Brief Account of

TWO YEARS
ACHIEVEMENTS

2014-16

MAY 2016

MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

Government of India

Ministry of Science & Technology

Government of India

FOREWORD

Dr. Harsh Vardhan

Honourable Union Minister
for Science & Technology
& Earth Sciences

It gives me great pleasure to share the achievements in weather, climate, ocean

and seismological services and enhancement of technical capability by the
Ministry of Earth Sciences during the recent two years. The Ministry essentially
deals all complex interactions across various components of the Earth, comprising
the atmosphere, oceans, cryosphere, geosphere and biosphere. The mandate
of the ministry includes providing weather, climate, ocean and seismological
services to the nation, exploring polar regions, and discovery and exploitation of
marine living and non-living resources. This Governments endeavor is to build
desired synergy for improving the quality of services for effectively minimizing
loss of life. This Government is also committed to provide all necessary support
towards the exploration of Polar Regions; for developing appropriate technologies
for seabed exploration towards discovery and exploitation of living and non-living
resources with the enhanced focus on the Indian Ocean.

The national agenda includes promotion of discovery to provide new
perspective on earth systems; better understanding of earth processes and
application of this knowledge for sustainability of the Earth and its natural
resources along with strengthening all associated services for enhancing the
societal benefits. The policies and programmes of the Ministry are largely
being pursued through mission mode projects jointly implemented through its
institutions, India Meteorological Department; National Centre for Medium
Range Weather Forecasting; Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology; National
Centre for Antarctica and Ocean Research; National Institute of Ocean
Technology; Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services; National
Centre for Earth Science Studies; National Centre for Seismology; Centre for
Marine Living Resources and Ecology and Integrated Coastal and Marine Area
Management.

Our focus for next few years will be to accelerate the efforts and
strengthen the services provided by the Ministry for socio-economic benefits. We
shall be also focusing on helping Blue Economy and pursuing in enhanced ocean
services, exploration of Ocean thermal energy and resources from the seabed.

Ministry of Science & Technology

Government of India

PREFACE

Shri Y.S. Chowdary

Honourable Minister of State
for Science & Technology &
Earth Sciences

It gives me immense pleasure to note that during the recent two years,
the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) has significantly achieved in fields of
weather, climate, ocean and seismological services. The Ministry has put in
place several state-of-the-art systems with a view to benefit the society, by way
of catering to a variety of sectors of our economy. Our weather and climate and
ocean state forecasts have improved considerably. This would not have been
possible without appropriate investments in augmentation of observational
network, enhancing computing resources and intensifying research in modeling.
By using our timely and improved services, farmers and fishermen have received
substantial economic benefits. We need to further improve the dissemination
strategy to increase the outreach and also to ensure the benefits of it accrue to
many more farmers and fishermen.

As India emerges as knowledge super power, it is heartening to note
that MoES is poised to play a leadership role in the Asia Pacific region, by way
of expanding cross-linkages and extending technical support to our neighboring
countries insofar as the weather and its associated services are concerned.

The demands for better and precise weather, climate, ocean state
forecasting and earthquake monitoring services are increasing. There are special
demands from different sectors of economy for customized support services.
The other focus areas could be on generating ocean thermal energy, exploration
of ocean resources and exploring polar regions.

I am sure that the MoES is fully committed to improve the quality
of services and geared up to bring out qualitative change in all the bouquet of
services offered.

MINISTRY OF
EARTH SCIENCES

everal major milestones have been accomplished under various

schemes of the Ministry of Earth Sciences during the last two
years. These and related achievements include a wide variety
of applications of immediate relevance to quality of life. Indias
innate excellence in research and development has been
leveraged to enhance performance of detection and reporting systems.
Newer thrust areas have been added to the portfolio of activities in
response to Indias felt needs in areas pursued by the Ministry of Earth
Sciences. Some of the most important achievements in this context over
the past two years are indicated in the following.

IMPROVED WEATHER AND

CYCLONE PREDICTION
Our skills pertaining to weather and cyclone prediction over the region,
have improved remarkably over the past two years in particular. This is
evident with reference to recent Tropical Cyclones, Phailin, and Hudhud
and extreme rainfall events in Uttarakhand and Jammu and Kashmir
and floods in Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.

