Deep Ocean Mission | 17 Mar 2022

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Earth Sciences has launched the Deep Ocean Mission (DOM).

• DOM is a mission mode project to support the Blue Economy Initiatives of the Government of India.
• Earlier, the Ministry of Earth Sciences had also rolled out the draft Blue Economy Policy.
• Blue Economy is the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods and jobs, and ocean ecosystem health.

What are the Major Components of DOM?

• Development of Manned Submersible Vehicle:
  • A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools.
  • NIOT & ISRO is jointly developing a Manned Submersible Vehicle.
  • National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT), an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining:
  • An Integrated Mining System will be also developed for mining polymetallic nodules at those depths in the central Indian Ocean.
    • Polymetallic nodules are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt.
  • The exploration studies of minerals will pave the way for commercial exploitation in the near future, as and when commercial exploitation code is evolved by the International Seabed Authority, a United Nations (UN) organisation.
• Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services:
  • It entails developing a suite of observations and models to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales.
• Technological Innovations for Exploration and Conservation of Deep-sea Biodiversity:
  • Bio-prospecting of deep-sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilisation of deep-sea bio-resources will be the main focus.
• Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration:
  • It will explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal Hydrothermal Sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
• Energy and Freshwater from the Ocean:
  • Studies and detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plants are envisaged in this proof of concept proposal.
  • OTEC is a technology that uses ocean temperature differences from the surface to depths lower than 1,000 metres, to extract energy.
• Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology:
  • It is aimed at the development of human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering.
  • It will translate research into industrial application and product development through on-site business incubator facilities.

What is the Significance of DOM?

• Leveraging Ocean Resources: Oceans, which cover 70% of the globe, remain a key part of our life. About 95% of the Deep Ocean remains unexplored.
  • Three sides of India are surrounded by the oceans and around 30% of the country's population lives in coastal areas, the ocean is a major economic factor supporting fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods and blue trade.
  • Considering the importance of the oceans on sustainability, the UN has declared the decade, 2021-2030 as the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.
• Long Coastline: India has a unique maritime position. Its 7517 km long coastline is home to nine coastal states and 1382 islands.
  • The Government of India's Vision of New India by 2030 announced in February 2019 highlighted the Blue Economy as one of the ten core dimensions of growth.
• Technology Expertise: The technology and expertise needed in such missions are now available in only five countries - the US, Russia, France, Japan and China.
  • India will now be the sixth country to have it.

What are other Blue Economy Initiatives

• India-Norway Task Force on Blue Economy for Sustainable Development:
  • It was inaugurated jointly by both the countries in 2020 to develop and follow up joint initiatives between the two countries.
• Sagarmala Project:
  • The Sagarmala project is the strategic initiative for port-led development through the extensive use of IT-enabled services for the modernization of ports.
• O-SMART:
  • India has an umbrella scheme by the name of O-SMART which aims at regulated use of oceans, marine resources for sustainable development.
• Integrated Coastal Zone Management:
  • It focuses on the conservation of coastal and marine resources, improving livelihood opportunities for coastal communities etc.
• National Fisheries Policy:
  • India has a National Fisheries policy for promoting the 'Blue Growth Initiative' which focuses on sustainable utilisation of fisheries wealth from marine and other aquatic resources.

Source: PIB