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Where does highly salty water enter the Indian Ocean?
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Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean, with depth contours and undersea features.
Highly saline water enters the Indian Ocean from two primary sources: the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.12
These water masses enter the Indian Ocean via the Arabian Sea. Because this water is highly saline and dense, it sinks below the fresher surface layers upon entering, forming the North Indian High Salinity Intermediate Water at depths between approximately 2,000 and 3,300 feet (600 and 1,000 metres). This intermediate water layer subsequently spreads eastward into the Bay of Bengal and as far south as Madagascar and Sumatra.1