View source for Arabian Sea

{{Short description|Marginal sea of the northern Indian Ocean}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Infobox body of water
| name               = Arabian Sea
| native_name        = {{native name|ar| بَحرُ ٱلْعَرَبْ}}
| pushpin_map        = 
| pushpin_map_alt    = 
| pushpin_map_caption = 
| image_bathymetry   = Arabian Sea in its region.svg
| alt_bathymetry     = 
| caption_bathymetry = The Arabian Sea as defined by the [[International Hydrographic Organization]]
| location           = [[East Africa]], [[West Asia]] and [[South Asia]]
| coordinates        = {{coord|14|N|65|E|type:waterbody_scale:10000000|display=inline,title}}
| type               = [[Sea]]
| part_of            = [[Indian Ocean]]
| inflow             = 
| rivers             = 
| outflow            = 
| catchment          = 
| basin_countries    = India<br>Iran<br>Maldives<br>Oman<br>Pakistan<br>Seychelles<br>Somalia<br>Sri Lanka<br>Yemen
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| length             = 
| width              = {{convert|2400|km|mi|abbr=on}}
| area               = {{convert|3862000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} (3,600,000 to 4,600,000 km2 in various sources)
| depth              = 
| max-depth          = {{convert|4652|m|ft|abbr=on}}
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| salinity           = 
| shore              = 
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| frozen             = 
| islands            = [[Astola island]], [[Basavaraj Durga Island]], [[Bundal Island]], [[Charna Island]], [[Clifton Oyster Rocks]], [[Khiprianwala Island]], [[Lakshadweep]], [[Malan Island]], [[Manora Island]], [[Masirah Island]], [[Piram Island]], [[Pirotan]], [[Shams Pir]], [[Socotra Archipelago]]
| sections           = 
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}}

The '''Arabian Sea''' ({{langx|ar| بَحرُ ٱلْعَرَبْ|baḥr al-ʿarab}})<ref>{{Cite web|title=Arabian Sea|url=https://metadata.un.org/thesaurus/1000357?lang=en|access-date=28 December 2023|website=UNBIS Thesaurus}}</ref> is a region of [[sea]] in the northern [[Indian Ocean]], bounded on the west by the [[Arabian Peninsula]], [[Gulf of Aden]] and [[Guardafui Channel]], on the northwest by [[Gulf of Oman]] and [[Iran]], on the north by [[Pakistan]], on the east by [[India]], and on the southeast by the [[Laccadive Sea]]<ref>Banse, Karl, and Charles R. McClain. "Winter blooms of phytoplankton in the Arabian Sea as observed by the Coastal Zone Color Scanner." Marine Ecology Progress Series (1986): 201-211.</ref> and the [[Maldives]], on the southwest by [[Somalia]].<ref>Pham, J. Peter. "Putting Somali piracy in context." Journal of Contemporary African Studies 28.3 (2010): 325-341.</ref> Its total area is {{convert|3,862,000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and its maximum depth is {{convert|5395|m|ft|abbr=off|sp=us}}. The Gulf of Aden in the west connects the Arabian Sea to the [[Red Sea]] through the strait of [[Bab-el-Mandeb]], and the [[Gulf of Oman]] is in the northwest, connecting it to the [[Persian Gulf]].

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

The Arabian Sea has two important branches: the Gulf of Aden in the southwest, connecting with the Red Sea through the strait of [[Bab-el-Mandeb]]; and the Gulf of Oman to the northwest, connecting with the Persian Gulf. There are also the gulfs of [[Gulf of Khambhat|Khambhat]] and [[Gulf of Kutch|Kutch]] on the [[Coastal South West India|Indian Coast]].
The Arabian Sea has been crossed by many important marine trade routes since the 3rd or 2nd millennium BCE. Major seaports include [[Kandla|Kandla Port]], [[Mundra Port]], [[Pipavav Port]], [[Dahej Port]], [[Hazira Port]], [[Mumbai Port Trust|Mumbai Port]], [[Jawaharlal Nehru Port|Nhava Sheva Port (Navi Mumbai)]], [[Mormugao|Mormugão Port (Goa)]], [[New Mangalore Port]] and [[Cochin Port|Kochi Port]] in India, the [[Port of Karachi]], [[Port Qasim]], and the [[Gwadar Port]] in Pakistan, [[Chabahar Port]] in Iran and the [[Port of Salalah]] in [[Salalah]], [[Oman]]. The largest islands in the Arabian Sea include [[Socotra]] ([[Yemen]]), [[Masirah Island]] (Oman), [[Lakshadweep]] (India) and [[Astola Island]] (Pakistan).
The countries with coastlines on the Arabian Sea are Yemen, Oman, Pakistan, Iran, India and the [[Maldives]].<ref name="Britannica"/>

