TABLE OF CONTENTS 



Page 



I. INTRODUCTION 1 



II. PROCEDURES 



A. Field 1 



B. Laboratory 1 



III. REGIONAL SETTING 



A. Coastal Geography 3 



B. Climate 4 



C . Regional Geology 4 



IV. MARINE ENVIRONMENT 



A . Currents 5 



B. Temperature and Salinity 6 



C. Bottom Topography 10 



V. SEDIMENTS 



A. Grain Size 14 



B. Calcium Carbonate Content 14 



C. Organic Carbon Content 14 



D . Carbonate Constituents 18 



E. Light Minerals 18 



F . Heavy Minerals 21 



G . Clay Mineralogy 21 



H. Carbonate Mineralogy 23 



VI. DISCUSSION 23 



REFERENCES 27 



TABLES 



1 . Light and Heavy Mineralogy of Eight Northern Arabian Sea Somples 



(percent by count) 20 



2. Carbonate Mineralogy of Four Samples from the Indian Continental 



Shelf of the Northern Arabian Sea 24 



III 



