Indian Antarctic Programme: Difference between revisions
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The 'ice cores' retrieved by drilling holes in Antarctic's vast ice-sheets yield information 'on the [[palaeoclimate]] and eco-history of the earth as records of wind-blown dust, [[volcanic ash]] or [[radioactivity]] are preserved in the ice as it gets accumulated over time'.<ref name=Gad08/> The NCAOR developed a polar research & development laboratory with a 'low-temperature laboratory complex at –20°C for preservation and analysis of ice core and snow samples' according to S.D. Gad (2008).<ref name=Gad08/> The 'ice core' samples are held, processed, and analyzed in containment units designed by such technology.<ref name=Gad08/> Storage cases made of poly propylene also ensure that the samples do not alter characteristics and are preserved for analysis in the form that they were recovered.<ref name=Gad08/> |
The 'ice cores' retrieved by drilling holes in Antarctic's vast ice-sheets yield information 'on the [[palaeoclimate]] and eco-history of the earth as records of wind-blown dust, [[volcanic ash]] or [[radioactivity]] are preserved in the ice as it gets accumulated over time'.<ref name=Gad08/> The NCAOR developed a polar research & development laboratory with a 'low-temperature laboratory complex at –20°C for preservation and analysis of ice core and snow samples' according to S.D. Gad (2008).<ref name=Gad08/> The 'ice core' samples are held, processed, and analyzed in containment units designed by such technology.<ref name=Gad08/> Storage cases made of poly propylene also ensure that the samples do not alter characteristics and are preserved for analysis in the form that they were recovered.<ref name=Gad08/> |
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==Research |
==Research stations== |
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[[Image:India in Antartica.jpg|thumb|Indian Research Stations in Antarctica]] |
[[Image:India in Antartica.jpg|thumb|Indian Research Stations in Antarctica]] |
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;Dakshin Gangotri |
;[[Dakshin Gangotri]] |
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In 1981 the Indian flag unfurled for the first time in Antarctica and it |
In 1981 the Indian flag unfurled for the first time in Antarctica, marking the start of Southern Ocean expeditions under the environmental protocol of the [[Antarctic Treaty]] (1959). The first permanent settlement was built in 1983 and named Dakshin Gangotri. In 1989 it was abandoned because of the vagaries of snow. |
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under the environmental protocol of Antarctic treaty (1959 ). The first permanent settlement was built in 1983 and named Dakshin Gangotri. In 1989 it was abandoned because of the vagaries of snow. |
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;Maitri |
;[[Maitri]] |
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The second permanent settlement Maitri was put up in |
The second permanent settlement, Maitri, was put up in 1988–89 on Schirmacher Oasis and has been conducting experiments in geology, geography and medicine. India built a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadharshini. Maitri accomplished the mission of geomorphologic mapping of Schirmacher Oasis. |
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India built a fresh water lake around Maitri known as lake Priyadharshini. Maitri accomplished the Mission of Geomorphologic mapping of Schirmacher Oasis. |
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;Bharathi (2012) |
;Bharathi (2012) |
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| ⚫ | India has demarcated an area beside Larsmann Hill at 69°S, 76°E for its third settlement and second active research station. The survey has already been completed and the station is scheduled to be operational by 2012. When it is complete, India will enter the elite group of nine nations having multiple stations within the Antarctic Circle. Bharathi is proposed for oceanographic research and will collect evidence of continental breakup to reveal the 120-million-year-old ancient history of the Indian subcontinent. In news sources this station is variously spelled "Bharathi",<ref>http://www.thehindu.com/2009/02/20/stories/2009022052310500.htm</ref> "Bharti"<ref>http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Bharti-to-be-3rd-Indian-station-in-Antarctica/articleshow/4861655.cms</ref> and "Bharati".<ref>http://www.thehindu.com/holnus/008200902161911.htm</ref> |
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India demarcated an area beside Larsmann hill at latitude 69 degree south and longitude |
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76 degree east for the third settlement or the second active research station. The survey has already been completed. It is scheduled to be operational by 2012.When it is complete, India will enter into the elite group of nine nations having multiple stations in the Antarctic Circle. Bharathi is proposed for the research of Oceanography and will collect |
