Indian Antarctic Programme

Last updated

An aerial view of the Indian Station Maitri on 25 February 2005 An ariel view of the Indian Station Maitri, Antarctica on February 2,2005 (1).jpg
An aerial view of the Indian Station Maitri on 25 February 2005

The Indian Antarctic Programme is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional programme under the control of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica. [1] The programme gained global acceptance with India's signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983, [1] superseded by the Maitri base from 1989. The newest base commissioned in 2012 is Bharati, constructed out of 134 shipping containers. Under the programme, atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medical sciences are studied by India, which has carried out 40 scientific expeditions to the Antarctic.

Contents

Mohammed Ghous uzzaman, a member of 7th Indian Antarctic Expedition Team at library, Dakshin Gangotri. (26 January 1988) Zaman (1).jpg
Mohammed Ghous uzzaman, a member of 7th Indian Antarctic Expedition Team at library, Dakshin Gangotri. (26 January 1988)
Mohammed Ghous uzzaman (Left) and M.Vyghreswara Rao (Right), members of 7th Indian Antarctic Expedition Team at Dakshin Gangotri, Antarctica. (26 January 1988) Zaman (2).jpg
Mohammed Ghous uzzaman (Left) and M.Vyghreswara Rao (Right), members of 7th Indian Antarctic Expedition Team at Dakshin Gangotri, Antarctica. (26 January 1988)
Col. Jatinder Kumar Bajaj, a member of one of the Indian expeditions to Antarctica, standing at the South Pole (17 January 1989) Bajaj-Polar-1.jpg
Col. Jatinder Kumar Bajaj, a member of one of the Indian expeditions to Antarctica, standing at the South Pole (17 January 1989)
Deck of the excursion ship Finnpolaris which was used for the second Indian expedition to Antartica. Deck of the excursion ship Finnpolaris.jpg
Deck of the excursion ship Finnpolaris which was used for the second Indian expedition to Antartica.

History

The origin of the Indian missions to the Antarctic are traced to the joint Indian Space Research OrganisationHydrometeorological Centre of Russia agreements, which led to Indians, such as Dr. Paramjit Singh Sehra, joining the 17th Soviet Antarctic expedition of 1971–1973. [2]

India officially acceded to the Antarctic Treaty System on 1 August 1983. On 12 September 1983, the country became the fifteenth Consultative Member of the Antarctic Treaty. [3]

Organization


The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research—a research and development body functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India—controls the Indian Antarctic Programme. [4] The NCPOR and the Department of Ocean Development select the members for India's Antarctic expeditions. [2] After medical tests and subsequent acclimatisation 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 200 million (US$2.4 million). [2] Logistical support to the various activities of the Indian Antarctic Programme is provided by the relevant branches of the Indian armed forces. [4] 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 Programme as of 2007. [2]

Global cooperation

The Indian Antarctic Programme is bound by the rules of the Antarctic Treaty System, which India signed in 1983. [4] Pandey (2007) outlines the various international activities that India has undertaken as a part of its Antarctic Programme:

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 for 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 protecting 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 Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, Regional Committee of Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission in Coastal Indian Ocean (IOCINDIO), International Seabed Authority (ISBA), and the State Parties of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas (UNCLOS). [4] [5] [6]

Research

Krill distribution on a NASA SeaWIFS image - the main concentrations are in the Scotia Sea at the Antarctic Peninsula. India carries out krill exploration in the Southern Ocean region of the Antarctic. Krilldistribution.jpg
Krill distribution on a NASA SeaWIFS image – the main concentrations are in the Scotia Sea at the Antarctic Peninsula. India carries out krill exploration in the Southern Ocean region of the Antarctic.

Antarctica 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). [4] 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 Programme. [6]

Close to 1,300 Indians had been to the continent as of 2001 as a part of the country's Antarctic Programme. [7] Indian expeditions to the Antarctic also study the fauna and the molecular biodiversity of the region. [8] [9] A total of 120 new microbes had been discovered as a result of international scientific effort in the Antarctic by 2005. [6] 30 of these microbes had been discovered by Indian scientists. [6] 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'. [4] 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). [4] The 'ice core' samples are held, processed, and analysed in containment units designed by such technology. [4] 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. [4]

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).

Dakshin Gangotri

The first permanent settlement was built in 1983 and named Dakshin Gangotri. In 1989 it was excavated and is being used again as supply base and transit camp. Dakshin Gangotri was decommissioned in the year 1990 after half of it got buried under the ice. It is nothing more than a historical site now. In its times, it used to double up as a place for multiple support systems, including the presence of an ice-melting plant, laboratories, storage, accommodation, recreation facilities, a clinic and also a bank counter.