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

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

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

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

The southern limits are dominated by the [[Arabian Basin]], a deep basin reaching depths over {{convert|4200|m|ft|0}}. The northern sections of the [[Carlsberg Ridge]] flank the southern edge of the Arabian Basin.

The deepest parts of the Arabian Sea are in the Alula-Fartak Trough on the western edge of the Arabian Sea off the Gulf of Aden. The trough, reaching depths over {{convert|5360|m|ft|0}}, traverses the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. The deepest known point is in the Arabian Sea limits at a depth of {{convert|5395|m|ft|0}}. Other significant deep points are part of the Arabian Basin, which include a {{convert|5358|m|ft|0}} deep point off the northern limit of Calrsberg Ridge.<ref name="NOAA"/>

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

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

==Border and basin countries==
Border and basin countries:<ref>{{Cite CIA World Factbook|country=Iran}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/IntroductiontoPakistan/coastlineofPakistan.htm|title=Introduction to Pakistan: Section 5: Coastline|website=www.wildlifeofpakistan.com|access-date=2020-08-28|archive-date=2020-06-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626173333/http://www.wildlifeofpakistan.com/IntroductiontoPakistan/coastlineofPakistan.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
#{{IND}} - 2,500&nbsp;km coastline
#{{PAK}} - 1,050&nbsp;km coastline
#{{IRI}} 
#{{MDV}} 
#{{OMA}} 
#{{YEM}} 
#{{SOM}}

<gallery mode="packed">
File:Bandra Sea Link aerial.jpg|right|Arabian Sea above Bombay/Mumbai
File:Arabian Sea - October 2012.jpg|right|Arabian Sea seen from space
File:Arabian Sea in Karachi.jpg|right|Arabian Sea in Karachi, Pakistan
</gallery>

==Trade routes==
[[File:Periplous of the Erythraean Sea.svg|upright=1.8|thumb|Names, routes and locations of the ''Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'']]
The Arabian Sea has been an important [[Marine (ocean)|marine]] [[trade route]] since the era of the ''coastal sailing vessels'' from possibly as early as the 3rd millennium BCE, certainly the late 2nd millennium BCE through the later days known as the [[Age of Sail]]. By the time of [[Julius Caesar]], several well-established combined land-sea trade routes depended upon [[water transport]] through the sea around the rough inland [[terrain feature]]s to its north.

These routes usually began in the [[Far East]] or down river from [[Madhya Pradesh]], India with [[transshipment]] via historic [[Bharuch]] (Bharakuccha), traversed past the inhospitable coast of modern-day Iran, then split around [[Hadhramaut]], Yemen into two streams north into the Gulf of Aden and thence into the [[Levant]], or south into [[Alexandria]] via Red Sea ports such as [[Axum]]. Each major route involved transhipping to [[camel train|pack animal caravan]], travel through desert country and risk of bandits and extortionate tolls by local potentates.

This southern coastal route past the rough country in the [[South Arabia|southern Arabian Peninsula]] was significant, and the [[Egypt]]ian [[Pharaoh]]s built several shallow canals to service the trade, one more or less along the route of today's [[Suez Canal]], and another from the Red Sea to the [[Nile River]], both shallow works that were swallowed up by huge [[sand storm]]s in antiquity. Later the [[kingdom of Axum]] arose in [[Ethiopia]] to rule a mercantile empire rooted in the trade with Europe via Alexandria.<ref>{{cite web |website=japan.mfa.gov.ir | url = https://japan.mfa.gov.ir/en/newsview/536033| title = Documents on the Persian Gulf's name the eternal heritage ancient time by Dr. Mohammad Ajam}}</ref>

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

[[File:Container terminal.JPG|thumb|upright=1.2|[[International Container Transshipment Terminal, Kochi|International Container Transshipment Terminal]] at Kochi Port in India]]

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

The [[Gwadar Port]] of Pakistan is a warm-water, deep-sea port situated at [[Gwadar]] in [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] at the apex of the Arabian Sea and at the entrance of the Persian Gulf, about 460&nbsp;km west of Karachi and approximately {{convert|75|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of Pakistan's border with Iran. The port is located on the eastern bay of a natural hammerhead-shaped peninsula jutting out into the Arabian Sea from the coastline.

