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populated with marine life and different species of economic importance. The tuna fish catch from the Indian Ocean stands the second largest in the global market. However, with every good comes something bad. The coast is highly vulnerable to natural disasters such as storms, cyclones, sea-level rise, tsunamis, tectonic disturbances, etc. Globally, the sedimentary basins occurring in the Indian Ocean hold 40% of the world’s offshore oil production, and fishing accounts for nearly 15% of the world total catch. In 2018-19, India produced 13.7 million tons of fish and is the second-largest fish producer in the world.
Is this not a treasure? And, if you are still not convinced as to how rich the Indian Ocean is, then the following will definitely get you sweating.
The Indian Ocean holds one of the finest resources containing extremely high amounts of manganese, nickel, copper, cobalt, and iron. The coastal sediments are
an important source of placer
minerals that contain titanium,
zirconium, tin, chromite, gold,
lead, and so forth. For example,
ilmenite and deposits present
along the Indian coast contain
50%–60% of TiO2 and are widely
used in several industries for
making paint, pigment, and
heart stents, and also for “black
box” of aircraft.
Coming to my research
study, the Central Indian Ocean
Basin (CIOB) is the largest
(~5.6 × 106 sq km) in the
Indian Ocean and is bounded
by the Central Indian Ridge in
the west, the Ninteyeast Ridge
in the east, and the Southeast
Indian Ridge in the south. The basin is open toward the north and is a depot for sediments transported by the Ganges and Brahmaputra
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rivers. It hosts several morpho-tectonic features such as seamounts (underwater volcanoes), abyssal hill, faults, and fracture zones. In the western part of the CIOB, the presence of seamounts and abyssal hills has resulted in rugged topography. A majority of seamounts occurring in the basin were produced between 56 and 52 Ma during the Indo-Eurasian collision. This was the time when the Tethys Sea between India and Tibet closed, and the mighty Himalayan ranges rose from its depth.
The basin has drawn the attention of many researchers for its complex tectonic and morphological fabric, vastness in latitudinal extent, dynamics, and polymetallic nodule deposits. In the last more than three decades, India has been involved extensively in exploring the polymetallic nodules. The major objective has been to delineate the boundaries of potential deposits, which are now marked and
known as the first-generation mine site covering an area of 75,000 sq. km. It has been in the recent news that the Indian government would be commencing a major project “Samudrayaan” under the Deep Ocean Mission to target several explored and unexplored sites in the Indian Ocean.
Being an oceanographer, it is always an adventurous journey of being out at sea for days and everything that happens is such a new experience. Pursing my research in one of the prestigious laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)–
National Institute of Oceanography (NIO- Goa). I was privileged to participate in the 48th expedition of the exploration of manganese
The global ocean, with its untold mysteries, has been raising human consciousness. Covering an area of 72% of the earth is the most fragile ecosystem, with very few areas well explored. Ocean has always been a source of nourishment for the aquatic life, a major contributor to climate, and a storehouse for nonliving (minerals and ores) and living things.