Carlsberg Ridge

Carlsberg Ridge:

The government recently signed a contract with the International Seabed Authority to explore polymetallic sulphur nodules in the Carlsberg Ridge.

• Carlsberg Ridge is a mid-oceanic ridge (a divergent plate boundary) located in the Indian Ocean.
• The ridge extends from the triple junction of the African, Indian, and Australian tectonic plates (where it connects to the Mid-Indian Ridge) northwest to the Gulf of Aden.
• The ridge separates the Arabian Sea to the northeast from the Somali Basin to the southwest.
• It marks the boundary between the Somali Plate and the Indian Plate.
• The mean depth of the Carlsberg Ridge is between some 6,000 and 12,000 feet (1,800 and 3,600 meters) below the sea surface, and it rises to a mean elevation of about 7,000 feet (2,100 meters) above the seafloor.
• The ridge turns westward around the island of Socotra and eventually connects with the East African Rift System by way of the Gulf of Aden.
• It is the most prominent mid-ocean ridge segment of the western Indian Ocean, which contains a number of earthquake epicenters.