Lok Sabha Question No. 3383 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Research in Antarctica
Ministry: EARTH SCIENCES
Asked by: SRINIVAS KESINENI

## MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3383 TO BE ANSWERED ON WEDNESDAY MARCH 22, 2017

## RESEARCH IN ANTARCTICA

## 3383. SHRI KESINENI NANI:

Will the Minister of Earth Sciences be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  research  areas  being  focussed  on  at  India's  base  in Antarctica;
- the number of scientists and other people working at Indian base in
- (b) Antarctica;
- (c)
- the financial outlay for the base; and
- (d) whether any breakthrough scientific research has been achieved at Indian base in the Antarctica and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR MINISTRY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND MINISTRY OF EARTH SCIENCES (SHRI Y. S. CHOWDARY)

- (a) Research areas of current focus at India's base in Antarctica include Climate  Change  through  proxies  in  the  ice  cores,  sediments  and biological materials; Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences; Earth science and Geology, Biology and Environmental Sciences, etc.
- (b) About 100 to 120 members including Scientists, Engineers, Doctors and  Tradesmen  are  deputed,  in  batches,  every  year  in  Indian expedition to Antarctica between November and January. During the austral winter season (March -November) 25 personnel are
- stationed at Maitri and 23 at Bharati station.
- (c) There  is  no  separate  financial  outlay  for  the  research  bases, however  stations  are  maintained  within  the  total  outlay  for  the Indian Antarctic programme of the Ministry. Annual financial outlay for the Antarctic programme is about 120 crores.
- (d) Indian  scientists  have  made  significant  contributions  in  Antarctic research. The details are furnished in Annexure-I.

