Understanding the Arabian Sea: Reflections on the 1994–1996 Arabian Sea Expedition

The Arabian Sea Expedition, now five years past its field observations, is at a stage when some of its dominant themes can be summarized. Of the large range of possible topics, five are considered here: (1) Is the Arabian Sea a source or sink for carbon dioxide?; (2) Is the Arabian Sea Mother Natureʹs iron experiment?; (3) Do grazing zooplankton control carbon flux to the seabed?; (4) Does the paleoceanographic record help us predict the oceanʹs response to climate change?; and (5) What are the predominant physical processes of the Arabian Sea? A short history of each issue and results from the field work of 1994–1996 are presented.