[[Port of Salalah]] in Salalah, Oman is also a major port in the area. The International Task Force often uses the port as a base. There is a significant number of warships of all nations coming in and out of the port, which makes it a very safe bubble. The port handled just under 3.5m [[Twenty-foot equivalent unit|teu]] in 2009.<ref>[http://www.portofsalalah.com/port_news_item.aspx?id=16655 Salalah’s versatility beats the slump] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121025024826/http://www.portofsalalah.com/port_news_item.aspx?id=16655 |date=October 25, 2012 }}, Port of Salalah</ref>

==Islands==
[[File:Socotra satview.jpg|thumb|Landsat view of Socotra, an island of Yemen]]
There are several islands in the Arabian Sea, with the most important ones being [[Lakshadweep Islands]] (India), [[Socotra]] (Yemen), [[Masirah]] (Oman) and [[Astola Island]] (Pakistan).

The Lakshadweep Islands (formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Aminidivi Islands) is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea region of Arabian Sea, {{convert|200|to|440|km|mi|abbr=on}} off the southwestern coast of India. The archipelago is a [[union territory]] and is governed by the [[Union Government of India]]. The islands form the smallest union territory of India with their total surface area being just {{convert|32|km2|abbr=on}}. Next to these islands are the Maldives islands. These islands are all part of the [[Chagos-Laccadive Ridge|Lakshadweep-Maldives-Chagos]] group of islands.

[[Zalzala Koh]] was an island which was around for only a few years. After the 2013 earthquake in Pakistan, the mud island was formed. By 2016 the island had completely submerged.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.dawn.com/news/1305482/gwadars-quake-island-disappears | title=Gwadar's quake island disappears |website=www.dawn.com | date=31 December 2016 }}</ref>

Astola Island, also known as ''Jezira Haft Talar'' in [[Balochi language|Balochi]], or 'Island of the Seven Hills', is a small, uninhabited island in the northern tip of the Arabian Sea in Pakistan's territorial waters.

Socotra, also spelled ''Soqotra'', is the largest island, being part of a small archipelago of four islands. It lies some {{convert|240|km|mi|abbr=on}} east of the [[Horn of Africa]] and {{convert|380|km|mi|abbr=on}} south of the Arabian Peninsula.

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

==Oxygen minimum zone==
[[File:Winter Phytoplankon Arabian Sea.jpg|alt=Phytoplankton bloom over the Arabian Sea|thumb|Phytoplankton bloom over the Arabian Sea in winter (NASA)]]
The Arabian Sea has one of the world's three largest oceanic [[oxygen minimum zone]]s (OMZ), or “dead zones,” along with the eastern tropical North Pacific and the eastern tropical South Pacific. OMZs have very low levels of [[oxygen]], sometimes so low as to be undetectable by standard equipment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Lüke|first1=Claudia |last2=Speth|first2=Daan R. |last3=Kox|first3=Martine A. R. |last4=Villanueva|first4=Laura |last5=Jetten|first5=Mike S. M. |date=2016-04-07 |title=Metagenomic analysis of nitrogen and methane cycling in the Arabian Sea oxygen minimum zone |journal=PeerJ |language=en|volume=4 |article-number=e1924|doi=10.7717/peerj.1924|issn=2167-8359 |pmc=4830246|pmid=27077014 |doi-access=free }}</ref> The Arabian Sea's OMZ has the lowest levels of oxygen in the world, especially in the Gulf of Oman.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Queste|first1=Bastien Y. |last2=Vic|first2=Clément |last3=Heywood|first3=Karen J. |last4=Piontkovski|first4=Sergey A. |date=2018 |title=Physical Controls on Oxygen Distribution and Denitrification Potential in the North West Arabian Sea |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |language=en|volume=45 |issue=9|pages=4143–4152 |doi=10.1029/2017GL076666 |bibcode=2018GeoRL..45.4143Q |issn=1944-8007 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Causes of the OMZ may include untreated sewage as well as high temperatures on the Indian subcontinent, which increase winds blowing towards India, bringing up nutrients and reducing oxygen in the Arabian Sea's waters. In winter, phytoplankton suited to low-oxygen conditions turn the OMZ bright green.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bhanoo|first=S.N. |title=A Green Blanket on the Arabian Sea |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

