Littoral waters
Also called: Shallow waters, Brown water, Coastal waters · Topic: Oceans: Hydrological Cycle, Relief of the Ocean Floor, Temperature and Salinity · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Littoral waters are the shallow sea areas close to a coast. They stretch from the shore out over the continental shelf, the drowned edge of a continent where the sea is usually less than 200 m deep. Rivers, waves and tides shape these waters, so they are often muddy and noisy, with uneven floors. That makes them hard for large, deep-draught warships to work in. Draught means how deep a ship sits below the water. Navies therefore use small ships that sit high in the water to hunt submarines, patrol the coast and lay mines here. Navies also call these waters brown water or coastal waters.
Example
The wide continental shelf off India's west coast near Mumbai is a littoral zone. Bombay High, India's main offshore oil field, lies on it. India's Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Craft, such as 'Amini', were built for waters like these. These ships use waterjets instead of normal propellers, which helps them work in shallow water.
Don't confuse with
- Territorial waters: these are a legal zone that reaches 12 nautical miles from the coast under UNCLOS. Littoral waters are a physical zone, defined by shallow depth and closeness to land, not by law.
- Blue water: this is the deep, open ocean far from the coast, where large destroyers and frigates work. Littoral waters are the shallow strip near the shore.