n c e s m ay
tion o f rocks (palaeom agnetism ) the geom agnetic be draw n :
field is d ipolar in shape and there is approximate
coincidence betw een average geom agnetic field ^ The poles m ust have changed th e ir p o s i-
(average, because it varies temporally) and tions and the con tin en ts and o c ea n b asin s
contem porary geographical poles. B ased on this m ight have rem ained statio n ary at th e ir
assum ption average palaeom agnetic inclination/ places th roughout geo lo g ical tim e.
dip o f rocks o f a certain place and o f a certain time >- Polar w andering has o ccu rred d ue to
is determ ined, on the basis o f w hich the latitude o f continental drift i.e. c o n tin en ts ch an g e d
that place existing at that tim e is determ ined on their relative p o sitions w hile m a g n etic
the basis o f the follow ing equation : poles rem ained stationary.
tan I = 2 tan A Polar w andering curves are p re p a re d fo r
different continents on the b asis o f d a ta d e riv e d
w hen I = m agnetic inclination
through palaeom agnetic reco n stru ctio n .
^ = latitude
As per rule if there has not been continental
T hus, the latitude, so determ ined helps in rift, then the polar wandering curves o f different
determ in in g the distance o f poles and the direc- continents at a certain time p erio d (same tim e f o r
tion o f poles is determ ined on the basis o f all the continents) shall be the same, but i f the
palaeo m ag n etic declination (D). On the basis o f continental drift has occurred then these polar
distance and direction o f geographical poles from
the selected place (from w here the rock sam ples curves would be different f ° r each
are co llected ) the position o f poles o f the globe, at
the tim e o f the form ation o f the sam ple rocks, is The m agnetic p o lar w an d erin g curves
determ ined. There m ay be som e errors in the p erlo V d iffc ^ <!;fferen, “ « — «■ * » -
aforesaid p rocess o f determ ination o f the position clearlv ,hA c° " rab li' from cach o ther. This
o f the globe viz. (i) at the tim e o f palaeom agnetic positions P° leS have n o t c h an ged their
reconstruction the im pact o f only geom agnetic relative n o ^ f W C° ” tin en ts have ch an g ed their
field is considered w hile m inor m agnetic fields relative positions. T hus it is co n clu d ed t h a t :
are ignored; (ii) sam pled rocks m ight have
and n , I he C° ncepts ° f Permanency o f continents
and ocean basins, and polar wandering stand

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 ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS
49
rejected and continental displacement and drift >- At the time o f m agnetization o f rocks at
becomes a reality. ” given tim e period some rocks might have
It is, thus, validated that if the relative been m agnetized in opposite direction to
positions o f continents have changed, the position the geom agnetic field or initially all the
o f magnetic pole determ ined on the basis o f rocks were m agnetized in the direction o f
contem porary rocks o f a continent would differ geom agnetic field but at a later date the
from the position o f magnetic pole (of same direction o f some rocks m ight have changed
period) o f the other continents. It may be further and hence o p p o site d ire c tio n o f
elaborated. So long as two continents are joined palaeomagnetism o f rocks m ight have
together or are not drifting in relation to one become possible. This m echanism o f re-
another, the m agnetic polar wandering curves for versal o f polarity is called self reversal.
same period would be the same for both the >- Alternatively, originally the m agnetiza-
continents. According to A.G. W egener all the tion o f reversely m agnetized rocks m ight
continents were joined together in the form of have taken place in the direction o f
Pangaea till late Perm ian period. If this was so, geomagnetic field but at a later date there
then there should be only one palaeomagnetic might have been reversal in the direction o f
pole for all the continents during Palaeozoic era. geomagnetic field itself. This m echanism
This inference became true when the palaeomagnetic o f reversal o f polarity is called geomagnetic
pole w andering curve was prepared for Palaeozoic field reversal.
Pangaea by jo in in g all the present day continents
The first possibility o f reversal o f polarity
together so as to conceive the situation in
Palaeozoic era. i.e. self reversal of polarity, as referred to above,
could not be substantiated on the basis o f
It is, thus, finally concluded that : available field data though Neel suggested a few
“Based on p o le wandering curves o f differ- theoretical possibilities to validate self reversal.
ent periods fo r different continents on the basis o f Most o f the scientists are o f the opinion that
data derived fro m palaeom agnetic reconstruction terrestrial rocks are m agnetized alw ays in the
and evidences o f sea jlo o r spreading, not only the direction o f geomagnetic field, but there is
concept o f continental drift is validated but the reversal in the direction o f geom agnetic field, i. e .,
mechanism o f disruption o f W egener's Pangaea, north-south direction o f geom agnetic field after
separation o f different continents and their large- certain time becomes south-north. For exam ple, if
scale displacement and drifting are also validated. the geomagnetic field is in norm al direction
(north-south), all the rocks o f all the continents
formed at that time are m agnetized in norm al
(4) Reversal of P olarity direction but when the norm al direction o f
geomagnetic field gets reversed (south-north), all
the rocks o f all the continents at that tim e (during
The study o f palaeom agnetism also re-
vealed that m agnetization o f som e rocks was not reversed direction o f geom agnetic field) are
m agnetized again in the direction o f geom agnetic
conformal to the geom agnetic field i.e. the rocks
field but this time the direction o f m agnetism o f
Were magnetized in opposite direction o f main
rocks is opposite to the direction o f previously
geomagnetic field. It w as further substantiated
formed and m agnetized rocks because now the
during the decade 1950-60 that the occurrence o f
direction o f geom agnetic field has got reversed
Aversely m agnetized rocks was not rare phenom -
itself. It is generally believed that field reversal
enon rather it was universal phenom enon. The
occurs at regular interval o f time.
available data o f palaeom agnetism reveals the
fact that about 50 percent o f the rocks o f the crust Scientists have measured magnetic polarity
ave got m agnetized in opposite direction to the o f rocks upto 4.5 million years which denotes
geomagnetic field. T here m ay be tw o possibilities definite and perfect time sequence. The rocks
111 this regard : formed at the same time period in all the
I
i

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50 OCEANOGRAPHY

continents denote sam e polarity. Fig. 2.15 shows (e.g. G ilbert and M atuyam a) arc o f reverie
tim e sequence o f reversal o f geom agnetic field ot polarity. Polarity events within different geomagnetic
polarity reversal upto 4.5 m illion years. It is polarity epochs have been nam ed after the placc
evident from fig. 2.15 that there are four polarity w here rem anent m agnetism (palaeom agnetism )
epochs w herein two epochs (e.g. Gauss and w as studied first.
Bruhnes) are o f n o rm a l p o la rity w hile two epochs
4. Plate Tectonics and Actual Continental Dis-
~T placement
4>
c _ TO O
c
On the b a sis o f th e e v id e n c e s o f
< i S 5* jQ
!S '♦r
•
V-' C
t ®
>». < o palaeom agnetism and sea floor spreading it has
been now validated that the continents and ocean
basins have never been stationary or perm anent at
their places rather these have alw ays been m obile
throughout the geological history o f the earth and
they are still m oving in relation to each other. The
scientists have discovered am ple evidences to
dem onstrate the opening and closing o f ocean
basins. For exam ple, the M editerranean sea is the
residual o f once very vast ocean (T ethys sea) and
the Pacific O cean is continuously contracting
because o f gradual subduction o f A m erican plate
along its ridge. On the other hand, the A tlantic
Ocean is continuously expanding for the last 200
m illion years. Red Sea has started to open (to
expand). It may be m entioned that continental
m asses come closer to each other when the oceans
begin to close while continents are displaced
away when the oceans begin to open (expand).
Though the sequence o f events o f continen-
tal displacem ent based on the evidences o f
palaeom agnetism and sea floor spreading vs
available only for the last 200 m illion years but on
the basis o f general m echanism o f plate tectonics
and the evidence from the continents the sequence
o f earlier events may be reconstructed. V alentine
and M oors (1970) and Ilallam (1972) have
attem pted to reconstruct the chronological se-
quence o f the continents and ocean basins from
the beginning to the present tim e. A bout 700
m illion years ago all the landm asses w ere united
together in the form o f one single giant landmass
know n as Pangaea 1. A bout 600-500 m illion years
before present, first Pangaea w as broken because
o f therm al convective currents com ing from
w ithin the earth, m ost probably from the mant e
and different landm asses drifted apart. These
Fig. 2.15 : Time scale o f reversal o f geomagnetic field
landm asses w ere again united together due o
(after A. Cox, 1969).

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ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS 51
plate m otions in one land m ass known as Pangaea
Fault
II about 300-200 m illion years before present. N America _ t _ Africa/Europe
A ccording to A. H allam Second Pangea began to
break during early Jurassic period and N.W.
A frica broke aw ay from N. A m erica and drifted
S edim ent Proto Atlantic
away. The zone o f sea floor spreading continued Supply i
to extend tow ards north and south. The separation
o f South A m erica and A frica was accomplished
during m iddle C retaceous period, and North
A m erica and Europe began to move away from M E
each other (Fig. 2.16).

600 500 400 300 200 100

_I_ _ i__ _i_ _i_ _i_ _I_
000 000 years B P (Before Present)

Atlantic

Mi E1 M2 E2 Atlantic

Fig. 2.16 : The probable pattern o f continental movement

during the last 700 million years (based on Miogeocline Eugeocline
Valentine and Moors, 1970)
Fig. 2.17 Evolutionary history o f the Atlantic Ocean
during the past 700 million years. 1. Forma-
The opening o f North A tlantic was accom- tion of new ocean basins 700 million years
plished in m any phases. After the separation o f ago. 2. Deposition of miogeosyncline and
North A m erica from A frica, Europe and Green- eugeosyncline on the margins about 500 mil-
land broke away from Labrador during late lion years ago. 3. Closing of the Atlantic
Cretaceous period (about 80 m illion years before Ocean and the formation o f part o f the
Applachians due to convergence o f Eurasian
present) and thus Labrador sea was formed. This
and American plates about 400 million years
newly form ed sea continued to remain for some
ago. 4. Atlantic closed completely and the
time as northern extension o f the Atlantic Ocean.
formation of the Applachians of North America
Rockall plateau was separated from Greenland and Hercytiian mountains o f Europe was com-
during Tertiary period (about 60 million years pleted about 300 million years ago. 5. Reopen-
before present). Labrador Sea and North Atlantic ing o f the Atlantic due to plate motion about
continued to expand between Europe and Green- 150 million years ago . 6. Present situation,
land upto m iddle M iocene period because the beginning of theformation o f new geosynclines
European and American plates continued to move (after Dietz, 1973).
eastward and w estward respectively. The spread-
ing of Labrador Sea stopped by middle Miocene
period (about 47 million years before present) but Indian Ocean did not exist before C reta-
North Atlantic continued to expand. ceous period. Indian plate began to move towards

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52 OCEANOGRAPHY

A siatic plate through ‘Tethys S ea’ and Austral- ing to them Indian plate began to m ove northward
ian-Antarctic plates after breaking away from at the rate o f 18 cm per year during early Tertiary
African plate began to move southward during period but the movem ent stopped during Eocene
Cretaceous period. Dan Mackenzie and John period. The same time Antarctica broke away
Sclater have presented the chronological se- from Australia. Thus, the Pacific Ocean began to
quence o f the evolution o f Indian Ocean on the shrink in size because o f expansion o f the Atlantic
basis o f the study o f magnetic anomalies. Accord- and Indian Oceans.

Fig. 2 .1 8 : The evolution o f the continents and ocean basins on the basis o f plate tectonics since Triassic period and the
probable future pattern o f events upto 50 million years hence. I. Triassic period. 200 million years ago. 2. Late
Triassic period, IHOmillion years ago. 3. Late Jurassic period, 135 million years ago. 4. Late Cretaceous period,
65 million years ago. 5. Present position, and 6. 50 million years hence. Arrows indicate the directions of
movement o f the continents (after Dietz and Holden, 1973).

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»

ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS 53

Fig. 2.19 : Diagramatic presentation o f the separation of Africa and Arabia due to spreading of Red Sea and Gulf o f Aden.
Arrows indicate directions of the movement of the plates and spreading of Red Sea and Gulf of Aden. A and B
denote the poles o f rotation (after A. M. Quennel, 1958).

Fig. 2.17 depicts chronological events of continues to expand because o f the m ovem ent o f
the A tlan tic O cean during past 700 million years. American and European plates in opposite direc-
The Atlantic Ocean began to open about 700 tions. It may be pointed out that the Atlantic
million years before present because of breaking Ocean is continuously expanding for the past 200
of F irst P an gaea when the American and Africa- million years but the Pacific Ocean is contracting
European plates began to move in divergent in size because o f westward movement o f the
directions and thus the Atlantic continued to Pacific Ocean. Fig. 2.18 depicts the probable
expand till 400 million years before present when situation o f the continents and ocean basins
the Atlantic again began to close. Because o f the
during 50 million years hence.
closing of the Atlantic Ocean Applachian moun-
tains o f North America were formed. The Atlantic The following examples dem onstrate the
Ocean again began to open up about 150 million trends and patterns o f continental displacem ent,
years before present when Second Pani'aeu was sea-floor spreading and contraction in the size o f
broken into several landmasses and it still the oceans :

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 Fig. 2. 20 : Gulf o f California (A), and San Andreas Fault (B).

R ed Sea a n d G u lf o f Aden : R ed Sea is an

ing to him the Red Sea is sp read in g at the rate o f
exam ple o f axial trough w hich is located betw een one centim eter per year (to tal sp read in g 2 cm/
A frica and A rabian peninsula (fig. 2.19). The year) since the past 3-4 m illio n y ears. A len and
surveyed m agnetic anom alies in this area show , as M orelli calcu lated the sp read in g rate in 1969 as
observed by A .W . G irdler, the pattern o f stripes 1.1 cm /y ear (total sp read in g 2.2 cm /year). Sim i-
and these are sim ilar to the m agnetic anom alies o f larly. the rate o f sp read in g o f the G u lf o f A den has
the ocean basins. F.J. V ine calculated the rate o f been calcu lated on the basis o f strip p ed m agnetic
the spreading o f Red Sea on the basis o f the data
anom alies as 0.9 to 1.1 cm /y ear (to tal spreading
o f m agnetic anom alies in the year 1966. A cco rd - 1.8 to 2.2 cm /year). The R ed Sea and the G u lf of

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CRlGfct OF OCEAN BASINS 55

Adea an? located at the junction o f three plates viz. 2.5 SEAMOUNTS AND TABLEMOUNTS
I M i t t plate. Somali plate and Arabian plate.
Nubian and Somali plates are separated by Seamounts and tablem ounts are significant
Ethiopian Fault. Fig. 2.19 denotes the location o f mobile topographic features o f volcanic origin on
Red Sea. G ulf o f Aden, Arabian, Nubian and
ocean floors, and are the results o f plate move-
Somali plates and the pole o f rotation.
ments, and witnesses o f sea floor spreading. In
fact, seamounts and tablem ounts are the testi-
Gutf of California and San A d r e a s F a u lt mony o f plate tectonics. Sea m ounts are tall
volcanic peaks having cone-shaped top (conical
T he Pacific Ocean is a w aning ocean volcanic peaks). These are generally not seen
because it is continuously being contracted in its above the sea surface (sea level) but som etim es
s ire because o f gradual encroachm ent o f west- they project above the seaw ater surface. On the
w ard m oving A m erican plates. It is believed that other hand, flat topped volcanic peaks are called
like m id-A tlantic ridge there might have been a tablemounts or guyots, after the name o f Swiss
m id-oceanic ridge in the Pacific Ocean but it has scientist Arnold Guyot. It may be m entioned that
now been rem arkably deform ed due to plate guyots are always submerged under seaw ater and
m ovem ent. The m agnetic survey o f the G ulf of are characterized by flat top surfaces covered w ith
C alifornia revealed the presence o f stripped shallow deposits. It is believed that these guyots
m agnetic anom aly. This situation validates two o f volcanic origin were initially o f conical shape
facts viz. (i) East Pacific Rise (ridge^ is also but at later dates they were flattened by m arine
located in the G u lf o f California and there has erosion. The origin o f both seam ounts and guyots
been continuous spreading o f the gulf along the are associated with tectonic activities occurring at
rid g e since the past four m illion years, and (ii) mid-ocean ridges which represent active spread-
B aja, the C alifornian peninsula, was previously ing zones caused by divergent plate m ovem ents
united w ith the m ainland o f North America but under the influence o f divergent therm al convec-
later on it broke aw ay from the continent due to tive currents originating from w ithin the m antle o f
spreading o f sea floor. the interior o f the earth.

Mid-Oceanic
Ridge
Trench

Fig. 2 .2 / . Illustration offormation of new' ocean crust at spreading zone c f mid-ocean ridge.

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56 OCEANOGRAPHY

A ctive volcanoes are associated with m id- m echanism leads to form ation o f ridges parallel to
oceanic ridges. U nder the influence o f rising m id-oceanic ridges. The new ly form ed basaltic
th erm al convection currents oceanic plates (crust) crust is divided into tw o equal halves and are
are sep arated and tw o plates m ove in opposite em placed on either side o f the ridge. These
d irectio n s from the ridge crests. B ecause o f parallel basaltic stripes placed on eith er side o f the
d iv erg en ce o f tw o plates the confining pressure o f ridge m ove aw ay from the m id-oceanic ridge due
su p erincum bent load is released and conse- to sea-floor spreading effected by ascending
quently m elting point is low ered w hich causes thermal convection currents and associated upwelling
partial m elting o f upper m antle and form ation o f o f lava and basaltic stripes are accreted at the
th o leiite basalt w hich m oves upw ard through trailing m argins o f divergent plates. This is also
ascending therm al convection currents and ap- validated on the basis o f parallel but alternate
pears as fissure flow o f basaltic lava. This basaltic pattern o f positive and negative anom alies o f
tholeiite lava after cooling and solidification palaeom agnetic stripes (fig. 2.2 2 ,also see figs.
form s new oceanic crust (fig. 2.21). The volcanic 2.12 and 2.13). ’

+ / \ /\ /
- / >. / \ /

Ocean
floor

IO ---
A scending
A sce n d in g
m agm a
m agm a
NORMAL MAGNETISM
NORMAL MAGNETISM

Fig. 2.22 : Formation o f ocean floor (magma) stripes on either side o f mid-oceanic ridge and magnetization. A. Ascending
magma after reaching the ridge crest is solidified on cooling and is magnetized in accordance with the direction
o f geomagnetic field. This is the present case o f normal magnetization. B. Formerly created basaltic layer (1)
moves away from the ridge and new basaltic stripes form ed due to further upwelling o f magma and the solidified
stripe gets magnetized in accordance with reversed geomagnetic field (indicated by arrow). This is the case of
reversed magnetism. C. Geomagnetic field returns to its normal position (upward arrow) and the newly formed
magma stripe close to the ridge is magnetized in accordance with normal geomagnetic field, a case o f normal
magnetism. The upper part o f the diagram denotes positive (shown by +J and negative (shown by —) magnetic
anomalies, after—M.J. Bradshaw, A.J. Abbott and A. P. Gelsthorpe, 1978.

Iceland presents an ideal exam ple o f this support o f this proposition. T here is continuous
m echanism because it is situated on both the sides grow th in the surface area o f Iceland due to
o f m id-A tlantic ridge i.e. m id-A tlantic ridge basaltic lava. It is estim ated that the island has
(locally called as R eykjanes ridge) passes through
grow n in size by 400 km since the beginning of.
the m iddle o f Iceland through w hich m agm a
upwells from tim e to time. The eruption o f T ertiary (65 m illion years B .P.) epoch, which
H elgafell volcano in 1973 presents evidence in indicates average grow th rate o f 0.6 cm/yr. T

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ORIGIN OF OCEAN BASINS 57

age o f lava (basalt) increases aw ay from the ridge year-old lava aw ay from the ridge and 65 m illion-
as r e c e n t lava is found close to the ridge, 2 m illion year old lava at the m argin o f the island.

Fig. 2.23 : Sea-floor spreading, vulcanicity andformation of volcanic islands. A-Formation o f1st volcanic island 70 million
years ago, B-present situation, gradual shifting o f volcanic islands due to sea-floor spreading, Volcanic island
in A (shown by 1) has moved fa r away to position I in B. (after M.J. Bradshaw et. al, 1978).

The aforesaid inference is also validated on nearest to the ridge are characterized by recen t
the basis o f evidences o f volcanic islands situated lava while those located at the farthest d istan ce
on the ocean floor. For exam ple, the volcanic from the ridge have oldest lava. For ex am p le, the
islands o f A tlantic O cean are w ithout doubt oldest lava o f A zores islands located on eith er side
associated w ith the m id-A tlantic ridge. The most o f the m id-A tlantic ridge is 4 m illio n y ears old
active volcanic islands are nearest to the ridge while the oldest lava o f Cape V erae island located
w hereas dorm ant and extinct volcanoes are near A frican coast (farthest from the ridge) is 120
located at the farthest distance from the ridge. It m illion years old. Fig. 2.23 rep resen ts sea -flo o r
m ay be pointed out that volcanic islands are spreading, vulcanicity, form ation o f v o lcan ic
form ed near the ridge due to upw elling o f magma islands and their d isplacem ent from the ridge.
from below . As the sea floor spreads these The island arcs w ith volcanic peaks and
volcanic peaks m ove away from the ridge and associated oceanic trenches are form ed w hen
m agm a source. W hen they move far away from oceanic plate is subducted below c o n tin en tal belt.
the ridge the supply o f m agm a com es to an end and Seism ic shocks and heat are g en erated at the depth
thus m ost o f these volcanic islands are subm erged o f 700 km due to friction o f co n tin en tal p late and
under sea w aves and becom e sea mounts or guyots subducted oceanic plate. C o n sequently , u pper
(fig. 2.23). It m ay be m entioned that not all the m antle, basaltic crust o f o cean flo o r and o v erly in g
volcanic peaks subm erge beneath sea waves as a sedim ents get m elted and thus m agm a is form ed.
few o f them project from 1500 to 3000 m above It m ay be pointed out th at v o lcan ic peaks o f islan d
sea-level. The study o f basaltic lava o f the arcs have been form ed o f sodium -rich basalt.
volcanic islands o f the A tlantic O cean has Such basalt is form ed w hen v o lcan ic eru p tio n
revealed the fact that volcanic islands located occurs in oceanic w ater. S odium -rich b a sa lt is

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 o c e a n o g r a ph y

covered w ith andesite o f relatively lesser density sion o f M idw ay Island-E m peror sea m ounts—
but rich in silicon in com parison to underlying K am chatka Island A rcs and is located far away
basalt. from the East Pacific R idge but H aw ai Island is
R egarding the origin o f andesite-dacite- characterized by active volcanic activities whereas
rhyolite along the circum -Pacific folded m ountain the above m entioned island arcs are dom inated by
chain two contrasting views have been floated. dorm ant volcanoes and ancient lava (25 to 75
m illion years old). It is believed that there is active
(1) Ringwood (1974) has stated that andesite—
dacite— rhyolite are form ed due to partial m elting plume (m agm a source) beneath H aw ai Island
o f am phibolite o f subducted B enioff zone and which ensures continuous supply o f m olten
m elting o f quartz eclogite at greater depth in the m agm a for longer duration o f tim e. T here has
mantle. been upw elling o f lava in the H aw ai Island for the
last 70 m illion years. Due to plate m ovem ents the
(2) A ccording to Gilluly andesite— dacite— Pacific Oceanic floor after being separated from
rhyolite are form ed due to partial m elting of East Pacific Ridge continued to m ove in n o rth -
oceanic tholeiite or am phibolite or eclogite and its westerly direction at the rate o f 9 cm p er y ear w ith
-m ixing with sedim ents o f ocean floor such as the result volcanic peaks having plum e u n d er-
sandstone, chert and radiolrrian ooze.
neath also m oved north-w estw ard. Thus, the
Apparently, the explanation o f volcanoes o f plume beneath Hawai Island continued to supply
Hawai Island does not fit in the framework of lava to the volcanoes o f the island. On the other
plate tectonic theory but the problem may be hand, as the other islands m oved far aw ay from the
solved if we look into the entire mechanism centre (plume) o f lava supply due to sea-flo o r
involved in the volcanic process in the east Pacific spreading, the lava supply dried up and the
Ocean. The Hawai Island is south-eastern exten- volcanoes becam e dorm ant.

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CHAPTER 3 : OCEA N M O R PH O LO G Y AND BOTTOM R ELIEF 59-89
m arin e provinces, 59
co n tin en tal m argins, 61
co n tin en tal shelf, 62
co n tin en tal slope, subm arine canyons, 65
d istrib u tio n o f subm arine canyons, 67
origin o f subm arine canyons, 68
d eep sea fans and continental rise, deep ocean basins,, abyssal plains, 70
abyssal hills, ocean deeps and trenches, . . 71
m id-ocean ridge, 72
bottom reliefs o f A tlantic O cean, 74
bottom reliefs o f Pacific O cean, 79
bottom reliefs o f Indian O cean, 83
bottom reliefs o_____ f Arctic
_„
O cean, / I H ^ T 117 A
y-« j-v wi
A j\ a
86
«^ a

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 3
OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF

3.1 INTRODUCTION zones o f the lithosphere and the hydrosphere are

represented by hypsographic or hypsom etric
A bout three-fourth o f the globe is covered curve. The ocean basins are characterized by four
by hydrosphere. Out o f the total surface area of relief zones e.g. continental shelves, continental
the globe (509,950,000 km 2) hydrosphere and slopes, deep sea plains and oceanic trenches (fig.
lithosphere cover 361,060,000 km2 (about 71 per 3.1).
cent) and 148,890,000 km 2 (about 29 per cent)
respectively. The hydrosphere is divided on the 3.2 OCEAN MORPHOLOGY : MARINE PROV-
basis o f size and location into oceans, inland seas, INCES
sm all enclosed seas, bays etc. The Pacific Ocean
(165,000,000 km2), the Atlantic Ocean (82,000,000 It may be m entioned at the very outset that
km2) and the Indian Ocean (73,000,000 km2) are the morphology o f the ocean basins m eans
im portant among the oceans whereas significant configuration o f the ocean basins in term s o f
seas are A rctic Sea, M alay Sea, M iddle American reliefs o f various nature and dim ension w hile the
Sea, M editerranean Sea, Bering Sea, Barnets Sea, marine provinces denote the relief zones o f ocean
K ara Sea, East Siberian Sea, Japan Sea, East basins having common characteristic features. In
C hina Sea, O khotsk Sea, Yellow Sea, Andman the beginning o f the growth o f know ledge about
Sea, South C hina Sea, Yellow Sea, Caribbean the oceans and developm ent of the science o f
Sea, N orth Sea, Celebes Sea, Labrador Sea, oceanography people believed in m onotonous
Beaufort Sea, A rabian Sea, Red Sea etc. Like character o f the configuration o f ocean basins and
lithosphere, the hydrosphere is also characterized these were considered to be featureless surfaces
by various types o f re lie f features like mid- and hence they were least interested in the study o f
oceanic ridges, trenches, deep sea plains, basins, the ocean floors. But with the launching o f ocean
submarine canyons etc. The average depth o f the exploration expeditions lashed with advanced
oceans is 3,800 m against 840 m average height version o f vessels equipped with sophisticated
o f the lithosphere. The different height and depth instruments, m easuring devices, and scientists o f

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60

sev e ra l d isc ip lin e s, the secrets o f the topographic w ith the developm ent o f p recisio n d e p th re co rd e r
v a ria b ility o f the ocean floors began to be (P D R ) in the decades 1950s. A t present oceanogra-
u n ra v e lled . C o n sequently, the scientists becam e phers are lashed with advanced m ultibeam echosounders
m o re in te re ste d in studying and understanding the (like seab eam ) and sid e-scan s o n a r and thus have
c o n fig u ra tio n o f ocean basins and bottom reliefs. becom e m ore efficient in m apping the ocean
floors and recording reliefs o f various dimen-
S c ie n tific a lly sound m ethod o f b a th y m e try
sions. N ow the side-scan sonar system consists of
w as d ev elo p ed to m easure different depth zones
m ore advanced Sea M A R C (Sea M apping and
o f th e o cean basins. In fact, bathym etry is the
R em ote C haracterization), and G L O R IA (Geo-
m e asu re m e n t and study o f depth zones o f the
logical Long R ange Inclined A ccoustical instru-
ocean b a sin s by so u n d in g tec h n iq u e . B athym etry
m ent) and thus enables the oceanographers to
co n sists o f tw o w ords, bathos m eans depth, and
obtain detailed pictures o f the configuration ofthe
m etry m eans m easurem ent. On the other hand,
ocean floor.
h y p s o m e try (h y p s o g ra p h y ) is the m easurem ent of
e a rth ’s e lev atio n above sea level. It is, thus, clear The ocean provinces representing different
th at h y p o sm etry relates to the m easurem ent o f depth zones and undersea topographic features
reliefs o f the e a rth ’s surface above sea level while are divided differently by oceanographers and
b y th y m etry is the m easurem ent o f depths o f the scholars as follow s :
o cean basin s below sea level. Thus, hypsom etry (1) On the basis o f ocean bathym etry the ocean
denotes p o sitiv e reliefs w hile bathym etry indi- floors have been divided into the following
cates n eg ativ e reliefs o f the earth. 3 m ajor provinces by H .V . Thurm an and
T hough the m easurem ent o f ocean depths in A.P. Trujillo (1999) :
the M ed iterran ean Sea started as back as 85 B.C. > - C o n tin e n ta l m a rg in s
bu t the first scientifically devised bathym etry o f
ocean depths w as initiated in the year 1872 A.D. (shallow w ater areas close to the
during HMS C h a lle n g e r ex p e d itio n . B athym etry continents, like continental shelves
w as fu rth er enriched by the use o f echosounder, and continental slopes.
w hich w as first used in M eteo r ex p edition in the > deep ocean b asin s
y ear 1925 A .D ., w hen undersea m ountain range (deep seaw ater zones aw ay from conti-
w as lo cated in the central South A tlantic Ocean. nental m argins)
T he b athym etry becam e more accurate and useful

High mt
C ontinental
Shelf

100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 500

Area (000,000 kmz) ' , I

Fig. 3.1: Hypsometric (kypsographic) and bythemetric curves o f the earth.

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o c e a n m o r ph o l o g y a n d b o t t o m r e l ie f 61
>» mid-ocean ridges Continental Margins

(shallow seaw ater areas near the m id-

dle o f oceans) C ontinental m argins represent the bounda-
ries o f lands tow ards oceans. In fact, continental
The afo resaid division o f the ocean floors
m argins represent plate boundaries having shal-
into above m entioned 3 m arine provinces is not
low seaw ater. Thurm an and T rujillo (1999) have
m uch elastic so as to include other undersea relief
included continental s h e lf and s h e lf break, conti-
zones such as deeps and ocean trenches.
nental slope, and continental rise into continental
(2) The trad itio n al classification o f depth m argins as a single ocean province but the
zones o f the ocean floors includes the m orphology o f these 3 features (continental
follow ing four m arine provinces : shelves, continental slope and con tin en tal rise) is
>• continental shelves, so varied that these cannot be considered together
>- continental slopes, but as regards geological form ations, these
represent one unit as they are form ed o f co n tin en -
>- deep sea plains, and
tal rocks (granites) w hereas ocean basins re p re -
>■ oceanic trenches sent basalt. On this ground the zonation o f
(3) I f we m erge the above m entioned marine Thurm an and Trujillo is justified. M oreover, the
provinces o f Thurm an and Trujillo, and of presence o f subm arine canyons gives continental
slope an independent and separate entity as a
traditional classification, the following
marine province. The continental m argins are
five m arine provinces m ay be identified : generally divided into the follow ing 2 types :
continental shelves, > - active co n tin en tal m argins
>■ continental slopes, including subma- (i) transform active m argins
rine canyons, (ii) convergent active margins.
>- deep sea plains, >■ passive continental margins
>- m id-ocean ridges, and The active co n tin en tal m arg in s represent
>- ocean trenches lithospheric or continental plate boundaries w hich

P a ssiv e continental margin Convergent active continental margin

Continental sh elf S ea level Continental sh elf Land

Land S ea level
Continental
WWVWWWSNWVWVVNVW', Continental slope Abyssal f
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Fig. 3.2: Configuration of ocean floors; modified from Thurman and Trujillo, 1999.

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
62
c o n tin e n ts are c o n tin e n ta l sh e lv e s ” . T h e conti-
a re a s s o c ia te d w ith te c to n ic a c tiv itie s lik e fa u ltin g
n e n tal sh e lv e s te rm in a te at s h e lf b reak point
and fo ld in g re s u ltin g into the fo rm atio n o f fo ld ed
m o u n ta in s , v u lc a n ic ity , seism ic a c tiv itie s etc. O n w h ic h is a t a v e ra g e w a te r d e p th o f 130 m or
th e o th e r h a n d , p a s s iv e c o n tin e n ta l m a rg in s re p re - so m e tim e s m o re th a n 2 0 0 m . T he s h e lf breaks
se n t no m a jo r te c to n ic a ctiv itie s. slo p e at a v e ra g e a n g le o f 1° - 4° (fig . 3.4).

T h e c o n tin e n ta l m a rg in s c o n sist o f c o n ti- T h e w id th o f c o n tin e n ta l sh elv es varies

n e n ta l sh e lv e s, c o n tin e n ta l slo p e, s h e lf b re a k , and from 60 km to m o re th a n 1,500 km . T h e w idth of
c o n tin e n ta l rise. c o n tin e n ta l sh e lv e s la rg e ly d e p e n d s on the nature
o f local and re g io n a l re lie fs o f th e co astal land as
3.3 CONTINENTAL SHELF fo llo w s :
T h e sh e lv e s are n a rro w w h e re high moun-
“ T h e c o n tin e n tal s h e lf is d efin ed as a sh elf- tain s are v e ry c lo se an d p a ra llel to the
lik e zone e x ten d in g from the sh o re b en eath the coast. F o r e x a m p le , th e P a c ific continental
o cean su rface to a poin t at w h ich a m arked s h e lf a lo n g th e w e ste rn c o a st o f South
in crease in slope angle occurs. T his point is A m e ric a is n a rro w (o n ly 16 km wide)
re fe rre d to as the s h e lf b reak , and the steeper b e ca u se o f the p re se n c e o f the Andes
p o rtio n b ey o n d the s h e lf b reak is know n as the m o u n ta in s.
c o n tin en tal slo p e ” (T hurm an and T ru jillo , 1999). 5^ T he sh e lv e s are w id e w h ere the coast lands
In fact, c o n tin en tal m arginal areas, subm erged are w id e p la in s.
u n d er ocean ic w ater w ith average w ater depth o f
T h o u g h th e c o n tin e n ta l sh elv es are gener-
100 fathom s (one fathom = 6 feet or 1.8 m eters) or
ally w id e r in fro n t o f th e riv er m ouths but
180 m, and gently sloping (1° to 3°) tow ards the
the s h e lf o f f th e M ississip p i river m outh is
oceans, are called co ntinental shelves.
e x c e p tio n a lly n arro w .
A ccording to P.R . Pinet (2000) “ the nearly
O n an a v e ra g e , th e w id th o f continental
flat p lains, or terraces, at the top o f the sed im en - sh elv es is ab o u t 48 km th o u g h Sheppard has taken
tary w edge b en eath the drow ned edges o f the

Subm arine
v ol c anoes 0

■*Si
.W-

Sediment

Fig. 3.3 : Morphology o f the ocean basins. Source : based on P. R. Pinet (2000).

" '■•' "* :r‘'

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 63
oow , m o r ph o l o g y a n d b o t t o m r e l ie f
the coast o f East Indies, in the Arctic Sea, China
67 km (42 miles) as average width. The Pacific
Sea, A driatic Sea, Arafura Sea etc. Continental
C e n ta l s h e l f o f South America represents the
shelves represent 8.6 per cent o f the total area of
£ 5 * « o w shelf (16 km), the Atlantic
the ocean basin. Regionally, these cover 13.3 per
R e n t a l shelf o ff the east coast o f North
cent, 5.7 per cent and 4.2 per cent o f areal
A m e ric a r e p re s e n ts the example o f medium size
coverage o f the A tlantic O cean, the Pacific Ocean
s h e l v e s (96-120 km) and extensive shelves having
and the Indian Ocean respectively.
width o f a few hundred kilometres are found off

R elief W ater D epth

Marine Provinces Width
and Features
< 20 m < 150 m
Continental sh elf < 300 km
> 2 km drops from
Continental slope < 150 km
100 ± 2000 m

< 300 km < 40 m 1.5 to 5.0 km

Continental rise
1-15 km 20-2,000 m 20-2,000 m
Submarine canyons
30-100 km > 2 km 5,000-12,000 m
Deep sea trench
100-100,000 m 1-1,000 m variable
Abyssal hills
(0.1-100 km)
2-100 km > 1,000 m variable
Seamounts
1-1,000 km 0 > 3 km
Abyssal plains
500-1,500 km < 1 km > 3 km
M idocean ridge flank
500-1,000 km < 2 km 2-4 km
M idocean ridge crest
Source : P. R. Pinet, 2000.

It may be mentioned that the passive for marine life including both plants and anim als
continental m argins are characterized by rela- (including m icro-organism s). These also provide
tively w ider continental shelves, such as the ideal fishing grounds. The coral reefs are consid-
continental shelves o ff the east coasts o f North ered the frontline natural bu ffers against storm and
and South A m ericas, than the active continental tidal surges, and pow erful tsunam is because these
margins, such as the continental shelves o ff the absorb most o f the disruptive forces o f storm
west coasts o f Americas. The average depth of surges and tsunam is and thus weaken them and
ocean water o f sh elf breaks is generally 135 m but protect the coastal inhabitats from the onslaught
it is about 350 m around Antarctica. The northern o f these natural hazards and disasters. It m ay be
coast o f Siberia, and North America in the Arctic remembered that rich coral reefs on the continen-
Ocean, and the A laskan coast are characterized by tal shelves o f M aldives saved hum an lives from
the broadest continental shelves. The wider and the fury o f Sum atra tsunam i o f D ecem ber, 267
shallow continental shelves weaken the ferosity 2004, as the human deaths w ere m inim ised to only
o f tsunamis. 98. The shallow continental shelves near the
Ecologically, continental shelves are very coasts support rich m angrove forests w hich
significant hecanse these provide ideal habitats provide ideal natural habitats for m arine as w ell as

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64

land anim als, such as B engal tigers in the (2) C o n tin en tal sh e lv e s a re form ed d u e to terrig e n o u s
fluvial d e p o sits.
Sundarban (m angrove forest) o f w est Bengal.
Pichhavaram o f Tam il Nadu and Bhitarkanika o f
O rissa have rich mangroves w hich acted as Continental sh elves are formed through
protective w alls against the onslaught o f Sumatra prolonged deposition o f detritus (under sea water)
tsu n a m i (D ecem ber, 2 6 ,2 0 0 4 ) w hich badly struck brought by the rivers alone. Such type o f
the east coasts o f India in 2004. continental shelves is formed only in those areas
where sea conditions are calm so that prolonged
sedimentation goes on uninterruptedly resulting
Continental Shelves of India
into subsidence and thus allow ing more and more
sedimentation. Such continental sh elves are con-
T he m axim um seaw ard lim it o f the c o n ti- structional and are m ost extensive.
nen tal sh elv es o ff the Indian coasts is dem arcated
b y 100 fathom contour. The continental shelves
(3) Continental shelves are the result of subsidence of
along the eastern and the w estern coasts o f India the continental margins.
are 50 km and 150 km w ide re sp ectiv ely . The
sh elv es are narrow (30-35 km ) o ff the m ouths o f
R ising th erm al co n v ectiv e currents from
the G anga, the M ahanandi, the G odaw ari. the
K rish n a and the C auvery rivers but these are w ider beneath the co n tin en ts and the ocean basins
o ff the estuaries o f the N arm ada, the T api and the converge along the co n tin en t-o cean boundary and
M ahi rivers. T he average slope o f the continental descend. The resu ltan t com pressive force causes
shelves o ff the este m Indian coast is about 21° subsidence o f the con tin en tal m argins and thus
w h ereas it is 10° n ear C ape C om orin and only 1° continental shelves are form ed.
n ear the G u lf o f C om bay.
(4) Continental shelves are formed due to faulting and
consequent subsidence of continental margins.
Origin of Continental Shelves

Som etim es, p arallel faults are created in the

T he N atu re, com position, extension and
continental m argins. T his event causes subsid-
depth o f continental shelves are so varied that it
ence o f the m arg in al land areas and consequent
becom es difficult to explain their exact m ode o f
subm ergence under sea w ater. Such submerged
origin through a single m echanism and process.
land areas b ecom e c o n tin en tal shelves, w hich are
The follow ing different view s have been ex-
generally called as tectonically form ed continental
p ressed by several authorities to explain the
shelves.
com plex origin o f continental shelves :

(5) Continental shelves are formed due to glacial control

(1) Continental shelves are the result of marine erosion and marine erosion.
and fluvial deposits.

