Subject: Science & Technology
Topic: Oceanographic and Antarctic Research

Ques. 1 : Why ocean research and development is useful for India?

Ans. Oceans constitute nearly 70 percent of the earth's surface area and contain enormous quantum and variety of resources - living as well as non-living. A vast majority of these resources have not been tapped in a significant manner for economic, commercial and other beneficial uses. With the all round advancements in S&T, this relatively unexplored territory is now being increasingly explored to have a better understanding about what it has in store for us and how we can make good use of it.

India, in particular, has a lot to gain from oceanographic research and development. India has a long coastline, spreading for more than 7000 km in length. Its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers an area of about 20 lakh sq. km. over which it has exclusive rights for exploration and utilisation of all marine resources. The Indian Peninsula is flanked by three big seas including the Indian Ocean which has a big influence on the climate of India, among other things. Thus India has huge stakes in exploring and understanding the oceans and its resources so that this knowledge and expertise can be used in national interests by various means.

Ques. 2 : Briefly discuss the activities of Department of Ocean Development (DoD)?

Ans. Recognising the importance and potential of oceans in the development and progress of the nation, the Government of India established the Department of Ocean Development (DoD) in July 1981 to promote and co-ordinate the multi-dimensional endeavours required to accomplish the task of developing expertise in ocean science and technology and its useful applications. DOD was conceived to function as the nodal agency for planning, organising co-ordinating and promoting ocean development activities such as -

(a) oceanographic surveys;
(b) development of marine technology and manpower therefore;
(c) exploration, exploitation and management of a wide variety of ocean resources;
(d) protection of marine environment;
(e) coastal area management etc.

Among other things, the DoD was also given the important function of Antarctic Research.

Ocean Policy Statement

The Oceans are known to be out last frontiers. The tong coast and the sense of adventure of our ancients fostered a great maritime tradition. The Indian Ocean provides numerous opportunities which have to be utilised. For success in ocean development, the entire nation should be permeated by the spirit of enterprise and the desire to explore the frontiers of knowledge. What is needed is a policy and structure to facilitate a dynamic thrust keeping in view the developments in other parts of the world.

1. India, along with a large number of countries has adopted the UN Conference on the law of seas. According to this regime, nearly 2.02 million square kilometres of area shall come under India's national jurisdiction. Further, India has been recognised as "Pioneer Investor" in an area of 1,50,000 sq km of deep seas for the recovery and processing of polymetallic nodules.

2. The vastness, complexity and uncertainty of ocean development calls for a co-ordinated, centralised and highly sophisticated developed response.

3. The living resources have to be mapped, an inventory of commercially exploitable fauna has to be prepared and the minerals available in deep sea must be assessed.

4. The main thrust should be optional utilisation of lowing resources like fish and sea weeds, exploitation of non-living resources such as hydrocarbous and heavy placer deposits, harnessing of renewable sources of ocean energy from waves, tidal heights, salinity gradients and the collection and processing of polymetallic nodules from deep sea.

5. In addition to the development of basic marine science and technology, technological advances should also be geared to the utilisation and preservation of the marine environment.

6. The deeper past of ocean has to be surveyed to locate the rich and economically viable deposits of polymetallic nodules, heavy metals, fossil placers arid phosphosite deposits.

7. Indigenous technology needs to be developed for the exploitation of fish from deeper waters.

8. Infrastructural support needs to appropriately augmented as it forms an essential pre- requisite for ocean development.

9. The co-ordinating mechanisms of the overall structure of legislation have to be suitably strengthened under the aegis of the Department of Ocean Development.

10. A centralised data system has to be set up to co-ordinate efforts made by different agencies.

11. Skilled man power has to be trained regularly. Young scientists, technologists and engineers must be encouraged to participate in programme of ocean development.

Ques. 3 : Discuss in brief the objectives of India’s Ocean development programme?

Ans. Like most other significant areas of S&T, India's ocean development or oceanographic research programme is application-driven. The underlying theme has been to develop technologies for cost-effective and sustainable exploitation of marine resources towards socio-economic development, while keeping in mind the long term national interests and the need for environmental management. Accordingly, the main objectives are-

(a) Basic research in Ocean Science and Technology and understanding the oceanographic parameters.
(b) Exploration and assessment of marine resources - living and non-living of the exclusive economic zone, of the continental shelf and of the deep sea-bed.
(c) Co-relating the marine resources with oceanographic parameters to evolve exploration parameters and strategies (e.g. exploration and exploitation of poly metallic nodules at a depth of 6000 m. will require a different strategy/programme than at a depth of 2000 m.);
(d) Harnessing, utilising and managing the marine resources like sea-food, minerals and metals, ocean energy etc.
(e) Development of exploration technologies and infrastructure;
(f) Development of technologies and infrastructure for utilisation of marine resources e.g. technologies related to sea-bed mining, extractive metallurgy, ocean energy etc.
(g) Development activities related to integrated coastal and marine area management, coastal community development, ocean information service etc. with direct application to the welfare of the society;
(h) Development of ocean research manpower; creation of centres of excellence in academic institutions and creation of public awareness on the potential and uses of ocean;
(i) Develop expertise to play our rightful role in marine S&T in the international; arena, including commercialization of our technical know-how
j) Protection and management of marine and coastal environment.

