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Gulf of Aden

May 18, 2023

The Gulf of Aden (Arabic: خليج عدن, Somali: Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒) is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north, the Arabian Sea to the east, Djibouti to the west, and the Guardafui Channel, Socotra and Somalia to the south.[2] In the northwest, it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab-el-Mandeb strait, and it connects with the Arabian Sea to the east. To the west, it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti. The Aden Ridge lies along the centerline of the Gulf and is causing it to widen about 15mm per year.

Gulf of Aden
The Gulf of Aden, as viewed from space (top) and on a map (bottom)
LocationEast Africa and Western Asia
Coordinates12°N 48°E / 12°N 48°E / 12; 48Coordinates: 12°N 48°E / 12°N 48°E / 12; 48
TypeGulf
Basin countries
List
Surface area410,000 km2 (160,000 sq mi)[dubious – discuss]
Average depth500 m (1,600 ft)
Max. depth2,700 m (8,900 ft)
Max. temperature28 °C (82 °F)
Min. temperature15 °C (59 °F)
SettlementsAden, Djibouti, Berbera

The ancient Greeks regarded the gulf as one of the most important parts of the Erythraean Sea. It later came to be dominated by Muslims, as the area around the gulf converted to Islam. From the late 1960s onwards, there started to be an increased Soviet naval presence in the Gulf. The importance of the Gulf of Aden declined when the Suez Canal was closed, but it was revitalized when the canal was reopened in 1975, after being deepened and widened by the Egyptian government.

The waterway is part of the important Suez Canal shipping route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean, with 21,000 ships crossing the gulf annually.[3] This route is often used for the delivery of Persian Gulf oil, making the gulf an integral waterway in the world economy.[4][5] Important cities along the Gulf of Aden include the namesake Aden in Yemen. Other Yemeni cities are Zinjibar, Shuqrah, Ahwar, Balhaf, Mukalla. On the Horn African side, the cities of Djibouti, Berbera and Bosaso.

Despite a lack of large-scale commercial fishing facilities, the coastline supports many isolated fishing towns and villages. The Gulf of Aden is richly supplied with fish, turtles, and lobsters.[6] Local fishing takes place close to the shore; sardines, tuna, kingfish, and mackerel make up the bulk of the annual catches. Crayfish and sharks are also fished locally.

Historical Names

 
Ibn Majid referring to the Gulf as the Gulf of Berbera

In antiquity, the modern-day Gulf of Aden was seen as an extension of the Erythraean Sea (Red Sea) Greek: Ἐρυθρὰ Θάλασσα, Erythrà Thálassa in Ancient Greek geography. The Greeks named several islands within the gulf, including Stratonis Insula, although it is no longer clear which existing islands had which Greek names.[7][8]

In Abu'l-Fida's, A Sketch of the Countries (Arabic: تقويم البلدان), the present-day Gulf of Aden was called the Gulf of Berbera, which shows how important Berbera was in both regional and international trade during the medieval period.[9][10]

Legendary navigator Ibn Majid referred to the Gulf of Aden as the Gulf of Berbera in his 15th century magnum opus The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship. In his description of the Somali coast and wider Indian Ocean he used the then contemporary reference to the Gulf as being named after Berbera like Abu'l-Fida before him.[11] Berbera has been a prominent port since antiquity[12]

Geography

Limits

The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows:[13]

On the west – The southern limit of the Red Sea [A line joining Hisn Murad (12°40′N 43°30′E / 12.667°N 43.500°E / 12.667; 43.500) and Ras Siyyan (12°29′N 43°20′E / 12.483°N 43.333°E / 12.483; 43.333)].
On the west – The eastern limit of the Gulf of Tadjoura (A line joining Obock and Lawyacado).
On the East – The Arabian Sea.

