OCEAN.
Bahr, An. Samudra, . SAxsic., Woltmeer, . . . Gan. Ocean° , SP.
Kala-pani, Darya, JUND. Samandr, . . TAM.
L'oceano, . . . . IT. Dengiz, . . . Tout.
The south and east of Asia is girt by the ocean, portions of which are known as the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf or Bahr-ul-Fars, the Arabian Sea, or N. Indian Ocean, the S. Indian Ocean, the Bengal Bay, and the Pacific. Edrisi says, The Ocean Sea is called the Dark Sea, because it is dark, and is almost always in commotion with violent winds, and covered by thick fogs.' So to the ocean near land the Arabs give the name of Bahr-ul-Khazr, or Green Sea ; and the natives of India generally style the Great Ocean as the Kala pani or Black Water.
Surrounding the coasts of Southern Asia, patches of the waters become occasionally crimson, brown, black, or white, which, especially in the Indian Ocean, occasionally extend as far as the eye can reach. These are caused by organic matter, but whether it is wholly animal or wholly vegetable, or both, has not been satisfactorily ascer tained. The water from pink-stained patches has been found to contain animalcules. The Red Sea has been supposed to be named from the quantities of slimy red colouring matter which it at certain times throws up on its shores, and which consists of a delicate seaweed. Along the coasts of China, yellowish spots are said not to be uncommon, and red and white patches occur on the waters of the Pacific. In lat. 8° 46' S., and long. 105° 30' E., Captain Kingman entered a white patch at dusk ; he filled a tub with the water, and found it filled with luminous particles, insects and worms, some like a hair, and about two inches long. This patch was 23 miles in length, north and south, with a strip of dark water dividing its centre. The whole appearance was that of a plain covered with snow. There was scarcely a cloud, but the sky was as black as if a storm was raging. A red water was seen by M. Lesson off Lima ; and in the vicinity of California there occurs a phenomenon which has been called the Vermilion Sea.' Sir E. Tennant has described changes in the sea around Ceylon of similar hue, and which lie ascertained to be owing to the presence of in fusorial animalcules. The Red Sea is in a riverless
and rainless region, and its waters are heavier than any other mere arm of the ocean. The saltest part is in the Gulf of Suez ; the saltness diminishes south of Socotra, and again increases eastwards to Bombay ; the temperature of its waters for three or four hundred miles from the Straits has been found as high as 95°. This is probably caused by the slight evaporation, as the more saline a fluid is the slower is its evaporation. The observations as to the rate of evaporation on shore have led to many extravagant estimates as to the rate at sea. The mean annual fall of rain on the entire surface of the earth is estimated at about five feet. The area of the Indian Ocean north of the equator, including the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal, is about four millions of square miles. The rivers of India are fed by the monsoons, which have to do their work of distributing their moisture in about three months. Thus we obtain inches as the average daily rate of effective evaporation from the warm waters of the N. Indian Ocean. If it were all rained down upon India, it would give it a drainage which would require rivers having six teen times the capacity of the Mississippi to dis charge. Nevertheless the evaporation from the North Indian Ocean required for such a flood is only one-sixteenth of an inch daily throughout the year. The total amount of evaporation that annually takes place in the trade-wind region generally at sea, according to Maury's estimate, does not exceed four feet.
The water of the Indian Ocean is warmer than that of any other sea, therefore it may be inferred that the evaporation from it is also greater. The N. Indian Ocean contains about 4,500,000 square miles, while its Asiatic watershed contains an • area of 2,500,000. Supposing all the rivers of this watershed to discharge annually into the sea four times as much water as the Mississippi dis charges into the Gulf of Mexico, we shall have annually on the average an effective evaporation from the North Indian Ocean of 60 inches, or per day. The waters of the Indian Ocean are hotter than those of the Caribbean Sea, and the evaporating force there is much greater.