Primary Production in the Indian Ocean I

Abstract

One of the basic aims of the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) was to accumulate data on the rate of primary production in the region and the environmental phenomena that regulate it. These data could then be used to prepare distribution charts which would show, among other things, areas of seasonal extremes in high and low productivity, and their spatial and temporal variations. A good understanding of these processes in the Indian Ocean is of great importance in the construction of models of seasonal energy transfer and the food pyramid and for their theoretical interpretation. Such models must take into consideration the influences of the Indian Ocean monsoons, intensity of upwelling, circulation pattern, etc., and the effects of these on rate of sedimentation, secondary production and spatial transfer. From the models, we could then estimate the level of fish production that each area could theoretically support and indicate regions of potentially exploitable fisheries.