C ontinental sh elv es are form ed through

C o n tin en tal shelves are basically the ex-
m arine erosion o f the con tin en tal m argins when
ten d ed form o f continental platform s. M arine there is negative ch an g e in sea-level (fall in sea
w aves and cu rren ts erode the continental m argins level) either d u rin g ice ages o r due to subsidence
an d th u s form ex tensive platform s w hich receive o f oceanic floors. A ccording to R .A . daly the sea
d ep o sits o f sedim en ts bro u g h t dow n by the rivers level fell by 38 fathom s during Pleistocene Ice
an d sea w aves. T hese sedim ents are continuously A ge, w ith the result the continental margins
c o n so lid a te d u n der sea w ater and ultim ately w hich w ere prev io u sly subm erged becam e frce
e x te n siv e c o n tin en tal shelves are form ed. T hus, from sea w ater. T hese exposed land areas
the c o n tin e n ta l shelves are the result o f m arine glacially eroded an d extensive platform s were
e ro sio n an d flu v ial deposits. form ed. Due to d eg laciation the sea level rose

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OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF
2,000m. C ontinental slopes occupy only 8.S ner
again and these platforms were submerged under
cent o f the l ota I n r q u ilm c -a i& a n b a jim lM .it
seawater and thus extensive continental shelves Z Z i Z from one ocean to the other e.g.. 12.4 per
were formed. This concept o f the origin o f the Sent in the AtlanticTTc^an, 7 per cent in the Pacific
continental shelves belongs to glacial control
Ocean and 6.5 per cent in the Indian Ocean. The
theory. m o s t ^ e x t e n s i v e e o n .i n e n .n l s l o p e s a re found
betw een 20“ N and 50" N latitudes and on 80° N
(6) Continental shelves are formed due to cliff erosion
(and recession) and submergence of wave-cut plat- and 70° S latitudes. G enerally, the steep g radient
forms. o f the ^ n tin g n in l Sl o p e s does not allow any
marine ^ p o s i t s because the m aterials com ing
T h e c o a s t a l l a n d s a r e e f f e c t i v e l y e rod e d Hown from the continental sh elv es are im m edi-
t h r o u g h a b r a s i v e w o r k o f s t ro n g s e a w a v e s and ately removed dow nw ard b ut in som e cases a thin
s e v e r a l s e a c l i f f s a re f o rm e d . T h e s e c l i f f s g r a d u veneer o f denosits does exist. The m ost sig n ifi-
a l l y b u t c o n t i n u o u s l y r e c e d e t o w a rd s th e l a nd du e cant reliefs on the continental slopes are subm a-
to b a s a l e r o s i o n a n d c o n s e q u e n t f a l l o f t h e i r rine canyons and trenches w hich are g en erally
h a ng ing crests and thus e x tensi v e w a v e-cut transverse to the continental shelves and the
p l a t f o rm s a r e f o rm e d . T h e s e p l a t f o rm s a re s u b coasts.
m e r g e d u n d e r s e a w a t e r to f o rm c o n t i n e n t a l The origin o f continental slopes have been
she l v es. related by various authorities to e ro sio n a l, tec-
tonic and aggradational processes. The erosion
(7) Continental shelves are formed due to tilting.
theory o f the origin o f continental slopes is based
on the presence o f subm arine canyons. A cco rd in g
T h e s u b m e r g e n c e o f c o n t i n e n t a l m a rg i n s
to this theory slopes are form ed due to erosion by
d u e to t i l t i n g o f l a nd t o w a rd s th e s e a r e su l ts into
marine processes mainly sea waves. A ccording to
t h e f o r m a t i o n o f c o n t i n e n t a l sh e l v e s . T h i s p ro c e ss
tectonic theory faulting is held responsible for the
a l s o l e a d s t o th e e x t e n s i o n o f e x i s t i n g c on t i n e n t a l
origin o f continental slopes. Som e exponents
she lv es. believe that the continental slopes are form ed due
T h e c o n t i n e n t a l shelves o f India h a v e b e e n to bending and warping o f continental shelves
f o rm e d d i f f e r e n t l y . T h e c o n t i n e n t a l sh e l v e s o f f followed by sedim entation.
th e G a n g a , th e G o d a w a r i , th e K r i sh n a and the
Since submarine canyons are sig n ifican t
C a u v e r y m o u t h s h a v e b e e n f o rm e d t h ro u g h d e l t a
features o f continental slopes and hence they need
f o rm a t i o n . T h e c o n t i n e n t a l sh e l v e s f rom M i d i n a pur
separate elaborate discussion under sep arate
to M a d u r a a r e th e r e s u l t o f s e d i m e n t a t i o n and
heading as follows :
c o n s e q u e n t s u b s i d e n c e w h i l e th e sh e l v e s o f
A ndm a n N i c ob a r, L a k sh ad w e ep, G u l f o f M anar
( b e t w e e n I n d i a a nd Sri L a n k a ) a re o r i g i n a t e d du e 3.4 SUBMARINE CANYONS
t o c o r a l r e e f s . T h e c o n t i n e n t a l sh e l v e s o f w e s t e rn
co ast are du e to f au l t ing and c onsequ e n t subm e r 1. Introduction : Characteristics
gence.
Long, narrow and very deep valleys and
3.3 CONTINENTAL SLOPE trenches located on the continental shelves and
slopes with vertical walls resembling the conti-
The zone o f steep slope extending from the nental canyons are called submarine canyons (fig.
continental sh elf to the deep sea plains is called 3.4) because o f their location under oceanic water.
continental slope (fig. 3.4) which varies from 5°to On the basis o f morphogenetic processes these are
more than 60° at different places e.g. 40° near St. classified into (i) glacially eroded canyons, and (ii)
Helena, 30° o ff Spanish coast, 62° near St. Paul, 5° non-glacial canyons. The non-glacial submarine
to 15° near Calicut coast (India) etc. The depth o f canyons being more in number than the glacial
water over continental slope varies from 200m to canyons and widely spread in all the oceans have

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
66
sim ilar to the youthfu l river v a lle y s on the land but 1
been studied in much detail. The non-glacial are d ecid ed ly deeper and a few o f them have
canyons, thus, w ill be described as su ™^rine dendridtic pattern o f tributaries o f secondary
canyons in the follow in g discussion. T hese, canyons. The longitudinal course o f submarine
b esid es a few exceptions, are found transverse to canyons is u sually sinuous w h ile that o f the
the coasts and in front o f the mouths o major subaerial canyons is generally straight. The
rivers. gradient o f subm arine canyons is steeper than the
On an average, there is little difference in continental canyons. The subm arine canyons are
the transverse and longitudinal profiles o f subma- generally several kilom eters w id e at their heads
rine and subaerial (continental) canyons. A ccord- and their average length is 16 km .
ing to Sheppard the submarine canyons are

Submarine Shelf
Fan
Shelf canyon break ^ km

Fig. 3.4 : Continental slope and submarine canyons. Source : based on P. R. Pinet (2000).

Though the gradient o f longitudinal pro- 3,048m . The subm arine canyons carry various
files o f the canyons varies significantly but on an types o f ocean deposits but the steep valley sides
average it is 1.7 per cent. The canyons facing the are d e v o id o f u n c o n so lid a te d m aterials.
river mouths are usually long (e.jg. Congo The floors o f the canyons have coarser materials
Canyon) but have gentle gradient. The canyons than the adjacent continental sh elv es. The
located near the island are deep with steepest deposits inclu de sands, c la y s, silt, gravels
gradient (13.8 per cent). According to the studies and pebbles. Som e o f the marine canyons are so
o f 102 submarine canyons by Sheppard and Beard large and deep that they are com parable to land
average gradients o f the upper, middle and lower canyons formed by rivers. For exam ple, the
segm ents o f the canyons are 11.62 per cent, 6.63 M onterey Canyon o f f the coast o f Califomia_of
per cent and 4.76 per cent respectively. The the U .S .A . is very much comparable to the^ lSS^
depths o f submarine canyons vary from 610m to Canyon o f the Colorado river in A rizona o f the
9 1 5m. At few places the depth has been noted upto U .S .A . •

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OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF 67

Table 3 .2 : Submarine canyons o ff the east coast o f India.

Location D epth Shape o f the valley

N ame o f the canyons
11° 35' N -79°56' E 329m V
1. C uddalore canyon
11° 50’ N -80°00°’E 466m u
2. Pondichery canyon
3. Palar canyon 37 km SSE from ••'
P alar river m outh
12° 06' N-79° 52' E 1,141m V
4. Pulicat canyon 1304 5 'N -8 0 0 25' E — V
5. A rm agon canyon 13° 45' N-80° 25' E — V
6. Sw arnam ukhi canyon 140 14' N-80° 19' E 80-108m ---
7. G udur valley 14° 24’ N-80° 1 9 'E 30-40m u
8. Penner canyon East o f Penner
river m outh
14° 41' N-80° 16' E 225m u
9. K rishna canyon O pposite to the
K rishna river mouth 30m V
15°35’N -80°50'E
10. V asistha-G odavari canyon 16° 10' N-81° 50' E 30-60m —
11. G odavari canyon 16° 45' N-82° 32' E —
off the mouth o f
N ilarevu river 60-250m —
12. K akinda canyon 16° 55' N-82° 30' E 10-20 m —
13. M ahadeva canyon 18° 00' N-84° 0 0 'E 350m V
14. Paradip depression 20° 5' N-86° 42' E — —
15. G anga canyon
(Swatch o f N o G round) O ff the Ganga Delta variable V
21° 15' N-21° 23' N 278 to 421m
89° 28' E-89° 33' E in the norhtem
portion; 543m to
892m in the m iddle
portion; a few dep-
ressions are 1,050m
to 1,088 deep

2. Distribution of Submarine Cayons G enerally, subm arine canyons are m ore

abundantly found along the straight coasts than
highly indented and crenulated coastlines T hey
The w orld distributional pattern o f subm a- are found along the stable and unstable coasts
rine canyons does not reveal any control o f alike. They are m ore com m only found o ff the east
latitudes on their distributions and location. coast o f the USA from C anada to C ape H atteras;
Francis Sheppard and C harles B eard have located o ff the C alifornian and M exican coasts; along the
102 submarine canyons in the world on the basis north M editerranean, Philippines., Jappan and
° f soundings o f the continental shelves and A leutian islands: o ff the coast o f w est A frica; o ff
slopes. the east coast o f India etc.

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W
WSST*]

68 OCEANOGRAPHY
A tlantic Ocean* : S ig n ific a n t su b m arin e w a rp in g an d ste e p fold in g g iv e birth to synclinal
c a n y o n s o f the A tla n tic O ccan arc H udson b a sin s an d s y n c lin a l tro u g h s re sp e c tiv e ly which
C a n v o n (fa c in g th e m o u th o f the H udson riv er, b e co m e su b m a rin e c an y o n s. A c co rd in g to De
8 2 7 m d e e p ), C h esa p ea k C an y o n , M ississip p i A n d rad e su b m a rin e c a n y o n s are fo rm ed due to
T ro u g h , F o sse de C ape B ren to n C anyon (in the c re atio n o f a se rie s o f g ra b e n -lik e v a lle y s during
B ay o f B isc a y o f f the so u th -w e ste rn c o ast o f local c o a sta l d isp la c e m e n ts. S u c h tecto n ically
F ra n c e ), N a za re C an y o n ( o f f the w estern c o a st o f o rig in a te d su b m arin e c a n y o n s h a v e b e en reported
P o rtu g a l, 4 0 0 0 m d e ep ), C o n g o C an y o n (n ear the by L aw son o f f th e C a lifo rn ia n c o a st, b y D e la
m o u th o f th e C o n g o riv e r) etc. R o ch e P o n ie n e a r th e c o a s t o f C y p ru s and
M o ro cco , by J. W . G re g o ry (H u d so n C an y o n and
Pacific Occan : C o lu m b ia C anyon; M o n terey
St. L aw rence T ro u g h ), b y Y a n a sa k i (n e a r Japan
C an y o n (w h ic h h as sev e ra l trib u tary can y o n s like
co ast) etc. A c co rd in g to J e n s e n an d B ourcart
A scen sio n c an y o n , S oquel can y o n , C arnel canyon
su b m arin e c an y o n s w ere fo rm e d d u rin g Q uater-
e tc.); M u g u can y o n , S crip p s canyon and D um e
nary perio d due to su b sid e n c e a n d d ro w n in g o f
can y o n (all are o ff the C alifo rn ia n co ast); P anam a
riv e r v alley s a lo n g th e c o n tin e n ta l m arginal
can y o n (o f f B u ric a P e n in su la ) etc. are the
flexure.
im p o rtan t can y o n s on th e w estern co ast o f N orth
A m e ric a w h ile P iseu C h an g canyon (o ff the coast T h is d ia stro p h ic th e o ry o f th e origin o f
o f K o re a), P h ilip p in e can y o n (on the m ain coast o f subm arine can y o n s is c ritic is e d m a in ly on three
L u z o n ), S a g a n in can y o n , Fizi canyon etc, are a counts.
few p ro m in e n t c an y o n s o f the w estern Pacific >■ M ajo rity o f can y o n s are found
O cean. tra n sv erse to the c o ast w h ereas faulting
I n d ia n O c e a n : C anyons are found along the g en erally o c c urs p a ra lle l to th e coasts.
e astern c o ast o f India (table 3.2), in front o f the »■ M any o f the su b m arin e canyons have
In d u s riv e r, alo n g the north-easterr. coast o f Sri d en d ritic p a tte rn o f th e ir trib u taries which
L anka, along the eastern coast o f A frica etc. can n o t be e x p lain ed th ro u g h faulting.
>* N ot all the c o n tin e n tal sh elv es and slopes
3. Origin of Submarine Canyons show ev id en ces o f fa u ltin g.
T his th eo ry m ay ex p lain the form ation o f
T hough th e re are d iv erg en t opinions about canyons alo n g th e P acific coasts (w estern
the m ode o f o rig in o f subm arine canyons but co asts o f N o rth and South A m ericas and
m ajo rity o f the ex p o n en ts c o n sid er them as recent eastern co asts o f A sia) and M editerranean
geologic p h en o m en a o f C anozoic era, m ainly o f Sea w here T e rtiary and Q uaternary earth
Q u atern ary p e rio d . A few canyons are still in the m ovem ents w ere m ost active but the
process o f form ation. T he follow ing theories have canyons alo n g the w estern (eastern coasts
been p u t fo rth to explain the origin o f subm arine o f N orth and South A m ericas) and eastern
canyons. (o ff the w estern co asts o f Europe and
(1 ) D ia» tro p h ic th e o ry : A few exponents A frica) o f th e A tlan tic O cean may not be
(A ndrade, L aw son, D e la R oche Ponie, J. W. ex p lain ed in the ab sen ce o f such move-
G regory, Y anasaki, Jensen, B ourcart etc.) have m ents. T he canyons on the eastern coast of
related th e origin o f subm arine canyons to various N orth A m erica cut acro ss the lithology of
types o f earth m ovem ents and tectonic im plica- T ertiary and Q uaternary periods.
tio n s (fa u ltin g , fo ld in g , w arn in g , sinking o f sea (2) S u b a e ria l e ro sio n th e o ry : Several expo
flo o r e tc.1). T he tensional forces caused by earth nents { £ £ ;JJJD ;J ) a n a 1j y \ _ S h e £ £ a ^ ^ 011
m o v em ent due to endogenetic forces result in the the basis o f resem blance o f subm arine canyons to
form ation o f faults and graben on the continental the continental canyons in shape and deposition
sh elv es and slopes. T hese fault-troughs and have related the form ation o f the form er to the
g raben b eco m e subm arine canyons. Sim ilarly, entrenching o f river valleys by running w a t e r and

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 OCBAN M0RI*H0UX>Y AND HOTlX)M KKLIIW
Such density currents erode the continental
subsequent drowning o f those valleys due to
subsidence and subm ergence ot' continental mar- shelves and form trenches w hile stagnant water on
gins. According to them the rivers eroded their either side o f the trenches allow s sedim entation
and dyke formation (le v e es). The density currents
valleys very deep forming deep gorges during the
are originated m ainly in front o f the river mouths
period o f emeruencc when laud toso highci well
above the sealavaLand the channel giiulicnt was_ because o f differences (in terms o f temperature
sttcepcned, Later on the continental margins were and salinity) in the water brought by the rivers and
either subsided due to earth movements or the sea water. It may be pointed out that density
senlevcl rose (due to deglaciation) and thus Ihcsc currents are con lined to en closed sea s, reservoirs
deep and long valleys were drowned and subma- and lakes only and these are seld o m originated
rine canyons were formed. The drowned valleys over shallow continental sh elv es and thus density
in Java Sea. Philippine CtuiYOn. Monterey Can- currents may not be taken as causative factors o f
yons etc. have been cited as typical exam ples o f the formation o f submarine canyons.
submarine canyons formed due to subaerial (4) T u rb id ity c u r r e n t theory : Turbidity
erosion because their longitudinal profiles show currents having fine materials in su sp en sion have
upward concavity like continental canyons and been held responsible by several exponents (W .
there is significant terrigenous deposits in them. M. Davis, W. E. Rither, Tangier Sm ith, P. D.
W.M. P avis w hile contradicting the above Trask, Lawson, Daly. Buchanan etc.) for the
theory argued that the formation o f submarine origin o f submarine canyons in one w ay or the
canyons through subaerial erosion required verti- other. Strong onshore winds pile up water near the
cal oscillation o f land say upheaval o f the sea-shore with the result undercurrents are gen er-
continental margins upto thousands o f feet above ated which flow towards the sea. T hese undercur-
sealevel and subsequent equivalent regional rents bring fine materials in suspension and so
subsidence to submerge the entrenched river they are called turbidity currents. The higher
valleys. This would require long geological density o f these currents due to suspended
period as the aforesaid tectonic mechanism is not sediments with them forces them to flow seaw ard
possible within short geological tim e. Secondly, under the surface water. The turbidity currents
if the submarine canyons are the result o f erode the continental shelves and form subm arine
subaerial erosion during emergence and subse- valleys and canyons. A ccording to D aly there is
quent drowning during submergence, these can- increased rate o f erosion o f coastal land through
yons must have continued over the land also but marine w aves due to fall in sea -lev el during
these are found far away from the river mouths. glacial period, with the result trubidity o f sea
Emery and Sheppard w hile reacting to the first water is increased due to w hich density o f sea
objection o f W. M. Davis maintained that the water is also increased, consequently seaward
lowering o f sealevel upto 1000 m during Pleistocene turbidity currents are originated. T hese currents
glaciation provided ideal continental platforms while moving over the continental sh elv es and
for the entrenching o f valleys by the rivers and slopes erode ihem in linear manner and form
subsequent rise o f the sealevel due to deglaciation submarine cayons and valleys.
submerged the deeply entrenched valleys to form
Many critics (Zeppelin, H eim , Bucher etc.)
submarine canyons. If this explanation is ac-
have doubted the efficien cy o f turbidity currents
cepted. the submarine canyons beyond the depth
to form submarine canyons. A ccording to them
QpfrOO m remain imexplainciL
the velocity o f these currents is not such that they
(3) Submarine density current theory : Holimann
can powerfully erode the hard rocks o f continental
X1883). A d o lf V on Sid is (t 1HH41 and F ln rej have shelves to form canyons. Bucher is o f the opinion
related the formation o f submarine canyons to the that currents generated through earthquakes and
submarine density currents. These density cur- volcanic eruptions are more rapid and pow erful
rents are originated due to difference in density and hence are more capable o f eroding the
caused by temperature and salinity variations. continental shelves to form canyons.

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 OCEANOG1

d e p o sitio n is c h a ra c te riz e d b y graded bedding.

F o llo w in g K u n en it m ay be fo rw a rd e d th at
m ay b e m e n tio n e d th a t th e re is a lso v ertical
su b m a rin e c an y o n s in d e ffe re n t lo c alitie s h®VI" £
g ra d in g o f se d im e n ts , i.e. s e d im e n ts becom e
v a ry in g lith o lo g ie s an d stru c tu re s sh o u ld be
p ro g re s siv e ly fin e r u p w a rd w ith in a sin g le se-
e x p la in e d sep a ra te ly . T he c an y o n s d ev e o p e in
q u e n c e o f d e p o s itio n a l u n it, w h ic h gradually
sta b le a reas o f c o m p ac t and te n ac e o u s lith o lo g ie s
g ro w s in size an d a ss u m e s th e s h a p e o f a fan or
are fo rm ed due to d ro w n in g o f su b ae ria l v a lle y s,
lobe (fig . 3 4 ). It is to be re m e m b e re d th a t the
w h ile th o se carv ed in u n c o n so lid a te d lith o lo g ie s
fo rm a tio n an d g ro w th o f d e e p s e a fa n s is a gradual
m ig h t h av e b een fo rm ed th ro u g h la n d slid e s,
p ro c e ss o f o p e ra tio n o f s e v e ra l tu rb id ity currents
tu rb id ity c u rren ts etc.
at d iffe re n t tim e s. It m a y b e fu r th e r elaborated.
T h e p ro c e ss o f th e fo rm a tio n o f d e e p sea fans
3.5 DEEP SEA FANS AND CONTINENTAL RISE b e in g s w ith th e d e p o s itio n o f g ra d e d m aterials
(se d im e n ts) by th e firs t s e t o f tu rb id ity c u rre n ts at
D eep sea fan s are fa n -sh ap e d , or lo b ate- one tim e. L a te r on th e n e x t tu rb id ity currents
shaped, o r ap ro n -sh ap e d d e p o sitio n al fe a tu re s at ero d e so m e o f th e a lre a d y d e p o s ite d graded
the b ase o f the c o n tin e n tal slope, and at the sed im en ts an d d e p o sit a n o th e r s e q u e n c e o f
m ouths o f the su b m arin e can y o n s. T he deep sea m a te ria ls u p o n p re v io u s ly d e p o s ite d seq u e n c e of
fan s, o ften called as su b m arin e fans, resem b le the m a te ria ls. T h is p ro c e ss c o n tin u e s th ro u g h subse-
co n tin en tal allu v ia l fans. T hey are form ed due to q u en t tu rb id ity c u rre n ts a n d th u s sev e ra l se-
g radual d e p o sitio n o f sed im en ts b ro u g h t by the q u en ces o f g ra d e d d e p o s its a re la id do w n one
su b m arin e tu rb id ity c u rren ts m oving dow n the upo n an o th er. T h is re s u lts in h o riz o n ta l and
slope to w ard s d eep sea p lain s th ro u g h subm arine v e rtic al grow th o f d e e p se a fa n s o f se v e ra l m eters
canyons. W hen a few deep sea fans co alesce, the in h e ig h t, u su a lly b e lo w 4 0 m e te rs. .Such p iles o f
re su ltan t d e p o sitio n al featu res is c alled continental g rad ed d e p o sits are c a lle d turbidite deposits.
rise h av in g v ary in g m o rp h o m etric ch aracteristics.
M any o f the o c ean o g rap h ers have stu d ied the
3.6 DEEP OCEAN BASINS AND ASSOCIATED
n atu re o f th ese c o n tin e n tal rise in d ifferen t FEATURES
locations. T h ese are found ab u n d an tly in the
A tlan tic and In d ian O cean s b u t are few in the
Pacific O cean. T he av erag e w idth o f the c o n tin e n - T h e d eep o c e a n b a sin s are c h a ra c te riz e d by
tal rise is less th an 300 km and the a m p litu d e o f the fo llo w in g s ig n ific a n t r e lie f fe a tu re s o f eleva-
reliefs is less th an 40 m eters. T he depth o f w ater tion (like a b y ssa l h ills ) an d d e p re ssio n s (like
o v er co n tin en tal rise ranges betw een 1.5 to 5.0 o cean tre n c h e s a n d o c ea n d eep s). T h e m ost
km . e x ten siv e fe a tu re s a re d eep sea p la in s, v e ry often
called as abyssal plains but these are physiographically
A s reg ard s the o rig in o f c o n tin e n tal rise , the
m o n o to n o u s b e c a u se o f th e ir fla ttish c h arac te r o f
su b m arin e tu rb id ity c urrents are b eliev ed to be th e
v ast terrain .
p o ten t fa c to r for th eir o rigin and d e v e lo p m e n t. A s
tKe tu rb id ity c u rren ts m ove thro u g h the subm arin e >- a b y ssa l p la in s
can y o n s, they erode them and tran sp o rt the ero d ed >- a b y ssal h ills
sed im ents in su sp en sio n dow n the slo p e i.e. >■ sea m o u n ts (g u y o ts) an d seatablemounts
to w ard s deep sea plains. A s these c u rren ts cross
o c ea n d e ep s a n d o c e a n tre n c h es.
the can yo n m ouths, they are slow ed dow n in their
speed b ecau se o f m arked d ecrease in the g radient.
C o n seq u en tly , the su sp en d ed sed im en ts settle 1. Abyssal Plains
dow n n ear the m o u ths o f subm arine canyons, and
thus are d eposited. T he dep o sitio n is w ell graded A b y ssal p la in s, k n o w n as d eep s e a j riglB?
i.e. the larg er sed im en ts are d ep o sited ju s t in front (fig. 3.3) are th e m o st e x te n siv e b u t the flattest
o f su b m arin e can y o n s., and size o f sed im en t te rra in u n its to be fo u n d on th e e a rth ’s surface
d ecreases to w ard s deep sea plains. T he resu ltan t in clu d in g c o n tin e n ts. T h e a v erag e gradient
s l o p e ,

