Indian Ocean

The third-largest ocean, bounded by Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Southern Ocean. Its seasonal monsoon winds have long shaped navigation and trade.

Indian Ocean Dipole: An irregular climate pattern marked by changing sea-surface temperature contrasts between the western and eastern Indian Ocean. Its temperature shifts reorganize rainfall and marine conditions across the ocean basin.
Monsoon: A seasonal reversal of winds that produces marked wet and dry periods in many tropical regions. Predictable wind reversals made regular crossings of the Indian Ocean possible.
Indian Ocean trade: The exchange of goods and people among ports bordering the Indian Ocean and connected seas. Long-distance commerce has tied the basin’s coasts together for millennia.
Indian Ocean tsunami: A tsunami triggered by a major undersea earthquake off Sumatra on 26 December 2004. The disaster devastated coastlines around the basin and transformed tsunami warning efforts.
Indian Ocean Gyre: A system of large-scale currents circulating within the Indian Ocean, with direction and strength influenced by monsoon winds. Its circulation reverses seasonally in the northern basin as monsoon winds change.
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea: An ancient Greek-language guide to ports and trade routes around the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean. It records the ports, goods, and sailing knowledge of early maritime commerce.
Strait of Malacca: A narrow sea passage between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra connecting the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is a major gateway for shipping between the basin and East Asia.
Indian Ocean trade network: A historical system of maritime exchange linking communities across the Indian Ocean basin. Its circulation of goods, religions, and people reshaped societies on multiple coasts.
Agulhas Current: A strong western boundary current flowing southward along Africa’s eastern coast. It carries warm water toward the southern tip of Africa and feeds eddies into the Atlantic.
Maritime Silk Road: A network of sea routes linking East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and the Middle East. Its routes connected the Indian Ocean to wider Asian systems of exchange.

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