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CSIR - National Institute of Oceanography
Dona Paula, Goa, India - 403 004
(A constituent laboratory of CSIR Council of Scientific and Industrial Research)
CSIR-NIO : Mission, History and Research areas
Mission: To continuously improve our understanding of the seas around us and to translate this
knowledge to benefit all
CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography
(NIO) with its headquarters at Dona Paula,
Goa, and regional centres at Kochi, Mumbai
and Visakhapatnam, is one of the 37 constituent
laboratories of the Council of Scientific &
Industrial Research (CSIR).
NIO was established on 1 January 1966
following the International Indian Ocean
Expedition (IIOE) that was undertaken from
1962 to 1965.
The institute has a sanctioned strength of 200
scientists, 200 technical staff and 170
administrative and support staff.
The major research areas include the four
traditional branches of oceanography - biology,
chemistry, physics and geology and geophysics,
besides ocean engineering, marine
instrumentation and archaeology.
The major ongoing research projects are:
Ÿ Ocean Science towards Forecasting Indian
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The red filled circles show cities where the 37 laboratories of the
CSIR Network are located. The open circles show the locations
of the three Regional Centres of NIO, whose headquarters are in
Goa on the west coast of India.
Marine Living Resource Potential
Geological Processes in the Indian Ocean – Understanding the Input Fluxes, Sinks and
Paleoceanography
Geo-scientific Investigations for Deciphering the Earth's Internal Processes and Exploration of
Energy Resources
Indian Aquatic Ecosystems: Impact of Deoxygenation, Eutrophication and Acidification
Analyses and Harnessing of Marine Biodiversity for Bioremediation of Aquaculture and other
Industrial Effluents
Impact of Natural and Anthropogenic Stresses on the Coastal Environment of India
Geological and Geophysical Studies of Coastal Zone of India
Development of Autonomous Platforms for Ocean Applications
Marine Ecological Assessment and Studies for Sustainable Development in the Coastal and Shelf
Areas along West Coast of India
Ecobiogeography and Biotechnology of Estuaries and Coastal Waters of India
Coastal Processes and Tectonics of Eastern Continental Margin of India
Environment
Processes
Tectonics
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Resources
Instrumentation
Biotechnology
Ocean processes
The Indian Ocean north of about 10oS latitude (the
Hydrological Front) is unique in several respects.
The Equatorial Indian Ocean, Arabian Sea and
Bay of Bengal experience markedly different
physical, chemical and biological processes that
have been the main focus areas of NIO's research.
traps solar energy in the shallow mixed layer,
facilitating deep convection necessary for
cyclogenesis and also affecting circulation.
Ÿ NIO has been involved in long-term
measurements of currents in the Equatorial
Indian Ocean since February 2000 through
deployment of 7 deep-sea moorings as a part of
the Ocean Observing System (OOS) programme.
Circulation, hydrography
and sea-level rise
NIO researchers have played a leading role in
defining the nature of seasonality in currents in the
North Indian Ocean, particularly along Indian
coasts. Observations and models have shown that
circulation needs to be looked at holistically
across the basin because the winds at a location
influence not only the local current, but have an
impact on the current at remote locations at a later
time through propagation of large scale wave.
Mooring locations in Equatorial Indian Ocean.
Observations supported by models reveal
intraseasonal variability in meridional currents
at biweekly (14 day) period in the upper 1000
m, and also in the deep-ocean (2000 m and
4000m) and this is linked to the propagation of
surface wind energy into the deep ocean.
Surface currents along the Indian coast (WICC - West Indian
Coastal Current, EICC- East Indian Coastal Current, LHLakshadweep High, LL- Lakshdweep Low).
Ÿ Measurements and models indicate role of
local winds as well as remote forcing by large
scale waves originating far from the region.
Ÿ Large influx of fresh water through river
runoff and precipitation causes strong
stratification in the Bay of Bengal, which
Eastward velocity (cm/s) at lat : 1°N, lon: 77°E
Alongshore currents as a function of depth (upper panel), measured using ADCPs deployed on the continental slope off
Goa. The blue shade shows equatorward and the red shade shows poleward flow. Lower panel shows alongshore
currents at selected depths.
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Ÿ Observations supported by models reveal
intraseasonal variability in meridional currents
at biweekly (14 day) period in the upper 1000
m, and also in the deep-ocean (2000 m and
4000 m) and this is linked to the propagation of
surface wind energy into the deep equatorial
Indian ocean.
