Atlantikamahasagrhe warmerld. However, the warmth of the ocean resists the growth of phytoplankton, except for a few spots here and there, across the water body. Hence, life thriving in the Indian Ocean is limited.Indian Ocean is known as 'Ratnakara' in the ancient Sanskrit literature. Ratnakara means 'the maker (creator) of jewels'.The ocean's volume is estimated to be 292,131,000 cubic kilometers. Its average depth is 3,890 meters (12,760 ft.).Its fish are of significant importance to the bordering states, for domestic consumption and export.The beach sands of Indian Ocean are rich in heavy minerals and the offshore deposits are vigorously exploited by the bordering nations, primarily India, South Africa, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Thailand.The important ports and harbors of Indian Ocean include Chennai (Madras; India), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Durban (South Africa), Jakarta (Indonesia), Kolkata (Calcutta; India) Melbourne (Australia), Mumbai (Bombay; India), and Richards Bay (South Africa).Suez Canal (Egypt), Bab el Mandeb (Djibouti-Yemen), Strait of Hormuz (Iran-Oman), and Strait of Malacca (Indonesia-Malaysia) are the four main access points to the Indian Ocean.Indian Ocean transports a heavy traffic of petroleum and petroleum products, from the oilfields of the Persian Gulf and Indonesia.The largest container handling facility in the Indian Ocean has been termed as Port Louis.The Indian Ocean changes course twice a year—once in winter and once in summer.Approximately 40% of the world’s oil production comes from the Indian Ocean.The ocean provides major sea routes connecting the Middle East, Africa, and East Asia with Europe and the Americas.The average surface temperature of the Indian Ocean is recorded as 220°C and drops 200°C with every descent of 1000 m.Approximately 40% of the world's offshore oil production comes from the Indian Ocean.Oil spills in the Indian Ocean have threatened this water body.Fishing in Indian Ocean has been restricted to subsistence level.The lowest point in Indian Ocean is Java Trench, with a depth of 7,258 m.The ocean was dominated by the United Kingdom in early 1800s. After the decline of British Empire, Indian Ocean is dominated by India and Australia.Experts have discovered that a large continent named ‘The Kerguelen Plateau’ has been submerged in the southern part of the Indian Ocean. It is learnt that the submerged continent is of volcanic origin.Do you know that the Indian Ocean gets 20 cm wider every year.Occasional occurrence of icebergs have posed a threat to navigation in the southern regions of the ocean.The Persian Gulf is the warmest sea in the Indian Ocean, followed closely by the Red Sea, which is also the most saline sea in the Indian Ocean. Facts about Atlantic Ocean:-Of all the world's oceans, Atlantic Ocean is the youngest. It is believed to have been formed during the Jurassic Period.Atlantic Ocean receives water from about half the world's land area. Numerous rivers flow into the ocean.The name 'Atlantic' is derived from the legendary island of 'Atlantis', as described by Plato - one of the ancient writers.Atlantic Ocean was the first ocean to be crossed by ship and airplane.In South Atlantic, there is a wide stretch of ocean between the tips of South Africa and South America, which causes huge waves & continuous strong winds, known as the "Roaring Forties".The warm Gulf Stream of Atlantic Ocean keeps harbors in the Northern Europe away from ice, during winters.Sonar waves are used by scientists to map the floor of Atlantic Ocean.Puerto Rico Trench is the deepest point in Atlantic Ocean. It is about eight and a half thousand meters deep.The largest island in Atlantic Ocean is Greenland.The Cancun reef of Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Yucatan (Mexico), is the world's second largest barrier reef, after the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.The first successful telegraph cable was laid under Atlantic Ocean in 1866, by The Great Eastern, the then world's largest ship.In World War II, the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth carried US troops across the Atlantic, to Europe.Concorde, the first supersonic flight, was across Atlantic Ocean only.In the winter storms of the Atlantic, waves can reach a great size and do untold damage to land.Atlantic Ocean causes the highest tides in the world, which occur in the Bay of Fundy, Canada, with a rise of around fifty feet in the spring tides.Atlantic Ridge, the underwater mountain range which runs 10,000 miles south from Iceland, is twice as wide as the Andes Mountains.Diamonds are scooped from the sea bed off the coast of Namibia, in southern Africa.A triangular area in Atlantic Ocean, called The Bermuda Triangle, is held responsible for mysterious shipwrecks, disappearances and air crashes.It was in 1919 that the first non stop flight to Atlantic Ocean was taken by John Alcock and Arthur Brown. The journey was completed in sixteen and a half hours.In 1928, Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly across the Atlantic.It was during 1850s that the Cunard Line began carrying passengers across the Atlantic.Titanic, the largest ship in the world - when she was built and said to be unsinkable, sank in Atlantic Ocean in 1912, after being hit by an iceberg on her maiden voyage to America.In 1938, a coelacanth, a type of fish that first appeared in the sea some 300 million years ago, was caught alive by the fishermen off the Southern coast of Africa. These fishes were thought to be extinct for more than 60 million years.French Emperor Napoleon, after losing the Battle of Trafalgar, was exiled to St. Helena in Atlantic Ocean mhasagr story. Photo.