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 OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF
71
j<f afrrmt 0.5°. It m ay be m entioned that the basal n o t form ed. On the o th er hand, passive plate
surface o f volcanic rocks, say so lid ified basalt m argins do n o t allo w the form ation o f enormous
crust is overlain by terrigenous d eposits w hich are ocean trenches. T h u s, in the absence o f deep
“ not consolidated but are layered. It is believed that ocean trenches sed im en ts travel dow n to deep
the sedim ents o f land origin have been transported ocean and settle dow n on ocean basins to form
by the subm arine tu rbidity currents across subm a- extensive abyssal plains. T his is w hy the A tlantic
rine canyons and have been regularly deposited and Indian O ceans have e x ten siv e deep sea plains.
on the solid but irregular crustal surface o f
volcanic origin. V olcanic deposits have also been 2. Abyssal Hills
reported at few places in different oceans. In fact.
deep sea plains are ch aracterized by pelagic
A variety o f hills o f v o lcan ic o rig in p ro ject
d ep o sits o f plants, m arine anim als and siliceous
above the deep sea p lain s (ab y ssal p la in s), nam ely
rem ains to g eth er w ith terrigenous m aterials.
volcanic hills and isla n d s, sea m o u n ts, ta b le m o u n ts or
D eep sea plain characterized by flat and guyots etc. The volcanic h ills are e ith e r dom e
rolling su b m arin e plain is the m ost extensive shaped or are elongated hills w ith ex ten siv e bases.
re lie f zone o f the ocean basins. T hese deep-seated W hen these hills appear above sea w ater su rface
plains hav in g the d epth from 3000m to 6000m (sea level), they are called volcanic islan d s or
co v er 75.9 percent o f the total area o f the ocean sim ply islands. U sually, these hills are 1000 m
basin s b u t this areal coverage varies from one high from the ocean floor w hile their w idth ranges
ocean to the o th e r (80.3 per cent in the Pacific betw een 0.1 km to 100 km. T he v o lcan ic h ills o f
O cean , 80.1 per cent in the Indian O cean and 54.9 low er height are called a b y ssa l hills or se a k n o lls .
per c en t in the A tlantic O cean). R em arkably low The conical volcanic hills subm erged u n d er ocean
areal c o v erag e o f deep sea plains in the A tlantic w ater, i.e. alw ays below sea level, are called sea
O cean in c o m p ariso n to the Pacific and Indian m o u n ts, w hile flat-topped v o lcan ic hills are called
O cean s is attrib u te d to larger extent o f co n tinen tal ta b le m o u n ts or g u y o ts (fig. 3.3). The sea m ounts are
sh elv e s in the fo rm er. T hough vast and extensive the relict o f extinct subm arine volcanic m o untains
deep sea p lain s are g en erally featureless but a few w ith average height o f 1,000 m from ocean floor,
long, n arro w and elo n g ated ridges, guyots etc. are but they are alw ays below ocean w ater. S o m e-
sig n ific a n t reliefs. The subm arine ridges with tim es seam ounts also rep resen t activ e v o lcan ic
' stee p sid e -slo p e s som etim es reach the sea level peaks. The sides o f seam ounts are o f steep slopes.
and ev en p ro je c t above the w ater surface and They may be found on the ocean flo o r in iso latio n
a p p e a ra s islands. M id -A tlan tic ridge, E astP acific or in groups. W hen num erous ab y ssal h ills are
R ise and m id -In d ian O cean ridge are typical found in clu ster on ocean floors, the re su ltan t
ex am p les. m orphological features are called a b y s s a l hill
M ore d o m in an ce o f abyssal plains in the p ro v in ce s. The deep sea p lains o f the A tlan tic and
A tlan tic and the Indian O ceans is because o f Indian O ceans are dotted w ith such clu stered
d ifferen c e in the n ature o f plate m argins in these num bers o f abyssal v o lcan ic hills. M ost o f the
oceans. G e n erally , e x ten siv e a b y ssa l plains are subm arine v o lcanic hills on deep ocean flo o rs are
found in th e re g io n s o f passiv e plate m argins such the result o f d iv erg en ce o f p lates and con seq u en t
as in the A tlan tic and Indian O ceans, w hile lim ited sea floor spreading resu ltin g into v olcan ic a ctiv i-
abyssal p lains are a sso c iate d w ith active plate ties and fo rm atio n o f n u m ero u s v o lcan ic hills.
m arg in s, as rep resen ted by P acific plate m argins.
It m ay be m entioned that in the zones o f active 3. Ocean Deeps and Trenches
p late m argins, i.e. active su b d u ctio n (convergent
zone) zo n es, ocean tren ch es are form ed, and these O cean deeps rep resen tin g d ep ressio n s and
tren ch es trap the sed im en ts o f land origin and trenches on the ocean flo o rs are the d eep est zones
hence do not a llo w them to m ove in the deep ocean o f the ocean basins. T hese are g en erally located
basins, w ith the re su lt ex ten siv e abyssal plains are p arallel to the coasts facing m o u n tain s and along

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72 OCEANOGRAPHY

the islands. O cean deeps are grouped into two Pacific O cean is the deepest (11.02 km deep) o f all
categories according to size viz. (1) very deep but the ocean d eep s.
less extensive depressions are called deep s, while On an average, the ocean trenches are 3 to 5
(2) long and narrow linear depressions are called km in depth from the surrounding surface o f ocean
tre n c h e s . These deeps and trenches are character- floor. It is significant to m ention th at these long,
ized b y very steep slopes. Som etim es, these rise narrow and deep depressions are alw ays found
alm ost to verticality. These deeps and trenches near the land areas, say coastlands. and Island
have been usually nam ed after the explorers and arcs, w hich represent active plate m argins, where
their geographical locations e.g. M urrary Deep tw o plates converge and collide, and the relatively
(after J. M urrary), Japan and Sunda Trenches heavier plate is subducted below the lighter plate.
(after geographical location). O ut o f the explored This is w hy m ost o f ocean trenches are found in
the eastern and w estern parts o f the Pacific
and surveyed 57 deeps, the Pacific Ocean, the
O ceans and near Jap an -P h ilip p in es island arcs.
A tlantic O cean and the Indian O cean account for
O cean trenches are seldom found in m id-ocean
3 2 ,1 9 , and 6 deeps respectively. M ariana Trench
regions. A few im portant ocean trenches have
located to the w est o f Philippines in the N orth
been presented in table 3.2.

Table 3.3. : M ajor O cean D e e p s (Trenches)

N am e Location D epth in metres

1. C hallenger or N. Pacific 11,022 m

M ariana Trench
2. A ldrich or Central S. Pacific 10,882 m
Tonga Trench
3. Swire or N.W . Pacific 10,475 m
Philippine Trench
4. N ares or Puerto O ff W est Indian 8,385 m
R ico Trench Islands
5. K urile Trench O ff Sakhalin, 10,498 m
K am chatka
6. T izard or Rom anche S. A tlantic 7,631 m
Trench
7. Java Trench E. Indian O cean 7,450 m

4. Mid-Ocean Ridge
are the characteristic com m on features o f mid-
ocean ridges :
M id-ocean ridges, o f volcanic origin, are
the m ost extensive re lie f features not only o f the M id-ocean ridges are the longest mountain
ocean basins but o f the entire globe. N ot all the chains o f the globe ru n n in g for a distance
m id-ocean ridges are centered in the ocean basins. o f 60,000 to 65,000 km across deep ocean
The m id-A tlantic R idge, and the m id-Indian basin. They occupy about one-third o f the
O cean R idge are exam ples o f central locations in ocean floor.
the ocean basins, but the East Pacific Rise is N ot all o f the m id-ocean ridges occupy
certainly o f non-central location. The follow ing central locations in the deep ocean basins-
. . ,::d n

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 ■. • r m
' 'V.

OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF 73

For exam ple, the E ast P acific R ise is far ( 1 ) H y d ro th e rm a l v en ts are in fact h o t
away from the central axis o f the deep springs. It hap p en s d u rin g th e fau ltin g
ocean b asin o f the P acific O cean. o f the crestal parts o f m id -o cean rid g es
>- T he m id-A tlantic R idge and the East th at seaw ater seeps into th e ocean cru st
P acific R ise are the m ost extensively through the fractures, is h eated , and
ex p lo red and studied ridges. finally gushes out as h o t sp rin g s. T hey
^ A ll o f the m id-ocean ridges are o f volcanic appear as w h ite s m o k e rs w h en te m p e ra -
origin and consist o f basaltic pillow lava. ture ranges betw een 30° and 350° C,
and as b la c k s m o k e rs , w hen tem p eratu re
>- T hey are alw ays associated w ith divergent
exceeds 350° C.
p late m argins and sea floor spreading.
(2) O cean ic rid g e s rep resen t those sectio n s
>- T he crestal parts o f m id-ocean ridges are
o f m id-ocean ridges w hich have steep
eith er dom e-shaped w ith rounded top, or
side slopes and are o f irre g u la r m o r-
are characterized by rift valleys, w hich are
phology.
the creatio n o f sea floor spreading and
a sso ciated faulting. (3) O cean ic rises represent th o se seg m en ts
o f m id-ocean ridges w hich hav e g en tle
5s- T h o u g h the w idth o f m id-ocean ridge
side slopes.
c o n sid erab ly varies but on an average it is
1,000 km . The average height o f these (4) Transform faults : The re g u la rity o f
rid g es from the deep sea plains is about m id-ocean ridges is broken by n u m er-
2,500 m. ous transform faults across them .
These transform faults are cau sed due
>- M id-ocean ridges are characterized by
to divergence o f tw o plates and re su lt-
active volcanism s and seism ic events.
ant spreading o f sea floor along m id -
M id -o cean ridges are also characterized by ocean ridges. These are p erp en d icu lar
the follow ing features in the crestal rift to the axis o f spreading zone o f sea
v alley zones. floor (fig. 3.5).

Inactive fracture Active fault Inactive fracture

<-------- zone------- — zone — ----- zone -----
(Both blocks move (Blocks move in (Both blocks move
in same direction) opposite directions) in same direction)

■j*. ; '.'j \ • i • #: ‘ v: .>’ ' . . • .- : ' ii . • . .i..;

Fig. 3.5 : Transformfaults andfracture zones. Source : based on W.K. Hamblin and E. H. Christiansen, 1995.

T he processes and m echanism o f the origin preceding 2nd chapter. H ow ever, briefly it m ay be
o f m id-ocean ridges have been explained in the re8tated that the m id-ocean ridges are form ed due
• • • '-*• ' *- “ < 1 — i.

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I i»|M
| HjhH'IH .

OCEANOORA
74
A frica in the east covers an area o f 82,000,
to m ovem ent o f oceanic plates in opposite
directions and resultant spreading o f ocean oors.
km2 w hich is l/6 th o f the geographical area o f the J
globe and h a lf o f the area o f the P acific Ocean.
W hen tw o ocean plates break away and m ove in
T h e ‘S ’ sh ape o f the ocean indicates the fact that
opposite direction, faults are created, th e pressure
landm asses (continents) on its either side were
o f superincumbent load is reduced, and hence the
once a contiguous part. The A tlantic Ocean was
rocks o f upper mantle melts. The m olten materials
form ed due to drifting o f North and South
rise in the form o f magma under the force ot
A m ericas to the w est due to plate tectonics. The
violent gases and steam. After reaching the ocean
ocean w idens to the south o f equator and attains
water surface these are cooled and solidified and
the m axim um w idth o f 5 ,9 2 0 km at 35° S latitude.
finally new basalting crust is formed along the
It narrows dow n tow ards the equator. It is only
constructive plate boundaries. The repetition o f
2560 km w ide betw een Liberian coast and Cape
this process o f active volcanism causes pilling o f
Sao Roque. The w idth further increases north-
basalt lava and the formation o f extensive m assive
ward and it b ecom es 4 8 0 0 km at 40° N latitude. It
m id-ocean ridges all along the spreading zone in
narrows dow n in the extrem e north where it
the deep ocean basins. These m id-ocean ridges
maintains its contact w ith the A rctic Ocean
denote the zone o f active volcanism s and seism ic
through N orw egian Sea, D enm ark Strait and
activities. The process o f the formation o f m id-
D avis Bay. The average depth o f the ocean is less
ocean ridges w ill be explained in detail with the
exam ple o f m id-A tlantic R idge in the succeeding than the P acific O cean b eca u se o f extensive
continental sh elves and m arginal and enclosed
section 3.7.
seas. A bout 24 per cent o f the A tlantic Ocean is
less than 915 m deep.
3.7 BOTTOM RELIEFS OF ATLANTIC OCEAN
The A tlantic O cean w as first formed about
700 m illion years ago due to seafloor spreading
The ocean basins o f the Atlantic Ocean is
(see fig. 2.17 chapter 2) and eastward movement
most extensively explored and studied and hence
o f the Eurasian and A frican plates from the mid-
more details are available about the m orphologi-
Atlantic ridge. A bout 3 00 m illio n years B. P.
cal characteristics o f this great ocean basin. The
(before present) the A tlantic O cean w as closed
basin-centered m id-Atlantic R idge attracted a
due to convergence o f the A m erican and Eura-
large number o f geoscientists to study different
aspects o f the ocean basins. The convincing sian-A frican plates. The ocean again started to
geological, palaeonotological and palaeomagnetic open about 150 m illio n years B .P. due to the
evidences^enabled the scientists to formulate the m ovem ent o f aforesaid p lates in opposite direc-
revolutionary theory o f plate tectonics on the basis tions. The w idenin g o f the ocean still continues
o f evid en ces o f sea floor spreading and w hich is evidenced through sea flo o r spreading at
palaeomagnetism in 1960s. Plausible explana- an average rate o f 4 cm per year.
tions were offered for the evolution o f varied
m orphological features o f the ocean basins such (2) Continental Shelf
as continental shelves, continental slopes, abyssal
plains, ocean trenches, submarine canyons, trans-
C ontinental sh e lv es have developed along
form faults, volcanic hills, seamounts, guyots,
mid-ocean ridges etc. In the light o f these facts let both the coasts o f the A tlantic O cean and the
us discuss the characteristic features o f ocean w idth ranges from 2 -4 km to m ore than 80 km. Id
basins morphology o f each ocean. fact, the w idth o f continental sh elv es has been
largely controlled by the reliefs o f the c o a st a l
lands. T hese b ecom e sig n ifica n tly narrow where
(1) Introduction
mountains and h ills border the coasts e.g■
African sh elves betw een B ay o f B isca y and Cape
The Atlantic Ocean located between North o f Good H ope and B razilian sh elv es between 5
and South Americas in the w est and Europe and and 10° S latitudes. The sh elv es becom e 200 to

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OCEAN M O R PH O L O G Y AND BOTTOM R E L IE F

400 km wide along the north-eastern coast o f around G reenland and Iceland are quite wide.
North America and the northwestern coast o f Very extensive continental shelves are found in
Europe. Extensive shelves are found around the South A tlantic Ocean mainly between Bahia
Newfoundland (Grand Bank) and British Islands Blanca and A ntarctica (fig. 3.6). M any marginal
(DoggarBank). Similarly, the continental shelves seas are located on the continental shelves in the

Fig 3-6 • Generalized bottom reliefs o f the Atlantic Ocean.

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76 OCEANOGRAPHY |

N o rth A tla n tic b u t such seas are p ractically absent s h e lf w h ile R io G ran d e R ise e x te n d s towards
in th e S o u th A tlan tic. A m ong the con tin en tal s h e lf S outh A m erican co ast.
sea te d seas sig n ific a n t are the H udson B ay, the T h o u g h m a jo r p a rt o f th e m id -A tlan tic
B altic Sea, the N orth Sea, the D avis S trait, the R idge is su b m erg ed u n d e r o c ea n ic w a ter b u t a
D e n m ark Strait etc. T he C aribbean and M ed iter- host o f peaks and sea m o u n ts p ro je c t w ell above
ran ean seas rep resen t enclosed seas. T here are the w a ter su rfa ce and fo rm isla n d s. T h e Pico
sev e ra l islands w hich are located on the co n tin e n - Inland o f A zo res is the h ig h e st p e a k w h ich rises
tal sh elves e.g. B ritish Isles, Iceland, F aeroes, 8,229.6m (2 7 ,0 0 0 feet) a b o v e th e sea flo o r and
A zores, A scension, T ristan da C uncha, N ew - 2 1 3.36m to 2 4 3 .8 4 m a b o v e sea lev el. B esid e s, the
fo u n d lan d , W est Indies, M aderia, St. H elena, m id -A tlan tic R id g e h as se v e ra l w ell m arked
T rin id ad , F alk lan d , South O rkneys, S hetlands, fracture zones e.g. G ib b s F ra c tu re Z o n e (n e a r 40°
G eorgia, Sandw itch, C anaries, C ape V erde etc., N ), A tla n tic F ra c tu re z o n e (n e a r 30° N ),
are sig n ifican t islands rep resen tin g d ifferen t O cean o g rap h ic F rac tu re Z o n e (32° N ), K ane
lo cations and origin. F ractu re Z one (25° N ), V e m a F ra c tu re Z o n e
(10° N ), R o m an ch a F rac tu re z o n e (n e a r equator)
(3) Mid-Atlantic Ridge etc.
As reg ard s the o rig in o f th is u n iq u e feature
The m id -A tlantic ridge representing the all the p revious th e o rie s b a se d on co m p ressiv e
zone o f divergent or constructive plate m argins and ten sio n al fo rces sta n d re d u n d a n t due to
(A m erican plates m oving w estw ard and Eurassian advent o f p late te cto n ic th eo ry . T h e m id -A tlan tic
and A frican plates m oving to the east) is the m ost R idge is the re su lt o f w e stw a rd m o v em en t o f
striking re lie f feature w hich having S shape A m erican p late and e a stw a rd m o v em en t o f
extends for 14,450 km from Iceland in the north E urasian and A frican p la te s. T h e rid g e represents
and to B ouvet Island in the south. Though the zone o f the d iv e rg e n t o r c o n stru c tiv e plate
sw inging w est and east it m aintain its central m argins w here b a sa ltic lav as rise continuously,
p osition and now here goes dow n m ore than 4,000 get so lid ified and are slid e d e q u a lly on b o th sides
m below sea level. The ridge is know n as D olphin o f the ridge. T he d iv e rg e n c e o f p la te s from this
R ise to the north and C hallenger R ise to the south ridge is ev id en ced by the p re se n c e o f several
o f equator. It is know n as W yville Thom pson tran sfo rm fau lts (frac tu re z o n es, as referred to
R idge b etw een Iceland and Scotland. The ridge above).
becom es quite extensive to the south o f G reenland
and Iceland and is called T elegraphic Plateau It m ay be m e n tio n e d th a t th e b asaltic crust
because first cabbies w ere laid dow n in this area. o f the A tlan tic O cean is the n e w e s t at the m id-
A sig n ifican t branch em erges from this central A tlan tic rid g e, bu t as o n e p ro c e d e s eith er east-
ridge n ear 50°N latitude and extends n o rth - w ard or w estw ard th e c ru s ta l b a sa lt becom es
w estw ard as N ew foundland R ise and continues older. T his c h ara c te ristic fe a tu re o f the ocean
upto N ew foundland. A nother im portant branch flo o r co m p o sed o f b a sa lt o f th e A tlantic O cean has
know n as A zores R ise bifurcates from the m id- been show n in fig u re 3 .7 . It is, th u s, evident that
A tlantic R idge to the south o f 40° N latitude and there is g radual sp re a d in g o f o cean floor at
extends upto A zores Islands. A t the eq u ato r the m id -A tlan tic rid g e an d th e re is continuous
ridge sends o ff tw o branches. Sierra L eone R ise accretio n o f new b a sa ltic c ru st at the rear
extends tow ards n ortheast and P ara R ise stretches ends (constructive p la te m a rg in s) o f divergent
in north -w est direction. G uinea R id g e, a m inor (m oving eastw ard and w e stw a rd ) p lates. The |
branch o f the central ridge, runs north-eastw ard y o u n g est cru st at th e c re st o f m id -A tlan tic Ridge
and extends upto G uinea coast. Tw o significant is from latest to 5 m illio n y ears old. T he sequence
branches com e out o f the central ridge near 40° S o f the ag es o f b a saltic crusts fro m m id-A tlantic
latitude. T he W alvis R idge extends tow ards R idge to the co n tin e n tal m arg in s (fig. 3.7) is as .J|
n o rth -easf and m erges w ith A frican continental fo llo w s :

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OCBANMORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM UBUIBF 77

(1) U olooene to Pliocene crust 0-5 m illion years

(2) M iocene crust 5-23 m illion years

23-35 m illion years
(?) QUgocene crust
35-56 m illion years
(4) Eocene crust
56-65 m illion years
(5) Pliocene crust
65-146 m illion years
(6) Cretaceous crust
146-157 m illion years
(7) Late Jurassic crust
(8) M iddle Jurassic crust 157-178 m illion years

Holocene to Pliocene (0-5MY) Paleocene (56-65 My)

M iocene (5-23 MY) Cretaceous (65-146 MY)

Late Jurassic (146-157 MY)
tm Oligocene (23-35 MY)
Eocene (35-56 MY) Middle Jurassic (157-178 MY)

Fig 3 7 ' Ages o f basaltic crust of the Atlantic Ocean floor. The sequence o f the ages o f the crust from the crest o f the
A tlantic Ridge representing youngest one is towards the east and west upto the continental margins representing
the oldest crust (157-178 million years). Source : based on W.K. Hamblin and E. H. Christiansen, 1995.