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Ÿ Tide-gauge records indicate 1.3 mm year sea-
level rise trends along the Indian coast during
the last century.
Biological productivity and carbon
export in the North Indian Ocean
Schematic of winter convection
and nutrient supply to the
euphotic zone from sub-surface
waters.
Ÿ The Northwestern Indian Ocean is the only
oceanic region experiencing large-scale winddriven, seasonal upwelling along its western
and eastern boundaries, enhancing primary
production over a large area.
Schematic of marine food web (left) and microbial loop (right).
Satellite derived chlorophyll in August.
Ÿ Consumption of the DOC during the following
oligotrophic spring intermonsoon helps sustain
high zooplankton biomass throughout the year
(the Arabian Sea Paradox).
However, during late SW monsoon low dissolved
iron concentrations limit production off Oman
affecting nutrient export to open ocean, food web
structure, carbon export to deep sea and
subsurface oxygen utilization
Ÿ Mesoscale eddies, cold- as well as warm-core,
play a key role in Bay of Bengal
biogeochemistry with the cold-core (cyclonic)
eddies supplying nutrients to surface waters,
enhancing productivity in relatively
oligotrophic, highly stratified region
Ÿ Arabian Sea is the only tropical basin which
experiences winter convection and nutrient
enrichment leading to non-diatomaceous
phytoplankton blooms. Export of particulate
organic matter during this period is low, but
dissolved organic carbon build-up in the
surface layer supports the microbial loop.
Satellite derived sea-level height anomaly depicting the cold-core
(blue) and warm-core (red) eddies in the Bay of Bengal (January
2003).
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Oxygen minimum zones
Ÿ Despite large releases of nutrients on land,
nutrient fluxes to estuaries and coastal areas are
only moderately high. Estuaries are mostly netheterotrophic serving as sources of greenhouse
gases.
Ÿ Sediment trap studies have shown strong
seasonality in particulate organic and inorganic
carbon fluxes with higher fluxes during the SW
and NE monsoons. The CO2 draw-down by the
“biological pump” is stronger in the Bay of
Bengal because of the “ballast” provided by
lithogenic material.
The North Indian Ocean experiences acute oxygen
depletion at mid-depths, but the oxygen minimum
zones (OMZ) of the Arabian Sea and the Bay of
Bengal are vastly different (i.e. reducing conditions
including denitrification/anammox occur only in the
Arabian Sea)
Arabian Sea OMZ is anomalously located –
geographically separated from productive upwelling
zones of the western Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea suboxic zone
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Mean biweekly averaged organic carbon flux
in the Arabian Sea.
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Maximum Nitrite (µM)
Ÿ The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal differ
considerably in terms of carbon cycling owing to
contrasting hydrography and biogeochemistry:
The Arabian Sea is a perennial source of CO2 to
the atmosphere whereas the Bay of Bengal is a
seasonal sink.
Mesopelagic oxygen deficiency greatly affects
biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (high
bacterial but low zooplankton biomass, great
abundance of lantern-fish.:
Arabian Sea OMZ accounts for 1/3rd of global pelagic
N2 production
N2O consumption within the reducing zone, but large
production at peripheries - strong net source
Reduction of other polyvalent elements (e.g. Fe and
Mn)
Carbon budget for a part of the Arabian Sea.
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Marine biodiversity
The Indian Ocean is a region of very high
biological diversity. NIO has been analyzing and
documenting diversity of all forms of life –
microbes, plants and animals - from various
marine ecosystems.
the biological pump. They are responsible for ~ 30%
of organic flux to the deeper layers in the our seas.
Since the days of the International Indian Ocean
Expedition, NIO has played the key role in
documenting zooplankton abundance and
composition in the Indian Ocean publishing a large
number of atlases and research papers
Phytoplankton: Inhabiting the upper, euphotic
water column, these microscopic, self -replicating
organisms are the primary producers of organic
matter, forming the base of marine food
chain/web. Major phytoplankton groups are
diatoms, dinoflagellates, silicoflagellates and
coccolithophorids.
NIO has so far identified ~400 different species
of phytoplankton.
The annual average primary production in the
Arabian Sea is ~600 mg C m-2 in the upper 120 m
column. This is about twice that in the Bay of
Bengal. This production supports the rest of the
marine life.
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Benthos: Animal and plant species inhabiting the
seafloor (from intertidal to deep-ocean) such as
bivalves, gastropods, polychaetes, star fishes and
corals are important contributors to biogeochemical
cycling and fluxes. NIO has been studying benthos
from different habitats. Their type, abundance and
distribution are adversely affected by pollution and
coastal disturbance. The ongoing deoxygenation and
acidification make these organisms vulnerable to
global change.