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==Notes== |
==Notes== |
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Revision as of 14:47, 1 January 2010
Indian Antarctic Program is a multi disciplinary, multi institutional program under the control of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctic.[1] The program gained global acceptance with India's signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri research base in 1983.[1] Under the program, atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medical sciences are studied by India, which has carried out 27 scientific expeditions to the Antarctic as of April 2008 and is currently studying the feasibility of another research station in the region.[1]
History
The origins of Indian missions to the Antarctic are traced to the joint Indian Space Research Organisation-Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia agreements, which led to Indians, such as Dr. Paramjit Singh Sehra, joining the 17th Soviet Antarctic expedition of 1971-1973.[2]
The first Indian expedition—consisting of a team of 21 members exploring the Antarctic for a brief period of 10 days— was led by. S.Z. Qasim.[3] Kanwal Vilku was the first woman from India to spend 15 months in Antarctic during the 19th Indian expedition to the continent.[4] Since its first expedition in 1981, the country has sent a total of 27 expeditions to the Antarctic as of April 2008.[5][6] The 27th Indian scientific expedition to Antarctic—initiated on December 6, 2007 under the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)—was completed on 11 April, 2008.[5] Scientists from over 20 scientific institutions participated in this expedition, which also probed the possibility of India's third permanent research station in Antarctic.[5]
The first Indian research base—named Dakshin Gangotri—was set up on the ice shelf off the Princess Astrid Coast (70°45′S 12°30′E) in central Queen Maud Land in 1983.[5] This base was decommissioned due to excessive snow accumulation in 1989, by which a second research base—Maitri—was constructed.[5] The Maitri—almost 90 kilometers away from the older Dakshin Gangotri—is manned throughout the year.[3]
Suman D. Gad summarizes the characteristics of the research station Maitri (1988–89):
The second research station Maitri was set up in 1988–89 on the ice-free rocky foundation of the Schirmacher oasis. The oasis offered an ideal location to carry out multifaceted scientific expeditions in the upper atmosphere, meteorology, geomagnetism, seismology, solid rock geology and geophysics, metamorphic petrology, limnology, structure and tectonics, geomorphology and glaciology. Maitri is equipped with scientific laboratories, GPS station, seismological observatory, ice drilling, etc.[5]
Organization
The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research—a research and development body functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India—controls the Indian Antarctic program.[5] The NCAOR and the Department of Ocean Development select the members for India's Antarctic expeditions.[2] After medical tests and subsequent acclimatization training at the Himalayas, these selected members are also trained in survival, environment ethics, firefighting and operating in a group.[2]
One expedition costs up to ₹20 crore (US$2.4 million).[2] Logistical support to the various activities of the Indian Antarctic program is provided by the relevant branches of the Indian armed forces.[5] The launching point of Indian expeditions has varied from Goa in India to Cape Town in South Africa on 19th expedition during the time of NCAOR Founding Director Dr. P C Pandey in December 1999.[2] Over 70 institutes in India contributed to its Antarctic program as of 2007.[2]
Global Cooperation
The Indian Antarctic program is bound by the rules of the Antarctic Treaty System, which India signed in 1983.[5] Pandey (2007) outlines the various international activities that India has undertaken as a part of its Antarctic program:
On 12 September 1983, India achieved the status of Consultative Party, on 1 October became a member of Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), and in 1986 became a member of the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). In 1997 India also ratified the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty thus reaffirming India's commitment to protection the Antarctic environment. India hosted the eleventh COMNAP/SCALOP (Standing Committee on Antarctic Logistics and Operations) meeting in Goa in 1999, and the working group meeting on eco-system monitoring and management of CCAMLR in August 1998 at Cochin. India occupied the CCAMLR chair beginning in November 1998 for a period of 2 years.[2]
India also collaborates with the international community as a member of the Inter Governmental Oceanographic Commission, Regional Committee of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in Coastal Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO), International Sea-Bed Authority (ISBA), and the State Parties of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS).[5][7][8]