(4) Ocean Basins

and West Atlantic Basins. There are few im por-
The mid-Atlantic Ridge divides the Atlan- tant basins within these two major basins (figs. 3.8
tic Ocean into two major basins (fig. 3.6) viz. East and 3.9).

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 OCEANOGRAPHY

bordered by A zores R ise in the south and extends

upto 50° N latitude. The average depth is 5,000m.
(5) N orth and South C an ary basin is com-
prised o f two almost circular basins and is 5,000m
AVW
(\\w\v
fvwwsw
deep.
/w'X XwxwV
A v sV

/v\\\1A\"w«'V .^N N \\\«.V \\V V N \V

(6) C ape V erde basin is located between the
/\\\\'\S\\\\N'>NNN'WW''v
kwwwwwm s'kVVW'^' ^WW.
.vwwwwwwwww"'1
WWW .VW
. VVSVWSV
" wwswsvswww,
<\\\\\V\\X\\\\\\\\\\SV\WW vW''-WSSNNNVSSSSSXVVNVV'NVV'NXV'Y'
Knn«.\\\nsss'vV»ssvvsw"‘W^v^,"'''v'*wvvwnv'‘wsnxssvvs''nsnn^
m id-A tlantic R idge and w est African coast and
.vvvl1>\\\\\smm\\vwN^^''^'vw
U\v.vsn\v\v\\n\n\\wnw\^w,‘N,‘''w'‘w''N'*nx*S‘N
sv's'N
AvvL/vsmwww^\\vss\ vss\\\ wnssvwvv\ w w n W^v^ ^ nvx^ ^
xsv'‘sN
sv''N
wnSnN
nN
nV
vV
V
NS's'lN
V ' extends from 10° N to 23° N . A verage depth is I
5,000m but at few places it becom es 5,000m or
more.
Fig. 3.8 : Cross-section o f the North Atlantic Ocean. 1.
P uretarico basin, 2. North American basin, 3.
(7) G uinea basin extends from north-east to
North A tlantic Ridge, 4. Cape Verde basin, south-w est in elongated shape betw een Guinea
and 5. W est African coast. R idge and Sierra Leone R ise and measures 4,000
to 5,000m in depth.
(8) A ngola b a sin is lo cated betw een the
eq u ato r and 30° S latitude. It stretch es from the
A frican coast in the n o rth -east to the knot o f the
m id-A tlantic R idge and W alvis R idge in the
south-w est. T he basin is m ost ex ten siv e near the
A frican coast and narrow s dow n tow ards south-
w est. The average depth is 5,000 m.
Cape B asin (25° S-45° S), A gulhas Basin
(40°S-50°S), A rg en tin a B asin (35°S-50°S, depth
Fig. 3.9 ■' Cross-section o f the South Atlantic Ocean, 1. 5,000m -6,000m ) and A tlan tic-A n tarctic Basin
' east South American coast, 2. Argentina ba- are the other sign ifican t basin s o f the Atlantic
sin, 3. South Atlantic Ridge, 4. Walvis Ridges, O cean.
5. Cape basin, and 6. Cape Town.

(5) Ocean Deeps and Trenches

(1 ) L a b r a d o r b a s in extends betw een the
continental sh e lf o f Greenland in the north and The num ber o f deeps in the A tlantic Ocean
N ew found land R ise in the south covering latitudi- is far less than in the P acific O cean because o f the
nal extent o f 40° N to 50° N where the depth o f the absence o f the effects o f T ertiary orogenic
basin ranges from 4 ,0 0 0 to 4,5 0 0 m. m ovem ents along the A tlan tic coasts. M urray has
(2) N o rth A m e r ic a n b a s in is the most exten- identified 29 deeps upto the depth o f 3,000
siv e basin o f the Atlantic Ocean and extends fathom s (5,486.5m ) in the A tlantic O cean. Nares
betw een 12° N and 40° latitudes. The east-w est D eep (6,000m ), P u reto R ico D eep (8,385m),
section lie s betw een the continental shelves o ff H atteras D eep (5,445m ), C o lu m b iaD eep (5,125m,
the east coast o f N . A m erica and 50° W m e d ia n . south o f H aiti), V ald iv ia D eep (3,134 fathoms),
The depth o f the basin is more than 5,000m but T izard or R om anche D eep (9,370m ), Buc^a?o9
few deeps measure more than 6,000m depth. D eep (3,063 fath o m s), M o seley D eep (3,j>
fathom s), V em a D eep (4,900m ) etc. are a te
(3) B ra z ilia n b a s in is confined betw een the
im portant ocean deeps o f the A tlantic Ocean.
equator and 30° S latitude and east coast o f Brazil
in the w est and Para R ise in the east. The depth is The Mediterranean Sea, Caribbean1 ^
G ulf o f M exico are significant marginal ^
m ore than 4,000m .
the Atlantic Ocean. The Mediterranean 'r'd
(4) Spanish basin is locatedbetw een the mid-
divided into two major basins (East
A tlantic R idge ahd Iberian Peninsula. It is
jp r

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 79
I o c ean MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF

has only a few islands. T he islands o f the P acific

Basins) by 4.000m deep m id-sea ridge w hich runs
O cean are grouped in the follow ing 3 categ o ries :
Twui me southern Italian coast to the north
African coast. The East M editerranean Basin is ( 1 ) T h e c o n tin e n ta l is la n d s : A leu tian islands,
further divided into Ionian (4,600m deep) and islands o ff B ritish C o lu m b ia o f C an ad a and
Lavantine B asins (2,000-3,000m deep) by the C hilean islands.
ridge located betw een the southern coast o f (2) Isla n d s a rc s a n d fe sto o n s : K u rile, Japanese
Greece and the northern coast o f Africa. The W est A rchipilago, P h ilip p in es, an d In d o n esian
M editerranean B asin is divided into two sub- Islands.
basins (A lgiers-Provencal Basin and Tyrrhenian
(3) S c a tte re d sm a lle r i s l a n d s : T h ese islan d s are
Basin) by a 1,000m deep ridge running between
further subdivided in two maj or, subcategories
Italy and Tunisia. Broad continental shelves (80
km to 240 km wide and 1,000m deep) are found as follow s :
along Spanish (eastern), Italian (western), Greek Islands based on racial g ro u p in g s su ch
(western), Egyptian (northern), Tunisian and as
Lybian (north-eastern) coasts. (a) M a la n e sia : e.g. S o lom an s, N ew
The G u lf o f M exico and Caribbean Sea are H ebrides, Fizi.,
separeted by a 1,600m deep ridge running (b) : e .g . M a r s h a lls ,
M ic ro n e s ia
betw een Y ucatan Peninsula and Cuba Island. The C arolines, G ilbert, and E llice.
prom inent basins are M exico basin and Caribbean
(c) Polynesia: e.g. S ociety, C o o k and
basin. The latter is further divided into four sub-
Tuam otu.
basins e.g. Y ucatan basin, Cayman trough,
C olum bia basin and Venezuela basin. >- Islands form ed o f v o lcan ic m a te ria ls
and coral reefs : e.g. H aw aii Is la n d s-o f
1c origin, Fizi, F au n afu ti, E llice
3.8 BOTTOM RELIEFS OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN
etc.-coral islands.
1. Introduction Johnson has divided the Pacific O cean into
the following four sub-regions :
The Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean o f the (1) The N orthern Pacific rep resen ts th e d e e p -
w orld having one-third area o f the globe, extends est part o f the w hole Pacific w here av erag e
from east to w est for 16,000 km from the east depth ranges betw een 5,000m and 6 ,000m .
coast o f A sia in the west to the west coasts o f This region m akes contact w ith th e A rctic
Americas in the east and for 14,880 km from north Sea through B ering Strait.
to south betw een Bering Strait in the north to Cape (2) The C entral Pacific is c h aracterized by
Adre (A ntarctica) in the south. The overall shape largest num ber o f islands m ost o f w h ich are
o f the ocean is triangular if its extent in both the o f volcanic and coral origin. H .H . H ess has
hem ispheres is considered separately. Average identified 160 flat-topped sea m o u n ts in
depth o f the ocean is 4,572 m. Both the coasts this region. There are a few su b p arallel
(east and w est) o f the Pacific are paralleled by the island chains w hich have been nam ed by E.
chains o f folded m ountains and therefore the Suess as O ceanides.
descent from the coast to the abyssal plains is very (3) The South-W est Pacific carries a large
steep. M ore or less uniform broad and extensive num ber o f islands, m arginal seas, ex ten -
ocean floor is characterized by several *"■ sive co ntinental sh elv es and o cean ic
rises, sea m ounts and depressions (trenches and trenches.
deeps). The O cean has the largest num ber o f (4) The South-East Pacific has the m ost
islands (more than 2,000). It may be pointed out striking re lie f o f the Pacific O cean as the
that the w estern coast is studded with islands, East Pacific R ise or R idge but th ere is
island arcs and festoons w hile the eastern coast absence o f m arginal seas.

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80
o c e a n o g r a ph y
2. Continental Shelf
eastern and w estern coasts o f the Pacific. The
sh elv es are quite broad and exten sive along the
T here is sig n ifica n t difference in the extent eastern coasts o f A ustralia and A sia where the
and ch aracteristics o f continental sh elv es on the w idth varies from 160 km to 1600 km and the

Fig. 3 .1 0 : Bottom reliefs o f the Pacific Ocean.

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SP-V.

81
OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELEF

depth ranges b etw een 1,000 m and 2,000m . T h e E a st P a c ific R ise (rid g e ), lik e m id -
Several islands are seated on these b road c o n ti- A tlan tic R id g e, has a lso b e e n fo rm e d d u e to
nental shelves (viz. K u riles, Japanese islands, d iv e rg e n t p la te m o v e m e n ts a n d s e a flo o r s p re a d -
Philippines, In d o n esia, N ew Z ealan d etc.). T hese ing, w h ich is v a lid a te d by th e te m p o ra l seq u e n c e s
continental shelves also carry num erous m arginal o f b a saltic ocean c ru st s ta rtin g fro m th e y o u n g e st
seas like B ering Sea, O khotsk Sea, Japan Sea, H o lo cen e-P lio cen e c ru st (0-5 m illio n y e a rs o ld ) at
Y ellow Sea, C hina Sea, Java Sea, C oral Sea, the crest o f th e E a st P a c ific R ise to th e o ld e st
T asm ania Sea, A rafura Sea etc. The continental m iddle Jurassic c ru st (1 5 7 -1 7 8 m illio n y e a rs o ld )
shelve are less extensive along the w estern coasts near the co n tin en tal m a rg in s on e ith e r sid e o f th e
o f A m ericas because o f nearness o f cordillerean ridge (fig. 3.7).
chains o f folded m ountains to the coastal lands. B esides, th ere are a few fra c tu re z o n e s
The average w idth is 80 km. running from w est to east e.g. (fro m n o rth to
south) M endocino F ractu re Z o n e (40°N ), M u rra y
3. East Pacific Rise Fracture Z one (30°N ), M o lo k ai F ra c tu re Z o n e
(25°N), C larion F racture Z one (20°N ), C lip p e rto n
T he P acific O cean does not have central or Fracture Zone (10°N ), E astern Isla n d F ra c tu re
m id-oceanic ridge like the A tlantic and the Indian Zone (30°S), C h allen g er F ractu re Z o n e (4 0 °S ) etc.
O ceans, albeit there are a few scattered ridges
having local im portance. The East Pacific Rise or 4. Ocean Basins
R idge know n as A lbatross Plateau is 1600 km
w ide and it extends from north o f New Zealand to There a re d ifferen t b asins o f d iffe re n t
the C alifornian coasts. It sends o ff two branches shapes and sizes, T hese basins are se p a ra te d b y
betw een 23° S-35°S. The eastern branch merges ridges and ‘rise s’. The fo llo w in g are a few
w ith C hilean coast w hile the other branch moves im portant basins o f the P acific O cean.
southw ard in the nam e o f Eastern Island Rise. A
(1) P h ilip p in e b a sin is lo cated to th e e ast o f
m inor ridge know n as G alapagos Ridge runs
p arallel to the East Pacific Rise in the east Philippines and extends from south o f Jap a n to
betw een the E astern Island Fracture Zone and 5°N latitude. K yushu-P aian R idge ru n s th ro u g h
t . . the m iddle o f the basins. A v erag e d e p th ra n g e s
G alapagos islands from w here it moves m two
from 5,000m to 6,000m .
branches viz. (i) C arnegie R idge, and (ii) Cocos
R idge in no rth -east direction. The New Zealand (2) F iji b a sin is lo cated to the so u th o f
R idge is about 200m to 2,000m below sea level Fiji Island betw een 10°S and 32°S la titu d e s an d
and w idens near Fiji island to form Fiji Plateau the average depth is 4,000m . T he b a sin to th e
w hich is 2,000m below sea level. The Hawaiian north o f 20°S is know n as N o rth F iji B asin
Rise extends from north-w est to south-east w hereas the South Fiji B asin b etw een 20°S an d
direction b etw een 35°N-17°N for a distance o f 32°S is bordered by N o rk o lk Islan d R id g e in
960 km. T his is the m ost extensive ridge (2640 km the w est and K arm adec-T onga T ren ch es in th e
wide) o f the P acific O cean. The other m inor east.
ridges are N azca R idge o ff Peru coast, Lord Howe (3) East A ustralian basin is situ ated b etw een
Rise o ff eastern coast o f A ustralia betw een 20°S the east coast o f A ustralia and N ew Z ealan d R id g e
and 40°S latitude. N orfolk Island R idge betw een w ith average depth o f m ore than 5,000m .
New C aledonia and N ew Z ealand (23°S-35°S),
(4) South A ustralian Basin also k now n as
Eauripik-N ew G uinea R ise north o f New G uinea
Jeffreys B asin is located to the so u th -east o f
and parallel to 140° E longitude, C aroline-
A ustralia having average depth o f 5,000m .
Soloman R idge n o rth o f Solom an Islands etc.

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
82
6 0 °S la titu d e s and e x te n d s u p to 130«W
- .5 (5 ) P e r u b a s in in located to the w est o f Peru
longitude.
co ast b e tw ee n 5°S and 24°S latitudes and extends
upto 110°W longitude. The average depth o f the
5. Oceans Deeps and Trenches
b a sin is 4 ,000m .
(6) S o u th -W e s te rn P acific b asin is an elo n -
T h ere are sev eral tre n c h e s and d eep s in the
g ated b a sin stretching betw een 20°S and 50°S
P acific O cean. T h ese d e p re ssio n s are located
la titu d e s and 180-129°W longitudes. K arm adec
e ither along the isla n d arcs o r m o u n ta in chains. It
T ren ch w ith the depth o f 10,047m is located to the
m ay be p o in ted o u t th a t th e tre n c h e s are found
w est o f this basin.
m ainly in the w estern P a c ific O cean . T h e follow -
(7) P a c ific -A n ta rc tic B asin is located to the ing are the sig n ific a n t tre n c h e s (ta b le 3 .4 ) .
so u th -w est o f C hilean coast betw een 40°S and

Table 3.4 : M ajor Trenches of the Pacific Ocean

T ren ches D epth in m etres T renches D ep th in m e tre s

M ariana 11,002 M iddle A m erican 6,5 6 2

T onga 10,882 Ryukyu 6,395

K urile 10,498 B onin —
P hilippine 10,475 Yap Palau —
Japan 10,375 Solom an —
K arm adec 10,047 N ew B ritain —
P eru-C hile 8,025 N ew H ebbrides —
A leutian 7,679

r A
T h e g enesis o f oceanic tre n c h e s and deeps is p rev ailin g in the u p p er m a n tle . T he m ag m a, thus
related to geotectonic activities caused by conver- form ed, ascends and ap p ea rs as v o lc a n ic eruption
g ent p late m ovem ents and subduction o f two about 200 km aw ay fro m the o cea n ic tre n c h . Since
co n v erg ing plates along B en io ff zone. The fo l- Japan is very close to the Jap a n T re n c h an d hence
low ing exam ple o f the origin o f Japan T rench very w estern p art o f Jap a n is m o re freq u e n te d by
w ell explains the genesis o f num erous m arine volcanic activ ities. T h is p ro c e ss is still continuing
tren ch es o f various dim ensions in the Pacific as the Pacific plate is b ein g co n tin u o u sly subducted
O cean : under the o cean ic c ru st a lo n g the Jap a n Trench
H onshu is bordered by Japan T rench in the (fig. 3 . 11) . T he eru p tio n s o f v o lc a n o in th e m onth
east and Japan Sea in the w est. T he w estern part o f o f June, 1991 in Japan a fte r a d o rm a n t p eriod o f
the island is m ore frequented by volcanic activ i- about 200 years and the e ru p tio n o f M t . Pinatubo
ties than the eastern part. The island is ch aracter- on June 9 , 1991 in M an ila, P h ilip p in e s, v a l i d a t e
ized by tw o belts o f m etam orphic rocks on either the a u th en ticity o f th is th e o ry o f p la te tectonics
side. It is believed that the Japan T rench was T he v o lcan ic eru p tio n s c au se d by su b d u ctio n o f
form ed due to subduction o f Pacific O ceanic plate o ceanic p lates u n d er the o cean ic cru st o f f the
u nder the oceanic crust to the east o f Japan. Japanese coast re su lted into c o n tin u o u s accum u-
A ccording to plate tectonic theory the subducted lation o f volcanic rocks and c o n seq u en t increase
p ortion o f plate after reaching a depth o f 100 km in the h eight o f island arc an d thus th e form ation
o r m ore starts m elting due to high tem perature o f volcanic m o u n tain s co u ld be po ssib le.

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OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF
83
It is, thus, e v id en t th a t Jap a n T ren c h w as is an ex am p le o f o c ea n cru st-o cean crust collision
form ed due to su b d u ctio n o f the P a c ific o cean ic and su b d u ctio n . y
crust below o cean c ru st to th e east o f Jap an . T his

West HONSHU
P erm otriassic Cretaceous
belt___
M etam orphic
Flysch Japan
belt
SEA OF JAPAN wedge trench

-----/
Rapid
sedim entation

High tem perature, high

p ressu re
M etamorphic
belt
Blueschist-high p ressure,
low tem perature
M agm a g en era ted from
__Surface erosion, plate below 100 km
transport

^ Rising m agm a

Fig. 3 .11: Formation o f island arcs aiui Japan Trcnch on the basis o f plate tectonics (Reproducedfrom M.J. Bradshaw ct.
al, 1978, this diagram o f Dewey and Bird was reproduced in Cox, 1973).

less in num ber th an the P acific and the A tla n tic

3.9 BOTTOM RELIEF OF INDIAN OCEAN
oceans. S ignificant m arg in al seas are M o z a m -
bique C hannel, R ed Sea, P ersian G u lf, A n d m an
1. Introduction
Sea, A rabian Sea, B ay o f B en g al etc. M alg asy
(M adagascar) and Sri L anka are th e b ig islan d s
T he Indian O cean is sm aller than the Pacific w hereas Suqutra, Z an zib ar, C o m o ro , R eu n io n ,
and A tlan tic O cean in areal extent and is bounded, S ecychclles, P rince E dw ards, C ro zet, K erg u elen ,
on all o f its sides, by A sia in the north, A frica in St. Paul, R odriges, M aldive, L accad iv e, A ndm an-
the w est, A sia in the east, A u stralia in the so u th - N icobar, C hristm as etc., b elo n g to the c ateg o ry o f
east and A n tarctica in th e south. T he ocean has sm all and tiny islands. Indian su b co n tin en t in the
contact w ith the P acific and the A tlantic oceans in north divides the Indian O cean into A rab ian Sea
the south n ear A n tarctica. The average depth o f and B ay o f B engal. The ocean w idens in the south.
the ocean is 4 ,000m . M ajor p arts o f the coastal Johnson has divided the Indian O cean in 3 zones
lands o f the Indian O cean form ed by the block on the basis o f reg io n al c h aracteristics; (1) The
m ountains o f G o n d w an alan d are com pact and W estern Z one betw een A frican co ast and th e m id-
solid. T he coasts o f the E ast Indies are bordered Indian O ceanic R idge has large n u m b er o f islands
by fold m o u n tain chains. T he m arginal seas are and the average depth is 3650m (20 0 0 fathom s).

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84
Branches of the Central Ridge
(2 ) T h e E a s te rn Z o n e is d e e p e st o f all th e zo n es
w ith a v e ra g e d e p th o f 55 0 0 m (3 0 0 0 fath o m s). (1 ) S ocotra-C hagos R id g e also known as
T h e c o n tin e n ta l sh e lv e s are n arro w bu t h av e steep C arlesbreg R idge em erges from the central ridge
s lo p e s , (3 ) T h e C e n tra l Z o n e re p re se n ts the at 5°S latitude and exten d s in north-westerly
m id -o c e a n ic rid g e w h e re m an y tin y isla n d s are direction upto G ardafuli P eninsu la o f N .E . Africa.
lo c a te d . (2) S ey ch elles-M a u ritiu s ridge bifurcates
from the main ridge around 18°S latitude near
2. Continental Shelf M auritius Island and runs in roughly north-west
direction in arcuate shape upto Seych elles and
T h e re is w id e ra n g e o f v a ria tio n in the Am irante islands.
c o n tin e n ta l sh e lv e s o f th e In d ia n O cean. Q u ite (3) M adagascar R id g e stretches from the
e x te n s iv e sh e lv e s are fo u n d alo n g the m a rg in s o f southern tip o f M adagascar (M alagasy) to 40«S
A ra b ia n S e a an d B ay o f B en g al. S im ilarly , latitude. Its further southw ard ex ten sio n is known
e x te n s iv e sh e lv e s are o b se rv e d alo n g the easte rn as Prince E dw ard-C rozet R id g e betw een 40°S-
c o a s t o f A fric a a n d a ro u n d M a d a g a sc a r w h ic h is
48°S latitudes.
its e lf lo c a te d o n th e c o n tin e n ta l sh elv es. O n an
(4) The south -w estern branch near 23°S
a v e ra g e , th e c o n tin e n ta l sh e lv e s are v e ry w ide
(6 4 0 k m ) in th e w e st w h e re a s th e se are n arro w latitude is know n as S. W . Indian R idge.
(1 6 0 k m ) a lo n g th e c o a st o f Ja v a and Sum atra. (5) N in ety E ast R id g e extends from the
T h e se b e c o m e fu rth e r n a rro w alo n g the n o rth e rn continental s h e lf o f f the Irrawadi river mouth and
c o a st o f A n ta rc tic a . runs in alm ost north-south d irection parallel to
90°E longitude upto 40°S w here it m erges with
3. Mid-Ocean Ridge A m sterdam -St Paul Plateau.

