CHAPITER V 

 SUMMARY MB C0NC3:.USI0N 



The peculiarities of hydrological conditions in the Indian 

 Ocean are the direct result of its geographical position. The great 

 land mass of Asia which encloses it in the northern tropical region 

 produces monsoonal conditions which are unparalleled in other world 

 oceans. In addition to this^ the proximity to vast arid regions in 

 the northwest which includes the Red Sea and Persian Gulf results 

 in water of unusually high temperature and high salinity in the 

 Arabian Sea. In contrast^ on the eastern side of the ocean in the 

 region "between Indonesia and Australia, unusually low salinity water 

 is present as a result of high precipitation and inflow from the 

 Pacific. Cold polar water is not accessible to the Indian Ocean 

 from the north as in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the only 

 source of cold water is from the Antarctic region to the south. 



North of the Equator the surface circulation is in direct accor- 

 dance with the seasonal monsoons and the North Equatorial Current is 

 not a permanent circulation feature as in the Atlantic and Pacific 

 Oceans. 



South of the Equator the circulation pattern is similar for the 

 most part to that which exists in the South Atlantic and South 

 Pacific Oceans. The principal difference is that in the Indian Ocean 

 the large central gyre is displaced farther toward the south than in 

 the other oceans. EVen the Subtropical Convergence is displaced to- 

 ward the south in the Indian Ocean. The South Equatorial Current 

 and the Equatorial Counter Current are present during all seasons. 

 The West Australian Current which flows north along the coast of 

 Australia is not a well-developed current and is dispersed in the 



68 