== Environment and wildlife ==
The wildlife of the Arabian sea is diverse, and entirely unique because of the geographic distribution. 
<gallery>
File:Karachi Mangroves.jpg|Mangrove forests of '''Karachi, Pakistan'''
File:The-Worlds-Most-Isolated-and-Distinct-Whale-Population-Humpback-Whales-of-the-Arabian-Sea-pone.0114162.s001.tif|Critically endangered Sea Creatures
File:Dugong.jpg|[[Dugong]] mother & her offspring in shallow waters
</gallery>

==Arabian Sea warming==
Recent studies<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roxy |first1=Mathew Koll |last2=Ritika |first2=Kapoor |last3=Terray |first3=Pascal |last4=Murtugudde |first4=Raghu |last5=Ashok |first5=Karumuri |last6=Goswami |first6=B. N. |title=Drying of Indian subcontinent by rapid Indian Ocean warming and a weakening land-sea thermal gradient |journal=Nature Communications |date=16 June 2015 |volume=6 |issue=1 |pages=7423 |doi=10.1038/ncomms8423 |pmid=26077934 |bibcode=2015NatCo...6.7423R |s2cid=7061499 |language=en |issn=2041-1723|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="PratikEtAl2019">{{cite journal |last1=Pratik |first1=Kad |last2=Parekh |first2=Anant |last3=Karmakar |first3=Ananya |last4=Chowdary |first4=Jasti S. |last5=Gnanaseelan |first5=C. |title=Recent changes in the summer monsoon circulation and their impact on dynamics and thermodynamics of the Arabian Sea |journal=Theoretical and Applied Climatology |date=1 April 2019 |volume=136 |issue=1 |pages=321–331 |doi=10.1007/s00704-018-2493-6 |bibcode=2019ThApC.136..321P |s2cid=126114281 |url=https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00704-018-2493-6 |language=en |issn=1434-4483|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Roxy |first1=M. K. |last2=Gnanaseelan |first2=C. |last3=Parekh |first3=Anant |last4=Chowdary |first4=Jasti S. |last5=Singh |first5=Shikha |last6=Modi |first6=Aditi |last7=Kakatkar |first7=Rashmi |last8=Mohapatra |first8=Sandeep |last9=Dhara |first9=Chirag |last10=Shenoi |first10=S. C. |last11=Rajeevan |first11=M. |title=Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region: A Report of the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Government of India |date=2020 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-981-15-4327-2 |pages=191–206 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-15-4327-2_10 |language=en |chapter=Indian Ocean Warming|doi=10.1007/978-981-15-4327-2_10 |s2cid=226643638 }}</ref> by the [[Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology]] confirmed that the Arabian Sea is warming monotonously; it possibly is due to global warming. The intensification and northward shift of the summer monsoon low-level jet over the Arabian Sea from 1979 to 2015, led to increased upper ocean heat content due to enhanced downwelling and reduced southward heat transport.<ref name="PratikEtAl2019"/>

==See also==
{{Portal|Oceans}}
* [[Indian Ocean Rim Association]]
* [[North Indian Ocean tropical cyclone]]
* [[Piracy off the coast of Somalia]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Sources==
{{EB1911 |wstitle=Arabian Sea}}
* [https://japan.mfa.gov.ir/en/newsview/536034 A book and Atlas]

==External links==
{{Commons}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110523064712/http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/ecoregions/arabian_sea.cfm Arabian Sea (World Wildlife Fund)]

{{List of seas}}
{{Waters of South Asia}}
{{Countries bordering the Arabian Sea}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Arabian Sea| ]]
[[Category:Arabian Peninsula|Sea]]
[[Category:Marine ecoregions]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Iran]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of the Maldives]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Pakistan]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Oman]]
[[Category:Bodies of water of Somalia]]
[[Category:Seas of Africa]]
[[Category:Seas of Asia]]
[[Category:Seas of India]]
[[Category:Seas of the Indian Ocean]]
[[Category:Seas of Iran]]
[[Category:Seas of Yemen]]
[[Category:India–Pakistan border]]
[[Category:Oman–Yemen border]]