Metallogenesis along the Indian Ocean Ridge System

Twenty years after the discovery of the sea-floor hot springs, vast stretches of the global mid-ocean ridge system still remain unexplored for locating hydrothermal vents. In comparison to the mid-oceanic ridge systems of the Pacific and the Atlantic, so far the Indian Ocean Ridge system (IORS) drew less attention from the world researchers towards finding out hydrothermal deposits. But recently several investigations took place in this direction by investigators of about half a dozen countries including India. Among these studies majority were concentrated around the Central Indian Ridge and the Southwest Indian Ridge areas, while a few observations were made around the rest of the areas in the IORS. The findings of these studies are discussed here.