India's To Launch Automated Ocean Pollution Observation System

India is all set to have its own automated ocean pollution observation system this year.
It will help keep a tab on ocean pollution levels apart from offering insights on how the marine system is changing.

• The system which is being developed by Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) will become functional by April this year
• INCOIS is an autonomous body under the ministry of earth sciences.
• The new ocean data acquisition system, called automated moorings, will do away with the present practice of collecting water samples from the sea and studying their pollution levels thereafter.
• This is for the first time India will have such kind of system. This is a very effective system for getting the data about the ocean pollution that shall be used to understand the quality of water.
• The project will begin from April once it gets a final nod from the government,
• It will help in monitoring the pollution level of the ocean water and the impact of climate change. There are reports that the water is becoming anoxic and it could change the marine system. 
• It is estimated that more than 80 percent of the pollution in the ocean is from lands with marine debris, especially plastics, killing thousands of seabirds, mammals and sea turtles every year.
• So, this will give us a clear picture of what actually is happening and help us, in the long run, to take up preventive measures. It will also provide data that will help scientists to understand how the marine system is changing.
• The cost of the project is estimated to be at Rs 100 crore and the system is said to be foolproof.
• The moored ocean buoys will be placed in coastal areas of Digha (West Bengal), Goa, Mumbai, Kochi, Vishakapatanam and Chennai.
• The sensors, placed at the bottom of the buoys, will be attached to the sseabed so that they are not washed away.
• The research team hopes to deploy two buoys by December 2018, following which other buoys will be placed.

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS)

• INCOIS was established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
• It is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO)
• Its objective is 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 improvements through systematic and focused research.
• It provides round-the-clock monitoring and warning services for the coastal population on tsunamis, storm surges, high waves, etc. through the in-house Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITWEC)
• The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO designated ITWEC as a Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RTSP) to provide tsunami warnings to countries on the Indian Ocean Rim
• It also generates Global Ocean Analysis data using mathematical models and observations on a daily basis to provide the initial conditions to ocean-atmosphere coupled models used for the prediction of the monsoon and to understand oceanic processes
• It is a 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.