To achieve these objectives, a number of programmes and schemes have been operationa-lised and some specialised R&D institutions have been established by the DOD.

Ocean Development Programmes

The programme and activities undertaken by the Department of Ocean Development (DOD) follow the main theme of sustainable and environment friend exploration and utilisation of marine resources - living and nonliving - for the socio economic benefits of the country. The following are the major application-oriented programme areas of DOD.

New Schemes

1. Comprehensive Swath Bathymetric Survey
2. Gas hydrate exploration and Technology Development
3. Acquisition of New Research vessels,
4. Geophysical study of Laxmi Basin

Continuing Schemes

1. Polar Science
2. Polymetallic nodule programme
3. Marine Research and Technology Development
4. Coastal Research Vessels
5. Delineation of outer limits of continental shelfs

Comprehensive Swath Bathymetric Survey of entire Indian EEZ

The area of Indian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) is over 2 million sq km around with various living and non-living resources. This new programme entails scientific mapping of this area to have an inventory of potential resources and to identity the causes of hazards. The study would help to develop innovative concepts on:

• Submarine fans and their role on accumulation of hydrocarbons.
• Submarine canyons and their role in transport and distribution of pollutants.
• Tectonics of margins.

The main output of the programme shall be a comprehensive bathymetric map of EEZ. The entire data shall not be made available as it will be sensitive from defence point of view. However, the data in parts shall be made available for commercial purpose likes, for pipeline laying routes to petroleum and natural gas industry, cable routing for telecommunication industry etc.

Gas Hydrates Exploration and Technology Development

Fossils fuels are being consumed at an increasing rate, thus causing depletion of existing reserves. Around the world, there is a search for alternate source of energy. Gas hydrates with their abundant resource potential is emerging as a potential cleaner fuel resource. Gas hydrates are ice like crystalline accumulations formed mainly from methane and water. Gas hydrates are stable in permafrost regions and in low temperature - high presence regimes of the continental margins. According to conservative fuel resource estimates, worldwide gas hydrate contains more organic carbon (about 10,000 billion tons) than all other global reserves combined (about 8780 billion tons). The preliminary assessment of geological condition suggests high possibility of occurrence of large quantity of gas hydrates within the EEZ of India.

Gas hydrate exploration is a nascent science and various countries are carrying out R&D activities to develop techniques for detection and quantification or gas hydrates.

In view of the above, a mission mode programme has been proposed to develop science and technology in India in respect of exploration of gas hydrate and to recommend suitable sites for drilling for ground truth validation and subsequent technology development for harvesting.

Main Objectives

1. Establish geophysical techniques for detection and quantification of gas hydrates.
2. Undertake investigation to identify promising sites and estimate resource potential.
3. Demonstrate existence of methane hydrate by ground truth sampling/drilling.
4. Develop environmentally safe technology for production and transportation of gas from gas hydrates in pilot scale.

Acquisition of New Research Vessel

The Department of Ocean Development has resource exploitation programmes such as exploitation of polymetallic nodules, under water observation systems and, instrumentation, gas hydrates ete. These programmes require extensive research vessel facilities and the requirement of vessels vary depending on the stage of development of technology. It has thus been proposed to acquire a vessel during the 10th Plan period.

The main objective of the program is:

• To build a new multipurpose vessel for technology services and demonstration to cater to the ongoing and new programmes during the 10th Plan of Department of Ocean Development.
• The programme shall be implemented by the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai.

Geophysical Study of the Laxmi Basin

In order to establish conclusively the nature of basement in the Laxmi Basin as well as in the area to its north and south, detailed geophysical surveys shall be conducted along the entire west coast. Steps have been initiated for acquisition and processing of geophysical data along with activities on interpretation and analysis of data.

(A) Polymetallic Nodules (PMN)

Meaning and Significance

PMN are lumps of minerals or mineral aggregates found on ocean beds. They contain metals like copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, manganese, aluminium etc. Of these, the first three are very important and in great demand in our country and abroad since these three metals of strategic needs are fast depleting from the earth (i.e. land). Because of this reason PMN have become the subject matter of world-wide research and development to explore and exploit them.

India is entirely dependent on imports to meet its requirements of cobalt which is the most strategic of the three. As for copper and nickel, India may be in a precarious position by the year 2015. Fortunately, PMN containing these three metals are lying scattered on the ocean floor in the Indian Ocean in abundant quantity.