Maitri

The second permanent settlement, Maitri, was put up in 1989 on the Schirmacher Oasis and has been conducting experiments in geology, geography and medicine. India built this station close to a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadarshini. Maitri accomplished the mission of geomorphologic mapping of Schirmacher Oasis.

Bharati

Located beside Larsmann Hill at 69°S, 76°E, Bharati is established in March 2012. This newest research station for oceanographic research will collect evidence of continental break-up to reveal the 120-million-year-old ancient history of the Indian subcontinent. In news sources this station was variously spelled "Bharathi", [10] "Bharti" [11] and "Bharati". [12]

India Post Office in Antarctica

It was established in the year 1984 during the third Indian expedition to Antarctica. It was located at Dakshin Gangotri. As many as 10,000 letters were posted and cancelled in this post office in total in the first year of its establishment. Although the post office is no more there, it is a favourite stopover for Indian tourists who visit the place in cruise ships.

The current Indian post office in Antarctica is situated at Maitri, where the country's current research station is also situated.

Indian Antarctic expeditions

DateExpeditionLeaderDeputy LeaderLeader (Summer Team)Deputy Leader (Summer Team)
1981–1982First Indian Expedition to Antarctica Dr. Sayed Zahoor Qasim C. P. Vohra, H. N. Siddiquie
1982–1983Second Indian Expedition to Antarctica V. K. Raina Dr C. R. Sreedharan
1983–1985Vijay Kumar RainaThird Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr Harsh K. Gupta Lieutenant Colonel Satya Swarup Sharma
1984Fourth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr B.B. BhattacharyaCol. P. Kumaresh
1985-86Fifth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaM.K. KaulDr Vinod K Dhargalkar
1986-87Sixth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr A M ParulekarCol. V.S.Iyer (V.S.M)
1987-1989Seventh Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr R. Sen GuptaCol P GaneshanDr G. S. Mittal
1988–1990Eighth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr Amitava Sen GuptaCol S JagannathanLt Col J P Khadilkar
1989–1991Ninth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaRasik Ravindra
1990–1992Tenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr A. K. Hanjura
1991–1993Eleventh Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr Shardendu Mukherjee
1992-94Twelfth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr Vinod K Dhargalkar
1993-95Thirteenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaG Sudhakar Rao
1994-96Fourteenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr S D Sharma
1995-1996Fifteenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaArun Chaturvedi
1996-98Sixteenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr Anand L. Koppar
1997-99Seventeenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaK. R. Shivan
1998-2000Eighteenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaAjay Dhar
1999-2001Nineteenth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaArun ChaturvediM. Javed Beg
2000-2003Twentieth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaMarvin D'Souza
2001–2003Twenty first Indian Expedition to AntarcticaRam Prasad Lal
2002-04Twenty Second Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr Arun Hanchinal
2003-05Twenty third Indian Expedition to AntarcticaS. Jayaram
2004-06Twenty fourth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaRajesh AsthanaM. Javed Beg
2005-2007Twenty fifth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaL. Prem Kishore
Twenty sixth Indian Expedition to Antarctica
Twenty seventh Indian Expedition to Antarctica
2008–2009Twenty eighth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr. P. MalhotraAjay Dhar
2009–2010Twenty ninth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaP. ElangoRajesh Asthana
2010–2011Thirtieth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaK. JeevaRajesh Asthana
2011–2012Thirty first Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr. Rupesh M. Das (Bharati) & Shree Uttam Chand (Maitri)Rajesh Asthana
2013–2014Thirty third Indian Expedition to AntarcticaMohd. Yunus Shah (Bharati)Abhijit Patil (Bharati)
2014–2015Thirty fourth Indian Expedition to AntarcticaKailash Bhindwar (Bharati)Syed Shadab (Bharati)
2017–2018Thirty seven Indian Expedition to AntarcticaDr. Shailesh Pednekar (Bharati)Bagati Sudarshan Patro (Bharati)
2018–202038th Indian Expedition to AntarcticaK. Jeeva, Matri- P. Elengo, Bharati

