The International Indian Ocean Expedition and the Pursuit of Science in the Developing World

Between 2015 and 2020, UNESCO and oceanographers who study the Indian Ocean sponsored an international expedition to pursue current research topics about the region. Known as the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition, the project recapitulated an effort that had begun 56 years earlier. The International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIEO) ran from 1959 to 1965 and was the first major oceanographic expedition to focus on a developing world region. With 22 participating countries, the IIEO pursued large‐scale, collaborative science as state formation began after the collapse of European empires. The wave of decolonizations in Africa and Asia after the Second World War was more than just the refusal of alien rule followed by the formation of new nation‐states [1]. It was a moment when the citizens of newly independent countries, including India, the most active developing‐world participant in the IIOE, sought to recalibrate international hierarchies. As African and Asian politicians and thinkers shaped international institutions to their benefit, including the United Nations, of which UNESCO was a part, developing world scientists also expanded their say in the pursuit of science [2]. Oceanography was a young field, often practiced minimally in wealthy countries, but pursued vigorously by India in the years after independence. This effort occurred in the context of a Cold War pursued by the primary funders of the IIOE, the US and USSR, that eventually undercut international cooperation in science but did not squelch Indian institution‐building in oceanography. The IIOE, then, offers a window into the historical geography of science in the postwar period and into the under‐recognized agency of scientists outside the West in creating regional science infrastructure.

New record of Lissoporcellana demani Dong & Li, 2014 (Decapoda, Anomura, Galatheoidea, Porcellanidae) from southeast Africa

The porcellanid crab Lissoporcellana demani Dong & Li, 2014 is reported for the first time from southeast Africa, based on material collected from trawls off Mozambique during the International Indian Ocean Expedition in 1963-1964. Lissoporcellana demani has been known only from the western Pacific, and the present specimens greatly extend the previously known distribution range of this species to the western Indian Ocean. Illustrations of a specimen are provided. Morphological variations of L. demani and characters distinguishing it from closely related congeneric species are discussed.

Sir Anthony Seymour Laughton. 29 April 1927—27 September 2019

Anthony (Tony) Laughton was an oceanographer who promoted the science of oceanograpy in Britain. Focusing on the shape of the seafloor, his work included underwater photography, ocean drilling, long-range side-scan sonar and scientific charting of the ocean floor. Following undergraduate studies at King's College, Cambridge, he joined Maurice Hill (FRS 1962) at the Cambridge Department of Geodesy and Geophysics, beginning a career in marine geophysics. Following his PhD, he spent a year at Lamont Geological Observatory, USA, where he met many leading US workers, and became interested in deep-seafloor photography and bathymetric mapping. Returning to the UK, he joined the National Institute of Oceanography (Institute of Oceanographic Sciences from 1973) at Wormley, Surrey, and became director in 1978. He developed the first UK seafloor camera, was an enthusiastic supporter and user of the revolutionary Precision Echo Sounder and later of the GLORIA long-range side-scan sonar. He played a significant part in the International Indian Ocean Expedition, subsequently developing a new understanding of the Gulf of Aden. A consummate committee man, he had a vital role in reviving the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans and promoted UK involvement in the international Deep-Sea Drilling Project. He was an accomplished amateur musician (playing French horn), small-boat sailor and handyman.

About the methane flux into the atmosphere in the South-China sea

The new results of gasgeochemical studies in the integrated expedition of the Russian Academy of Sciences on R/V “Akademik Boris Petrov” (Cruise 42) along the regional profile (3180 km) in the South China Sea (Bien Dong) from January 10-16, 2017 are presented. The expedition conducted in the frame of the Second International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2). For the first time, five zones of increased methane fluxes were detected. Zones with maximum values of methane fluxes correlate well with the location of hydrocarbon deposits and tectonic faults.

Winter Thermohaline Features along 10 degree N in the Bay of Bengal

To commemorate the contributions made by Indian Naval Ship (INS) Kistna during the first International Indian ocean expedition programme a scientific cruise was planned in the Bay of Bengal during November 2017 onboard INS Sagardhwani. The objective was to study the thermohaline properties along 10 °N in the Bay of Bengal and understand the sound channel characteristics in the region. A fresh water cap of ~20 m thickness is noticed in the top layers of the Bay of Bengal occupying the region extending from 83 °E – 93 °E. A prominent anti-cyclonic eddy was noticed around 10 °N centered between 90 °E and 93 °E, a negative sea level (west of 90 °E) co-exists with a positive sea level anomaly to its east along the observational tracks along 10 °N. The climatological temperature and salinity sections also shows the same features as observed along the transect. The study also sheds light on the deep sound channel characteristics along the 10 °N channel.

Euryalid brittle stars from the International Indian Ocean Expedition 1963–64 (Echinodermata: Ophiuroidea: Euryalida)

Fourteen species of euryalids are reported from collections made in the eastern and western Indian Ocean during the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Three new species are described: Astrocladus goodingi from the Comoro Islands, Astrocladus socotrana from the northwestern Indian Ocean near the island of Socotra, and Astrocyclus somaliensis from off northeastern Somalia. Range extensions are documented for Asteronyx luzonicus, Astroglymma sculptum, Astrocladus ludwigi, Asteromorpha capensis and Squamophis amamiensis.