1986-87 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY DONA PAULA GOA Printed and Published by Director, National Institute of Oceanography Compiled and edited by Information & Publication Division Editorial Personnel Shri R.M.S. Bhargava Shri V. Kesava Das Shri S.J.D. Vara Prasad Mrs. R. Thomas Shri John Gonsalves DESIGN AND PRINTIED BY INSDOC, NEW DELHI-110 012 CONTENTS Page 1. FORWARD BY THE DIRECTOR 2. LIST OF PROJECTS 1 3. RESEARCH ACTIVITIES 3.1 Physical Oceanography 2 3.2 Chemical Oceanography 8 3.3 Geological Oceanography 15 3.4 Biological Oceanography 27 3.5 Marine Corrosion & Materials Research 33 3.6 Ocean Engineering 37 3.7 Marine Instrumentation, Computer & Data 39 3.8 Publication, Information & Public Relations 41 3.9 Training 43 3.10 Planning 45 4. REGIONAL CENTRES 4.1 Bombay 46 4.2 Cochin 52 4.3 Waltair 58 5. OCEANOGRAPHIC CRUISES 62 6. ANTARCTIC RESEARCH 69 7. SPONSORED PROJECTS 71 8. INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMMES 77 9. INFRASTRUCTURE 79 10. VISITORS 82 11. AWARDS, HONOURS & MEMBERSHIPS 84 12. DEPUTATIONS 87 13. PARTICIPATION IN SEMINARS, SYMPOSIA AND MEETINGS 89 14. PUBLICATIONS 95 Annex-I : Budget 102 Annex-II : Composition of Various Committees of NIO 103 Annex-III : Appointments/Transfers/Resignations 112 Annex-IV : Scientific, Technical and Administrative Staff 113 FOREWORD It is my privilege to present the report of the Institute for the year 1986-87, after assuming the office of the Director on 15th November, 1986. On 14th November, 1986, we were shocked by the sudden and untimely demise of Dr. H.N. Siddiquie, who was the Director of the Institute, from 1st July, 1985. During the short period of his tenure as Director, he revitalised the R & D programmes of this Institute, especially in the field of Marine Geology. On 26 March 1987, we lost another senior colleague Dr. R.V. Unnithan who joined the Institute in 1961. I take this opportunity to express the profound grief of the entire staff at the sad demise of our dear colleagues. During the course of the year two senior scientists of the Institute, Dr. T.S.S. Rao and Dr. M.G.A.P. Setty retired from the services on superannuation. In spite of these and several other constraints, I believe the Institute has made significant contributions during the year and fulfilled its commitments. The Institute participated in the 6th Antarctica Expedition, and resumed the exploratory work on polymetallic nodules in the Indian Ocean. One test of research programmes could be in the quality and quantity of their output in terms of publications in standard journals. Another test could be the usefulness of the output which can be evaluated by the services commissioned by user agencies. The record for the year in these respects amply meets the tests. An account of the achievements and activities of the Insti- tute have been given in the following pages. Evaluation is one of the most complex and elusive challenges in the processes of Research and Development, yet it is vital to improve those processes. Towards this end, the Research Ad- visory Council (RAC) examined the reports of Peer Groups constituted for evaluating the ongoing R & D programmes of the Institute. The declaration of the new ocean regime brought in a vast area of the sea upto a distance of 200 nautical miles from our coastline under the Exclusive Eco- nomic Zone (EEZ). This zone occupies an area of about 2 million sq. km. as large as two third of the country. The derivation of benefits from this zone depends on the scientific knowledge that we have for its effective management. Keeping this in view, the RAC and the CSIR have de- cided to provide major thrust for a comprehensive study of the EEZ. Accordingly all the ongoing R & D efforts have been reoriented and restructured for the rest of the plan period mainly towards undertaking studies on physical, chemical, biological and geological aspects of the EEZ. Some of the investigations carried out on the denitrification problem in the Arabian Sea revealed that the old belief of intermediate waters being stagnated was not valid. One of the in- teresting information obtained is the labile character of the thick oxygen-deficient layer in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal; the turn-over time of this water mass between 100 m and 1000 m, has been calculated as around 4 years. These results have immense significance in marine pollution mechanism indicating the possibility of intermediate water turning completely anoxic due to either pollution or climatic changes which may have a serious impact on the ecosystem. Circulation in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea was studied as input to the development of numerical models. A two dimensional barotropic model of the wind driven circulation in the Bay of Bengal has been developed. Sea surface temperature and heat content anomalies in the Arabian Sea, have been found to have linkages with the monsoon