OCEANOGRAPHIC STATIONS TAKEN IN THE INDIAN OCEAN 

 BY USCGC EASTWIND (WAG B -279) IN 1961 



Willis L . Tressler 



Marine Sciences Department 



U.S. Naval Oceanographic Office 



I. INTRODUCTION 



Historical 



On her return trip from the Antarctic in late March and early April 

 1961, the U. S. Coast Guard icebreaker EASTWIND, Captain J. W. 

 Naab, USCG, Commanding, took 30 oceanographic stations in the south- 

 eastern, central, and northwestern sections of the Indian Ocean (Fig. 1). 

 This was part of the International Indian Ocean Expedition, the EASTWIND 

 being among the first ships to participate in this great undertaking. Three 

 sections were made: The first, east to west from off Cape Leeuwin, Australia 

 along the 32° S. parallel of latitude from 110° to 78° east longitude; the 

 second, north from 32° S. latitude along the 78° E. meridian as far north as 

 4° N. latitude; and the third, north and west from 8° N . 70° E . to 12° N. 

 54° E. The east-west section comprised 5 stations, the south-north section 

 23 stations, and the north-west section 4 stations. 



Although the Indian Ocean is, perhaps, the least known oceanographically 

 of all the major bodies of water, a fairly large number of vessels, nevertheless, 

 have taken oceanographic stations there. Most of these observations, however, 

 until recently, had been taken in the western and northern portions, and com- 

 paratively little had been reported on the great central water mass. Com- 

 mencing with voyages of the GAZELLE and CHALLENGER in the 1870's and 

 winding up with those of the DIAMANTINA from 1959 to 1962, the list of 

 ships which have occupied oceanographic stations in the Indian Ocean is 

 Impressive. It includes such well known names as DANA, DISCOVERY II, 

 METEOR, PLANET, WILLEBRORD SNELLIUS, NORSEL, VALDIVIA, ORMONDE, 

 GAUSS, VITYAZ, MOWE, CDT . CHARCOT, MABAHISS, ALBATROSS, and 

 others . 



In 1935, DISCOVERY II, returning from the Antarctic, ran a section 

 through the Mozambique Channel, and this series of stations has been the 

 basis for much of the present knowledge of the oceanography of the western 

 portion of the Indian Ocean. Another important section was taken by DANA 

 from Sumatra west across the northern portion of the Indian Ocean as far as 

 Cape Delgado, Africa. North and south sections were made along the 