T h e c e n tra l rid g e o r m id -o c e a n ic rid g e 4. Ocean Basins

k n o w n as M id -In d ia n O c e a n ic R id g e (fig. 3.12)
e x te n d s fro m th e so u th e rn tip o f In d ia n P e n in su la The m id-Indian O cean ic R id g e divides the
in th e n o rth to A n ta rc tic a in th e so u th a lm o st in Indian O cean into tw o m ajor basins-the eastern
n o rth -so u th d ire c tio n an d fo rm s a co n tin u o u s and the w estern basins. T h ese basins are further
c h a in o f h ig h la n d s. W h e re v e r th e c e n tra l rid g e or divided into sub-basins b y the branches o f the
its b ra n c h e s e m erg e ab o v e th e sea lev el, isla n d s central ridge (fig . 3 .1 2 ).
a re fo rm ed . T h e m a in c e n tra l rid g e starts fro m the (1) O m an b asin faces the G u lf o f O m an and
c o n tin e n ta l s h e lf o f th e so u th ern tip o f In d ia n is spread over the e x te n siv e contin en tal s h e l f with
P e n in s u la w ith a v erag e w id th o f 320 km . T h is p a rt average depth o f 3 ,6 5 8 m .
o f th e rid g e is k n o w n as L a c ca d iv e -C h ag o s R id g e
(2) Arabian basin is located in almost
(a lso k n o w n as M a ld iv e R id g e). T he rid g e fu rth e r
circular shape b etw een L accadive-C h agos ridge
e x te n d s s o u th w a rd a n d w id e n s n e a r eq u ato r. It is
and Socotra-C hagos R id ge w ith the depth o f
c a lle d C h a g o s-S t. P a u l R id g e b e tw ee n eq u ato r
3 ,6 0 0 m -5 ,4 8 6 m .
an d 30° S la titu d e w h e re the a v erag e w id th
b e co m e s 320 km . T h e rid g e fu rth e r w id en s to (3) Somali basin is bordered by Socotra-
1,600 k m b e tw e e n 30° S and 50° S la titu d e s and is C hagos ridge in the north -w est, Central Ridge in
k n o w n as A m ste rd a m -S t P aul P lateau . T he cen tral the east, S e y c h e lle s - M auritius R idge injjj®
rid g e b ifu rc a te s to th e sou th o f 50° S latitu d e. T he sou th -w est and A frican coast in the west, i
w e ste rn b ra n c h k n o w n as K e rg u elen -G a u ssb e rg average depth is 3 ,6 0 0 m . .
rid g e e x te n d s in N W -S E d ire c tio n b e tw ee n 48° S (4) Mauritius basin is located b e tw e e n
a n d 63° S a n d th e eastern b ran ch is kno w n as Indian R idge and South M adagascar Ridge
In d ia n -A n ta rc tic R id g e. extends from 20°S to 40°S l a t i t u d e . The

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 Fig- 3.12 : Bottom reliefs o f the Indian Ocean. A-Socotra-Chagos Ridge, B-Chagos Ridge, C-Seychelles Ridge, D-Chagos-
St. Paul Ridge, E-Amsterdam-St Paul Ridge, F-lndian-Antarctic Ridge. G-Kerguelen-Gassberg Ridge, H-

basin, 5. Natal basin, 6. Atlantic-lndian-Antarctic Basin, 7. Andaman Basin. 8. Indian-Australia basin and 9.
Antarctic basin.

L - ' ■■■ ■ g iU i

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 - coct Ridee in the east and by the Bengal
Nmety north The average depth o f outer
varies b etw een 3 ,600m and 5,486m . T he d eep est
F r a n s e s from 3 , 600 m to 6 ,8 0 0 m w h ile the
part m easures 6 ,391m depth.
£ p t h o f t h e cen tra l part o f th e b a s in ranges
(5 ) M ascarene basin M a u ritiu s b e tw e en 4,800m and 6,100m.
b e tw e e n M a d a g a sc a r and y

R l 8 <6) Agulhas-Natal basin is an elongated basin 5. Deeps and T re n c h e s

There are very few deeps and trenches in the

• thp <? F A frican c o a st in tne w esi
in the east and th e b .n . A ir ,„dian Ocean. About 60 per cent o f * e Ocean
and n o rth -w est. A verage depth is 3,600m . consists of deep sea p l a i n s w.th depth rangmg
(7) A tlantic-Indian-A ntarctic basin is in fa c t from 3.600m to 5,487m Important deep sea
the eastw ard c o n tin u atio n o f A tla n tic - A n ta rc tic plains are Somali Abyssal plam^ Ceylone (Sn
B asin. It stretch es upto 70°E lo n g itu d e an d is Lanka) Abyssal pl?in, Indian Abyssal Plam,
bord ered b y P rin ce E dw ard C ro z et R id g e in th e (4 380m) etc. Significant trenches are Java or
north, A n tarctica in the so u th and K e rg u e le n Sunda Trench (7,450m deep), Ob Trench (6,875m
G assberg R idge in the n o rth -east. A v e rag e d ep th deep), Mauritius Trench, Amirante Trench etc.
is 3,600m .
(8) E a s te r n I n d ia n - A n ta r c tic b a s in is lo c ated 3.10 BOTTOM R E L IE F OF ARCTIC OCEAN
betw een A m sterdam - St. P au l P la te a u and In d ia n -
A ntarctic R idge in th e n o rth and n o rth -e a st and 1. C h a ra c te ris tic F e a tu re s
A ntarctica in th e south. T he depth v aries fro m
3,600m to 4,800m . K e rg u elen -G a ssb e rg R id g e
Almost frozen and o f circular shape the
separates the b a sin from the A tla n tic -In d ia n -
Arctic Ocean has a great climatic significance for
A ntarctic B asin.
the inhabitants of the planet earth. It is believed
(9) West Australian basin is th e m o st e x te n -
that if the present state o f global wanning and
sive basin and form s re c ta n g u la r sh ap e s u r-
consequent increase in the atmospheric tempera-
rounded b y S.E. In d ian R id g e in th e so u th -w e st,
ture continues most o f the Arctic ice would melt
N inety E ast R idge in the w est, c o n tin e n ta l sh elv e s
and thus enormous volume o f melt-water would
o f Java-S um atra in the n o rth -e a st and th e c o n ti-
nental s h e lf o f w est A u stralia. A v e rag e d e p th
result in substantial increase in sea level which
varies from 3 ,600m to 6 ,100m b u t the c e n tra l p a rt would trigger a chain effect. It has also been
o f the b asin is 6,459m deep. demonstrated through scientific researches that
about 4 billion tonnes o f carbon and methane are
(10) Mid-Indian basin is b o rd e re d b y th e
buried in subsurface geomaterials. If the Arctic
central rid g e in the w e st and th e so u th -w e st, b y
ice melts, the buried carbon and methane w o u l d be
uncovered and would be released to the atmos-
phere. It may be mentioned that carbon dioxide
Meters and methane are greenhouse gases, and hence the
greenhouse effect and consequent global wann-
ing would be further augmented.
R eco rd in g o f ic e c o v e r s o v e r
B S e » and
e r i n g

A rctic Sea h a v e r e v e a le d g rad u al bu t regulaf

sh rin k in g o f th eir areas as f o llo w s :
There has been 5 percent decrease in areal
Pig- 3.13: cross-section o f the Indian Ocean 1 Re u„ coverage o f Bering Sea ice since I960.
ion. 2. Indian-Australia Basin. ^ The sea ice area over the Arctic Sea b
decreased by about 9 0 ,0 0 0 km2 since 19 78-:

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OCEAN M O R P H O L O G Y AND BOTTOM RELIEF

>- The ice cover area o f the Arctic Sea around >- ‘The Arctic is rapidly becoming the clear-
North Pole registered a record shrinkage est demonstration o f the effects o f man-
during 2005-06 as reported by Walt Meier, kind’s impact on the global climate. The
a researcher at the U.S. National Snow and temperature is rising twice as fast as the
Ice Data Center, Colorado in 2006.

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 \ OCEANOGRAPHY 1
% ’\ * . •
88 U S.S . N a u tilu s rea ch ed N o rth P o le on
Aug- 3, 1958 b y n u clear subm arin e.
. In the b eg in n in g o f th e e x p lo r a tio n o f the
to seven degrees by 210U a .u . i. y A rctic O cean it w a s th o u g h t that th e ocean
in H indu, 2006). w as w ith ou t any cen tral rid g e as is the case
» T he scientists believe that i f the piresen o f o th e r o c e a n s but the R u ssia n e x p ed itio n s
trend o f m elting o f A rctic ice continues r e v e a l e d the p r e se n c e o f a cen tral ridge
the A rctic Sea w ill lose m ost o f its ice by w h ich runs th rou gh th e N . P o le .
2030 A.D. • The greatest depth o f th e A r c tic O cean is
T he follow ing are the characteristic fe a -
5,3 6 0 m .
tures o f the A rctic O cean .
• The A rctic O cean is o f m ore or less 2. Continental Shelf
circular shape w ith N orth Pole at its center.
• The ocean is surrounded by land areas from The A rctic O cean is c h a r a cter iz ed b y the
all sides w ith a few openings such as (1) w idest contin en tal s h e lv e s o f a ll th e o c e a n b a sin g
through B am ets Sea and N orw egian Sea
The continental sh e lv e s o f f th e S ib er ia n c o a sts of=
tow ards the A tlantic O cean, (2) through
R ussia are w id est s h e lv e s w h ic h ran ge in w idth
Baffin Bay betw een G reenland, and B affin
from 4 8 0 km to 2 ,0 0 0 km . T h e c o n tin e n ta l sh e lv e s
Islands to the A tlantic O cean; (3) through
are also quite w id e to the north o f C anada. It m ay
Bering Strait and B ering Sea betw een
Alaska o f the USA, and R ussia to the be m entioned that num erous, isla n d s o f C anada are
Pacific Ocean, etc. located on the co n tin en ta l s h e lv e s , su ch as the
Canadian A rch ip ela g o . T he c o n tin e n ta l sh e lv e s
• The areal coverage o f the ocean as reported
o f f the northern c o a sts o f A la sk a and G reenland
by various sources ranges between 10,000,000
km 2 to 14,200,000 km 2, w hich is only 2.4 are com paratively narrow er as th e y ran ge in w idth
percent o f the total surface area o f the from 96 km to 192 k m .~ ^
globe, and 3.4 percent o f all ocean su r-
faces. Its area is only 8.3 percent o f the 3. Mid-Ocean Ridge
total surface area o f the Pacific O cean.
• The average depth o f the ocean is 1 ,1 1 7 m. Like the A tla n tic and In d ian O c e a n s, the
• The first near successful attem pt to n a v i- A rctic O cean is also c h a r a cter iz ed b y a central
gate the Arctic Ocean and to reach N orth ridge o f v o lc a n ic o rig in . T h e rid g e k n o w n as
Pole was made by N ansen and F rederick L om on osov R id ge w a s d is c o v e r e d b y R ussian
Nansen aboard vessel Fram in 1893 but polar ex p ed itio n in 1 9 4 8 -1 9 4 9 . T h is rid g e runs
they could reach only upto 86° 14' N
from the co n tin en ta l s h e lf o f th e S ib eria n coast
latitude and finally dropped the idea to
through the N orth P o le to th e c o n tin e n ta l s h e lf o f
reach the destination because th eir vessel
ana a near E lle sm er e L a n d , and d iv id e s the
was stuck in the ice packs o f the A rctic
ocean. rctic O cean into 2 great o c e a n b a sin s. It is
beh eved that sin c e the rid g e is sim ila r to the mid-
• The subsequent voyages to reach N orth
exten m ° r i g i n a n d h e n c e il is ^
( i m T r ma?e by Peary (1909). Byrd o f f l a t t e r . T h is cen tra l rid g e p lays an
926 ' SC" ' E " SWonh “ d N obile water in^h r°A con tro llin g th e circu la tio n o f
eached n p ? " ' Na“Hlus (19S8>- Peary from th c t*° ® c e a n. T h e h e ig h t o f the ridge
whUe u°m SUrface o f the o cean is 3 ’300m’
depth o f9 6 0 n W fr8ed 006811 WatCr Upt° ^
6 0 m ( fron* th e w a ter su r fa c e ).
(airship) on May 12, ,,2 6 ; Anderson c
in N ansenRencS18nAflCant b a sin s are Fram Basin,
’ A m era sia B a sin , C an ad a B a sin .

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 OCEAN MORPHOLOGY AND BOTTOM RELIEF 89
Besides, one sm all ridge has also been B ea u fo rt S ea (o f f the e ast co asts o f Canada and
located to the north o f G reenland, i.e. in the A lask a) etc.
northern G reenland Sea. S ubm erged pingos o f
" periglacial origin have been d isco v ered in the 5. Islands
m arginal seas. It is believed that these pingos
(elevated surface w ith m assive ice core) m ight
T he A rctic O cean is e n d o w e d w ith n u m er-
have been form ed in the continental m arginal
ous islands o f v ary in g sizes a n d h e ig h ts (fro m sea
areas o f S iberia and C anada d uring P leistocene
level). B roadly sp ea k in g the lo c a tio n s o f islan d s
Ice age. D u rin g p o st-g la c ia l p erio d , these
o f the A rctic O cean m ay be d iv id e d in to tw o
pingos w ere subm erged u nder seaw ater due
groups, nam ely (1) m a rg in a l lo c a tio n s, a n d (2)
to tran sgression o f the sea caused by rise in sea
central locations. A s re g a rd s th e m a rg in a l lo c a -
level as a resu lt o f po st-g lacial recovery o f sea
level. tions, the islands are lo cated m a in ly o f f th e c o a sts
o f Siberia, and C anada. T he islan d s p a ra lle lin g th e
Siberian coasts include the isla n d s o f N o v a y a
4. Marginal Seas
Z em lya Island, B o lsh eick Islan d , S e v e rn a y a
Zem lya Island, F ad d ey ev sk iy Isla n d , S ib e ria n
The o u ter ring o f the A rctic O cean is Island, K otelnyy, L yakhov, N ew S ib e rian Isla n d ,
c h aracterized by a n u m b er o f m arginal seas w hich B ear Island, W rangel Island etc. T he sig n ific a n t
are situ ated o ff the coasts o f landm asses. For islands located o ff the C an ad ian coasts are B an k s
exam ple, E ast Siberian Sea and Laptev Sea are Island, V ictoria Island, M ack en zie Islan d , B o rd e n
located o ff the Siberian coasts. T he East Siberian Island, Q ueen E lizabeth Islan d , E lle f P in g n e s
Sea is quite extensive but L aptev Sea, located o ff Island, H eiberg Island, P rin ce o f W ales Isla n d ,
the L een a d elta, is com paratively sm all sea. The Prince o f Patric Island, E llesm ere Islan d etc. T h e
o th er im p o rtan t m arginal seas are K ara Sea (o ff islands o f alm ost cen tral lo catio n are situ a te d to
th e Y en isey delta, and the Y am al peninsula), the east and so u th -east o f N o rth Pole w h e re in
B arn ets Sea, N orw egian Sea (som etim es it is also im portant islands are F ranz Islan d , R u d o lf Jo se p h
co n sid ered as the part o f the A tlantic O cean), Land, G eorge Land, A lex an d ra land, G rah am B e ll
G reen land Sea (o f f the east coast o f G reenland), Island etc.

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 W W V U I » y
CHAPTER 4 : PH Y SIC A L PR O PE R T IE S OF OCEAN W ATER 90-110
h y d ro lo g ic a l cy cle, 90
c o n stitu e n ts o f seaw ater, 92
p h y sica l p ro p e rtie s o f seaw ater, 93
sea te m p e ratu re, 94
d e n sity o f ocean s, 105
re la tio n s h ip betw een d en sity , tem perature and salinity, 107
111.1M

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 4

PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER

(Temperature and Density)

4.1 NATURE OF SEAWATER >- con version o f w ater into w a te r v a p o u r or

hu m idity (first and s e c o n d p h a se s are
The water in the oceans and above the alm ost the sa m e),
oceans are found in 3 states, nam ely (1) in liquid >- horizontal transport o f a tm o sp h er ic m o is -
state, (ii) in solid state i.e. in the form o f ice such as ture (w ater vapou r) o v er th e o c e a n s and
the cryosphere o f the Arctic O cean, and the continents by g lo b a l a tm o sp h eric c ir c u la -
Southern Ocean (Antarctic O cean). Cryosphere tion (ad vection al m e c h a n ism ),
represents the frozen surfaces o f the oceans, as
>• release o f atm osp h eric m o istu re in the
w e ll as the continents, and (iii) in gaseous state, i. e.
form o f p recip itation , eith er in liq u id form
in the form o f water vapour above the ocean
as water or in so lid form as s n o w and ic e
surface. The ocean water plays major role in
and other m inor form s as d e w , fo g s e tc .,
m aintaining and controlling the global hydrologi-
over the contin en ts and o c e a n s, and
cal c y c le as fo llo w s :
eventual return o f w ater r e c e iv e d at the
earth s surface to the o c e a n s v ia v ariou s
Hydrological Cycle
routes and ru n o ff and rivers (fig 4 .1 )
The ocean w ater is h eated b y in so la tio n
The h yd rological cy cle refers to a m odel o f (solar heat energy) and thus w ater is transform ed
exchange o f water over the surfaces o f the earth (only a sm all fraction o f o cea n ic w ater) into
from oceans via atm osphere, continents (land
gaseous form -water vapour or m oistu re. T h is
surface), and back to the oceans. Thus the
m oisture is horizontally transported across the
hyd rological cy cle at a global scale involves the
oceans and over the contin en ts by atm ospheric
fo llo w in g m echanism s :
circulation (w inds). T he air is c o o le d b ecau se o f
»• evaporation o f water from ocean water its ascent and thus the m oisture is released as i
surface through heat energy o f insolation p r e c ip ita tio n o v e r th e o c e a n s and th e J
(solar energy),

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r?>r
m
91
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER
cepted rainfall is evaporated from the
~s'v leaves and the rem ainder reaches the
v
Condensation j- >
Moist air Evaporation ground through the branches and stem s o f
mass moves from oceans plants as stem flow or aerial streams.
• Some portion o f rainfall reaches the
ground directly as through fall. Some
portion o f rainfall is lost to the atm osphere
through evapo-transpiration from vegeta-
tion. Some portion is also lost to the
atmosphere through evaporation from lakes,
ponds, tanks, reservoirs, and rivers.
• A sizeable portion o f rainfall reaching the
g ro u n d su rfa c e b e c o m e s e ffe c tiv e
overlandflow w hich reaches the stream s as
surface runoff.
Fig. 4 .1 : Global hydrological cycle involving different • Some portion o f rainw ater infiltrates and
pathways o f water e.g. from the ocean through reaches groundw ater storage.
the atmosphere and the lithosphere back to the
• The channel sto ra g e re c e iv e s w a te r
ocean.
from surface storage through surface ru n -
off.
The precipitation falls on the continents in Thus the initial input o f p recip itation finds
a v ariety o f ways as follows : exit through tw o paths o f output e.g. (i) to the
• Som e precipitation falls directly in the atm osphere through evaporation from rivers,
stream s, lakes and other w aterbodies o f the lakes, ponds, soil, evapotranspiration from v eg -
land. This precipitation fall is called direct etation and evaporation o f falling rains, and (ii) to
fall w hich is directly disposed o ff back to the oceans through channel ru n o ff or stream flow .
the oceans. This process is repeated every year to m ake the
• Som e portion o f rainfall is intercepted by w ater or hydrological cycle at global scale
vegetation. Some portion o f this inter- effective (fig. 4.2).
W ater vapour
517 km1 ------ ► ----------
Condensation

Precipitation
Evaporation
+ 108 km1
/ , \ Precipitation
j * - 455 km* + 409 km1

Infiltration

Numbers in 000.
Fig. 4.2 : Global hydrological balance. Source: data from M.L Budyko{l971). , • : US

