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 red filled circles show cities where the 37 laboratories of the
CSIR Network are located. The open circles show the locations
The major ongoing research projects are: of the three Regional Centres of NIO, whose headquarters are in
Goa on the west coast of India.
Ocean Science towards Forecasting Indian
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 Resources Instrumentation Biotechnology

1
 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
NIO has been involved in long-term
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.
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
Mooring locations in Equatorial Indian Ocean.
impact on the current at remote locations at a later
time through propagation of large scale wave. 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, LH-
Lakshadweep High, LL- Lakshdweep Low).

Measurements and models indicate role of

local winds as well as remote forcing by large
scale waves originating far from the region.
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 : 1N, lon: 77E

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.

2
 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.
-1
Tide-gauge records indicate 1.3 mm year sea-
level rise trends along the Indian coast during
the last century.

Biological productivity and carbon Schematic of winter convection

export in the North Indian Ocean and nutrient supply to the
euphotic zone from sub-surface
waters.
The Northwestern Indian Ocean is the only
oceanic region experiencing large-scale wind-
driven, 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.
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
Consumption of the DOC during the following
oligotrophic spring intermonsoon helps sustain
high zooplankton biomass throughout the year
(the Arabian Sea Paradox).
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

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 Satellite derived sea-level height anomaly depicting the cold-core
(blue) and warm-core (red) eddies in the Bay of Bengal (January
dissolved organic carbon build-up in the 2003).
surface layer supports the microbial loop.

3
 Despite large releases of nutrients on land,
nutrient fluxes to estuaries and coastal areas are
only moderately high. Estuaries are mostly net-
heterotrophic serving as sources of greenhouse
gases.
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.
Oxygen minimum zones
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

0.2

1
2
3
4

4
3
2
Mean biweekly averaged organic carbon flux 1
in the Arabian Sea. 0.2

Maximum Nitrite (M)

The Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal differ

considerably in terms of carbon cycling owing to
contrasting hydrography and biogeochemistry:
Mesopelagic oxygen deficiency greatly affects
The Arabian Sea is a perennial source of CO2 to
biodiversity and ecosystem functioning (high
the atmosphere whereas the Bay of Bengal is a
bacterial but low zooplankton biomass, great
seasonal sink.
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.

4
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 the biological pump. They are responsible for ~ 30%
microbes, plants and animals - from various of organic flux to the deeper layers in the our seas.
marine ecosystems.
Since the days of the International Indian Ocean
Phytoplankton: Inhabiting the upper, euphotic Expedition, NIO has played the key role in
water column, these microscopic, self -replicating documenting zooplankton abundance and
organisms are the primary producers of organic composition in the Indian Ocean publishing a large
matter, forming the base of marine food number of atlases and research papers
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
Benthos: Animal and plant species inhabiting the
Bengal. This production supports the rest of the
seafloor (from intertidal to deep-ocean) such as
marine life.
bivalves, gastropods, polychaetes, star fishes and
1400 Spring intermonsoon corals are important contributors to biogeochemical
1200 (March-May)
NorthEast monsoon cycling and fluxes. NIO has been studying benthos
1000 (November-February)

800
SouthWest Monsoon from different habitats. Their type, abundance and
(June-August)
600 Annual Average distribution are adversely affected by pollution and
400 coastal disturbance. The ongoing deoxygenation and
200 acidification make these organisms vulnerable to
0
Oceanic Coastal Oceanic Coastal
global change.
Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal Molecular biological technologies such as Density
Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE), DNA
Phytoplankton can form blooms and some of them
sequencing and in-situ hybridization are used to
can be harmful. The incidences of such blooms
describe diversity of bacteria, archaea and fungi in
along the coast of India have increased in the recent
our marine ecosystems.
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

5
Marine ecology
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.
Barnacle, Balaus amphitrite
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.
Barnacle life cycle.
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
6
the adult and the dissolved sugars in the
surrounding environment provide the necessary
chemical cues for attracting the population of its
conspecifics.
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.
The extent of barnacle larval dispersal from the
spawning sites off Goa varies from 10-78 km.
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'.
Positive/Negative Interplay between diatoms and bacteria
Application of Penicillin, a -lactam antibiotic
that can affect diatoms only through bacteria,
resulted in bacterial suppression and changed
diatom species composition.
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.
Bacterial community undergoes alterations
during the degradation process.
Bacterial population associated with the
exoskeleton of live zooplankton changes once
treated with chitinase and lead to the emergence of
undetected forms.
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, anti-
diabetic, 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:

Stress reducing/sedative anti-anxiyolitics
Toxins from phytoplankton
Microbial pigments useful in food coloring

These studies have led to various industrial

applications such as

Laboratory-scale demonstration of textile mill

effluent decolorization using a marine fungus. Application in paper industry (paper recycling).
Bioremediation of industrial wastes by
a highly active fungal laccase enzyme
Brightening of newsprint and photocopy
paper pulp using metabolites of a marine
bacterium
Characterization of a cyclic peptide, a novel
broad-spectrum antibiotic, from a bacterium
effective at nanogram levels against many
pathogenic bacteria

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.