Spring intermonsoon
(March-May)
NorthEast monsoon
(November-February)
SouthWest Monsoon
(June-August)
Annual Average
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Oceanic
Coastal
Arabian Sea
Oceanic
Coastal
Molecular biological technologies such as Density
Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), DNA
sequencing and in-situ hybridization are used to
describe diversity of bacteria, archaea and fungi in
our marine ecosystems.
Bay of Bengal
Phytoplankton can form blooms and some of them
can be harmful. The incidences of such blooms
along the coast of India have increased in the recent
past.
Zooplankton: Zooplankton are tiny animal
communities that link primary producers with
animals at higher trophic levels including fish in
marine food chains. Considered to be the
gatekeepers of organic carbon flux to the deep sea,
zooplankton are also crucial in the functioning of
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Marine ecology
the adult and the dissolved sugars in the
surrounding environment provide the necessary
chemical cues for attracting the population of its
conspecifics.
Ÿ Physical forcing such as winds and currents along
the central west coast of India helps in the
transport of the larvae from their spawning sites
hugging the coast and contributes to the
population within the estuaries.
Ÿ The extent of barnacle larval dispersal from the
spawning sites off Goa varies from 10-78 km.
NIO has carried out investigations to unravel
interactions between the environment and
organisms
Benthic ecology
Rocky shores provide a unique habitat for a
gamut of organisms. Amongst them, sessile
organisms form an important component.
Evaluating the changes in their population
structure provides insights to ecosystem
functioning and to understand the influences of
environment and climatic perturbations.
Barnacles are dominant inhabitants of the rocky
intertidal region.
Diatom-Bacteria interplay
Diatom-Bacteria co-occur and interact in numerous
ways. In order to decipher this interplay, experiments
have been carried out with benthic diatoms through
the application of 'antibiotics'.
Barnacle, Balaus amphitrite
Ÿ Adult barnacles respond to cues provided by the
phytoplankton bloom and spawn so that the
larvae are released to food rich environment.
This facilitates successful larval development
a n d s e t t l e m e n t . H o w e v e r, s u c h a
synchronization in monsoon season is impacted
by the intra seasonal variations in the rainfall
intensity and monsoon break periods.
Positive/Negative Interplay between diatoms and bacteria
Ÿ Application of Penicillin, a β-lactam antibiotic
that can affect diatoms only through bacteria,
resulted in bacterial suppression and changed
diatom species composition.
Ÿ Diatom communities were less susceptible to
bacterial modulation during the south-west
monsoon.
Plankton Ecology
Microbe-metazoa interaction
The exoskeleton of most zooplankton is made up of
chitin. Degradation of chitin involves a cascade of
processes involving chitinase enzymes produced by
the microbes.
Ÿ Bacterial community undergoes alterations
during the degradation process.
Ÿ Bacterial population associated with the
exoskeleton of live zooplankton changes once
treated with chitinase and lead to the emergence of
undetected forms.
Barnacle life cycle.
Ÿ Barnacles have a larval life cycle in the
planktonic mode and find their metamorphosis
destination to develop into a conspecific
community. In the case of Balanus amphitrite a
dominant barnacle, it was observed that the
interaction between glycoproteins produced by
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Marine biotechnology
Marine organisms offer various biotechnological
options. Some of these that have been undertaken
by NIO include
• Searches for Bioactive Substances from Marine
Organisms
• Isolation of microbes and evaluation of their
metabolite production potential
• Searches for Biomolecules through Biodiversity
Analyses & Molecular Phylogenetics
• Isolation of Jorumycin, an isoquinoline alkaloid
from nudibranch. This anti-cancer alkaloid has
proven effective against leukemia- and
lymphoma cell lines
• Marine bacterial strains for Bioactive Leads:
Over 29000 pure cultures of bacteria isolated
and got them screened for anti-cancer, antidiabetic, anti-infective and anti-inflammatory
activities. Among them, Over 4000 isolates
have shown potential for some/all of these
activities.
• Detoxification of Hg, Cr, As etc using marine
microbes
The pharmacological extracts include:
Ÿ Stress reducing/sedative anti-anxiyolitics
Ÿ Toxins from phytoplankton
Ÿ Microbial pigments useful in food coloring
These studies have led to various industrial
applications such as
Ÿ Laboratory-scale demonstration of textile mill
effluent decolorization using a marine fungus.