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92
OCEANOGF
Hif, b e P o in te d o u t th a t th o u g h the
te r e n t h y d ro lo g ic a l p ro c e ss e s as e la b o ra te d re tu rn e d to th e o cean s th ro u g h p re cip itatio n ,
an n u m . T h u s th e re is n e t loss o f 46,000 cubic kr
a b o v e m a in ta in th e g lo b a l h y d ro lo g ic a l cy cle
o f w a te r fro m th e o cean s ev ery y e ar O n the nth-
th r o u g h th e o c e a n s , th e a tm o sp h e re a n d the
h a n d , 6 2 ,0 0 0 c u b ic k m o f w ater is evap0^ d ,
c o n tin e n ts b u t o u t o f th e to ta l m o istu re o f the
fro m d iffe re n t w a te r b o d ie s o f the lan d annuallv '
b io s p h e r e 95 p e rc e n t is n e v e r a v a ila b le to
b u t 108,000 cu b ic k m o f w a ter is annually'
h y d ro lo g ic a l c y c le b e c a u s e it is (e s tim a te d q u a n -
re c e iv e d at th e la n d th ro u g h p recip itatio n . Thus
tity b e in g 2 ,5 0 ,0 0 0 x 1020 g ra m s) lo c k e d in the
th e re is a n e t gain o f 4 6 ,0 0 0 c u b ic km o f w ater on
ro c k s o f th e e a r th ’s c ru st. T h u s o n ly 5 p e r c e n t o f
the lan d ev ery year. T h is is b e c a u se o f the fact that
th e to ta l m o is tu re o f th e b io s p h e re is a v a ila b le to
4 6 ,0 0 0 cu b ic km o f e v a p o ra te d w a te r from the
th e g lo b a l h y d ro lo g ic a l c y cle . O f th is 5 p e r c e n t o f
o c ea n s is ad d ed to a tm o sp h e ric b u d g e t of moisture
m o is tu re a b o u t 9 7 .2 p e r c e n t is sto re d in the oceans
o v er the land. T he a d d itio n al am o u n t o f 46,000
a n d th e re m a in d e r 2.8 p e r c e n t is re p re se n te d by
cubic km o f w ater is d isp o se d o f f to th e oceans
2 .1 5 p e r c e n t m o is tu re s to re d in p o la r icecaps and
through stream ru n o ff every y e a r (fig. 4.2).
p e rm a n e n t g la c ie rs , 0 .6 2 p e r c en t m o istu re in the
fo rm o f g ro u n d w a te r (w h ic h is in c ircu latio n ) and
Constituents of Seawater
0 .0 3 p e r c e n t m o is tu re in the stream s, soils,
fre s h w a te r la k e s , sa lin e la k es an d inland seas.
T he o cean w a te r is c h a ra c te riz e d b y the
I t is b e lie v e d th a t ta e g lo b a l h y d ro lo g ica l
fo llo w in g c o n stitu e n ts :
c y c le in v o lv e s th e b a la n c e b e tw e e n e v ap o ratio n
a n d p r e c ip ita tio n o v e r th e e a r th ’s su rface b u t the so lu tes in sea w ater, i.e. sa lt c o n te n t
p a tte r n o f b a la n c e b e tw e e n e v a p o ra tio n and n u trien ts
p r e c ip ita tio n is n o t u n ifo rm o v e r th e o cean s and >■ gases
th e la n d . A c c o rd in g to th e e stim a te o f M . L.
>- trace elem en ts
B u d y k o (1 9 7 1 ) e v a p o ra tio n e x c e e d s p re c ip ita tio n
o v e r th e o c e a n s b e c a u s e 4 5 5 ,0 0 0 cubic k m o f ^ o rg a n ic co m p o u n d s
w a te r is e v a p o ra te d fro m th e o c ea n s ev ery y e ar (1 ) T h e m a jo r c o n s titu e n ts o f s e a w a te r c
w h e re a s o n ly 4 0 9 ,0 0 0 c u b ic k m o f w a te r is p rise m a in ly p r i m a r y s o lu te s in the fo rm o f cations

Table 4.1 : Major so lu te co nstituents of sea w a ter

S a lt io n W e ig h t Io n s by w eig h t C u m u lativ e
(in g ra m p e r k ilo g ram (in p ercen t) p e rc en ta g e
w e ig h t o f
s e a w a te r)
C h lo rid e 1 8.980 55.04 55 .0 4
S o d iu m 10.556 30.61 85.65
S u lp h a te 2 .6 4 9 7.68 93.33
M a g n e s iu m 1.272 3.69 97.02
C a lc iu m 0 .4 0 0 1.16 98.18
P o ta s s iu m 0 .3 8 0 1.10 99.28
B ic a rb o n a te 0 .1 4 0 0.41 99.69
B ro m id e 0 .0 6 5 0.19 99.88
<§
B o ric a c id 0 .0 2 6 0.07 99.95
99.99
I
S tro n tiu m 0 .0 1 3 0 .0 4 ,i
F lo rid e 0.001 0 .00 9 9 .9 9
T o ta l 3 4 .4 8 2 9 9 .9 9 99.99

Source : H .U . S v e rd ru p , M .W . Jo h n so n , a n d R . H . F le m in g , T h e O cean s, 1942, in P. R . P in et, 2000.

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER 93

and anions o f w hich ch lo rid e and sodium are by fact th at the cap acity o f the Southern O cean to
far the m ost sig n ifican t so lu tes as they com bined absorb m ost o f carbon diox id e em itted from
together re p re se n t m ore than 85 percent (85.65) o f hum an sources has d ecreased because o f the
all the so lu tes (d isso lv ed substances in ocean effects o f clim ate change, m ainly increase in
w ater) p resen t in seaw ater. T hese tw o ions, i.e. w ind speed over the ocean, and d epletion o f ozone
ch lo rid e and sodium , are responsible to m ake over A n tarctica and environs. A ccording to this
halites w hich then becom e responsible for the report the efficien cy o f the S outhern O cean as a
salin ity o f seaw ater. I f fo u r m ore solutes, nam ely potent carbon sink has decreased by 30 percent.
su lp h ate, m ag n esium , calciu m and potassium are The hum an sources pum p 9.3 b illio n tonnes o f
c o n sid e re d w ith ch lo rid e and sodium , then these 6 additional C 0 2 in the atm o sp h ere an n u ally , o f
so lu tes co m p rise 99 p e rc en t o f d issolved su b - w hich 0.7 b illion tonnes are soaked by the
stan ces o f seaw ater. ‘B ecause the concentrations Southern O cean alone. It m ay be m en tioned th at
o f th ese m a jo r c o n stitu en ts in seaw ater vary little
the atm ospheric C 0 2 abso rb ed by the oceans is
o v er tim e at m o st lo calities, they are described as
stored in the deeper parts o f the oceans. T he
conservative ions o f the o c e a n s ’. (P. R. Pinet,
increased w ind speed due to g lo b al w arm in g
2000 ).
causes m ore m ixing o f seaw ater, due to w hich
(2) N u tr ie n ts in s e a w a te r : The m ajor n u tri- colder w ater saturated w ith disso lv ed CO?, at great
ents in seaw ater, w hich enable marine phytoplanktons depth com es upw ard and hence it c an n o t absorb
to c o n v ert th e m into o rganic m atter through the additional CO?.
p ro c e ss o f p h o to sy n th esis include the com pounds
o f n itro g en (0.5 ppm ), silicon (3 ppm ), and (4) T ra c e e le m e n ts : p resen t in seaw ater
p h o sp h o ro u s (0.07 ppm ). T hese nutrients are include m anganese, lead, m ercury, gold, iodine,
c o n c e n tra te d in the near-surface o f seaw ater. It iron etc. The co n cen tratio n s o f th ese trace
m ay b e m en tio n e d th at m arine organism s, both elem ents vary from 1 ppm to 1 ppb (p art p e r
m a rin e p la n ts and anim als, m ostly use phosphate billion) or even 1 p p t (part p e r trillio n ). E ven v ery
an d n itra te as th ey are unable to utilize elem ents o f low concentration o f these trace elem en ts in
n itro g e n an d p h o sphorous. T he concentration o f seaw ater is o f param ount significance fo r m arin e
n u trie n ts in seaw ater, unlike salt constituents, organism s. Som etim es relativ ely h ig h e r c o n ce n -
v a rie s b o th sp a tia lly and tem porally, and hence tration o f a few trace elem ents such as m ercu ry
th e se are c a lle d as n o n -c o n se rv a tiv e ions. and lead m akes the seaw ater toxic and th u s k ills
(3 ) G a s e s : T hough there is concentration o f m arine organism s.
several gases w ith varying proportions in seaw ater,
(5) M a rin e o rg a n ic c o m p o u n d s : in clu d e fats,
n a m ely n itro g en (N 2), oxygen ( 0 2), carbon
proteins, carbohydrates, vitam ines, harm o n es etc.
d io x id e, h y d ro g e n (H 2) and a few m inor gases
w hich are produced by sea organism s b u t th ese are
su ch as arg o n , neon, h elium etc., but only
present in very low concentrations.
d isso lv e d o x y g en and carbon dioxide play m ajor
ro le in p h o to sy n th e sis by m arine phytoplanktons.
T here are sp a tia l and tem poral variations in the Physical Properties of Seawater
co n cen tratio n o f th e se tw o gases in seaw ater and
h en ce 'th ese are c alled n o n -c o n s e rv a tiv e gases. The
The ph y sical p ro p erties o f seaw ater include
sp atio -tem p o ral v a ria tio n s in the activ ities o f
h e a and tem perature (therm al conditions), den-
t _______
p h o to sy n th e sis b y m arin e p la n ts are respo n sib le
sity, colour, odour etc. Heat present in ocean
fo r sp atio -te m p o ra l v a riatio n s in n itro g en gas and
carb o n d io x id e in d isso lv e d form in the oceans. It water is o f vital significance as it determines the
m ay b e m e n tio n e d that the o cean s are the second en ergy m o tio n s in m arine en vironm ent.
larg est sin k o f a tm o sp h eric c a rb o n dioxide. The detailed discussions on thermal conditions
and density o f seawater are included in this
The 2 0 0 7 report o f the IPCC (Intergovern-
mental P anel on C lim ate C hange) l$ s revealed the chapter.

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 .
• -

94 OCEANOGRAPHY

4.2 SEA TEMPERATURE : IMPORTANCE 1. Sources of Heat of the Oceans

The tem perature o f seaw ater is directly very The m ajor source o f the heat and thus
im portant for m arine organism s and is indirectly tem perature o f ocean w ater is the insolation
im portant for all the biota on this planet earth received from the sun. The rad ian t energy
including both lithospheric and oceanic environ- transm itted from the ou ter surface o f the sun.
m ents because o f the follow ing facts : called as p h o to s p h e re , in the form o f electrom ag-
netic shortw aves and received at the ocean surface
>■ O ceans are great store house for heat
is called in so la tio n . B esides, som e energy, though
energy because they receive and store solar
insignificant, is also received from b elo w the
energy and thereafter release heat energy
ocean bottom s as geotherm al h eat energy, and
in various form s.
through the com pression o f seaw ater.
>■ The solar energy received at the w ater
The am ount o f insolation to be receiv ed at
surfaces o f the oceans help in the process o f
photo sy n th esis by phytoplanktons o f m a- the sea surface depends on the angle o f s u n ’s ra y s ,
rine environm ent. Thus, sea tem perature length o f day, distance o f the earth from th e sun
b ecom es very im portant also for zoo and effects o f the a tm o sp h ere. T he m e ch a n ism o f
planktons as they derive their food from the heating and co o lin g o f ocean w a ter d iffers
phytoplanktons. from the said m echanism on land b e c a u se b esid es
horizontal and v ertical m o v em en ts o f w a ter, the
>- The sea tem perature plays vital role in evaporation is m ost active over the ocean s.
influencing global radiation balance and
heat budget. As per rules v ertical ray s b rin g m ore
insolation than oblique rays. In o th e r w ord s, as the
>■ T h e th e rm a l c o n d itio n s o f o cean
angle o f the su n ’s rays d ecreases p o lew ard , the
w ater determ ine and control planetary
am ount o f insolation receiv ed on th e w ater
w ind belts and surface currents in the
surface o f the oceans also d ecreases fro m the
o cean s.
equator tow ards the poles. T his la titu d in a l v a ria -
>■ The tem perature o f seaw ater affects the tion in heat energy receiv ed from th e sun a t ocean
w eather and clim ate o f coastal areas surface causes d ecrease in tem p eratu re o f su rface
through diurnal rhythm o f land and sea w ater o f the oceans polew ard.
breezes, evaporation and m oisture condi-
tions. In fact, oceans have m oderating If all the oth er co n d itio n s a ffe ctin g the
e ffe c ts on w e a th e r c o n d itio n s o f receipt o f insolation at the w ater su rfa ce o f the
coastal areas and gives birth to m arine oceans are favourable and eq u al, th en lo n g er
clim ate. duration o f sunshine (or length o f day) and sh o rter
duration o f night enable the o cean w a ter su rfa ce to
>- Since the seaw ater has higher specific heat
receive larger am ount o f in so latio n . O n th e o th er
than land areas and hence its heating
hand, shorter the du ratio n o f su n sh in e and lo n g er
and co o lin g process are m uch slow er
the period o f night, the le sse r th e a m o u n t o f
than these processes on lands, and hence
insolation received at the o cean w a ter su rface. JItt
oceans have high storage capacity o f
may be m entioned th at inspite o f in creasin g
heat. length o f day from the equator tow ards the north
>• T he sea tem p eratu re plays vital role in pole during sum m er solstice and from the eq u ato r
m aking the global h ydrological cycle tow ards the south pole during w in ter so lstice the
functional. am ount o f in so latio n receiv ed at the o cean w ater
>■ The sea tem perature determ in es ev ap o ra- su rface d ecreases co n sid erab ly p o lew ard because
tion p ro cess and p recip itatio n . o f d ecrease in the angle o f s u n ’s ra y s .
>• The salin ity and density o f ocean w ater are Inspite o f the lo n g est len g th o f day at the
clo sely re la ted to sea tem perature. poles in so latio n becom es m inim um because

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 • T; ’
95
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER
light. This is the reason that the sky looks blue.
(.) tfr? sun’s ravs become more or less parallel to
Similarly, the picturesque reddish hue o f the sky
fjjjTprnimd surface, and (ii) the ice cover reflects
during sunrise (dawn) and sunset (tw ilight) is the
mnst of the solar radiation. It is apparent that the
result o f scattering o f all the colour spectra except
angle o f the sun’s rays controls the amount of
the red and orange because at the tim e o f sunrise
insolation received more effectively than the
and sunset the oblique rays have to pass through
length o f day. It may be thus, concluded that the
the longest path o f the atm osphere.
places having longer length o f day and vertical
sun’s rays will certainly receive maximum insola- R e fle c tio n : The scattering o f incom ing solar
tion. radiation waves by dust particles and m olecules o f
Since the electrom agnetic shortwave solar water vapour (clouds) when the diam eter o f these
radiation has to pass through thick atmosphere particles is longer than the w avelengths o f
and hence the atmosphere largely controls the incoming solar radiation is c a l l e d d iffu se reflectio n
distribution o f solar heat energy at the surface of which sends some portion o f incom ing solar
ocean water. The atm osphere affects insolation energy back to space w hile som e p ortion rem ains
thrm iph the processes o f absorption, scattering, in the lower atm osphere. The diffused and
and reflection. scattered solar energy present in the low er
atmosphere enables us to see even the dark portion
A b so r p tio n : If the total amount o f energy
o f the moon. One can also see (if not suffering
radiated from the sun towards the earth and its
from cataract) even in the pitch darkness o f night.
atmosphere (which is 1.2 billionth part of the total
Some o f the scattered and diffused so lar energy
energy radiated from the p h o to sp h e r e o f the sun) is
reaches the earth ’s ground surface. Such energy is
taken to be 100 per cent, about 14 per cent o f this
called as diffuse b lue light o f th e sky or d iffu se day
am ount is absorbed by the atmospheric gases (e.g.
light. Some portion o f incom ing solar radiation is
by ozone in the stratosphere to larger extent and
reflected back to space by high clouds (27 per
oxygen and carbon dioxide to very limited
cent) and by the ice-covered surface (2 percent).
extent), w ater vapour, haze etc.). The process of
absorption is selective in nature. The shortest The portion o f incident radiation energy
w avelengths ranging between 0.02 micron and reflected back from a surface is called a lb e d o .
0.29 m icron are absorbed by oxygen ( 0 2) and Various attem pts have been m ade to m easure total
ozone ( 0 3) gases. Ozone also absorbs ultraviolet albedo o f the earth (including its atm osphere).
? rays o f the w avelengths varying from 1,000 Various data derived so far indicate the e a rth ’s
angstrom s to 4,000 angstroms and thus prevents average albedo fluctuating betw een 29 p er cent
these ultraviolet radiation waves from reaching and 34 per cent (including the energy reflected
the earth ’s surface. W ater vapour absorbs the through the m echanism o f d iffu se re fle c tio n by dust
incom ing solar radiation waves o f the w ave- particles, w ater m olecules etc., (from the cloud
lengths ranging between 0.9 micron and 2.1 surface and from the e arth ’s surface). T he albedo
microns. o f other planets has also been estim ated e.g. M oon
Scattering : Some portion o f the incoming (7% ), M erecury (6% ), M arr (16% ), V enus
electromagnetic solar radiation (23%) is scattered (76% ) and the rem aining outer p lanets (73% to
94%).
, in the atmosphere by dust particles and haze. Six
per cent o f this scattered energy is sent back to It may be pointed out that the processes o f
space while 17 per cent reaches the earth’s absorption, scattering and reflection are not as
surface. The process o f scattering is selective in simple as discussed above rather they are highly
nature. Scattering becomes possible when the com plex. Further more, the figures used here to
diameter o f invisible dust particles suspended in indicate the quantity o f solar radiation lost during
the air and the m olecules o f the atmospheric gases its p assage through the atm osph ere by
is shorter than the wave-lengths o f the solar different processes are mere estim ates and these
radiation waves. Blue light o f the incoming vary from the estim ates o f one scientist to the
shorter w avelengths is more scattered than red other.

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96
OCEANOGRAPHY
2. Dally Rang* of Tamparatura of Saawalar 4, Distribution of Tamparatura of 8eawatar

Stnndnrd typo o f thermnmeter I n used to The distributional pattern o f temperature o f

measure the surface temperature o f ocean water. ocean water is studied in two ways viz, (i)
Such thermometers record the temperature upto horizontal distribution (temperature o f surface
the accuracy ± 0.2° ccntrigrade. water), and (ii) vertical distribution (from surface
The difference o f maximum and minimum water to the bottom). Since the ocean has three
temperatures o f a day (24 houra) in known a« daily dimensional shape, the depth o f oceans, besides
range o f temperature. The daily range o f tempera- latitudes, is also taken into account in the study o f
ture o f surface water o f the occana i?i almost temperature distribution. The follow ing factors
insignificant as it is around l"C only. On ari affect the distribution o f temperature o f ocean
a v erage, the m axim um and minimum w ater:
temperature o f sea surface water arc recorded at
2 P.M. and 5 A.M. respectively. The daily range (1) Latitudes
o f tem perature is usually 0.3°C in high
latitudes.
The tem perature o f surface water decreases
The diurnal range depends on the condi- from equator towards the poles because the sun’s
tions o f sky (cloudy or clear sky), stability or rays become more and m ore slanting and thus the
instability o f air and stratification o f seawater. amount o f isolation decreases polew ard accord-
The heating and cooling o f occan water is rapid ingly. The tem perature o f surface w ater between
under clear sky (cloudless) and hence the diurnal 40''N and 40'JS is low er than air temperature but it
range o f temperature becom es a bit higher than becomes higher than air temperature between
under overcast sky and strong air circulation. The 40th latitude, and the poles in both the hem i-
high density o f water below surface water causes spheres.
very little transfer o f heat through conduction and
hence the diurnal range o f tem perature becomes (2) U nequal D istribution of Land and W ater
low.

The tem perature o f ocean water varies in

3. Annual Range of Temperature of Seawater the northern and the southern hemispheres be-
cause o f the dom inance o f land in the former and
water in the latter. The oceans in the northern
The maximum and minimum annual tem-
hem isphere receive more heat due to their contact
peratures o f ocean water are recorded in A ugust
with larger extent o f land than their counter-parts
and February respectively (in the northern hemi-
in the southern hemisphere and thus the tempera-
sphere). Usually, the average annual range o f ture o f surface water is comparatively higher in
temperature o f ocean water is -12°C (10°F) but the former than the latter. The isotherms are not
there is a lot o f regional variation which is due to regular and do not follow latitudes in the northern
regional variation in insolation, nature o f seas, hemisphere because o f the existence o f both warm
prevailing winds, location o f seas etc. Annual and cold landmasses whereas they (isotherms) axe
range o f temperature is higher in the enclosed seas regular and follow latitudes in the southern
than in the open sea (Baltic Sea records annual hemisphere because o f the dominance o f water.
range o f temperature o f 4.4°C or 40°F). The size o f The temperature in the enclosed seas in low
the oceans and the seas also affects annual range latitudes becom es higher because o f the influence
o f surrounding land areas than the open sea s e.g.
o f temperature e.g. bigger the size, lower the
the average annual temperature o f surface water at
annual range and vice versa. The Atlantic Ocean
the equator is 26.7°C (80°F) whereas it is 37.8°C
records relatively higher annual range o f tempera- (100°F) in the Red Sea and 34.4°C (94°F) in the
ture than the Pacific Ocean. Persian Qulf.

