Understanding the Indian Ocean -
Perspectives on Oceanography

by T.S.S. Rao and Ray C. Griffiths UNESCO Publishing ISBN: 92-3-103448-0 187 pp., 22x28 cm, hard cover Tables, graphs, maps Price: 240 French francs (or 43 US$) Shipping: 30 French francs (or 6 US$) by surface mail Ordering information here

Blurb

This book describes the oceanography of the Indian Ocean from earliest times to the present, and suggests a possible framework for the future, into the next millennium.

Earlier oceanography, in a popular sense, consisted of the knowledge and skill necessary to navigators and sea traders – long before Vasco da Gama found the sea route from Europe to the Indian Ocean in 1497-98 – when Arabs, Hindus, (Greeks, Chinese and others were this ocean’s masters and slaves. The European entry there ensured, besides more trade, an increasingly scientific study of the ocean’s treasures and dangers as well as of Nature and its possibilities. After World War II, nations that had previously vied with each other in this oceanic region, came together to collaborate in an effort to gain a better understanding of the ocean’s processes and resources. And, thus, the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) changed forever the face of Indian Ocean oceanography.

Coordination of the multi-nation, multi-ship IIOE campaign, during the early 1960s, was one of the initial tasks of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. Three decades later, UNESCO, its IOC and their partners in this publication project, offer the reader a fascinating view of past lore and the present state of oceanographic knowledge of this region plus some indications of where its study and monitoring might go from here.

PREFACE

In response to the wishes of its Member States, UNESCO and its Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) have made commitments to the strengthening of national and regional marine science and technology infrastructures and research programmes on the world ocean and its environment. The dissemination of oceanographic research results and scientific information has taken high priority in the Organization's marine science programmes. One specific avenue for such support is the publication of various forms of oceanographic literature, including material of a historical nature.

The present volume is the third published by the Organization on various historical aspects of marine scientific research in the Indian Ocean, a marine expanse regarded by scientists in the early 1950s as relatively unexplored, oceanographically speaking. The two previous publications dealt with specific expeditions. Assault on the largest unknown, by Daniel Behrman (published originally in English in 1981, followed by translations in Arabic, French, Russian and Spanish), explored the human dimensions of the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE, discussed in some detail in Chapter 1 and elsewhere in this book). Deep-sea challenge, edited by Anthony L. Rice (published in English in 1986, and subsequently in Arabic), included the account of and ancillary texts concerning the Anglo-Egyptian John Murray Expedition to the Indian Ocean, which took place in 1933-34 on board the Egyptian research vessel Mabuhiss. In contrast to the previous two publications, the present volume combines historical information with a summary of our oceanographic knowledge of this ocean.

UNESCO, following its 50th anniversary year and in anticipation of the International Year of the Ocean in 1998, declared by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1994, renders homage to the principle of international cooperation in this important field of science. The IOC of UNESCO, three decades after the completion of the IIOE, during which it played a coordinating role, salutes the mam-moth ensemble of work carried out by scientists and institutions of many nations in the long march towards a better understanding of this great body of water. The resulting knowledge and information are crucial in piecing together the global scheme of ocean processes and resources, which – enmeshed with those of the land, the air and the cryosphere – greatly influence the environment of the Planet Earth.

The Organization is pleased to recognize the generous support of the following co-sponsors towards the publication of this work: Global Environmental R Ocean Sciences (GEOS) Ltd., France's Institut Français de Recherche Scientifique pour le Développement en Coopération (ORSTOM) and the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR). Also, the dedicated work of the authors and others who assisted in the preparation of the manuscript are commended.

The authors are responsible for the choice and the presentation of the facts and opinions in this book, which are not necessarily those of UNESCO, and do not commit the Organization, its IOC nor the other sponsors of the publication.

THE AUTHORS

Professor T.S.S. Rao, formerly with the National Institute of Oceanography (1964-86), in Goa, India, is a marine biologist. From his travels and experience, one can cite his tour as visiting professor at the Instituto Oceanografico at the Universidad de Oriente, Cumana, Venezuela (1973-74). Later, he was Dean of the Faculty of Applied Sciences at Goa University (1986-91), where he established the Department of Marine Sciences and Marine Biotechnology. As head of the Indian Ocean Biological Centre at Cochin and Scientific Liaison Officer for the US Program in Biology during the International Indian Ocean Expedition (1962-65), he brings to bear on the book a broad understanding of the oceanography of the Indian Ocean. Besides the treatment of sea-related mythology, as well as early exploration and oceanography in the region, Professor Rao has provided a succinct review of the biology of the Ocean, supported by a brief account of geological/geophysical knowledge of the Indian Ocean basins and continents.

A complementary role was played by Mr. Ray C. Griffiths, also a marine biologist by training and currently a consultant in marine science. Mr. Griffiths brings to this book his diversified background of study and professional experience gathered during a varied career of research, consulting and international service. Following aquatic and fishery research in Canada, in Scripps Institution of Oceanography (California, USA) and in Venezuela and other parts of the Caribbean, Mr. Griffiths worked for twenty-five years as an FAO specialist, mostly detached to the IOC. He is thus well versed in international cooperation in marine scientific endeavour.

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