Ÿ Bioremediation of industrial wastes by
a highly active fungal laccase enzyme
Ÿ Brightening of newsprint and photocopy
paper pulp using metabolites of a marine
bacterium
Ÿ Characterization of a cyclic peptide, a novel
broad-spectrum antibiotic, from a bacterium
effective at nanogram levels against many
pathogenic bacteria
Application in paper industry (paper recycling).
NIO has studied the breeding and distribution of
horse shoe crabs and sea-horses along the Indian
coast and developed lab techniques for rearing
these charismatic species for biomedical
applications.
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Human Imprint on Aquatic Environment
A key area of NIO's research is the impact of
natural and human-induced stresses such as
deoxygenation, eutrophication and acidification
on biogeochemistry and ecosystems in freshwater
and marine environments
Freshwater
NIO is studying cycling of carbon, nutrients
(especially nitrogen) and trace metals in
groundwater, selected natural lakes and man-made
reservoirs. Significant results are as follows:
Ÿ Indian lakes and reservoirs experience
moderate eutrophication and methane buildup
during summer anoxia despite large
anthropogenic nutrient loading
Ÿ Anoxygenic photosynthesis contributes
significantly to primary production.
Ÿ Large mobilization of Fe (II) and Mn (II)
occurs within anoxic hypoliminia.
Induced carbon dioxide sequestration
LOHAFEX – NIO organized an international ocean
iron fertilization (OIF) experiment in low silicate,
high nitrate subantarctic zone of South Atlantic to
test the efficacy of OIF for sequestering
atmospheric CO2 yielding following main results:
Ÿ OIF led to a non-diatom (flagellate) bloom that
was grazed by zooplankton
Ÿ Accumulation of particulate and dissolved
organic matter in the surface layer accounted for
bulk of increase in net community production
(NCP) with little export to deep sea
Year long time series in Tillari Reservoir
Ÿ Small decrease (<15 µatm) in pCO2. Due to
Seawater
widespread occurrence of Si-poor conditions in
the Southern Ocean, potential of OIF for CO2
sequestration is not very large
Since 1997, NIO has been carrying out regular
monitoring of the largest naturally-formed,
coastal low- O2 zone in the world that develops
seasonally over the western continental shelf of
India to investigate human impact on coastal
biogeochemistry and ecology. Results show:
Ÿ Intensification of O2 deficiency (emergence of
sulphidic conditions since 1970s), large interannual variability, but no clear-long term
trend
Ÿ Record accumulation of N2O
Ÿ Hypoxia greatly impacts biology and fisheries
Modis chlorophyll a composite image (12 to 14 Feb 2009)
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Bioinvasion
NIO is actively engaged in monitoring
the health of Indian coastal environs
through:
Cargo ships carry annually 3-5 billion tonnes of
ballast water around the world. Introduction of
harmful aquatic organisms to new environments by
ships represents one of the most serious threats to
the oceans, with potentially devastating impacts on
ecology and human health. With 12 major ports and
expanding maritime activity, India needs an
effective ballast water management programme.
The programme coordinated by NIO involves:
Ÿ Seasonal monitoring of water, sediment,
biological and microbiological parameters
an overall index of pollution
(OIP)
Use of biota as indicators of toxic metal
contamination.
Development of protocols using specific
biomarkers/ biological indicators to provide
early warning signals of pollution.
Testing and certification of dispersants used to
combat oil spills.
Providing advisories to coastal stake- holders
through Environmental Impact Assessments.
Use of numerical models to predict trajectories
of oil spills and trans-port of tar balls and other
pollutants.
Ÿ Establishing
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Biological baseline surveys in ports
Ballast water risk assessment
Ballast water sampling & analysis
Electronic ballast water reporting form
Marine organism database for Indian ports
Identification of ballast water discharge location
in emergency
Model simulated trajectory of oil spill off Goa
during 23-25 March, 2005
Marine bioinvasion example - Mytilopsis sallei, a
small delicate bivalve introduced to India
around1967. Presently restricted to Visakhapatnam
and Mumbai ports. Being tracked in South/SE Asian
countries under an INDIA-ASEAN project.
Tidally-averaged residual currents in the Gulf of Kachchh to
determine transport of pollutants (ACE and CE indicate
anticlockwise and clockwise eddies).