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER

(3) Nature of Land and Water

these extend the period o f w arm ing o f
w ater surface. •
The contrasting nature o f land and water, >- There is more evaporation from the seas
surfaces in relation to the incoming shortwave and the oceans and hence more heat is
spent in this process w ith the result oceans
solar radiation largely affects the spatial and
tem poral distribution o f temperature. It may be get less insolation thar^ the land surface. On
pointed out that land becomes warm and cold the other hand, there is less evaporation
more quickly than the w ater body. This is why from the land surface because o f very
even after receiving equal amount o f insolation lim ited am ount o f w ater.
the tem perature o f land becomes more than the >■ The specific heat (the am ount o f heat needed
tem perature o f the w ater body. The following to raise the tem perature o f one gram o f a
reasons explain the differential rate o f heating and substance by 1°C) o f w ater is m uch greater
cooling o f land and w ater than the land because the relative density
>- The su n ’s rays penetrate to a depth o f only o f w ater is much low er than that o f land
3 feet in land because it is opaque but they surface. It m eans m ore heat is required to
penetrate to greater depth o f several metres raise the tem perature o f one gram o f w ater
in w ater ^because it is transparent to solar by 1°C than one gram o f land. M ore
radiation. The thin layer o f soils and rocks specifically, the heat required to raise the
o f land., thus, gets heated quickly because tem perature o f one cubic foot o f w ater by
o f greater concentration o f insolation in 1°C is two tim es greater than the h eat
'm u c h sm aller mass o f m aterial o f ground required for the equal volum e o f land (one
surface. Sim ilarly, the thin ground layer cubic foot). It is apparent that sam e am ount
em its heat quickly and becom es colder. On o f insolation received by sam e m ass o f
the other hand, the same amount o f w ater and land w ould increase the tem -
insolation falling on w ater surface has to perature o f land m ore than the tem perature
heat larger volume o f w ater because o f the o f equal m ass o f w ater.
penetration o f solar rays to greater depth >- The reflection (albedo) o f incom ing solar
and thus the tem perature o f ground surface radiation from the oceanic w ater surface is
becom es higher than that o f the w ater far more than from the land surface and thus
surface though the am ount o f insolation water receives less insolation than land.
received by both the surfaces may be equal. >- Oceanic areas are generally clo u d ed and
>- T he heat is concentrated at the place where hence they receive less insolation than land
insolation is received and there is very surface. B ut clouds absorb outgoing te rre s-
slow process o f redistribution o f heat by trial radiation and counter-radiate h eat
conduction because land surfaces is static. back to the earth ’s surface. T his process
It m ay be noted that dow nward distribution retards the loss o f heat from the oceanic
o f tem perature in the land surface w ithin a surfaces and hence slow s dow n the m ech a-
day (24 hours) is effective upto the depth nism o f cooling o f the air lying over the
o f only 10 centim etres. Thus, the land oceans. On the other hand, land surfaces
surface becom es w arm during day and cold receive m ore insolation at faster rate
during night very rapidly. On the other because o f less cloudiness and sim ultane-
hand, w ater is m obile. The upper surface o f ously lose m ore heat through outgoing
w ater becom es lighter w hen heated by terrestrial radiation very quickly.
insolatio n and thus m oves aw ay horizon-
ta lly to o th er places and the solar rays have (4) Prevailing winds
to h eat fresh lay er o f cold w ater. Secondly,
h e at is re d istrib u te d in w ater bodies by sea Wind direction largely affects the distribu-
w aves, ocean cu rren ts and tid al w aves. A ll tion o f temperature o f ocean water. The winds

- ■

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98 OCEANOGRAPHY
blowing from th e land tow ards the oceans and (6 ) Minor Factors
seas (e.g. o ffsh o re w in d s) drive w arm surface ' -M
nM
w ater away from the coast resu ltin g into upw elling M in o r fa c to rs include (i) subm arine ridges,
o f co ld b o tto m w ater from below . T hus, the (ii) local w eath er co n d itio n s like storm s, cy-
re p la ce m e n t o f w arm w ater by cold w ater clo n es, h u rrican es, fog, clo u d in ess, evaporation
in tro d u ce s lo n g itu d in a l v ariatio n in tem perature. and co n d en satio n , and (iii) lo catio n and shape o f
C o n tra ry to th is, the o n sh o re w inds pile up w arm the sea. L o n g itu d in ally m o re ex ten siv e seas in the
w a te r n e a r th e c o ast and thus raise th e te m p e ra - low latitu d es have h ig h e r tem p eratu re than the
ture. F o r e x am p le, trade w inds cause low te m - latitu d in ally m ore ex ten siv e seas as the M ed iter-
p e ra tu re (in th e tro p ics) along the e astern m argins ran ean Sea reco rd s h ig h er tem p eratu re than the
o f th e o c ea n s o r the w estern coastal regions o f the G u lf o f C alifornia. T he en clo sed seas in the low
c o n tin e n ts b e ca u se th ey b lo w from the land latitudes record relativ ely h ig h e r tem p eratu re
to w a rd s the ocean s w h ereas th ese trade w inds than the open seas w hereas the en clo sed seas have
ra ise th e te m p e ra tu re in th e w estern m argins o f the low er tem perature than the open seas in the high
o c e a n s o r th e eastern co asta l areas o f the latitudes (B altic Sea records 0°C (32°F) and open
c o n tin e n ts b e c a u se o f th e ir onshore position. seas have 4.4°C or 40°F).
S im ilarly , the e a ste rn m a rg in s o f the oceans in the
m id d le la titu d e s (w e stern coasts o f E urope and 5. Horizontal Distribution of Seawater Tem pera-
N o rth A m e ric a ) h a v e re la tiv e ly h ig h er tem p era- ture
tu r e th a n th e w e s te r n m a rg in s o f th e
o c e a n s b e c a u se o f the onsh o re p osition o f the The se a so n a l te m p e r a tu r e s o f th e e a rth ’s
w e ste rlie s. surface in clu d in g both lan d and o cean su rfa c e s are
show n through iso th erm s o f Jan u a ry fo r w in ter
(5) Ocean Currents season and July for su m m er sea so n (fig s. 4 . la n d
4.2).
Is o th e r m s are th e im a g in a ry lin es d raw n on
S u rfa ce te m p e ratu res o f the oceans are
the m aps jo in in g p la ce s o f e q u al te m p eratu re
c o n tro lle d by w arm and cold currents. W arm
red u ced to sea level. It is n e c e ssa ry to re d u c e the
cu rre n ts raise th e te m p e ratu re o f the affected
actu al te m p e ratu res o f all p la ce s at sea level
areas w h e rea s cool cu rren ts lo w er dow n the
b e fo re d raw in g iso th erm s. It is, th u s, o b v io u s th at
te m p e ratu re. F o r ex am p le, the G u lf Stream raises
iso th erm s do n o t re p re se n t th e real te m p e ra tu re of
th e te m p e ra tu re n e a r th e eastern coasts o f N.
the p laces th ro u g h w h ic h th ey p a ss ra th e r they
A m e ric a an d th e w e ste rn co asts o f E urope. K uro
show te m p e ratu re o f th e p la ce s at se a lev el. This
S h iv o d riv e s w arm w a te r aw ay from the eastern
is w hy the iso th e rm m ap s are n o t u se fu l for
c o a st o f A sia and raises the tem p eratu re near
farm ers b e ca u se th ey n e e d re a l te m p e ra tu re of a
A la sk a . L a b ra d o r cool cu rre n t low ers dow n the p a rtic u la r p la ce fo r g ro w in g cro p s. N orm ally,
te m p e ra tu re n e a r n o rth -e a st co ast o f N. A m erica. iso th erm s run e ast-w e st an d are g e n e ra lly p arallel
S im ila rly , th e te m p e ra tu re o f the eastern coast o f to latitu d es. T h is tre n d sh o w s stro n g c o n tro l of
S ib e ria b e c o m e s low due to K u rile cool current. It latitu d es on the h o riz o n ta l d is trib u tio n o f te m -
m ay be m e n tio n e d th a t w arm cu rren ts raise the peratu re. G en erally , iso th e rm s are stra ig h t but
te m p e ra tu re m o re in the n o rth e rn h em isp h ere than they b en d at the ju n c tio n o f c o n tin e n ts and o cean s
in th e so u th e rn h e m isp h e re w h ich is ap p aren t due to d iffe re n tia l h e atin g and c o o lin g o f lan d and
fro m the fa c t th a t th e 5°C iso th erm re a ch e s 70° w ater. Iso th e rm a l lin es are m o re irre g u la r in the
la titu d e in th e n o rth e rn A tla n tic O cean w h ereas it n o rth e rn h em isp h ere b e ca u se o f larg e e x ten t o f
is e x ten d ed upto o n ly 50° la titu d e in th e so u th ern co n tin e n ts b u t th ey are m o re re g u la r in the
A tla n tic O cean . T h is is b e ca u se o f m o re d o m in an t so u th ern h e m isp h ere d u e to o v e r-d o m in a n c e o f
effe cts o f th e w arm B ra zil c u rre n t in the so u th ern o ceans. Iso th e rm s are g e n e ra lly c lo se ly sp aced in
A tla n tic O c ea n . the n o rth e rn h e m isp h ere b u t th e y are w idely

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PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OP OCEAN WATER

spaced in the southern hem isphere. The clo u d y the seasonal (and also annual) distribution o f
spaced isotherm* denote rapid rate o f change o f average tem perature. Fig*. 4 .4 and 4,3 illustrate
tem perature and steep tem perature gradient. On distribution o f average tem perature in July
the other hand, w idely spaced isotherm s indicate (representing tem perature during sum m er season)
slow rate o f tem perature changc and low tem pera- and January (rep resen tin g tem perature during
w inter season). T he tw o iso th erm m aps reveal the
ture gradient. On an average, isotherm s trending
from land tow ards the ocean bend equatorw ard follow ing trends :
during sum m er and polew ard during w inter. On >- T he m onths o f July and January are
the oth er hand, isotherm s trending from the w arm est and co ld est in the no rthern hem i-
oceans to the continents bend polew ard during sphere w hereas the w arm est an d co ld est
sum m er and equatorw ard during w inter. I he m onths in the southern h em isp h ere are
isotherm s during the m onths o f January and July January and July resp ectiv ely .
are taken as representatives for the study o f >• Jloth the m aps (F igs. 4.3 and 4 .4 ) show
horizontal distribution o f tem perature during latitudinal shifts o f iso th erm s in a c c o rd -
w inter and sum m er seasons respectively because ance with seasonal sh iftin g o f o v erh ead
they rep resen t seasonal extrem es. sun but this shiftin g o f iso th erm s is m ore
The m onths o f m axim um (June, northern pronounced on the co n tin en ts.
hem isphere,) and m inim um (D ecem ber, northern >■ T he m axim um tem p eratu res in Jan u a ry an d
h em isphere) insolation do not coincide w ith the July are alw ays reco rd ed on the c o n tin e n ts.
m onths o f h o ttest and coldest m onths (July and M inim um tem perature in Jan u ary is o b -
January in th e northern hem isphere) respectively served in A sia and N orth A m erica.
and hence the m onths o f July (hottest in the
>• January isotherm s su d d en ly b en d p o lew ard
n o rth ern hem isphere and coldest in the southern
w hile passing th ro u g h w arm p o rtio n s o f
h e m isp h ere ) and January (coldest in the northern
the oceans and bend eq u ato rw ard w h ile
h e m isp h ere and hottest in the southern h em i-
passing through the co ld p o rtio n s o f th e
sp h ere) are taken a.s representatives to describe

Fig. 4.3 : Isotherms representing horizontal distribution o f temperature in January.

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 OCEANOGRAPHY
oceans in January in the northern hem i-
sphere as revealed b y th eir clo ser spacings
sphere w hile the trend is opposite in July.
(fig. 4.4) w hile relatively w idely spaced
O n the other hand, the isotherm s are more
isotherm s in the southern hem isphere
or less reg ular and straight in the southern
denote gentle (low ) tem perature gradient
hem isphere because o f over-dom inance o f
oceans. because o f the dom inance o f the oceans. In
the northern hem isphere the eastern coasts
^ Temperature gradient is more pronounced
during winter than summer. register steeper tem perature gradient (1.5°C
per latitude) than the w estern coastal areas
^ The January isotherm s denote steep tem -
(0.5°C per latitude).
perature gradient in the northern hemi-

Fig. 4.4 : Isotherms representing horizontal distribution o f temperature in July.

On an average, the temperature o f surface not recorded at the equator rather it is a b it north
w ater o f the oceans is 26.7°C (80°F) and the
o i. e average annual tem perature o f all the
tem perature gradually decreases from equator oceans is 17.20C (63°F). The average annual
tow ards the poles. The rate o f decrease of temperatures for the northern and southern
tem perature with increasing latitudes is generally hemispheres are 19.4°C (67°F) and 16.1°C(610F)
0 5°F per latitude. The average temperatures respectively. The variation o f tem peratures
become 22°C (73°F) at 20° latitude, 14°C (57°F) at in the northern and southern hem ispheres is
40° latitude, and 0°C (32°F) near the poles. The because o f unequal distribution o f land and ocean
oceans in the northern hemisphere record rela- water.
tively higher average tem perature than in the
southern hem isphere. The highest tem perature is The decrease o f tem perature w ith increas-
ing latitudes in the northern A tlantic Ocean (figs.

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 PHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER
101
4.5 and 4.6) is very low because o f w arm ocean
c urre n ts. The average tem perature betw een 50°-
70°N latitudes is recorded as 5°C (41 °F). The
decrease o f tem perature w ith increasing latitudes
is more pronounced in the southern Atlantic
Ocean. A ccording to K rum el the highest tem pera-
ture o f surface w ater o f the oceans is at 5°N
latitude w hereas the low est tem perature is re-
corded betw een 80°N and the north pole and
between 75°S and the south pole. The average
annual tem perature o f the Pacific Ocean is
slightly higher than the A tlantic O cean (16.91°C
or 60°F) and the Indian O cean (17°C or 60.6°F).
The low est (3.3°C or 35.94°F) and the highest
(32.2°C or 89.96°F) tem peratures o f the oceans
are recorded near N ew Scottland and in the
w estern Pacific O cean respectively. The highest
tem perature o f the Indian ocean (25°C or 82.4°F)
is recorded in the A rabian Sea and Bay o f Bengal !g. 4.6 : Horizontal distribution o f temperature in the
but the enclosed seas o f the Indian O cean record Pacific Ocean (August), temp, in degree
centrigrade.
still higher tem peratures (Red Sea = 32.2°C or
90°F and Persian G ulf = 34.4°C or 94°F). The
average seasonal tem peratures (February and
A ugust) o f surface w ater o f the oceans have been
rep resen ted through isotherm s (figs. 4.5, 4 .6 ,4 .7 ,
4.8, 4.9 and 4.10).

Fig- 4.5. Horizontal distribution o f temperature in the

Fig. 4. 7 : Horizontal distribution o f temperature in the
Pacific Ocean (February), temp, in degree Indian Ocean (February), temp, in degree
centigrade.
centrigrade.

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102 OCEANOGRAPHY

Fig. 4.8 : H orizontal distribution o f temperature in the

Indian Ocean (August), temp, in degree
centrigrade.

Fig. 4.10 : Horizontal distribution o f temperature in the

Atlantic Ocean (August), temp, in degree
centrigrade.

The tem perature o f the surface w ater o f the oceans

is higher than the air tem p eratu re above the ocean
surface w hich m eans ocean surface gives o ff heat
to the atm osphere. This phen o m en on influences
the generation o f oceanic circu latio n m ainly sea
w aves and ocean currents. It has been observed
that the air tem perature at the heig h t o f 8m from
the sea surface betw een 20°N and 55°S latitu d es in
the A tlantic O cean is co o ler by 0.80°C than the sea
surface. There is a lot o f variation in th e heat
em itted from the oceans to the atm osphere during
w inter and sum m er and this phenom enon causes
differences o f air tem perature over the oceans and
the continents m ainly during w inter season. ‘The
tem perature for January is 22.2°C hig h er o v e r the
oceans betw een 20° and 80°N, w hile in July it is
4.8°C low er. The m ean annual tem perature is 7°C
Fig. 4 .9 : Horizontal distribution o f temperature in the
Atlantic Ocean (February), temp, in degree h ig h er over th e w ater m e rid ia n ’ (C .A .M . King,
centrigrade.
1975). T he d ifference betw een a ir and sea surface

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 p , r :, . -

PH Y SICA L PR O PE R T IE S O F O C E A N W A T E R i qo

Table 4 .1 : Surface Water Temperature of the Oceans (in O0C)

Latitudes N. Hemisphere N. Hemisphere N. H em isphere

70-60 -
5.60
60-50 5.74 8.66
50-40 9.99 13.16
40-30 18.62 20.40 _
30-20 23.38 24.16 26.14
20-10 26.42 25.81 27.23
10-0 27.20 26.66 27.88
Latitudes Pacific Ocean Atlantic Ocean Indian O cean
0-10 26.01 25.18 27.14
10-20 25.11 23.16 25.85
20-30 21.53 21.20 22.53
30-40 16.98 16.90 17.00
40-50 11.16 8.68 8.67
50-60 5.00 1.76 1.63
60-70 -1.30 -1.30 -1.50
S. Hemisphere S. Hemisphere S. H em isphere

tem peratures causes fogs over the seas and the upto 20m depth and they seldom go beyond 200m
oceans. This happens when warm air passes over depth. Consequently, the tem perature decreases
a cold sea surface having the temperature below from the ocean surface w ith increasing depth but
dew point, o f the air. Consequently, the air over the the rate o f decrease o f tem perature w ith in creas-
sea surface is cooled from below and sea fog ing depth is not uniform every w here. The
occurs. G enerally, sea fogs are frequently formed tem perature falls very rapidly upto the depth o f
during spring and early sum m er because air 200m and thereafter the rate o f decrease o f
com ing from over the land is w arm er while the sea tem perature is slow ed dow n. From this stand
surface is still cold. Sea fogs are very com m on in point the oceans are vertically divided into two
the high latitudes but are generally absent in the zones.
tropics.
^ Photic zone represents the up p er surface
upto the depth o f 200m and is heated
6. V ertical D istribution of T emperature of Seaw ater directly through solar radiation.
^ Aphotic zone extends from 200m depth to
It m ay be pointed out that m axim um the bottom o f the oceans w here solar
tem perature o f the oceans is alw ays at their radiation is unable to penetrate.
surface because it directly receives the insolation The photic zone is b iologically very im por-
and the heat is transm itted to the low er sections o f tant because m arine plants, and called as m arine
the oceans through the m echanism o f conduction. phototrophs o r phytoplanktons produce th eir food
In fact, the so lar rays very effectively, penetrate energy through the process o f photosynthesis.

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 104 OCEANOGRAPHY

These phytoplanktons becom e rich marine pas- The follow in g are the characteristic fea-
tures for marine animals o f the category o f tures o f vertical distribution o f temperature of
zooplanktons. ocean w a t e r :

Table 4 . 2 : Vertical distribution o f temperature in the oceans

D epth in fathom s D epth is T em p eratu re T em p eratu re

(fm ) m eters (m) °F °C

100 183 60.7 16

200 366 50.1 10
500 915 45.1 7.3
1000 1830 36.5 2.3
1500 2745 35.5 2.0
2200 4026 35.2 1.7

>- T hough the sea tem perature decreases with tem perature o f the seas decreases from
increasing depth but the rate o f decrease o f equator tow ards the p o les b u t the tem pera-
tem perature is not uniform . The change in ture at the ocean bo tto m s is u n ifo rm from
sea tem perature below the depth o f 2000m the eq u ato r tow ards the p o le, w hich means
is negligible. The trend o f decrease in that the rate o f decrease o f tem perature
tem p erature w ith increase in depth has w ith increasing d epth is m ore rap id near
been reported by M urray during his C hal- the eq u ato r than to w ard s the poles. The
lenger E xpedition (table 4.2). It is apparent result o f G erm an A n tarctic E x p ed itio n in
from table 4.3 that change in ocean w ater 1911 rev ealed that the tem p eratu re at the
tem perature beyond 500m depth is very depth o f 100m at 7.30°N latitu d e equalled
slow .
the surface tem p eratu re at 40°N latitude.
>- D iurnal and annual ranges o f tem perature Sim ilarly, the tem p eratu re at 20 0 m depth
cease after the depth o f 5 fathom s (30 feet) at 7.30°N latitude equalled the tem perature
and 100 fathom s (600 feet) respectively. o f sea surface at 50°N latitu d e and the
>- The rate o f decrease o f tem perature with tem perature at the depth o f 7 0 0 -8 0 0 m was
in creasing depth from equator tow ards the the sam e as it w as at the su rface at 60°N
poles is not uniform . Though the surface latitude. T able 4.3 rev eals th ese trends.

Table 4.3 : Comparison o f Temperature at Sea Surface at Different Depths

L atitudes (N ) 0-10 10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60 60-70

Surface T em p erature (°C) 26.88 25.60 23.90 20.30 12.94 8.94 4.26
D epth at 7.30°N (m eters) 0 100 200 400 800 1000
T em perature (°C) 26.86 18.57 10.71 7.70 5.13 4.81

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PH Y SIC A L PROPERTIES OF OCEAN WATER
105
The areas from w here sea surface w ater is
ocean w ater m ass is called therm odine
driven aw ay by offshore w inds resulting which extends betw een 300m-1000m
into u p w elling o f w ater from below record depth. 1
low tem p eratu re at sea surface and thus the
B esides, there are seasonal therm odines
rate o f d ecrease o f tem perature with
betw een the depth o f 40m and 100m.
increasing d epth becom es low. C ontrary to
this, th e areas w here there is pilling o f sea These seasonal th e rm o d in e s are formed
w ater b ecau se o f onshore w inds, record due to heating o f w ater surface through solar
relativ ely high tem perature at sea surface radiation during sum m er season. T here are also
and thus the rate o f decrease o f tem perature diurnal therm odines w hich form in shallow w ater
w ith in creasin g depth becom es rapid. depth usually less than 10-15m. T he polar seas
have only one layer o f cold w ater m ass from the
>■ In som e areas high tem perature is recorded
ocean surface (sea level) to the deep o cean floor.
at g re a ter depths e.g. in Sargasso Sea, R ed
Sea, M ed iterran ean Sea, Sulu Sea etc. The
M ed iterran ean Sea records 24.4°C at the 4.3 DENSITY OF OCEANS
depth o f 1,829m w hereas the Indian O cean
has o n ly 1.1 °C tem perature at the sam e Meaning and Significance
depth. Such anom alous conditions are
n o tic e d in the enclosed seas o f low D ensity refers to the am ount o f m ass per
latitu d es. T he enclosed seas o f high lati- unit volum e o f substance. It is u su ally m easu red in
tudes reg ister inversion o f tem perature i.e. gram (am ount o f m ass) p er cubic cen tim eter o f
the tem p eratu re o f sea surface is low er than volum e and is expressed g/cm 3. T he d en sity o f
the tem p eratu re below . pure (distilled) w ater is 1.00 g/cm 3 at the
>- T h e re is clear-cu t leyered therm al structure tem perature o f 4°C. The density o f pure w ater is
o f o cean w ater. V ertically the oceans are taken as standard for the m easu rem en t o f density
d iv id e d into 3 layers from the stand point o f other substances. Since the seaw ater carries a
o f th e rm a l conditions o f seaw ater, in the few dissolved substances such as salt in it, its
lo w e r an d m id d le latitudes as follow s : density is slightly higher than that o f pure w ater.
In fact, the average density o f sea w ater is
(1) T h e up p er layer represents the top-
1.0278g/cm 3 (1.02677 g/cm 3) w h ich is 2 to 3
la y e r o f w arm w ater m ass w ith a
percent higher than the density o f p u re w ater
th ic k n e ss o f