INCOIS – DIGITAL OCEAN

INCOIS – DIGITAL OCEAN

Subject: National Organisations

Context: Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan launched the ‘Digital Ocean’ platform of Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information Services (INCOIS).

Concept:

Digital Ocean Platform

• It will act as a one stop-solution for all data related needs of a wide range of users, including research institutions, operational agencies, strategic users, academic community, maritime industry, and the public.
• It will facilitate an online interactive web-based environment for data integration, 3D and 4D data visualization, data analysis to assess the evolution of oceanographic features obtained from multiple sources like on site monitoring devices, remote sensing and model data.

INCOIS

• INCOIS is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• It is located in Hyderabad & was established in 1999.
• It is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO), New Delhi.
• It is mandated to provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations and constant improvement through systematic and focused research.

Services Offered by INCOIS

• Potential Fishing Zone Advisory Services
• Ocean and Coastal State Forecast
• Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges
• Ocean Modelling
• Satellite Coastal and oceanographic Research
• National and Regional Oceanographic Data Centre
• Coastal Geospatial Applications
• Indian Ocean Global Ocean Observing System

Global Cooperation

• ESSO-INCOIS has a prominent international presence, being a permanent member of the Indian delegation to IOC(International Oceanographic Commission) of UNESCO
• Founding member of the Indian Ocean Global Ocean Observing System (IOGOOS) and the Partnership for Observing the Oceans (POGO) which is actively engaged in capacity building and international exchange of students and researchers.
• ESSO-INCOIS houses the IOGOOS secretariat and the Sustained Indian Ocean Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research (SIBER) International Programme Office.
• Through the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System for Africa and Asia (RIMES), ESSO-INCOIS provides ocean information and forecasts to member countries.