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Marine Minerals
Marine minerals are an important potential
resource of metals such as copper, cobalt, nickel
and titanium that could be utilized in future in
view of increasing demand of these metals and
dwindling land reserves. NIO has carried out
extensive surveys for such minerals both in
shallow waters and the deep sea.
Coastal placer minerals of Kalbadevi, Maharashtra
Coastal placer minerals
Rich reserves of minerals containing titanium,
chromium, uranium, thorium, zirconium and gem
stones have been found along the coasts of
Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra
Pradesh, Orissa and parts of West Bengal .
The Ministry of Mines has allotted offshore
blocks to placer mining companies. Some of the
blocks (off Maharashtra) are from deposits
identified by NIO.
Large haul of polymetallic nodules from Indian Ocean.
Deep-sea polymetallic nodules
Exploration with 30,000 km of multibeam
sounding data and 11,000 samples has led to
India being allotted an area of 75,000 km2 in
international waters of Central Indian Ocean
Basin that contains large reserves (450 million
tonnes) of mineral-rich polymetallic nodules.
Estimated reserve of useful metals (Mn, Ni, Cu,
Co) is ~100 million tonnes.
Investigations have also led to identification of a
First Generation Mine site and evaluation of
response of deep-sea environment to artificial
and natural disturbances.
Area claimed by India in Central Indian Ocean.
Ferromanganese crusts
Rich in Co, Pt and other metals, these crusts are
found on oceanic seamounts and abyssal hills.
NIO has surveyed an area of 40,000 km2 in the
Afanasiy Nikitin Seamount (ANS) area from the
equatorial Indian Ocean.
Hydrothermal sulphides
NIO's efforts have led to the discovery of
hydrothermal plumes indicative of new vent
fields over the Carlsberg Ridge, signatures of
plumes over the Central Indian Ridge and
hydrothermal mineralization in the Andaman Sea
that are potential sites for minerals rich in Zn, Pb
and Cu.
Ferromanganese Crust
from Indian Ocean.
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Indication of hydrothermal plume
over Carlsberg Ridge, Indian Ocean.
Energy from the ocean
As petroleum reserves are depleting, search is on
for new sources of energy from the oceans.
Accounting for over half of the organic carbon
reserves, marine gas hydrates (methane clathrate)
are an important potential future energy resource.
Studies by NIO using bathymetry and thermal
gradients have led to generation of the gas
hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) thickness map
required for prediction of gas hydrates.
Potential areas for gas hydrates exploration
Drilling has confirmed occurrence of gas hydrate
deposits in Krishna-Godavari (KG), Mahanadi
and Andaman basins at different depths below the
seafloor.
Seismic data provided evidence for disseminated
and fault-controlled gas hydrate deposits in the
offshore KG basin.
High attenuation and low velocity below the
GHSZ are most likely related to the presence of
free gas below the bottom simulating reflector.
Methane hydrate recovered from the Krishna-Godavari basin.
High velocity (VP> 1.7 km/s) zones with low
attenuation imply that hydrate-bearing sediments
are less attenuated than the background
sediments.
JOIDES-Resolution, the drill ship used for hydrate
exploration in the Bay of Bengal
Bottom simulating reflector (BSR) in the seismic profile is a
manifestation of the contact between methane hydrate and
underlying gas.
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Reconstructing the past
Paleoceanography deals with the study of the
history of the oceans in the geologic past with
regard to circulation, chemistry, biology, geology
and patterns of sedimentation and biological
productivity. Material used for paleo-studies are
aquatic sediments, their components and
chemically precipitated marine mineral deposits,
One of the climate features of the Indian Ocean
is the monsoon. Reconstructions of monsoon
variability, sea surface temperatures (SST), sea
surface salinity (SSS) and interactions between
land, ocean and atmosphere is a prerequisite to
understand climate forcing in different time
scales in order to predict the future climate
changes.
Indicators of Climate Change
Ÿ Reconstruction of calcium carbonate
fluctuations during Late Quaternary show that
Aragonite compensation depth (ACD) and
calcite compensation depth (CCD) in the Indian
Ocean are controlled by rapid climate changes
through atmospheric and oceanic
teleconnections.
Ÿ Sea level was ~100 m lower off west coast of
Excellent records of past climate are preserved in
marine archives dating back to millions of years
before present. Biostratigraphic and radiometric
dating tools are used to date the geological
material. Variations in grain-size, mineralogy and
chemical composition of sediments, and
abundance, morphology, stable isotopic and
elemental composition of skeletal remains of tiny
oceanic biota, are some of the proxies that are
being used to reconstruct past climatic and
oceanographic changes.