The 5-day forecast of HUDHUD cyclone in terms of

landfall/intensity and time of landfall was invaluable in
saving lives of people along north coastal Andhra Pradesh.
The cyclone track and land fall prediction has improved to
140 and 80 km respectively for the 24 hour forecast.
Extreme heavy precipitation in the Kashmir valley in
2015 was predicted three days in advance and the state
administration was alerted. Forecasts of heavy rain have
improved over 40% during 2014 and 2015 compared to
forecast in 2010-11.
These improvements in weather forecasts were
accomplished by strengthening the atmospheric and
oceanic observational network in the region, improving
the computing capability, implementing high-resolution
global models and improving them through research in
data assimilation and model physics.

MONSOON MISSION AND

IMPROVED MONSOON
PREDICTIONS
The Monsoon Mission was launched by the Ministry with
an allocation of Rs 400.00 crore. This was to improve
monsoon forecasts on all time scales; short-range to
seasonal. Under this mission, a dynamical prediction
system was set up based on two state-of-the-art coupled
climate models. With this implementation, we are now
able to generate reliable dynamical model predictions in
all time scales, short to medium range (up to 10 days),
extended range (up to 20 days) and seasonal (up to one
season). Thus a paradigm shift was achieved in weather
and climate prediction in the country.
Based on the operational statistical model, India
Meteorological Department (IMD) could correctly predict
the deficient monsoon rainfall during last two years (2014
and 2015). Accurate forecast of deficient monsoons has
prompted the Government to initiate appropriate action
to minimize related damage. The experimental extended
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range forecasts (up to 20 days) initiated in 2014, are quite

useful for agricultural and water resources sectors.

FORECASTS FOR SUMMER

TEMPERATURES AND HEAT WAVES
For the first time, the India Meteorological Department
has issued seasonal forecasts for summer temperatures
over India during the Hot Weather Season (April to June)
of 2016 based on a Coupled Climate model, developed
indigenously by the Ministry. The forecast suggested
that summer temperatures over the hot weather season
could be above normal by more than 1.0 degree Celsius.
Moreover, there is a high probability for above normal
occurrence of severe heat wave events over the country
during the season. The seasonal forecast is complemented
by extended range forecasts (up to 20 days) on heat waves
which is updated on every five days. IMD in addition,
issues heat wave alerts on a daily basis based on various
numerical weather prediction models.

AGRO-METEOROLOGICAL
ADVISORY SERVICE (AAS) UNDER
THE GRAMIN KRISHI MAUSAM
SEWA

The Ministry provides the Agromet Advisory Services

(AAS) for farmers in collaboration with the Ministry of
Agriculture. The services carried out at 130 agro-met

zones (cluster of 4-6 districts) now have been successfully

extended to the district level and operated across 608
districts of the country. Currently, over 11.54 million
farmers are receiving crop specific agro-meteorological
advisories in vernacular languages. The third party
assessment by the National Council of Applied Economic
Research (NCAER) on the agromet services provided by
the ministry concluded that the annual economic benefit
for the farmers cultivating 4 principal crops (Wheat, Rice,
Sugarcane and Cotton) was Rs 42,000 Crore in 2015. The
IMD initiated the Block level forecasts for 37 districts
(342 blocks) on a pilot mode; further catering to the
information and decision support needs of farmers.

A HIGH ALTITUDE
CLOUD PHYSICS LAB
AND AIRCRAFT
OBSERVATIONS

We know very little about clouds and

their interaction with atmospheric
aerosols and atmospheric circulation.
To understand these processes better,
a high altitude cloud observatory was
commissioned at Mahabaleshwar,
Maharashtra to study micro physical
characteristics
of
aerosols
and
clouds and associated environmental
conditions. State-of-the-art cloud and
aerosol measuring instruments have
been installed at the observatory. This
observatory is unique in the tropics for
studying microphysical properties of
High Altitude Cloud Physics
clouds. Observations from this facility
Laboratory at Mahabaleswar
will help us understand cloud processes
including two Radars.
and improve its representation in
prediction models. In addition, observational campaign
was conducted over the Ganges Valley with aircraft and
ground based measurements to understand cloud-aerosol
interaction and physical process of artificial rain making.

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WINTER FOG
CAMPAIGN
2015-16

Occurrence of fog is a
matter of serious concern
and threat for airport
operations, especially over
north India. To understand
the physical processes of
fog and for its accurate
prediction, an observational
campaign was conducted for the first time at the Indira
Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) during the winter
season (2015-16).
The main objective of the winter fog field campaign was
to study the characteristics and variability of fog events
over Delhi and associated dynamics and thermodynamics
and cloud microphysics. These observations will help us
understand the physical processes of fog over Delhi and
neighborhood and ultimately make accurate prediction of
fog events.