Notes

  1. 1 2 Walawalkar (2015), Gad (2008)
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Anas (2007)
  3. Department of Ocean Development, Government of India. Annual Report 1983-1984, TECHNICAL PUBLICATION NO. 3., Printed at Dee Kay Printers Kirtinagar, New Delhi
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Gad (2008)
  5. Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), 351
  6. 1 2 3 4 Walawalkar (2005)
  7. 1 2 Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), 352
  8. Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), 173
  9. Pursuit and Promotion of Science – The Indian Experience (2001), 213
  10. "The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Cuddalore News : Third Antarctica research station by 2011". 11 April 2009. Archived from the original on 11 April 2009.
  11. "Bharti to be 3rd Indian station in Antarctica", The Times of India, 6 August 2009
  12. "The Hindu News Update Service". Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 4 August 2010.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antarctic</span> Polar region around Earths South Pole

The Antarctic is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross Sea</span> Deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica

The Ross Sea is a deep bay of the Southern Ocean in Antarctica, between Victoria Land and Marie Byrd Land and within the Ross Embayment, and is the southernmost sea on Earth. It derives its name from the British explorer James Clark Ross who visited this area in 1841. To the west of the sea lies Ross Island and Victoria Land, to the east Roosevelt Island and Edward VII Peninsula in Marie Byrd Land, while the southernmost part is covered by the Ross Ice Shelf, and is about 200 miles (320 km) from the South Pole. Its boundaries and area have been defined by the New Zealand National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research as having an area of 637,000 square kilometres (246,000 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dakshin Gangotri</span> Indian Antarctic research station

Dakshin Gangotri was the first scientific base station of India situated in Antarctica, part of the Indian Antarctic Programme. It is located at a distance of 2,500 kilometres (1,600 mi) from the South Pole. It is currently being used as a supply base and transit camp. The base is named after Dakshin Gangotri Glacier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maitri (research station)</span> Antarctic Research Station

Maitri also known as Friendship Research Centre, is India's second permanent research station in Antarctica as part of the Indian Antarctic Programme. The name was suggested by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Work on the station was first started by the Indian Expedition which arrived the end of December 1984, with a team led by Dr. B. B. Bhattacharya. Squadron Leader D. P. Joshi, the surgeon of the team, was the first camp commander of the tentage at camp Maitri. The first huts were started by the IV Antarctica Expedition and completed in 1989, shortly before the first station, Dakshin Gangotri, was buried in ice and abandoned in 1990–91. Maitri is situated in the rocky mountainous region called Schirmacher Oasis. It is only 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away from the Russian Novolazarevskaya Station.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Swabia</span> A territory of Antarctica in Queen Maud Land, first explored by Nazi Germany in 1938/39

New Swabia was a disputed Antarctic claim by Nazi Germany within the Norwegian territorial claim of Queen Maud Land and is now a cartographic name sometimes given to an area of Antarctica between 20°E and 10°W in Queen Maud Land. New Swabia was explored by Germany in early 1939 and named after that expedition's ship, Schwabenland, itself named after the German region of Swabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research</span>

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) is an Indian research and development institution, situated in Vasco da Gama, Goa. It is an autonomous institution of the Department of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India which is responsible for administering the Indian Antarctic Programme and maintains the Indian government's Antarctic research stations, Bharati and Maitri. NCPOR was established originally as NCAOR on 25 May 1998, with Dr. Prem Chand Pandey as the founding director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Research stations in Antarctica</span>

Multiple governments have set up permanent research stations in Antarctica and these bases are widely distributed. Unlike the drifting ice stations set up in the Arctic, the current research stations of the Antarctic are constructed either on rocks or on ice that are fixed in place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novolazarevskaya Station</span> Antarctic station

Novolazarevskaya Station is a Russian, formerly Soviet, Antarctic research station. The station is located at Schirmacher Oasis, Queen Maud Land, 75 km (47 mi) from the Antarctic coast, from which it is separated by Lazarev Ice Shelf. It was opened on January 18, 1961 by the 6th Soviet Antarctic Expedition. The maximum summer population is 70.

Gangotri is a town and pilgrimage centre in Uttarakhand, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Schirmacher Oasis</span> Antarctic research station

The Schirmacher Oasis is a 25 km (16 mi) long and up to 3 km (1.9 mi) wide ice-free plateau with more than 100 freshwater lakes. It is situated in the Schirmacher Hills on the Princess Astrid Coast in Queen Maud Land in East Antarctica and is, on average, 100 m (330 ft) above sea level. With an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi), the Schirmacher Oasis ranks among the smallest Antarctic oases and is a typical polar desert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen Maud Land</span> Norways territorial claim in Antarctica

Queen Maud Land is a roughly 2.7-million-square-kilometre (1.0-million-square-mile) region of Antarctica claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20° west and the Australian Antarctic Territory 45° east. In addition, a small unclaimed area from 1939 was annexed in June 2015. Positioned in East Antarctica, it makes out about one-fifth of the continent, and is named after the Norwegian Queen Maud (1869–1938).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prem Chand Pandey</span> Indian scientist

Prem Chand Pandey is an Indian space scientist, planetary scientist, and academic in the fields of satellite oceanography, remote sensing, atmospheric science, the Antarctic and climate change, and also he is the founding director of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR).