Hydrography

The temperature of the Gulf of Aden varies between 15 °C (59 °F) and 28 °C (82 °F), depending on the season and the appearance of monsoons. The salinity of the gulf at 10 metres (33 ft) depth varies from 35.3 ‰ along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37.3 ‰ in the gulf's center,[14] while the oxygen content in the Gulf of Aden at the same depth is typically between 4.0 and 5.0 mg/L.[14]

Exclusive economic zone

Exclusive economic zones in Gulf of Aden:[15][16][17][18]

Number Country Area (Km2)
1   Yemen 509,240
2   Somalia 831,059
3   Djibouti 7,037
Total Gulf of Aden 1,347,336

Economy

 
A dhow in the Gulf of Aden
See also: Somali piracy

The Gulf of Aden is a vital waterway for shipping, especially for Persian Gulf oil, making it an integral waterway in the world economy.[4] Approximately 11% of the world's seaborne petroleum passes through the Gulf of Aden on its way to the Suez Canal or to regional refineries.[5] The main ports along the gulf are Aden, Balhaf, Bir Ali, Mukalla, and Shokra in Yemen; Djibouti City in Djibouti; Zeila, Berbera, Maydh and Las Khorey in Somaliland and Bosaso in Somalia.

In antiquity, the gulf was a thriving area of international trade between Ptolemaic Egypt and Rome in the west and Classical India, its Indonesian colonies, and Han China in the east. It was not limited to transshipment, as Yemeni incense, tortoiseshell, and other goods were in high demand in both directions. After Egyptian sailors discovered the monsoon winds and began to trade directly with India, caravan routes and their associated kingdoms began to collapse, leading to a rise in piracy in the area. The 1st-century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea documents one Egyptian captain's experiences during this era.

After the collapse of the Roman economy, direct trade ceased but the Awsan I port Crater, located just south of the modern city of Aden, remained an important regional center. In late antiquity and the early medieval period, there were several invasions of Yemen from Ethiopia; after the rise of Islam, the gulf permitted repeated migrations of northwest Africa by Arab settlers.

In the late 2000s, the gulf evolved into a hub of pirate activity. By 2013, attacks in the waters had steadily declined due to active private security and international navy patrols.[19] India receives US$50 billion in imports and sends US$60 billion in exports through this area annually. Due to this, and for the sake of protecting the trade of other countries, India keeps a warship escort in this area.[20]

Ecology

A geologically young body of water, the Gulf of Aden has a unique biodiversity that contains many varieties of fish, coral, seabirds and invertebrates. This rich ecological diversity has benefited from a relative lack of pollution during the history of human habitation around the gulf. However, environmental groups fear that the lack of a coordinated effort to control pollution may jeopardize the gulf's ecosphere.[21] Whales, dolphins, and dugongs[22] were once common[23] before being severely reduced by commercial hunts, including by mass illegal hunts by Soviet Union and Japan in 1960s to 70s.[24] Critically endangered Arabian humpback whales were once seen in large numbers,[25] but only a few large whales still appear in the gulf waters, including Bryde's whales,[26] blue whales,[27] and toothed whales inhabiting deep-seas such as sperm whales[28] and tropical bottlenose whales.[29]

See also

References

  1. ^ Michael Hodd, East Africa Handbook, 7th Edition, (Passport Books: 2002), p. 21: "To the north are the countries of the Horn of Africa comprising Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somaliland."
  2. ^ Lytle, Ephraim. "Early Greek and Latin Sources on the Indian Ocean and Eastern Africa." Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2016. 113-134.
  3. ^ . Yahoo!. Archived from the original on December 4, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
  4. ^ a b "Earth from Space: The Gulf of Aden – the gateway to Persian oil". European Space Agency. 2005-03-01. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  5. ^ a b (PDF). International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation (ITOPF). 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-12-16. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  6. ^ "Aden, Gulf of | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2019-06-14.
  7. ^ Smith, William (editor); Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, "Stratonis Insula", London, (1854)
  8. ^ "LacusCurtius • Strabo's Geography — Book XVI Chapter 4". penelope.uchicago.edu.
  9. ^ Identifiants et Référentiels Sudoc Pour L'Enseignement Supérieur et la Recherche - Abū al-Fidā (1273-1331) (in French)
  10. ^ Lewicki, Tadeusz (1974). Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara. Curzon Press. p. 33.
  11. ^ Ibn Majid, Ahmad. الفوائد في أصول علم البحر والقواعد (in Arabic). p. 129.
  12. ^ Periplus of the Erythraean Sea, Schoff's 1912 translation
  13. ^ (PDF). International Hydrographic Organization. 1953. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
  14. ^ a b "Hydrographic Survey Results". Report on Cruise No. 3 of R/V "Dr. Fridtjof Nansen." - Indian Ocean Fishery and Development Programme - Pelagic Fish Assessment Survey North Arabian Sea. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 1975. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  15. ^ "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org.
  16. ^ "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org.
  17. ^ "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org.
  18. ^ "Sea Around Us | Fisheries, Ecosystems and Biodiversity". www.seaaroundus.org.
  19. ^ Arnsdorf, Isaac (22 July 2013). "West Africa Pirates Seen Threatening Oil and Shipping". Bloomberg. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  20. ^ Gokhale, Nitin (2011). "India Takes Fight to Pirates". the-diplomat.com. The Diplomat. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
  21. ^ "Red Sea & Gulf of Aden". United Nations Environment Programme. 2005. Archived from the original on 2005-07-01. Retrieved 2008-04-04.
  22. ^ Nasr D.. Dugongs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden 2015-11-27 at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Hoath R.. 2009. A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt. pp.112. The American University in Cairo Press. Retrieved on February 26. 2016
  24. ^ Jackson J.. 2006. Diving with Giants. p.59. New Holland Publishers Ltd. Retrieved on December 17. 2014
  25. ^ Yuri A. Mikhalev (1997). "Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Arabian Sea" (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series. 149: 13. Bibcode:1997MEPS..149...13M. doi:10.3354/meps149013.
  26. ^ "PBS - The Voyage of the Odyssey - Track the Voyage - MALDIVES". www.pbs.org.
  27. ^ "Cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary: A Review : A WDCS Science report" (PDF). Vliz.be. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  28. ^ "Yemen". www.sailingluna.nl.
  29. ^ Anderson, R. C.; Clark, R.; Madsen, P. T.; Johnson, C.; Kiszka, J.; Breysse, O. (2006). "Observations of Longman's Beaked Whale (Indopacetus pacificus) in the Western Indian Ocean". Aquatic Mammals. 32 (2): 223–231. doi:10.1578/AM.32.2.2006.223.

