Context
Deep ocean mission is launched in Union Budget 2021-22, with a budget outlay of more than Rs 4,000 crores, over five years.
About the mission
- This ambitious project will be managed by the Ministry of Earth Sciences(MoES).
- This mission will cover deep ocean survey exploration and projects for the conservation of deep-sea biodiversity.
Targets of Mission
- It outlines the development of technologies for underwater vehicles and robotics to assist deep-sea mining, for example-
- polymetallic nodules
- cobalt-rich manganese crust
- hydrothermal deposits
- gas hydrates
- The mission also involves ocean climate advisories that envisage
- to determine the extent ocean-atmosphere coupling influence
- warming of the oceanic waters
- nuanced research and data management
- It also includes-
- research on deep-sea biodiversity
- deep ocean survey and exploration
- energy and freshwater from the ocean
- establishment of an advanced marine biology station at Go
Other ongoing programs under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
- Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources, Modelling and Science (O-STORMS)
- Ocean Services, Modelling, Application, Resources and Technology (O-SMART) project