Bharati is a permanent Antarctic research station commissioned by India. It is India's third Antarctic research facility and one of two active Indian research stations, alongside Maitri. India's first committed research facility, Dakshin Gangotri, is being used as a supply base. India has demarcated an area beside Larsemann Hills at 69°S, 76°E for construction. The research station has been operational since 18 March 2012, though it is still being run on trial basis and formal launch is awaited. Since its completion, India has become one of nine nations to have multiple stations within the Antarctic Circle. Bharati's research mandate focuses on oceanographic studies and the phenomenon of continental breakup. It also facilitates research to refine the current understanding of the Indian subcontinent's geological history. News sources have referred to the station as "Bharathi", "Bharti" and "Bharati".

Sudipta Sengupta is a professor in structural geology in Jadavpur University, Calcutta, India, and a trained mountaineer. She is one of the first Indian women to set foot on Antarctica. She is also popularly known in India for her book Antarctica in Bengali and numerous articles and television interviews on geosciences. She has published extensively in international peer-reviewed journals of structural geology. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded her the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for her contributions to Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences in 1991.

The 20 indian Antarctic Expedition was flagged off on-board M.V. Magdalena Oldenorff from Cape Town on 30 December 2000. The team comprising a total of 51 members was led by Shri Mervin J. D’Souza from Geological Survey of India. The 20th IAE team consisted of 51 members including 34 scientists from various scientific Organizations/Universities/Departments and 17 logistic members. After successful completion of all logistics and scientific tasks the 20th IAE team returned to India in March 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dakshin Gangotri Glacier</span> Glacier in Antarctica

The Dakshin Gangotri Glacier is a small tongue of the polar continental ice sheet impinging on the Schirmacher Oasis of central Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the Second Indian Expedition to Antarctica in 1983, and is named after the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas. The first Antarctic research base of India, Dakshin Gangotri is located near to the glacier. Since then its snout, and the area around it, has been regularly monitored and it has become a valuable site for tracking the impact of global warming through changes in the movement of the Antarctic ice sheet. The site is protected under the Antarctic Treaty System as Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No.163.

Aditi Pant, is an Indian oceanographer. She was the first Indian woman to visit Antarctica, alongside geologist Sudipta Sengupta in 1983 as part of the Indian Antarctic Program. She has held prominent positions at institutions including the National Institute of Oceanography, National Chemical Laboratory, University of Pune, and Maharashtra Academy of Sciences.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harsh Gupta</span> Indian earth scientist and seismologist (born 1942)

Harsh Kumar Gupta is an Indian earth scientist and seismologist, known for his pioneering work on estimation of reservoir-induced earthquakes. He is a former vice chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) and a Raja Ramanna Fellow at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), Hyderabad. A recipient of the 1983 Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, the highest Indian award in the science and technology category, and the 2008 Waldo E. Smith Award, Gupta was awarded the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2006.

Hassan Nasiem Siddique was an Indian marine geologist and the director of the National Institute of Oceanography. He was the deputy leader of the first Indian expedition to the Antarctica during 1981–82. He was known for his geological studies on Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea and was an elected fellow of the Indian National Science Academy, Geological Society of India, Association of Exploration Geophysicists and the National Academy of Sciences, India. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences in 1978. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest Indian civilian honour of Padma Shri in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">German Antarctic Expedition (1938–1939)</span> Nazi Germany polar expedition

The German Antarctic Expedition (1938–1939), led by German Navy captain Alfred Ritscher (1879–1963), was the third official Antarctic expedition of the German Reich, by order of the "Commissioner for the Four Year Plan" Hermann Göring. Prussian State Councilor Helmuth Wohlthat was mandated with planning and preparation. The expedition's main objective was of economic nature, in particular the establishment of a whaling station and the acquisition of fishing grounds for a German whaling fleet in order to reduce the Reich's dependence on the import of industrial oils, fats and dietary fats. Preparations took place under strict secrecy as the enterprise was also tasked to make a feasibility assessment for a future occupation of Antarctic territory in the region between 20 ° West and 20 ° East.

References