India 14,500 years ago.
Ÿ Changing north-south salinity gradient in the
eastern Arabian Sea suggests changes in
monsoon intensity
Ÿ Slowly depositing sediments and
ferromanganese crusts suggest Himalayan
erosional events at 0.5 Ma, 0.8 Ma, 10 Ma,
~16Ma and a link between orogeny and climate.
Ÿ Prevalence of suboxic condition in the Bay of
Bengal from 15.2 ka to 4.5 ka, peaking around
9.5 ka, corresponding to the previously recorded
southwest (SW) monsoon intensification
Paleo-studies at NIO revealed that
Ÿ Indian Monsoon intensification is cyclic in
nature and the periodicity varied from
centennial to orbital time scales. Key
periodicities identified are 400 kyr, 100 kyr,
23 kyr, 2,200 years, 1400 years and 77 years.
Ÿ SST estimates based on the faunal
composition, alkenones and
Magnesium/Calcium ratio show 3°C regional
cooling in the Indian Ocean during the last
glacial maximum as compared to the
Holocene.
Ÿ Deglaciation warming in the Indian Ocean
started at ca. 19 ka, which is contemporary
with the deglacial warming in the Antarctica
and southern Ocean. Deglaciation warming in
the Indian Ocean is either coeval with or up to
1 kyr before the atmospheric CO2 rise.
'The timing of deglacial increase in seawater temperature in the
Eastern Arabian Sea, as compared with global rise in
atmospheric CO2, as well as the average northern and southern
hemispheric temperature change'.
Ÿ A link between the Red Sea out flow and
intensification of Indian Monsoon is found
between 15.5 to 7.3 kyr.
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Seafloor Tectonism
NIO carries out studies of tectonics to understand
various features of the seafloor, their surface and
sub-surface expression and evolution.
Major outcomes include
Ÿ Discovery of seamount chain (consisting of
Raman and Panikkar seamounts and the
Wadia guyot) in the deep sea off the central
Indian west coast
Ÿ Mapping of Carlsberg Ridge and Central
Indian Ridge revealed finer-scale
segmentation pattern of these slow spreading
mid-ocean ridges.
Geophysical investigations over Carlsberg and Central Indian
ridge systems.
Ÿ Mineral rich rock assemblages of
serpentinities, peridotites and gabbros within
axial valley zone of the Carlsberg Ridge and
pyrites from spreading centre, seamounts and
sediments in the Andaman back arc basin
suggest occurrence of hydrothermal activity.
Ÿ Identification of prominent hydrothermal
plumes over the Carlsberg Ridge in the Indian
Ocean suggests the presence of two active
hydrothermal vent fields over the ridge at
water depths 3500-3800 m.
Ÿ Understanding of tectonic framework of the
North Indian Ocean
Ÿ Formation of Indo-Australian Plate 42 Ma ago
and breaking into 3 small sub-plates (India,
Australia and Capricorn) around 15.4 Ma
Ÿ Ninety East Ridge track was emplaced at a
rate of 118 km/Ma, twice the speed of relative
motion of the Indian Plate
Hydrothermal plume location over Carlsberg ridge
Ÿ Mid-oceanic ridge system postulated to have
migrated in order to create space for
Antarctic Plate
Shaded region and triangle show the location of diffuse plate
boundary and diffuse triple junction, respectively between
Indian, Australian and Capricorn sub-plates.
Cratered seamount in Andaman Sea
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Marine Instrumentation
In order to strengthen our research capabilities,
NIO strives to develop new technologies for
ocean observations.
Marine Robotics
I. Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) 'Maya'
Ÿ Max depth : 200 m
Ÿ Endurance: ~ 7 hour @ 1.5 m/s
Ÿ Technology transfer to
i. Larsen and Toubro Limited, Mumbai.
ii. VEA Automation and Robotics Pvt.
Ltd., Coimbatore.
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 'Maya'
II. Autonomous Vertical Profiler (AVP)
Ÿ Max depth : 200 m
Ÿ Speed: 0-1 m/s
Ÿ Weight in air: ~ 13 kg
Ÿ Endurance: ~ 2 dives / day to 100 m for 15
days
Ÿ Technology transfer to Control Technologies,
Bengaluru
This technology has applications in:
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Fisheries research
Climate related studies
Pollution monitoring
Satellite validation
The users of AVP include
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SAC (ISRO), Ahmedabad
CMFRI (ICAR), Kochi
CSIR-NIO and its regional centres
Autonomous Vertical Profiler
Oceanographic instruments
I. Sea-level gauges
II. Autonomous weather stations (AWS)
Integrated Coastal Observation
Network (ICON)
Real-time network of sea-level gauges and
autonomous weather station (AWS) developed
Ÿ 14 stations in Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.
