The cherished moments of success in the history of NCPOR

With its domain and mandate spread over the three Polar regions—Arctic, Antarctic and Himalaya and the oceans around, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) has grown into a formidable and prominent Polar institute in the world in just about two decades. Way back in 1987 when I was deputed to Antarctica for the first time as a geologist, I was awestruck by the splendour of the icy continent, its vast emptiness and the magnitude of the multifaceted science being studied by institutes world over. Little did I realise at that time that I would be given the responsibility of coordinating the scientific and logistic operations of the Indian Antarctic programme one day. My tenure as director of National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research  (now NCPOR) from 2006 to 2012 was indeed satisfying as during this period, the centre firmly established itself as a pioneer in polar research, gained international visibility by taking key roles in Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs (COMNAP), Asian Forum for Polar Sciences (AFoPS) etc., and hosted the 30th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) where India obtained approval of the Committee on Environmental Protection (CEP) of Antarctic Treaty System for building a third permanent station (Bharati) in Antarctica. Bharati, commissioned in 2012, is now recognised as a world class research base in Antarctica, managed meticulously by the Logistic Division of NCPOR.

Coming up of Himadri, the research station at Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, submission of India’s partial claim for extended continental shelf to UN Commission on limits of Continental Shelf (CLCS) and India’s first successful expedition to South Pole in 2010-11 to mark the centenary of man’s landing at South Pole, will remain some of the most cherished events in the history of NCPOR.

However, a single volume of limited pages cannot do justice to the wide spectrum of science varying from glaciology to solid earth geology, geophysics, atmospheric science, climatology, oceanography, remote sensing, microbiology and technological management being conducted in NCPOR. The task of selecting a few articles from a large number of papers submitted was a difficult task. Considering  the limitations articles of contemporary public interest were awarded priority. Papers on Polar biology, satellite based study of sea-ice extent, geological study of Prytz Bay and studies on the extent of continental shelf will be included as a continuing programme in the forthcoming issues of GnY.

Melting of ice in the Polar regions, including the Himalaya, has been a major concern world over. The Antarctic ice shelves play a prominent role in arresting the free flow of continental ice to the Southern Ocean. Two articles cover the present status in this regard. The sediments of the coastal Antarctic lakes serve as a proxy for reconstruction of palaeoclimatic history of the Icy continent especially since last Glacial Maxima. The transformation of lake systems as a consequence of shifting sea level, monitoring physico-chemical parameters of complex   Kongsfjorden in Arctic and the biodiversity and system processes of interacting water masses of Southern Ocean have formed the subject of three other papers. The contributions of NCPOR in advancing outreach, capacity building and fostering international cooperation have been highlighted. The icing on the cake are the conversations with secretary, Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the director, NCPOR together with reflections of two former directors of the then NCAOR that takes one down the memory lane.

 I am sure this issue of G’nY will be for keeps.