NEWLY NAMED UNDERWATER STRUCTURES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
NEWLY NAMED UNDERWATER STRUCTURES IN THE INDIAN OCEAN
NEWS – Recently, three underwater geographical structures located in the Indian Ocean for which the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) have awarded names originally proposed by India.
HIGHLIGHTS
Three New Additions
– Ashoka Seamount
– Chandragupt Ridge
– Kalpataru Ridge
– Named After Indian Scientists and Rulers
– Proposed by India and awarded by International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC)
Previously Named Structures
Raman Ridge (1992)
– Discovered in 1951 by a US oil vessel
– Named after Physicist and Nobel Laureate Sir CV Raman
Panikkar Seamount (1993)
– Discovered by India research vessel Sagar Kanya
– Named after NK Panikkar, a renowned oceanographer
Sagar Kanya Ridge (1991)
– Named after the research vessel itself
DN Wadia Guyot (1993)
– Named after geologist DN Wadia
– Discovered in 1992 by Sagar Kanya
Indian Ocean Research Programme
Undertaken Since 2004
– By National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), Goa
Aims and Objectives
– Studying bio-geochemistry, biodiversity, lower atmospheric processes, paleoclimate, hydrodynamics, air-sea interactions, and more
Discovery of Newly Named Structures
Ashoka Seamount
– Discovered in 2012 by Russian Sea vessel Akademik Nikolay Strakhov
– Oval-shaped, spanning 180 sq km
Kalpataru Ridge
– Discovered in 2012 by Russian Sea vessel Akademik Nikolay Strakhov
– Elongated, spread over 430 sq km
Chandragupt Ridge
– Discovered in 2020 by Indian ocean research vessel MGS Sagar
– Elongated and oval-shaped, covering 675 sq km
UNESCO’S INTERGOVERNMENTAL OCEANOGRAPHIC COMMISSION
– Improving management of the ocean, coasts, and marine resources
– Enabling 150 Member States, including India since 1946
Key Activities
– Coordinating programmes in capacity development, ocean observations, and services
– Ocean science, tsunami warning, and ocean literacy
– Coordinating the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030)
