INCOIS: Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

ESSO-INCOIS was established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and is a unit of the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO). ESSO- INCOIS 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 improvements through systematic and focused research.

ESSO-INCOIS Activities

  1. 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 (ITEWC). The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO designated ITEWC as a Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RTSP) to provide tsunami warnings to countries on the Indian Ocean Rim.

  2. Provides daily advisories to fisher folk to help them easily locate areas of abundant fish in the ocean while saving on both fuel and time used to search for the same. These advisories called Potential Fishing Zone Advisories are issued in Hindi, English and 8 vernacular languages. Currently more than one lakh fisher folk successfully use these advisories obtained through SMS, Village Information Centres, local radio, local TV, Electronic Display Boards at fish landing centres, NGO websites, the ESSO-INCOIS website etc.

  3. Short term (3-7 days) Ocean State Forecasts (waves, currents, sea surface temperature, etc.) are issued daily to fisher folk, the shipping industry, the oil and natural gas industry, the Navy, the Coast Guard, etc. These forecasts inform users about the expected sea conditions during the next few days and help them to plan their activities at sea.

  4. Deploys and maintains a suite of Ocean Observing Systems in the Indian Ocean to collect data on various oceanic parameters to understand the processes in the ocean and to predict their changes.

  5. Conducts systematic quality checks and archives all observational, satellite and other oceanic data at the ESSO-INCOIS Data Centre and then makes such data available to students, researchers and any other users. ESSO-INCOIS has been designated as the ‘National Oceanographic Data Centre’ by IOC/IODE of UNESCO and is also identified as the ‘Regional Argo Data Centre for the Indian Ocean’.

  6. 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.

  7. Carries out Research and Modeling to optimize the performance of mathematical models used for ocean state forecasts, prediction of tsunami waves, storm surges, etc. along the coast.

  8. Established a national network (Indian Seismic and GNSS Network (ISGN)) that integrates Seismic and GNSS stations and provides high quality data for research and operational use.

  9. Established a VSAT aided Emergency Communication System (VECS) (a fail-safe satellite-based communication system) to provide tsunami warnings with the least possible time delay even when there is a failure in conventional communication systems.

  10. Established high performance computing systems and data communication networks at ESSO-INCOIS with 100% redundancy and reliability to support the computational requirements of ocean state forecast models etc.

  11. Training and capacity building for students, young researchers in India and Indian Ocean Rim Countries through short and long duration training courses in Operational Oceanography at the International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean) established at ESSO-INCOIS. ESSO-INCOIS signed a MoA with IOC/UNESCO in July 2013 to collaborate in training and capacity development activities.

ESSO-INCOIS Objectives

  1. To establish, maintain and manage systems for data acquisition, analysis, interpretation and archival for Ocean Information and related services.

  2. To undertake, aid, promote, guide and co-ordinate research in the field of ocean information and related services including satellite oceanography.

  3. To carry out surveys and acquire information using satellite technology, ships, buoys, boats or any other platforms to generate information on fisheries, minerals, oil, biology, hydrology, bathymetry, geology, meteorology, coastal zone management and associated resources.

  4. To generate and provide data along with value added data products to user communities.

  5. To cooperate and collaborate with other national and international institutions in the field of ocean remote sensing, oceanography, atmospheric sciences/meteorology and coastal zone management.

  6. To establish Early Warning System for Tsunami and Storm Surges.

  7. To support the research centres in conducting investigations in specified areas related to oceanic processes, ocean atmospheric interaction, coastal zone information, data synthesis, data analysis and data collection.

  8. To organise training programmes, seminars and symposia to advance study and research related to oceanography and technology.

  9. To publish and disseminate information, results of research, data products, maps and digital information through all technologically possible methods to users for promoting research and to meet societal needs for improvement of living standards.

Role of ESSO-INCOIS in Education

Ph.D Education

ESSO-INCOIS offers Ph.D. programme for candidates with a first class M.Sc./M.Tech. in any branch of Oceanography/Atmospheric Sciences/Earth Sciences/Meteorology/Physics/Mathematics. Candidates should have cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by CSIR/UGC or similar national level tests including, but not limited to, GATE, INSPIRE etc. Candidates who cleared the UGC-CSIR NET without fellowship, if selected, will be offered fellowship from ESSO-INCOIS as per ESSO-INCOIS norms. A successful candidate should register for Ph.D. on a specific topic with one of the recognized universities within two years of joining under the guidance of one of the scientist(s) at ESSO-INCOIS. Read exclusive details about Research Entrance Test

For latest PhD admission information and details see notifications

International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean)

The International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean) is aimed at promoting the development and optimization of scientific base, technology and information system for operational oceanography at national, regional and global scales.

Projects and Summer Internships

For the past several years, ESSO-INCOIS has been providing opportunities to masters and graduates students to carryout their academic projects and summer internships in a wide range of subject specilizations including physical/biological/bio-geo-chemical oceanography, ocean modeling, ocean observations, tsunami and storm surge studies, disaster management, potential fishing zone services, GIS/ remote sensing applications/ computer sciences/
satellite communications/ instrumentation etc. under the guidence of our faculty members. This programme is providing the students an excellent understanding on the state-of-the art research and development activities related to oceanography and ocean services.

INCOIS Contact Details

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS),
"Ocean Valley",
Pragathi Nagar (BO), Nizampet (SO)
Hyderabad-500090
Website: www.incois.gov.in

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