Ocean research in India: perspective from space

Abstract

India, with a long coastline spanning over 7500 km and positioned in the central part of the Indian ocean, is one of the important regions for many developments. Oceans play animportant part in the social and economic life of people in the region and hence there is growing interest to study about them. Much about the oceans still remains to be understood, largely due to lack of detailed and accurate observations. Satellite platforms have recently been demonstrating reliable and longterm observations. Data from such observations can be used together with point-based in situ data for sustainable exploration and exploitation of ocean resourcesand for improving the accuracy of forecast of weather conditions, ocean state and longerterm climatic changes. Significant progress has been achieved in India during the past few years in demonstrating the utility of satellite-based remote sensing data for oceanographic research and applications. Aspart of these efforts, techniques have been developed to retrieve and measure various ocean parameters and processessuch as ocean surface waves, wind, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll pigments, oceanic eddies, heat budget, mixed layer depth and latent heat studies. In order to meet the specific and increasing data demands in ocean research, concerted efforts are being madefor developing and launching state-of-the-art satellites for ocean applications. The first in the series of the ocean satellites, IRS-P4 (Oceansat-1), was launched successfully on 26 May 1999 using the indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) from Sriharikota. A well-knit plan has been initiated for the proper utilization of data from Oceansat-1 mission. This paper highlights ocean research in India aswell as ocean observation missions which aim to provide operational ocean information services in the country.