Doreen Gonzales - The Tropical Indian Ocean

THE TROPICAL INDIAN OCEAN

Doreen Gonzales

T he

Gonzales is

O u r E a r t h s O c e a n s

The

Tropical

indian

ocean

Doreen Gonzales

Enslow Elementary

an imprint of

E

Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Industrial Road Box Berkeley Heights, NJ 07922 USA

http: //www. enslow. com

Enslow Elementary, an imprint of Enslow Publishers, Inc. Enslow Elementary is a registered trademark of Enslow Publishers, Inc.

Copyright 2013 by Enslow Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced by any means without the written permission of the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Gonzales, Doreen.

The tropical Indian ocean / Doreen Gonzales. p. cm. ( Our earth's oceans)

Includes index. Summary: Learn about the Indian Ocean the animals that call it home, the sea floor, and all of its resources.

Also read about the people who have explored it and what is being done to keep the Indian Ocean clean Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-0-7660-4089-2 Indian Ocean Juvenile literature. I. Title. GC721. G67 2013 46'15 dc23 2012007617

Future editions: Paperback ISBN 978-1-4644-0150-3 ePUB ISBN 978-1-4645-1057-1 Single User PDF ISBN 978-1-4646-1057-8 Multi-User PDF ISBN 978-0-7660-4435-7

Printed in the United States of America 102012Lake Book Manufacturing, Inc. , Melrose Park, IL

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Enslow Publishers, Inc. , is committed to printing our books on recycled paper. The paper in every book contains 10% to 30% post-consumer waste ( PCW) . The cover board on the outside of each book contains 100% PCW. Our goal is to do our part to help young people and the environment too!

Photo Credits: 2011 Photos. com, a division of Getty Images. All rights reserved, pp. 6, 10, 28; 2012 Clipart. com, a division of Getty Images, pp. 24, 34, 35; Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, 43; GeoAtlas, p. 4; Jose Cort/ NOAA, p. 39; Matt Wilson/Jay Clark, NOAA, p. ( left) ; Mr. Ben Mieremet, Senior Advisor OSD, NOAA, p. 31; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) , pp. ( right) , 29, 37; Photos. com: Jose Cort/ NOAA, p. 41, Olga Khoroshunova, pp. 32, 44; Polina Pomortseva, p. 17; Ralf Hettler, p. 27; Shutterstock. com, pp. 3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 19, 23, 30, 33, 38, and all headers; Stephen Rountree, p. 20; Shutterstock. com: belizar, p. 16, Paul Cowan, p. 15; This image comes from The Report of the Scientific Results of the Exploring Voyage of H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873-1876 published 1885-95. , p. 36; Tom LaBaff, p. 18; United States Geological Service ( USGS) , p. 22; U. S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Jesse L. Gonzalez/Released, p.

Cover Credit: Carol Buchanan/Photos. com ( clownfish) ; Shutterstock. com ( all others)

Table of

CONTENTS

Geography

Resources From the Indian Ocean

The Ocean Floor

Life in the Indian Ocean

Exploration

A Healthy Ocean

Indian Ocean Facts Words to Know Learn More ( Books and Web Sites) Index

Chapter

GEOGRAPHY

re a

a n l f

v a r ench

The Indian Ocean lies between Africa on the west and Australia and Indonesia on the east. Asia is the oceans northern boundary. The Southern Ocean borders it to the south.

e r e e

Most of the Indian Ocean lies in the Southern Hemisphere. It covers over million square miles (68 million square kilometers). It is the third largest ocean on Earth.

S ea

The Ocean That Looks Like an M

The Indian forms a giant M on the surface of the globe. It holds several seas. Sea can be another word for ocean. It can also mean a part of an ocean. The Arabian Sea and the Red Sea are both in the Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf is another large body of water in the Indian.

The Indian Ocean is full of islands. Many are part of the island country of Indonesia. Madagascar is the largest island in the Indian Ocean.

The Indian Ocean

Climate

Much of the Indian Ocean lies within the tropics. The tropics are the areas 1,600 miles (2,575 kilometers) on either side of the equator. The tropics have warm temperatures all year long.

The waters in the tropics stay warm, too. Surface water rarely drops below 70F (21C). In July, the temperature of the water can reach up to 90F (32C).

The water is cooler south of the tropics. Indian Ocean water also gets colder as it gets deeper. Water in the deepest part of the ocean is near freezing.

Monsoons

A monsoon is a wind that changes direction with the season. From November to March, winds blow southwesterly across the Indian Ocean. In April, the winds change direction. They blow northeasterly across the water and then onto land. This monsoon brings heavy rains to Asia. It is called the wet monsoon.

People in India, Bangladesh, and Thailand depend on the monsoon rains. They use the rain for drinking and watering crops. Yet the rains can also be destructive. They can cause floods that ruin property and even cause death.

A monsoon on October 24, 2010, flooded Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. People floated their belongings while wading through the deep water to safety.