## Significant contributions in India's Antarctic Research

- (i) Continuously monitoring of atmospheric parameters using Automatic  weather  station  (AWS)  coupled  with  synoptic  weather observations,  monitoring  of  the  ozone  hole  and  greenhouse  gases have improved our understanding of the variations in the Antarctic atmospheric circulation patterns and its effect on monsoon.
- (ii) Moveable  Atmospheric  Radar  for Antarctica  (MARA),  Canadian Advanced Digital Ionosonde (CADI), Imaging Riometer, etc. working at Maitri have been successfully used to probe different regions of the polar atmosphere.
- Maitri  boasts of a permanent Geomagnetic Observatory, a Seismic Observatory  and  a  Dynamic  Global  Position  System  (D-GPS)  Base uninterrupted record of past few decades; which significantly contributes to the
- (iii) Station. All these observatories have generated global network.
- (iv) Magnetic observations are vital for understanding the electromagnetic  changes  in  the  near-Earth  environment  due  to internal or external origin. Different types of magnetometers (Digital Fluxgate magnetometer  (DFM), Proton Precision  Magnetometer (PPM), Induction Coil magnetometer (ICM)) are continuously monitoring terrestrial magnetic field at Maitri and Bharati.
- (v) Maitri has a permanent seismic observatory and is part of the global network which records ground vibrations in the frequency range of 0 to 500 Hz. Mainly used for studying the seismic waves, earthquakes and  deep  interior  of  earth  and  has  improved  our  capability  to understanding of earthquakes.
- (vi) Bio-optical and biogeochemical properties of the southwest sector of  the  Southern  Ocean  are  not  quite  well  understood.  Continuous monitoring  of  vertical  profile  of  bio-optical  and  biogeochemical component  in  the  southwest  sector  of  the  Southern  Ocean,  by deploying the PROVOR BIO Argo floats will enhance the understanding  many  folds.  All these floats are  equipped  with Dissolved Oxygen  and  chlorophyll sensor along with CTD  for traditional temperature, salinity and depth measurements and drifts at 2000m depth.
- (vii) As of now, about 120 new species of bacteria have been identified from the frozen continent. India has added 20 new species to this list.  Pharmaceutical  company  Nicholas  Piramal  India  Ltd  (NPIL)  in partnership with National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)  patented  two  drug leads for antibiotics and cancer developed from live microbes from Antarctica.
- (viii) About 20,000 sq km area of the Wohlthat mountain chain has been geologically mapped by Indian scientists and four geological maps have been published.
- (ix) National  Remote  Sensing  Centre  (NRSC),  a  constituent  of  Indian Space Research Organisation maintains an Antarctic Ground Station for  Earth  Observation  Satellites  (AGEOS)  at  Bharati  Station  that receives  data  from  IRS  satellites  in  X/S-band.  This  ground  station supports Tracking and Tele Command support for satellites.
- (x) Around  13,000  to  20,000  years  ago,  the  Sea  Surface  Temperature (SST) decrease between 17°S and 20°S in the central Great Barrier Reef  region  was  1  to  2°C  more  than  present.  It  implies  northward expansion of cooler subtropical waters due to a weakening of the East  Australian  Current  and  shows  that  coral  reefs  can  withstand large temperature changes provided sufficient time of the order of thousands of years is provided for adaptation.
- (xi) Developed  a  first  generation  accurate  digital  elevation  models (DEMs) for Larsemann Hills and Schirmacher Oasis, East Antarctica, using interferometric and photogrammetric techniques.
- (xii) An  Ice  Core  Laboratory  was  established  at  NCAOR,  Goa.  The  Ice Core  Laboratory  provides  a  safe  and  controlled  environment  to preserve and undertake various studies. Study based on instrumental  data  from  Halley  station  as  well  as  an  ice  core  from coastal Dronning Maud Land revealed regional atmospheric circulation  changes  associated  with  a  reversal  in  the  sign  of  the relationship  between  the  southern  annular  mode  (SAM)  and  nearsurface temperatures in coastal parts of East Antarctica.
- (xiii) Biogeochemical  analysis  of  Antarctic  snow  samples  revealed  that elevated  nutrient  concentrations  snow  may  be  responsible  for  the observed enhanced growth of microalgae in snow with subsequent production  of  bromo-carbons  which  explains  the  high  bromide concentration in snow.
- (xiv) The nitrate (NO3-) records in ice core (IND-22/B4) revealed synchronous changes with records of solar activity, showing relatively enhanced nitrate concentration during periods of reduced solar activity like the Dalton Minimum (~1790-1830 AD) and Maunder Minimum  (~1640-1710  AD).  The  study  suggest  that  the  nitrate concentrations  in  Antarctic  ice  cores  appears  to  be  influenced  by production  rates,  processes  in  the  atmosphere,  as  well  as  the temperature at the site of precipitation.
- (xv) Ice  core  based  temperature  reconstructions  during  the  past  five centuries also revealed substantial warming by 0.6-1°C per century, with greatly enhanced warming during the last few decades (~0.4°C per decade).
- (xvi) The dust profile of the ice core (IND-25/B5) revealed that that dust influx to the East Antarctica was nearly doubled during the late 20 th century,  in  parallel  with  increasing  wind  speed  of  westerlies  in southern hemisphere associated with the positive Southern Annual Mode and widespread desertification in Patagonia.
- (xvii) High  resolution  records  of  deuterium  excess  (d-excess),  methane sulfonic  acid  (MSA)  and  ss-Na+  flux  in  an  ice  core  from  coastal Antarctica revealed dramatic increase in self-induction effect (SIE) in  the  Weddell  Sea  sector  during  1940-1980.  The  study  supports  a role  of  SAM  and  its  teleconnection  to  El  Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in controlling moisture transport as well as SIE in oceanic regions surrounding Antarctica.
- (xviii) ENSO-driven  Polar  Cell  variability  plays  a  crucial  role  influencing Antarctic  sea  ice  as  it  interacts  with  other  climate  modes,  which has a combined impact at the inter-annual time scale.
- (xix) A recent work using petrological and geochronological data shows landward  extension  of  East  African  Oorogen  in  east  Antarctica  in the Wohlthat Mountains in central Dronning Maud Land.
- (xx) Significant findings from expeditions in the Southern Ocean include identification  of  the  zones  of  sink  and  ventilation  of  CO2;  the  fast degree  of  warming  and  freshening  of  the  Antarctic  Bottom  Water due to glacier melting and the influence of melt water on productivity in the coastal and open ocean.