The Ikst Drift is of longer duration, more stable and stronger 

 than the West Drift. Likewise the counterclockwise circulation of 

 the fall transition is less well defined and is weaker than the 

 clockwise circulation of the spring transition. The counterclock- 

 vise circulation can hardly he identified without including the 

 northern Indian Ocean in the diagram. 



The ctirrents of the Arabian Sea reach their greatest velocities 

 during July and August and the highest naxiraum and mean velocities 

 are attained in the vicinity of the island of Socotra. The coastal 

 currents are stronger and more stable than those which occur in the 

 open sea during any particular period. 



The seasonal regime of currents in the Arabian Sea can be 

 divided into four periods as follows: (l) the spring transitional 

 period of February, March and April; (2) the period of the East 

 Drift during May, June, July, August, and September; (3) the fall 

 transitional period of October, November, and December; and (k) the 

 period of the West Drift during January, ■"■ 



Below the soi^face layer in the depths from I50 - kOO meters 

 the circulation in the Arabian Sea is determined by the difference 

 in water densities which exist in different sections of the sea. 

 The action of the wind has only an indirect effect on the subsur- 

 face circulation by producing zones of divergence at the surface 

 where deep waters ascend and zones of convergence where the surface 

 waters descend. The general subsurface circulation consists of an 

 anticyclonic gyre in which there is sinking of surface water. The 

 stream of water pjssing out of the Red Sea through the Gulf of 



^Ibid. 