AIR QUALITY MONITORING

Air pollution is a serious social problem, especially in

major cities. To understand the gravity of air pollution
problems, a System of Air Quality forecasting and
Research (SAFAR) was set up by the ministry. It provides
location specific information on air quality in near real
time and its forecast 24 hours in advance. Monitoring
and forecasting by SAFAR is done for major gaseous
pollutants including ozone, oxides of nitrogen, carbon
monoxide, benzene and other hydrocarbons as well as the
particulate matters (PM) of two different sizes as PM -10
and PM -2.5. The forecast of five pollutants is displayed in
terms of Air Quality Index (AQI) at a scale of 0-500. In
June 2015, the SAFAR system was set up in Mumbai city.
With this, the cities of New Delhi, Pune and Mumbai are
covered under this programme. The next SAFAR system
will be installed at Ahmedabad in 2016.

HIGH PERFORMANCE COMPUTING To

support on-going operational and research activities, we need

large and fast computing resources. The HPC facilities have
been substantially augmented by upgrading the existing 170
Teraflop to the capacity of 1200 Teraflop. With this facility, a
paradigm shift in numerical modeling activity for operational
weather forecast
has been achieved.
We are now able to
generate weather
forecasts at a very
high resolution of
18 km.
The Super Computing Facility-ADITYA at
Pune

INTERNATIONAL OCEAN DRILLING

PROGRAM (IODP)

For the first time, a deep sea drilling program was conducted
in the Arabian Sea in May 2015 onboard D/V JOIDES
Resolution as a part of International Ocean Drilling Program.
This was to document the co-evolution of mountain building,
weathering, erosion, and climate over a range of timescales
including the study of evolution of continental breakup
between India and the Seychelles and its relationship to the
plume-related volcanism of the Deccan Plateau. A set of two
sediment cores were recovered from Sites U1456 and U1457
in the Laxmi Basin, penetrating 1109.4 and 1108.6m below
seafloor, respectively.

The Ocean Drilling Program to understand past monsoon

climate
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OCEAN OBSERVATIONAL PROGRAM

The Ocean research campaign was conducted under the

Monsoon Mission over August 23 to September 21, 2015
in the Bay of Bengal. This was to study Ocean Mixing
and its association with freshwater on air-sea fluxes
for advancing our understanding of the South Asian
Monsoon variability. The observations are documents
on board the R/V Roger Revelle with participation of
scientists from several international institutions. Earlier,
two research expeditions were carried out in the Bay of
Bengal to study ocean mixing and carry out monsoon
experiments over July/August 2014. These observations
will help us improve ocean models for better forecasts.

Ocean Observational Campaign under the Monsoon Mission

OCEAN STATE FORECASTS

The ocean forecast services were extended to two other

Indian Ocean Rim Countries, namely Sri Lanka and
Seychelles on various parameters viz., winds, waves,
currents and temperature in map form served under
the umbrella of Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard
Early Warning System (RIMES) for Afro-Asian Region.
These forecasts are updated daily on operational basis
with location specific forecasts are also being delivered.
[Seychelles: 18 locations and Sri Lanka: 22 locations].

TSUNAMI EARLY WARNING

SERVICES

The Indian Tsunami Warning System established by

the Ministry at the Indian Centre for Ocean Information
Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad has been recognized as
the Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RSTP) for the
Indian Ocean Region by UNESCO to provide warning to
countries of the Indian Ocean. The RTSP of India along
with Australia and Indonesia assumed full operational
responsibility since March 2013. This includes the service
of level-2 tsunami advisories for the Indian Ocean. Indian
Tsunami Warning System is equipped to issue warnings
within 10 minutes of occurrence of earthquake.

INTERNATIONAL INDIAN OCEAN

EXPEDITION (IIOE) was launched from Goa in

November 2015 in commemoration of 50th Year of IIOE;

organized in coordination with the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. The IIOE
is expected to bring new understanding of the changing
role of Indian Ocean in the changing climate regime in
particularly the Indian Summer Monsoon variability.

AN INTERNATIONAL TRAINING
CENTRE FOR OPERATIONAL
OCEANOGRAPHY has been established

at
INCOIS, Hyderabad to build capacities in countries of the
Indian Ocean region, in coordination with UNESCO. Four
international/national training programs were organized
over the last 6 months.