Further reading

  • Pollak, Richard (April 22, 2009). . The Nation. Archived from the original on September 19, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2017.

External links

  •   Media related to Gulf of Aden at Wikimedia Commons
  • Space Station photograph of the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa

May 18, 2023
gulf, aden, arabic, خليج, عدن, somali, gacanka, cadmeed, 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌, 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒, deepwater, gulf, indian, ocean, between, yemen, north, arabian, east, djibouti, west, guardafui, channel, socotra, somalia, south, northwest, connects, with, through, mandeb, strait, connec. The Gulf of Aden Arabic خليج عدن Somali Gacanka Cadmeed 𐒅𐒖𐒐𐒕𐒌 𐒋𐒖𐒆𐒗𐒒 is a deepwater gulf of the Indian Ocean between Yemen to the north the Arabian Sea to the east Djibouti to the west and the Guardafui Channel Socotra and Somalia to the south 2 In the northwest it connects with the Red Sea through the Bab el Mandeb strait and it connects with the Arabian Sea to the east To the west it narrows into the Gulf of Tadjoura in Djibouti The Aden Ridge lies along the centerline of the Gulf and is causing it to widen about 15mm per year Gulf of AdenThe Gulf of Aden as viewed from space top and on a map bottom LocationEast Africa and Western AsiaCoordinates12 N 48 E 12 N 48 E 12 48 Coordinates 12 N 48 E 12 N 48 E 12 48TypeGulfBasin countriesList Djibouti Somalia Yemen 1 de facto 1 SomalilandSurface area410 000 km2 160 000 sq mi dubious discuss Average depth500 m 1 600 ft Max depth2 700 m 8 900 ft Max temperature28 C 82 F Min temperature15 C 59 F SettlementsAden Djibouti BerberaThe ancient Greeks regarded the gulf as one of the most important parts of the Erythraean Sea It later came to be dominated by Muslims as the area around the gulf converted to Islam From the late 1960s onwards there started to be an increased Soviet naval presence in the Gulf The importance of the Gulf of Aden declined when the Suez Canal was closed but it was revitalized when the canal was reopened in 1975 after being deepened and widened by the Egyptian government The waterway is part of the important Suez Canal shipping route between the Mediterranean Sea and the Arabian Sea in the Indian Ocean with 21 000 ships crossing the gulf annually 3 This route is often used for the delivery of Persian Gulf oil making the gulf an integral waterway in the world economy 4 5 Important cities along the Gulf of Aden include the namesake Aden in Yemen Other Yemeni cities are Zinjibar Shuqrah Ahwar Balhaf Mukalla On the Horn African side the cities of Djibouti Berbera and Bosaso Despite a lack of large scale commercial fishing facilities the coastline supports many isolated fishing towns and villages The Gulf of Aden is richly supplied with fish turtles and lobsters 6 Local fishing takes place close to the shore sardines tuna kingfish and mackerel make up the bulk of the annual catches Crayfish and sharks are also fished locally Contents 1 Historical Names 2 Geography 2 1 Limits 2 2 Hydrography 3 Exclusive economic zone 4 Economy 5 Ecology 6 See also 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External linksHistorical Names Edit Ibn Majid referring to the Gulf as the Gulf of Berbera In antiquity the modern day Gulf of Aden was seen as an extension of the Erythraean Sea Red Sea Greek Ἐry8rὰ 8alassa Erythra Thalassa in Ancient Greek geography The Greeks named several islands within the gulf including Stratonis Insula although it is no longer clear which existing islands had which Greek names 7 8 In Abu l Fida s A Sketch of the Countries Arabic تقويم البلدان the present day Gulf of Aden was called the Gulf of Berbera which shows how important Berbera was in both regional and international trade during the medieval period 9 10 Legendary navigator Ibn Majid referred to the Gulf of Aden as the Gulf of Berbera in his 15th century magnum opus The Book of the