The Ocean Regime established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982 while granting India the exclusive and sovereign rights of extraction of all marine resources in the Exclusive economic Zone (EEZ) of up to 320 km from India's coastline, also stated that the resources of the deep-sea shall be governed by the International seabed Authority. Accordingly, in 1987, India was allotted a mine site of 1,50,000 sq. km in the Central Indian Ocean. Even before that, right since 1981-82 India had started pioneering R&D work in the area of deep sea exploration with special emphasis on location and processing of PMN. The allotment of this site of 1,50,000 sq. km was, in away, a recognition of Indian R&D efforts in this field. Moreover, India was accorded the status of one of the four regional pioneer investors (the other three are Russia, France and Japan) in 1987 pursuant to its efforts and progress in the identification and assessment of the PMN in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB). Therefore, this site is sometimes also referred to as the Pioneer Area. It is estimated to be a storehouse of approximately 380 million tonnes of PMN containing about 73 million tonnes of manganese, 3 million tonnes each of copper and nickel and 0.5 million tonnes of cobalt. Therefore, India has launched this extremely challenging and ambitious programme of extracting PMN from the seabed at depth ranging from four to six km., with a view to exploiting some strategically important metal for the national good.

Progress Made

The Department of Ocean Development is the nodal agency responsible for implementing the deep-sea bed-mining programme. It has drawn up along-term plan to fulfil its obligations as Pioneer Investor as well as reach the stage for seeking production authorisation as quickly as possible. The programme has 4 components:
1. Survey and exploitation
2. Environmental Impact Assessment Study
3. Design and Development of deep seabed mining system
4. Extractive metallurgy

The developments have been as under:

(a) Intensive survey is being conducted to ascertain the extent of resources in the pioneer area. The high precision bathymetric maps generated by research vessel Sagar Kanya and the baseline oceanographic data on physical, chemical biological and environmental parameters are being used for comprehensive geostatical evaluation of resources of PMN and their distribution in the pioneer area.

(b) Various studies have been initiated to assess the environmental impact of large scale deep sea bed mining activity with the assistance of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. The study reports shall serve as reference documents in monitoring environmental impact of long-term mining at the site.

(c) Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur has developed in house designed remotely operated collector unit and a bucket-in-pipe lifting system. The system has been successfully tested in a shallow basin environment. Efforts are on the improve the design of the system and for development of other sub-systems.

(d) R&D activities to develop and standardise extraction processes for large scale production has been undertaken by National Metallurgical Laboratory (NML Jamshedpur, Regional Research Laboratory (RRL), Bhubaneshwar and Hindustan Zinc Limited, Udaipur. Technology developed for process route developed by NML, Jamshedpur shall be used to develop pilot plants. The R&D activities are monitored by Engineers India limited, New Delhi. After the completion of R&D phase, activities for semi-industrial trial phase shall be started. Detailed engineering, procurement, installation and commissioning of the system shall be undertaken in coming years.

(B) Ocean Observations and Information Services (OOIS)

OOIS seeks to understand the role of ocean and its processes, generate user oriented coastal and ocean data and data products like waves, winds, temperature etc. for supporting coastal and off-shore developmental activities and oceanographic research. The programme consists of 4 major projects:

1. Ocean Observing Systems (OOS): Systematic Oceanographic observation are important for validation and providing ocean data products. The OOS programme designed to acquire in-situ surface, meteorological and oceanographic data on real-time basis from the seas around India. The parameters being measured under the programme are surface winds, waves, atmospheric pressure, tempera-ture, salinity etc. The state-of-art instruments like tide gauges, current meter arrays are being deploy for measurement.

2. Satellite Coastal and Oceanographic Research (SATCORE): This programme envisages development of algorithms, models and related capability for an operational: retrieval of met-ocean parameters from satellite sensors. They Will be fine-tuned a converted to user-friendly software packages for operational use under the OIS.

3. Ocean Modelling and Dynamics: For utilising the ocean resources in a sustainable way and making the benefits cost-effective, it is important to understand oceanic processes. Knowledge of ocean dynamics is a pre-requisite for prediction ocean state based on ocean models. The programme is designed to generate a wide range at ocean models. The institutes associated in this endeavour are Centre for Mathematical Modelling and Computer simulation (C-MMACS), NIO, IIT-Delhi and Cochin University.

4. National Ocean Information System (NOIS): NOIS seeks to ensure productive and purposeful use of the information generated by the R&D institutions through a network of data centres. Having to share and exchange data and information, NOIS has identified .expert R&D institutions specialising in ocean science and technology and established National Marine Data centres to accomplish the objectives of collection, collation, validation, storage and dissemination of data and information.