OPEN CAGE CULTURE

Large scale fish production through mariculture is the

viable alternative to cope with the ever increasing demand
for fish proteins. An open sea cage culture mooring
system was designed and developed for commercially
important marine finfishes in different sea conditions
to meet this demand with available marine engineering

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and biological expertise. A 9 m diameter HDPE cages

with multipoint mooring were deployed and tested in the
North Bay (Andaman Islands), Olaikuda (Tamil Nadu)
and Kothachathram (Andhra Pradesh) representing fully
protected, semi-protected and open sea environments,
respectively. The open sea cage culture technology
seems to be an ideal alternative livelihood option for the
coastal fishers, help generate considerable employment
opportunities in the country; to meet the fish food
production targets of the nation.

OCEAN RESEARCH FACILITIES

The Union Minister for Science and Technology and

Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan laid the foundation
stone for the ocean research facility of the National
Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) near ocean front
at Thupilipallam village in Vakadu Mandal near Nellore
in Andhra Pradesh. This facility is being established at a
cost of over Rs 250 crores. It will allow testing of various
equipment and operations to be undertaken in actual
sea conditions and enable demonstration of its various
technologies. The training facility near the Chittedu
village would encompass software development for ocean
data analysis and train students in ocean related research
areas.
A data centre is also proposed for analysis, data
computation and interpretation of ocean data. Besides,
the research facility itself would have several laboratories
for carrying out prototype tests in a test pond to qualify
the method and procedures of deep sea mining concept
where a crawler based mining machine collects, crushes
and pumps nodules to the mother ship using a positive
displacement pump through a flexible riser system.
l

INDIAS FIRST MOORED

OBSERVATORY (INDARC) IN
THE ARCTIC
On the 23rd July 2014, a team of scientists from the

Ministry successfully deployed Indias first multi-sensor

moored sub-surface observatory from the Norwegian Polar
Institute (NPI) vessel Lance at Kongsfjorden, Svalbard,
Norway. This was at a water depth of ~180 m. The primary
advantage of this mooring is its ability to acquire data of
sub-surface parameters during the winter when the surface
is frozen. The long term collection of the data would help
understanding variability of process due to climate change.
This will improve our understanding of atmospheric
processes over the Indian sub-continent.
India successfully commenced operations at the 3rd
Indian Permanent Research Station Bharati, at Larsemann
Hills, East Antarctica. This will significantly enhance
our initiatives on glaciology, atmosphere, paleoclimate
and Polar biology. India has been accorded and observer
status in the Arctic Council in recognition of her scientific
contributions endeavours in Polar research. Observational
programs in Earth Sciences at this station and the other
station, Maitri are progressing steadily.
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POLAR REMOTELY OPERABLE

VEHICLE (PROVe) with a depth rating of 500 m,

is a technological tool to help carry out explorations in the

Polar Regions and at water depths up to 500 m. The vehicle
weighs 170 kg and is designed for a speed of 2 knots. It has
been tested for performance in the Idukki Lake in Kerala
in July 2014, where the vehicle was navigated at a depth
of 106 m. The vehicle system is qualified for performance
under low temperature and has been launched successfully
in February 2015 in the Antarctica waters at 100 m depth.

BOREHOLE GEOPHYSICS RESEARCH

LABORATORY (BGRL)
The BGRL was established in Karad, Maharashtra
to carryout Scientific Deep Drilling in the Koyna
Intra-Plate Seismic zone. This was to measure insitu physical properties of rocks, pore-fluid pressure,
hydrological parameters, temperature and other
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PROVe

Autonomous Coring System

parameters of an intra-plate, active fault zone in the nearfield of earthquakes before, during and after their
occurrence. A set of 6 cores have been drilled so far with
logging and heat flow measurements. These observations
will help us understand physical processes of reservoir
induced earthquakes.

THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR

SEISMOLOGY (NCS)

The Government of India has accorded approval for

setting up of the National Centre for Seismology. This
Centre will help address all seismological services in an
integrated manner. As part of earthquake monitoring,
the National Seismological Network consisting of 82
field observations including two telemetric clusters (NCR
Delhi and NE Region) have been in successful operation
for monitoring of seismic activity in and around the
country on 24x7 basis.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS UNDER
MAKE IN INDIA THROUGH R&D
INNOVATIONS
A drifting buoy with INSAT communication is developed.
The technology is transferred to industry for production.
With the help of the National Aerospace Laboratory,
CSIR, Bengaluru, a system for observing visibility at
airports, named Drishti has been developed and deployed

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at different airports. This initiative is to encourage

indigenous development of technology for different
schemes of the Ministry.
These achievements have set the context for value added
progress as we move ahead. The MoES will consolidate
development and implementation of locally relevant
decision support systems; much as it will also leverage
on Indias contributions for holistic benefits through
partnerships at the regional and global levels.

Ministry of Earth Sciences

Government of India
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