7
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:
Indian lakes and reservoirs experience
moderate eutrophication and methane buildup
during summer anoxia despite large
anthropogenic nutrient loading
Anoxygenic photosynthesis contributes
significantly to primary production.
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:
OIF led to a non-diatom (flagellate) bloom that
was grazed by zooplankton
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
Small decrease (<15 atm) in pCO2. Due to
Seawater widespread occurrence of Si-poor conditions in
Since 1997, NIO has been carrying out regular the Southern Ocean, potential of OIF for CO2
monitoring of the largest naturally-formed, sequestration is not very large
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:
Intensification of O2 deficiency (emergence of
sulphidic conditions since 1970s), large inter-
annual variability, but no clear-long term
trend
Record accumulation of N2O
Hypoxia greatly impacts biology and fisheries

Modis chlorophyll a composite image (12 to 14 Feb 2009)

8
NIO is actively engaged in monitoring
the health of Indian coastal environs
through:
Seasonal monitoring of water, sediment,
biological and microbiological parameters
Establishing 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.
Model simulated trajectory of oil spill off Goa
during 23-25 March, 2005
Tidally-averaged residual currents in the Gulf of Kachchh to
determine transport of pollutants (ACE and CE indicate
anticlockwise and clockwise eddies).
9
Bioinvasion
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:
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
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.
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 Ferromanganese Crust Indication of hydrothermal plume
from Indian Ocean. over Carlsberg Ridge, Indian Ocean.
hydrothermal mineralization in the Andaman Sea
that are potential sites for minerals rich in Zn, Pb
and Cu.

10
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
Potential areas for gas hydrates exploration
hydrate stability zone (GHSZ) thickness map
required for prediction of gas hydrates.
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.

11
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
Indicators of Climate Change
is the monsoon. Reconstructions of monsoon
variability, sea surface temperatures (SST), sea Reconstruction of calcium carbonate

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.
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.
Paleo-studies at NIO revealed that
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.
Sea level was ~100 m lower off west coast of
India 14,500 years ago.
Changing north-south salinity gradient in the
eastern Arabian Sea suggests changes in
monsoon intensity
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.
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

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.
SST estimates based on the faunal
composition, alkenones and
Magnesium/Calcium ratio show 3C regional
cooling in the Indian Ocean during the last
glacial maximum as compared to the
Holocene.
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 timing of deglacial increase in seawater temperature in the
the Indian Ocean is either coeval with or up to Eastern Arabian Sea, as compared with global rise in
atmospheric CO2, as well as the average northern and southern
1 kyr before the atmospheric CO2 rise. hemispheric temperature change'.
A link between the Red Sea out flow and
intensification of Indian Monsoon is found
between 15.5 to 7.3 kyr.

12
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

Discovery of seamount chain (consisting of
Raman and Panikkar seamounts and the
Wadia guyot) in the deep sea off the central
Indian west coast
Mapping of Carlsberg Ridge and Central
Indian Ridge revealed finer-scale
segmentation pattern of these slow spreading Geophysical investigations over Carlsberg and Central Indian
mid-ocean ridges. ridge systems.

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.
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.
Understanding of tectonic framework of the
North Indian Ocean
Formation of Indo-Australian Plate 42 Ma ago
and breaking into 3 small sub-plates (India,
Australia and Capricorn) around 15.4 Ma
Ninety East Ridge track was emplaced at a
rate of 118 km/Ma, twice the speed of relative Hydrothermal plume location over Carlsberg ridge
motion of the Indian Plate
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
Cratered seamount in Andaman Sea Indian, Australian and Capricorn sub-plates.

13
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' Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 'Maya'
Max depth : 200 m
Endurance: ~ 7 hour @ 1.5 m/s
Technology transfer to
i. Larsen and Toubro Limited, Mumbai.
ii. VEA Automation and Robotics Pvt.
Ltd., Coimbatore.

II. Autonomous Vertical Profiler (AVP)

Max depth : 200 m
Speed: 0-1 m/s
Weight in air: ~ 13 kg
Endurance: ~ 2 dives / day to 100 m for 15
days
Technology transfer to Control Technologies,
Bengaluru

This technology has applications in:

Fisheries research
Climate related studies
Pollution monitoring
Satellite validation
The users of AVP include
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

14 stations in Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal.

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 Autonomous Weather Station

14
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
Installation of instrument in surf zone.
suitable sites for marine facilities
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
Recording echosounder data.
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
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 middle- Remains of steam engine shipwreck in Lakshadweep.
eastern and African Countries

15
Infrastructure and Resources

Manpower
Library
Permanent the sanctioned strength of
various categories of employees in NIO is Recognised as the National Information
as follows: Centre for Marine Sciences (NICMAS) since
mid-1990s.
Permanent Sanctioned
While catering to the needs of the users
strength
within the institute, it is also committed to
S&T (Group IV) 200
S&T (Group III) 120 serve the marine information seekers within
S&T (Group II) 76 and outside India.
S&T (Group I) 15 Most operations in the library are
Administration 173 computerised
Total 584
As a part of CSIR's Consortium, it makes
Temporary staff and students: large electronic resources available to users
Research Fellows (PhD students) ~ 80 Maintains one of the highest ranked
Project Assistants (graduates/ institutional repositories in India
post-graduates ~400
UG/PG Students for dissertation ~ 250 / yr
/internship
Oceanographic Data Centre
Research facilities The Indian Oceanographic Data Centre
(IODC) was established at NIO in 1964.
NIO has numerous state of the art analytical
instruments; some of which are listed below: It was subsequently recognised as the
National Oceanographic Data Centre
Gas Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer (NODC) under the IOC/IODE data network
Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometer
Liquid Chromatograph- Mass Spectrometer
Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Mass
Spectrometer IT facilities
High Performance Liquid Chromatograph Centralised IT HUB hosting dedicated
Protein Purification System servers for Website, email, Internet, Intranet,
Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometer ftp, HPC systems and high capacity storage
Gas Chromatograph- IRMS accessible through the LAN, WAN and VPN
ICP-Optical Emission Spectrometer links.
ICP-Atomic Emission Spectrometer
Development and implementation of Lotus
SEM-Energy Dispersive X-ray Analyser Notes based work flow applications for
Particle Size Analyzer Office Automation .
Palaeo-magnetism Analyser
X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
X-Ray Diffractometer
Electron Probe Micro Analyser
Graphite Furnace-Atomic Absorption Spectrometer

16
Research ships

RV Sindhu Sankalp RV Sindhu Sadhana

Specifications Specifications:
Length overall : 56.3 Meters Length overall : 80.00 m
Speed : 11.5 knots cruising speed Breadth moulded : 17.60 m
Range : 20,000 nautical miles Draught scantling : 5.00 m
Endurance : 30 days Design speed : 13.5 Knots
Compliment : 35 (15 crew +16 scientists) Gross tonnage : approx. 4170 GT
Range : 10,000 Nautical Miles
Onboard facilities Endurance : 45 days
Complement : 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 Single beam echo sounders (shallow and deep
(12 KHz & 20 KHz) echosounders water)
Shallow water (EM 1002) and deep water Multi-beam echo sounder (shallow and deep
(EM 302) multibeam bathymetric systems water)
Sub-bottom profiler (2-12 kHz; Transducer Parametric sonar
source 10 KW) Gravimeter
Biological samplers (Plankton nets) & Seabed Magnetometer
samplers (Grabs, 4-6 m corers & dredges) Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler
Arrangement for towing magnetometer, CTD system
sparker, side scan sonar operations Dynamic positioning system
Sampling gear (seafloor, water column,
Arrangements for deploying and retrieval of
biological)
instrumented mooring systems
Analytical and computational facilities
Laboratories - 3 (Sample processing, data
Facilities to deploy instrumented moorings,
acquisition and multipurpose)
AUV & ROV

17
Outputs and Outreach

Publications
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:
Grants and external cash flow
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
(USA: 37, India: 34; Others: 25)
More than half of the patents are on
biotechnology
International collaborations
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.
Outreach activities
Conferences NIO regularly hosts national and
international conferences on various current and
emerging topics related to oceanography
Training programs NIO conducts tailor-made
training programs for national and international
agencies. Participants include students,
researchers, professionals, defence personnel and
other government officials.
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 5 years Admission in August. For details visit:
fellowship holders www.acsir.res.in
Jr/Sr. Research Post Graduates Upto 5 years CSIR/UGC-NET qualified
Fellowship
Project Under / Post Graduates Upto 5 years Walk-in interviews notified on NIO
Assistantship website
Dissertation / UG / PG students 3-6 months Acceptance of supervisor (through email)
internship / and official permission
summer training

NIO also accepts short visits by student groups on prior appointment (write to ocean@nio.org)

18
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:ocean@nio.org

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:param@nio.org

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:snbhiye@nio.org

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:vsnmurty@nio.org

For further information visit www.nio.org

19