(C) Marine Research and Technology Development

This programme involves various activities like:
(a) Assessment of marine living resources by the centre for Marine Living Resources and Ecology (CMLRE) the erstwhile Sagar Sampada Cell in Kochi.
(b) Assessment of environmental parameters and Marine living resources in Indian EEZ.
(c) Resources assessment and biology of Deep Sea fishes in the continental slope of Indian EEZ.
(d) Conduct studies on Deep Scattering Layers (DSL) within the EEZ of Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal on the basis of acoustic recordings.
(e) Conduct investigations to identify the harmful and toxic algal bloom forming species in the Indian EEZ.
(f) Development of acoustic techniques for Fish and Biomass estimation.
(g) Extraction of drugs and chemicals for medical purposes from marine living resources.

(D) Coastal Research Vessels

The Vessel Management Cell (VMC) manages two coastal research vessels namely Sagar Purvi and Sagar Paschimi. These ships were specially designed by National Ship Design and Research Centre (NSDRC).

The research vessels collect samples from coastal areas for monitoring the pollution levels at different locations. Sagar Paschimi was used for conducting archaeological survey at Gulf of Cambay Paschimi also undertook two voyages to Bombay High and monitored the oil pollution levels around the oil fields of ONGC. Sagar Purvi was deployed for baseline data collection in and around the nuclear installation at Madras Atomic Power Station (MAPs) Kalpakkam.

(E) Delineation of Outer Limits of Continental Shelf

According to the provisions of UNCLOS, the coastal state that intends to delineate the outer limits of continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles, is required to submit particulars of such limits along with the supporting scientific and technical data. India made its first partial submission for an extended continental shelf to commission on the Limits of continental shelf (CLCS) on 16 August 2010. If the claims are accepted by CLCS India would be in a position to claim substantial area beyond the EEZ.
National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) at Goa is co-ordinating this national endeavour with active co-operation and participation of all national Institutions. Antarctic Research

Ques. 4 : What is the importance of scientific research in the Antarctic?

Ans. Antarctica, a pristine laboratory of global importance, provides lot of scope for conducting scientific research that will benefit the whole mankind in the following ways-
i) It enables scientists and researchers to detect and monitor global environment phenomena such as the depletion of ozone layer, global warming and sea level changes.
ii) Antarctic meteorological research can supply data vital to weather forecasting in southern hemisphere.
iii) Glaciological research provides important data about the heat exchange budget and Antarctica's influence on the weather.
iv) Geological and geophysical research here provides great insight into global geological history and the formation of continents.
v) Study of solar-terrestrial interactions and cosmic rays travelling from outer space can be undertaken here because Earth's geomagnetic field makes Antarctica especially well suited to such studies.
vi) The continent's environment gives unique opportunities to study-

(a) the specialised adaptations of organisms to their environment;
(b) physiological adaptation of man to extreme climates and isolation;
(c) biological research data concerning marine living resource;
(d) information on human biology and application of medicine;
(e) ice-core samples for meteorological research.

Ques. 5 : What are the special interest in India’s Antartic research?

Ans. India is since long committed to scientific research in the continent Apart from the reasons discussed above, India has its own special interest in Antarctic research for the following reasons:-

i) The Monsoons have a direct bearing on the economy of our country. This phenomenon is controlled by numerous parameters generated over the entire global system. Meteorological data collected over Antarctica on a decadenal scale by Indian Scientists is being used to develop more realistic models on monsoon predictions and to understand the dynamics of the weather system over the Indian Ocean region.

ii) Antarctica provides a singular platform to monitor ozone depletion. The understanding of the ozone hole phenomenon, though being a part of a global scientific effort, is of a significant interest for the Indian Scientists. The hole, which was once considered static has proved to be dynamic and can have a direct bearing over the weather patterns over the Indian Ocean region.

iii) Antarctica is a sensitive indicator of global warming, a phenomenon that requires long term monitoring for devising a response strategy. Comparative studies on the mass balance of the large glaciers in Antarctica and the Himalayas, e.g., can provide clues about the short term climatic fluctuations, sea level rise etc. and their linkage with the melt/freeze processes controlled by Antarctica and the southern oceans.

iv) The Southern Sea is a major sink of CO2 from the atmosphere. This contributes to the high productivity of this watermass which has a effect on the fishery resources. Consequently the stock of marine organisms like Krill, finfish, squids etc. in the Antarctic water offers potential food resources. The Indian Ocean sector of the Antarctic waters is estimated to be a storehouse of a sustainable yield of fisheries which can be a future source of food.
It is for these reasons that 'Contribution towards front ranking research in Polar Sciences' is one of the stated objectives of the DoD; and regular 'Antarctic Expeditions' are part of its most significant programmes. Our Antarctic Research Expectations seek to identify and initiate programmes of Scientific and Economic Significance apart from establishing India's infrastructure and expertise in the field.

Answer of Question 1: B

Answer of Question 1: B