Benefits of the Principles and Foundations of Seamanship In his description of the Somali coast and wider Indian Ocean he used the then contemporary reference to the Gulf as being named after Berbera like Abu l Fida before him 11 Berbera has been a prominent port since antiquity 12 Geography EditLimits Edit The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows 13 On the west The southern limit of the Red Sea A line joining Hisn Murad 12 40 N 43 30 E 12 667 N 43 500 E 12 667 43 500 and Ras Siyyan 12 29 N 43 20 E 12 483 N 43 333 E 12 483 43 333 dd On the west The eastern limit of the Gulf of Tadjoura A line joining Obock and Lawyacado dd On the East The Arabian Sea dd Hydrography Edit The temperature of the Gulf of Aden varies between 15 C 59 F and 28 C 82 F depending on the season and the appearance of monsoons The salinity of the gulf at 10 metres 33 ft depth varies from 35 3 along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37 3 in the gulf s center 14 while the oxygen content in the Gulf of Aden at the same depth is typically between 4 0 and 5 0 mg L 14 Exclusive economic zone EditExclusive economic zones in Gulf of Aden 15 16 17 18 Number Country Area Km2 1 Yemen 509 2402 Somalia 831 0593 Djibouti 7 037Total Gulf of Aden 1 347 336Economy Edit A dhow in the Gulf of Aden See also Somali piracy The Gulf of Aden is a vital waterway for shipping especially for Persian Gulf oil making it an integral waterway in the world economy 4 Approximately 11 of the world s seaborne petroleum passes through the Gulf of Aden on its way to the Suez Canal or to regional refineries 5 The main ports along the gulf are Aden Balhaf Bir Ali Mukalla and Shokra in Yemen Djibouti City in Djibouti Zeila Berbera Maydh and Las Khorey in Somaliland and Bosaso in Somalia In antiquity the gulf was a thriving area of international trade between Ptolemaic Egypt and Rome in the west and Classical India its Indonesian colonies and Han China in the east It was not limited to transshipment as Yemeni incense tortoiseshell and other goods were in high demand in both directions After Egyptian sailors discovered the monsoon winds and began to trade directly with India caravan routes and their associated kingdoms began to collapse leading to a rise in piracy in the area The 1st century Periplus of the Erythraean Sea documents one Egyptian captain s experiences during this era After the collapse of the Roman economy direct trade ceased but the Awsan I port Crater located just south of the modern city of Aden remained an important regional center In late antiquity and the early medieval period there were several invasions of Yemen from Ethiopia after the rise of Islam the gulf permitted repeated migrations of northwest Africa by Arab settlers In the late 2000s the gulf evolved into a hub of pirate activity By 2013 attacks in the waters had steadily declined due to active private security and international navy patrols 19 India receives US 50 billion in imports and sends US 60 billion in exports through this area annually Due to this and for the sake of protecting the trade of other countries India keeps a warship escort in this area 20 Ecology EditA geologically young body of water the Gulf of Aden has a unique biodiversity that contains many varieties of fish coral seabirds and invertebrates This rich ecological diversity has benefited from a relative lack of pollution during the history of human habitation around the gulf However environmental groups fear that the lack of a coordinated effort to control pollution may jeopardize the gulf s ecosphere 21 Whales dolphins and dugongs 22 were once common 23 before being severely reduced by commercial hunts including by mass illegal hunts by Soviet Union and Japan in 1960s to 70s 24 Critically endangered Arabian humpback whales were once seen in large numbers 25 but only a few large whales still appear in the gulf waters including Bryde s whales 26 blue whales 27 and toothed whales inhabiting deep