variability. A method was perfected for the detection of sources of oil spills by ships. This has been recommended by the Indian Ports and the Indian Port Management Association for detecting the oil discharging ships. The efforts for isolation of bioactive compounds from marine organisms yielded promising results. A diketone was reported for the first time from a natural resource i.e., Acanthophora specifera. Six species of soft corals exhibited antiviral property while a gorgonian showed antiferti- lity activity. Studies have indicated that the growth rate of nodules in the Central Indian Ocean basin were in the range of 1-3 mm/106 years. Significant changes in climate over a span of 2 lakh years were noticed in this region. Mineral analysis along the Konkan coast indicated that the concentration of heavy minerals vary from 0.09 to 98%. Geochemical maps for the elements like Aluminium, Iron, Titanium, Manga- nese, Copper, Nickel, Calcium carbonate and Organic Carbon of the western continental shelf of India were prepared. The technique of mussel culture has been demonstrated to the fish farmers of Goa. A techno-economically feasible method for the commercial scale production of Artemia (a feed organism) has been developed. A thraustochytrid bacteria, isolated from the decaying leaves of Rhizophora mucronata is suspected to be new to the science. Results have indicated that due to the fouling organisms on the O.R.V. Sagar Kanya, fuel consumption increased by 35%, speed was reduced by 6 knots and the ship time was increased by four hours per 300 nautical miles. A system called micro-processor based geologer has been developed. An electronic Bathy- thermograph developed by the Institute was successfully tested. Two emerging areas in oceanography viz., Remote Sensing of the oceans and Acoustic Tomo- graphy, initiated at the Institute received support from the Department of Ocean Development. An Image Processing System procured from Canada has been installed and put to use for the Re- mote Sensing Studies. An experiment on acoustic transmission and receptor was successfully conducted in the Bay of Bengal, engaging the two ships, R.V. Gaveshani and O.R.V. Sagar Kanya. The Institute continued to support public and private organizations in their work connect- ed with the sea. During the year, the Institute undertook 24 new sponsored and grant-in-aid pro- jects. The main sponsoring agencies continued to be ONGC, Port Trusts, Navy, DOD, DST, DOEn and other private industries. A survey on the occurrence and distribution of environmental pollutants in the sea around India was initiated. Fifteen organizations from the littoral states of India are involved in this programme. As a first step NIO has imparted training courses to the participants from these or- ganisations in marine pollution monitoring techniques. Our scientists have been actively engaged in the studies of Antarctic waters. Sixth Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica was led by Dr. A.H. Parulekar of NIO. The wintering team led by Dr. Vinod Dhargalkar of NIO, successfully completed the assignment. A Memorandum of Understanding relating to the studies on Polymetallic Nodules was signed between NIO (CSIR) and Department of Ocean Development, Government of India. M.V. Skandi surveyor was chartered again by the DOD and the NIO was entrusted with the work of survey and exploration of polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean with a view to de- lineate, in detail, the potential mining sites. The NIO was recognised as an input centre for the Aquatic Science and Fisheries Informa- tion System (ASFIS) by UNESCO. The Data Centre of the Institute published two inventories giving details of stations covered during the cruises of R.V. Gaveshani for the period 1976-1985. During the year, the scientists of NIO and FRG collaborated together in deploying the se- diment traps in the Arabian Sea to study the source and nature of sediment and sedimentary processes. The collaborative work with USA and Norway also continued. A delegation from Nor- way visited NIO in this connection. A high power Russian delegation led by Academician G.I. Marchuk visited NIO to fina- lise the Indo-USSR collaborative work in the following areas: 1. Air-Sea interaction in relation to monsoon dynamics. 2. Space-time variability of equatorial currents in the Indian Ocean. 3. Trans Indian Ocean Geotraverse. 4. Ecosystem analysis and basic research in the equatorial Indian Ocean. Research Vessels Gaveshani and Sagar Kanya undertook 24 cruises at the sea this year. R.V. Gaveshani completed 15 and O.R.V. Sagar Kanya completed 9 cruises. One of the cruises of O.R.V. Sagar Kanya was undertaken under the Indo-FRG project to study the quarternary upwelling and climate in the Arabian Sea related to the monsoon events. A hitherto uncharted submerged mount was located at a latitude 10° N and longitude 69° E at a depth of 3700 m during one of the cruises.