Gulf of Aden

referring to the Gulf as the Gulf of Berbera In antiquity, the ancient Greeks viewed what is now called the Gulf of Aden as an extension of the Erythraean Sea (Red Sea) , Erythrà Thálassa. They named several of the islands in the gulf, including one they called Stratonis, although it is no longer clear which Greek name referred to which island. In Abu'l-Fida's A Sketch of the Countries (), 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. Legendary navigator Ibn Majid also 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. Berbera has been a prominent port since antiquity. ==Geography==

Limits The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the Gulf of Aden as follows: ::On the northwest – the southern limit of the Red Sea [a line joining Hisn Murad () and Ras Siyyan ()] ::On the east – the meridian of Cape Guardafui ::The Gulf of Tadjoura is part of the Gulf of Aden, forming its western end. Hydrography The temperature of the Gulf of Aden varies between and , depending on the season and the monsoons. The salinity of the gulf at depth varies from 35.3 ‰ along the eastern Somali coast to as high as 37.3 ‰ in the gulf's center, while its oxygen content at the same depth is typically between 4.0 and 5.0 mg/L. ==Exclusive economic zone==

Exclusive economic zones in Gulf of Aden: ==Economy==

in the Gulf of Aden The Gulf of Aden is a vital waterway for shipping, especially for Persian Gulf oil, making it an integral waterway in the world economy. 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. The main ports along the gulf are Aden, Balhaf, Bir Ali, Mukalla, and Shokra in Yemen; Djibouti City in Djibouti; Zeila in Somaliland, Berbera 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 first decade of the 2000s, especially during the war in Somalia, the gulf evolved into a hub of pirate activity. By 2013, attacks in the waters had steadily declined due to private security and international navy patrols. India receives US$50 billion in importsand sends US$60 billion in exportsthrough this area annually. To protect its trade and that of other countries, India keeps a warship escort in the area. ==Ecology==

A geologically young body of water, the Gulf of Aden has a unique biodiversity that includes many varieties of fish, coral, seabirds and invertebrates. This rich ecological diversity has benefited from a relative lack of pollution by humans in the past. However, environmental groups fear that the lack of a coordinated effort to control pollution may jeopardize the gulf's ecosphere. Whales, dolphins, and dugongs were once common before being severely reduced by commercial hunts, including by mass illegal hunts by the Soviet Union and Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. The now critically endangered Arabian humpback whales were once seen here in large numbers, but only a few large whales still appear in the gulf waters, including Bryde's whales, blue whales, and deep-sea toothed whales such as sperm whales and tropical bottlenose whales. ==See also==