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Ÿ Data on Internet server at ~ 10-min intervals,
using GPRS cellular modems provides
graphical sea-level information, surface
meteorological variables - //inet.nio.org
Sea Level Gauge
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Autonomous Weather Station
Services to Industry and Society
NIO extends support to a large number of
industries/facilities such as ports and harbours,
oil and gas companies, power plants, and
chemical & pharmaceutical companies. Use of
coastal and offshore areas for these activities
requires systematic study of the marine
environment.
Services offered include:
• Bathymetry, shallow seismic and side scan
sonar surveys
Setting up of baseline station for shoreline survey.
Deployment of wave rider buoy.
• Collection of shallow core samples
• Geo-technical investigations
• Studies related to coastal zone management
• Delineation of Coastal Regulation Zone
• Environmental Impact Assessment
• Environmental monitoring
• Simulation of meteorological and
oceanographic parameters (winds, waves, tides
and currents) based on numerical modelling
• Oil spill prediction and risk analysis and
preparation of contingency plans
• Feasibility studies including identification of
suitable sites for marine facilities
Installation of instrument in surf zone.
• Oceanographic design parameters for marine
facilities
• Testing of oil spill dispersants
• Underwater inspection and videography
(e.g. identification of remains of MV River
Princess for Goa Government)
Marine Archaeology
NIO carries out underwater explorations in
coastal areas, examining submerged
objects/structures (e.g., past habitation sites, ports,
ship wrecks and anchors) for reconstruction of
ancient civilizations, maritime history, trade
routes and shoreline changes. These studies have
provided evidences for
Recording echosounder data.
• rich maritime practices of India
• submerged habitation and port sites along
the west and east coasts of India
• overseas trade and commerce during
historical periods of Indian sub-continent
• India's maritime contacts with the middleeastern and African Countries
Remains of steam engine shipwreck in Lakshadweep.
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Infrastructure and Resources
Manpower
Permanent – the sanctioned strength of
various categories of employees in NIO is
as follows:
Permanent
S&T (Group IV)
S&T (Group III)
S&T (Group II)
S&T (Group I)
Administration
Total
Library
Sanctioned
strength
200
120
76
15
173
584
Temporary staff and students:
Research Fellows (PhD students) ~ 80
Project Assistants (graduates/
post-graduates
~400
UG/PG Students for dissertation ~ 250 / yr
/internship
•
Recognised as the National Information
Centre for Marine Sciences (NICMAS) since
mid-1990s.
•
While catering to the needs of the users
within the institute, it is also committed to
serve the marine information seekers within
and outside India.
•
Most operations in the library are
computerised
•
As a part of CSIR's Consortium, it makes
large electronic resources available to users
•
Maintains one of the highest ranked
institutional repositories in India
Oceanographic Data Centre
Research facilities
•
NIO has numerous state of the art analytical
instruments; some of which are listed below:
The Indian Oceanographic Data Centre
(IODC) was established at NIO in 1964.
•
It was subsequently recognised as the
National Oceanographic Data Centre
(NODC) under the IOC/IODE data network
Ÿ Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer
Ÿ Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer
Ÿ Liquid Chromatograph- Mass Spectrometer
Ÿ Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
Ÿ
IT facilities
Spectrometer
High Performance Liquid Chromatograph
Protein Purification System
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer
Gas Chromatograph- IRMS
ICP-Optical Emission Spectrometer
ICP-Atomic Emission Spectrometer
SEM-Energy Dispersive X-ray Analyser
Particle Size Analyzer
Palaeo-magnetism Analyser
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
X-Ray Diffractometer
Electron Probe Micro Analyser
Graphite Furnace-Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
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•
Centralised IT HUB hosting dedicated
servers for Website, email, Internet, Intranet,
ftp, HPC systems and high capacity storage
accessible through the LAN, WAN and VPN
links.
•
Development and implementation of Lotus
Notes based work flow applications for
Office Automation .
