Indian Antarctic Program

The Indian Antarctic Program is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program under the control of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica.m The program 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signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983,superseded by the Maitri base from 1990. Under the program, atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medical sciences are studied by India, which has carried out 30 scientific expeditions to the Antarctic as of 14th October 2010 and is currently planning to build an additional research station in the region named Bharathi and thus India is all set to join the elite group of nine countries which have multiple bases in Antarctica.

History

Col. Jatinder Kumar Bajaj, a member of one of the Indian expeditions to Antarctica, standing at the South Pole (January 17, 1989)

The origins of Indian missions to the Antarctic are traced to the joint Indian Space Research Organisation – Hydrometeorological Centre of Russia agreements, which led to Indians, such as Dr. Paramjit Singh Sehra, joining the 17th Soviet Antarctic expedition of 1971–1973.

As of April 2008, India had sent a total of 27 expeditions to the Antarctic. The 27th expedition—initiated on December 6, 2007 under the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR)—was completed on 11 April, 2008. Scientists from over 20 scientific institutions participated in this expedition, which also probed the possibility of India's third permanent research station in Antarctic

The National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research—a research and development body functioning under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India—controls the Indian Antarctic program.The NCAOR and the Department of Ocean Development select the members for India's Antarctic expeditions.After medical tests and subsequent acclimatization training at the Himalayas, these selected members are also trained in survival, environment ethics, firefighting and operating in a group.

One expedition costs up to INR20 crore (US$4.4 million). Logistical support to the various activities of the Indian Antarctic program is provided by the relevant branches of the Indian armed forces. The launching point of Indian expeditions has varied from Goa in India to Cape Town in South Africa on 19th expedition during the time of NCAOR Founding Director Dr. P C Pandey in December 1999.Over 70 institutes in India contributed to its Antarctic program as of 2007.

Research

Antarctic holds scientific interest for global research projects due to a number of reasons: 'Origin of continents, climate change, meteorology and pollution' are among the reasons cited by S.D. Gad (2008). Mrinalini G. Walawalkar (2005) holds that: 'ice–ocean interaction and the global processes; paleoenvironment and paleoclimatic studies; geological evolution of earth and Gondwanaland reconstruction; Antarctic ecosystems, biodiversity and environment physiology; solar terrestrial processes and their coupling; medical physiology, adaptation techniques and human psychology; environment impact assessment and monitoring; enabling low temperature technology development; and studies on earthquakes' are among the areas of study under the Indian Antarctic program.

Close to 1,300 Indians had been to the continent as of 2001 as a part of the country's Antarctic program. Indian expeditions to the Antarctic also study the fauna and the molecular biodiversity of the region. A total of 120 new microbes had been discovered as a result of international scientific effort in the Antarctic by 2005. 20 of these microbes had been discovered by Indian scientists. India has also published over 300 research publications based on Antarctic studies as of 2007.

The 'ice cores' retrieved by drilling holes in Antarctic's vast ice-sheets yield information 'on the palaeoclimate and eco-history of the earth as records of wind-blown dust, volcanic ash or radioactivity are preserved in the ice as it gets accumulated over time'. The NCAOR developed a polar research & development laboratory with a 'low-temperature laboratory complex at –20°C for preservation and analysis of ice core and snow samples' according to S.D. Gad (2008). The 'ice core' samples are held, processed, and analyzed in containment units designed by such technology. Storage cases made of poly propylene also ensure that the samples do not alter characteristics and are preserved for analysis in the form that they were recovered

Indian Research Stations in Antarctica

Dakshin Gangotri

In 1981 the Indian flag unfurled for the first time in Antarctica, marking the start of Southern Ocean expeditions under the environmental protocol of the Antarctic Treaty (1959). The first permanent settlement was built in 1983 and named Dakshin Gangotri. In 1989 it was abandoned after it became buried in ice.

Maitri

The second permanent settlement, Maitri, was put up in 1988–89 on the Schirmacher Oasis and has been conducting experiments in geology, geography and medicine. India built a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadharshini. Maitri accomplished the mission of geomorphologic mapping of Schirmacher Oasis.

Bharathi (2012)

India has demarcated an area beside Larsmann Hill at 69°S, 76°E for its third settlement and second active research station. The survey has already been completed and the station is scheduled to be operational by 2012. When it is complete, India will enter the elite group of nine nations having multiple stations within the Antarctic Circle. Bharati is proposed for oceanographic research and will collect evidence of continental breakup to reveal the 120-million-year-old ancient history of the Indian subcontinent. In news sources this station is variously spelled "Bharathi", "Bharti" and "Bharati"