The Unique Situation in the Environment of the Indian Ocean

Abstract

There were two reasons why the Indian Ocean was chosen for the largest international oceanographic investigation ever made. First, the Indian Ocean is the least-known ocean. To make real progress in the knowledge of this ocean an investigation was needed, not by one ship, not even by one nation with several ships, but by numerous research vessels acting in concert. Before 1957 nobody knew if an international cooperation involving dozens of ships would work. But in 1957, which is really a remarkable date in the history of marine sciences, the first multinational program took place during the International Geophysical Year (IGY). The various oceanographic surveys made in the North Pacific and North Atlantic oceans proved that several nations had a great willingness and capability for scientific cooperation. The IGY meeting in Gothenburg (Sweden) 1957, the meeting of the so-called CS AGI (Conseil Scientifique Année Géophysique Internationale), was the beginning of the IIOE. In the same year the international body, SCOR (Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research), was founded and its first great task became the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE).