National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research

The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) was established as an autonomous Research and Development Institution of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India on 25th May 1998. With a mission mandate that is quite challenging, the Centre is designated as the nodal organization for the co-ordination and implementation of the Indian Antarctic Programme, including the maintenance of India’s permanent station in Antarctica. At NCPOR the scientific mandate is multidisciplinary. Operating in a complex matrix, which has as its focal theme, research in those areas of the polar science currently not being undertaken by any other institution in India. In a rapid stride, not only have the basic infrastructure and computing facilities been established, but also true scientific recognition earned. The Universities of Goa and Mangalore have recognized NCPOR as a research centre for the pursuit of doctoral research.

About NCPOR
Founded/Established in 25/05/1998
Founding Director Professor P. C. Pandey
Current Director Mirza Javed Beg
Location Goa, India
Research Type Polar and Ocean Research
Website Visit Official Website

Expeditions

  1. Antarctic Programme :- 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. 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signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983, superseded by the Maitri base from 1989. The newest base commissioned in 2012 is Bharati, constructed out of 134 shipping containers.

  2. Arctic Expedition :- India is the most recent country to commence Arctic research as it established its Arctic research station as recently as 2008. India’s Arctic programme aims to contribute to the development, consolidation and dissemination of the current understanding of climate change, its impacts and adaptations in the Norwegian Arctic, Svalbard. India’s Arctic research includes atmospheric, biological, marine and earth sciences and glaciological studies. The atmospheric research encompasses investigations into aerosols and precursor gases with respect to their radiative, physical-chemical and optical properties and studies of the effects of space weather on the auroral ionosphere. Biological studies include sea-ice microbial communities; and in marine research, phytoplankton pigments, nutrients, pH, DO, sea-water salinity and other ecological parameters have been investigated. Earth sciences and glaciological observations include studies of snow-pack production of carbon monoxide and its diurnal variability.

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  3. Himalayan Expedition :- As part of the Indian government's initiatives for better understanding of glacier-climate inter-relationship and quantify the Himalayan glacier responses towards the climate change, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences has established a high altitude research station in Himalaya called HIMANSH. HIMANSH is a dedicated Research Station established at Sutri Dhaka, Chandra Basin, Lahaul-Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh which has an altitude of 4080m amsl. The station was unveiled on Sunday 9th October 2016 and since then the station has made for functioning round the year.

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  4. International Ocean Discovery Program :- The International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) is a global marine research collaboration that explores Earth's history and dynamics using ocean-going research platforms to recover data recorded in seafloor sediments and rocks and to monitor sub-seafloor environments. On behalf of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa has been designated as the nodal agency to deal with various facets of the IODP program in India.

  5. Indian Ocean Sector of the Southern Ocean :- The Indian Southern Ocean Research Program was initiated in 2004 when the pilot expedition took place onboard ORV Sagar Kanya. This program was initiated by the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to pursue multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional research activities addressing various key scientific components including Hydrodynamics, Biogeochemistry, Biodiversity (Plankton and higher marine organisms), Air-sea interactions, Lower atmospheric processes, Palaeoclimatology etc. Since its inception in 2004, NCAOR as the national nodal agency for planning, coordinating and executing all facets of SO research program, has carried out 7 expeditions addressing some of the above mentioned research components.

NPDC

Indian National Polar Data Center (NPDC) is an authoritative platform for managing and sharing data of Indian Polar Research. It covers data from a broad spectrum of disciplines, including oceanography, glaciology, resources and environmental science, biology & ecology, atmospheric science, etc. It has become a nodal centre of "India's Data-sharing Network of Earth System Science".The main purpose of the NPDC is to facilitate sharing of polar data and information to the scientific community. It would enable the users to locate and obtain access to all aspects of Polar Science, thereby creating India's NPDC for scientific research in and about Polar regions.

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