Research ships
RV Sindhu Sankalp
RV Sindhu Sadhana
Specifications
Specifications:
Length overall
Speed
Range
Endurance
Compliment
: 56.3 Meters
: 11.5 knots cruising speed
: 20,000 nautical miles
: 30 days
: 35 (15 crew +16 scientists)
Length overall
Breadth moulded
Draught scantling
Design speed
Gross tonnage
Range
Endurance
Complement
Onboard facilities
: 80.00 m
: 17.60 m
: 5.00 m
: 13.5 Knots
: approx. 4170 GT
: 10,000 Nautical Miles
: 45 days
: 57 (29 Scientists;28 crew)
•
CTD system (operational depth up to 6000 m)
•
Automatic Weather Station
Onboard facilities:
•
Shallow water (33/210 KHz) and deep water
(12 KHz & 20 KHz) echosounders
•
•
Shallow water (EM 1002) and deep water
(EM 302) multibeam bathymetric systems
•
•
Sub-bottom profiler (2-12 kHz; Transducer
source 10 KW)
•
Biological samplers (Plankton nets) & Seabed
samplers (Grabs, 4-6 m corers & dredges)
•
Arrangement for towing magnetometer,
sparker, side scan sonar operations
•
Arrangements for deploying and retrieval of
instrumented mooring systems
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Laboratories - 3 (Sample processing, data
acquisition and multipurpose)
•
•
17
Single beam echo sounders (shallow and deep
water)
Multi-beam echo sounder (shallow and deep
water)
Parametric sonar
Gravimeter
Magnetometer
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
CTD system
Dynamic positioning system
Sampling gear (seafloor, water column,
biological)
Analytical and computational facilities
Facilities to deploy instrumented moorings,
AUV & ROV
Outputs and Outreach
Publications
Grants and external cash flow
NIO publishes over150 research papers annually
in reputed national and international scientific
journals. The number of research papers and the
total impact factor have shown an impressive
increase in recent years:
The research activities at NIO are funded through
grants from CSIR as well as external cash flow
(ECF) generated by the institute through projects
undertaken for different government and private
organisations.
(Rs. in lakhs)
Patents
NIO scientists have filed a large number of
patents on inventions made in the Institute:
• Total inventions
:
95
• Patent applications : 144
• Granted patents
: 96
Outreach activities
(USA: 37, India: 34; Others: 25)
Conferences – NIO regularly hosts national and
international conferences on various current and
emerging topics related to oceanography
• More than half of the patents are on
biotechnology
International collaborations
Training programs – NIO conducts tailor-made
training programs for national and international
agencies. Participants include students,
researchers, professionals, defence personnel and
other government officials.
• NIO has been collaborating with a large number
of research and academic institutions all over
the world (Australia, China, Finland, France,
Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Oman,
Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Sweden,
UK and USA) as well as international agencies
such as ASEAN and SAARC.
Student programs – Students from India and
abroad can enrol in several programs of the
Institute as follows:
Program
Eligibility
Duration
Procedure
NIO-AcSIR
NET/GATE/INSPIRE
fellowship holders
5 years
Admission in August. For details visit:
www.acsir.res.in
Jr/Sr. Research
Fellowship
Post Graduates
Upto 5 years
CSIR/UGC-NET qualified
Project
Assistantship
Under / Post Graduates
Upto 5 years
Walk-in interviews notified on NIO
website
3-6 months
Acceptance of supervisor (through email)
and official permission
Dissertation /
UG / PG students
internship /
summer training
NIO also accepts short visits by student groups on prior appointment (write to [email protected])
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Contact information
Headquarters – Goa
Dr. SWA Naqvi
Director
CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography
Dona Paula
Goa 403004
Phone: +91-832-2450200
Fax : +91-832-2450602-2450609
Email:[email protected]
Regional Centre – Kochi
Dr. PS Parameswaram
Scientist-in-Charge
CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography-Regional Centre
Dr. Salim Ali Road
Kochi 682018
Phone: +91-484-2390814
Fax : +91-484-2390618
Email:[email protected]
Regional Centre – Mumbai
Dr. SN Gajbhiye
Scientist-in-Charge
CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography-Regional Centre
Lokhandwala Road, Four Bunglows, Andheri (W)
Mumbai 400053
Phone: +91-22-26359605-26359608
Fax : +91-22-26364627
Email:[email protected]
Regional Centre – Visakhapatnam
Dr. VSN Murty
Scientist-in-Charge
CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography-Regional Centre
176, Lawsons Bay Colony
Visakhapatnam 530017
Phone: +91-891-2539180, 2784569, 2784570
Fax : +91-891-2543595
Email:[email protected]
For further information visit www.nio.org
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