seas such as sperm whales 28 and tropical bottlenose whales 29 See also Edit Oceans portalMaritime Security Patrol Area International fleet of vessels in the Gulf of AdenReferences Edit Michael Hodd East Africa Handbook 7th Edition Passport Books 2002 p 21 To the north are the countries of the Horn of Africa comprising Somalia Ethiopia Eritrea Djibouti and Somaliland Lytle Ephraim Early Greek and Latin Sources on the Indian Ocean and Eastern Africa Early Exchange between Africa and the Wider Indian Ocean World Palgrave Macmillan Cham 2016 113 134 Pirates fire on US cruise ship in hijack attempt Yahoo News Yahoo Archived from the original on December 4 2008 Retrieved 2008 12 04 a b Earth from Space The Gulf of Aden the gateway to Persian oil European Space Agency 2005 03 01 Retrieved 2008 04 04 a b Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden PDF International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation ITOPF 2003 Archived from the original PDF on 2010 12 16 Retrieved 2008 04 04 Aden Gulf of Encyclopedia com www encyclopedia com Retrieved 2019 06 14 Smith William editor Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Stratonis Insula London 1854 LacusCurtius Strabo s Geography Book XVI Chapter 4 penelope uchicago edu Identifiants et Referentiels Sudoc Pour L Enseignement Superieur et la Recherche Abu al Fida 1273 1331 in French Lewicki Tadeusz 1974 Arabic External Sources for the History of Africa to the South of Sahara Curzon Press p 33 Ibn Majid Ahmad الفوائد في أصول علم البحر والقواعد in Arabic p 129 Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Schoff s 1912 translation Limits of Oceans and Seas 3rd edition PDF International Hydrographic Organization 1953 Archived from the original PDF on 8 October 2011 Retrieved 28 December 2020 a b Hydrographic Survey Results Report on Cruise No 3 of R V Dr Fridtjof Nansen Indian Ocean Fishery and Development Programme Pelagic Fish Assessment Survey North Arabian Sea Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations FAO 1975 Retrieved 2011 04 23 Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Sea Around Us Fisheries Ecosystems and Biodiversity www seaaroundus org Arnsdorf Isaac 22 July 2013 West Africa Pirates Seen Threatening Oil and Shipping Bloomberg Retrieved 23 July 2013 Gokhale Nitin 2011 India Takes Fight to Pirates the diplomat com The Diplomat Retrieved 19 April 2011 Red Sea amp Gulf of Aden United Nations Environment Programme 2005 Archived from the original on 2005 07 01 Retrieved 2008 04 04 Nasr D Dugongs in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden Archived 2015 11 27 at the Wayback Machine Hoath R 2009 A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt pp 112 The American University in Cairo Press Retrieved on February 26 2016 Jackson J 2006 Diving with Giants p 59 New Holland Publishers Ltd Retrieved on December 17 2014 Yuri A Mikhalev 1997 Humpback whales Megaptera novaeangliae in the Arabian Sea PDF Marine Ecology Progress Series 149 13 Bibcode 1997MEPS 149 13M doi 10 3354 meps149013 PBS The Voyage of the Odyssey Track the Voyage MALDIVES www pbs org Cetaceans in the Indian Ocean Sanctuary A Review A WDCS Science report PDF Vliz be Retrieved 10 August 2018 Yemen www sailingluna nl Anderson R C Clark R Madsen P T Johnson C Kiszka J Breysse O 2006 Observations of Longman s Beaked Whale Indopacetus pacificus in the Western Indian Ocean Aquatic Mammals 32 2 223 231 doi 10 1578 AM 32 2 2006 223 Further reading EditPollak Richard April 22 2009 The Cost of Doing Business on the Open Sea The Nation Archived from the original on September 19 2015 Retrieved June 18 2017 External links Edit Media related to Gulf of Aden at Wikimedia Commons Space Station photograph of the Gulf of Aden and the Horn of Africa Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Gulf of Aden amp oldid 1145599840, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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