Table of Contents
Lets Deconstruct
- What is PACER?
- Which Ministry implements it?
- Which institution is nodal agency?
- What is Cryosphere?
- What are components of PACER?
- Any other Similar Schemes?
PACER Scheme Extended
- The Polar Science and Cryosphere (PACER) scheme has been approved for continuation during 2021-2026. It was launched under the 12th FYP (2012-2017).
- Polar Science and Cryosphere Research (PACER) scheme comprises the Antarctic program, Indian Arctic program, Southern Ocean program and Cryosphere and Climate program.
- PACER is being implemented successfully through National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences in Goa.
What is Cryosphere?
- Cryosphere is the frozen water part of the Earth system. These are places on Earth that are so cold that water is frozen solid.
- Cryosphere areas are snowy or icy regions, which are subject to temperatures below 0°C for at least part of the year.
- Cryosphere includes polar areas and the continental ice sheets found in Greenland and Antarctica, as well as ice caps, glaciers, and areas of snow and permafrost.
What is Cryosphere?
6 Components of PACER
- Overall objective: To improve our understanding of Polar Science and cryosphere system.
- Construction of polar research vessel NCPOR initiated the preliminary work towards the implementation of the programme during 2008-09.
- Construction of the third research base in Antarctica
- Indian scientific endeavours in the Arctic
- Polar expeditions to Antarctica
- Replacement of Maitri station
- Southern Ocean
- To understand the dynamics of the Southern Ocean
FYI
Deep Ocean Mission
Deep Ocean Mission
- Deep-ocean polymetallic nodules form on or just below the vast, sediment-covered, abyssal plains of the global ocean.
- Polymetallic nodules primarily consist of precipitated iron oxyhydroxides and manganese oxides, onto which metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, titanium and rare earth elements sorb.
- The enormous tonnage of nodules on the seabed, and the immense quantities of critical metals that they contain, have made them a target for future mining operations.
What is O-SMART scheme?
- O-SMART scheme encompasses seven sub-schemes
- Ocean Technology (OT)
- Ocean Modelling and Advisory Services (OMAS)
- Ocean Observation Network (OON)
- Ocean Non-Living Resources
- Marine Living Resources and Ecology (MLRE)
- Coastal Research and Operation
- Maintenance of Research Vessels
What is O-SMART scheme?
- O-SMART is implemented by the following five institutes of the MoES.
- National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai
- Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad
- National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR), Chennai
- Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE), Kochi
- National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa
What is O-SMART scheme?
- Marine Living Resources Programme
- National Centre for Coastal Research
- Ocean observation and network
- Ocean advisory and information services
- Ocean—modelling data assimilation and process specific observations
- Ocean science and technology for islands
- Harnessing ocean energy for generating freshwater
- Manned and unmanned underwater vehicles
- Marine sensors, ocean electronics and acoustics
- Operating and maintaining research vessels
- Seafront Research
- Facility Studies on Gas hydrates/Polymetallic nodules/Polymetallic Sulphides
- Geoscientific studies of exclusive economic zone
- Extension of the continental shelf
- Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)
Matsya 6000
Matsya 6000
- Matsya 6000 will be indigenously developed manned underwater submersible vehicle capable of taking three humans to a depth of 6,000 m.
- According to National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), Chennai, Matsya 6000, will be ready as originally planned for its launch in 2024 for the Samudrayaan Mission.
Matsya 6000
- Matsya 6000 is a manned submersible, designed to carry three people in 2.1 meter diameter Titanium Alloy Personnel Sphere.
- It is being developed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences and NIOT, Chennai, under the aegis of Deep Ocean Mission.
- It will have an operational endurance of 12h and systems to support emergency endurance up to 96h for deep ocean exploration of non-living resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulphides and cobalt crusts, located at a depth between 1,000 and 6000 meters.
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