Research
Antarctic holds scientific interest for global research projects due to a number of reasons: 'Origin of continents, climate change, meteorology and pollution' are among the reasons cited by S.D. Gad (2008).[5] Mrinalini G. Walawalkar (2005) holds that: 'ice–ocean interaction and the global processes; paleoenvironment and paleoclimatic studies; geological evolution of earth and Gondwanaland reconstruction; Antarctic ecosystems, biodiversity and environment physiology; solar terrestrial processes and their coupling; medical physiology, adaptation techniques and human psychology; environment impact assessment and monitoring; enabling low temperature technology development; and studies on earthquakes' are among the areas of study under the Indian Antarctic program.[8]
Close to 1,300 Indians had been to the continent as of 2001 as a part of the country's Antarctic program.[4] Indian expeditions to the Antarctic also study the fauna and the molecular biodiversity of the region.[9][10] A total of 120 new microbes had been discovered as a result of international scientific effort in the Antarctic by 2005.[8] 20 of these microbes had been discovered by Indian scientists.[8] India has also published over 300 research publications based on Antarctic studies as of 2007.[2]
The 'ice cores' retrieved by drilling holes in Antarctic's vast ice-sheets yield information 'on the palaeoclimate and eco-history of the earth as records of wind-blown dust, volcanic ash or radioactivity are preserved in the ice as it gets accumulated over time'.[5] The NCAOR developed a polar research & development laboratory with a 'low-temperature laboratory complex at –20°C for preservation and analysis of ice core and snow samples' according to S.D. Gad (2008).[5] The 'ice core' samples are held, processed, and analyzed in containment units designed by such technology.[5] Storage cases made of poly propylene also ensure that the samples do not alter characteristics and are preserved for analysis in the form that they were recovered.[5]
Research stations
In 1981 the Indian flag unfurled for the first time in Antarctica, marking the start of Southern Ocean expeditions under the environmental protocol of the Antarctic Treaty (1959). The first permanent settlement was built in 1983 and named Dakshin Gangotri. In 1989 it was abandoned because of the vagaries of snow.
The second permanent settlement, Maitri, was put up in 1988–89 on Schirmacher Oasis and has been conducting experiments in geology, geography and medicine. India built a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadharshini. Maitri accomplished the mission of geomorphologic mapping of Schirmacher Oasis.
- Bharathi (2012)
India has demarcated an area beside Larsmann Hill at 69°S, 76°E for its third settlement and second active research station. The survey has already been completed and the station is scheduled to be operational by 2012. When it is complete, India will enter the elite group of nine nations having multiple stations within the Antarctic Circle. Bharathi is proposed for oceanographic research and will collect evidence of continental breakup to reveal the 120-million-year-old ancient history of the Indian subcontinent. In news sources this station is variously spelled "Bharathi",[11] "Bharti"[12] and "Bharati".[13]
Notes
- ^ a b c Walawalkar (2005), Gad (2008)
- ^ a b c d e f g h Pandey (2007)
- ^ a b The Indian Institute of Geomagnetism: Research-Antarctica, Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
- ^ a b c Pursuit and Promotion of Science - The Indian Experience (2001), 352
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gad (2008)
- ^ 24 Antarctic expeditions and 4 'special expeditions' to the continent according to P.C. Pandey, 529.
- ^ Pursuit and Promotion of Science - The Indian Experience (2001), 351
- ^ a b c d Walawalkar (2005)
- ^ Pursuit and Promotion of Science - The Indian Experience (2001), 173
- ^ Pursuit and Promotion of Science - The Indian Experience (2001), 213
- ^ http://www.thehindu.com/2009/02/20/stories/2009022052310500.htm
- ^ http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai/Bharti-to-be-3rd-Indian-station-in-Antarctica/articleshow/4861655.cms
- ^ http://www.thehindu.com/holnus/008200902161911.htm
References
- Gad, S. D. (2008), "India in the Antarctic", Current Science, 95 (2): 151, Bangalore: Indian Academy of Sciences.
- Pandey, P.C. (2007) in "India: Antarctic Program", Encyclopedia of the Antarctic edited by Beau Riffenburgh, pp. 529–530, Abingdon and New York: Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0-415-97024-5.
- Pursuit and Promotion of Science - The Indian Experience (2001), New Delhi: Indian National Science Academy.
- Walawalkar, M. G. (2005), "Antarctica and Arctic: India’s contribution", Current Science, 88 (5): 684–685, Bangalore: Indian Academy of Sciences.
External links
- National Centre for Antarctic & Ocean Research (NCAOR), Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
