National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)

Prelims: Current events of national and international importance.

Why in News?

Recently Union Minister of Earth Sciences inaugurated "Sagar Bhavan" and "Polar Bhavan" at the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa.

• NCPOR – It serves as the nodal agency for India's polar and ocean research.
• Location – Vasco da Gama, Goa
• Nodal Ministry – Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
• Established – 1998
• Functions – It undertakes and coordinates scientific expeditions to:
  • Antarctica
  • Arctic
  • Himalayas
  • Southern Ocean
• It leads India’s Deep Ocean Mission under the Blue Economy initiative
• It maintains Indian research stations,
  • Maitri and Bharati in Antarctica
  • Himadri in the Arctic
  • Himansh in the Himalayas
• It plays a crucial role in cryosphere studies, climate science, sea level rise monitoring, and India’s polar diplomacy

New Facilities Inaugurated

Polar Bhavan

• It is an integrated facility for polar and ocean research on,
  • Cryosphere and ocean research
  • Climate monitoring
  • Weather pattern studies
• It hosts Science on Sphere (SOS) a 3D visualization platform.
• It also has India’s first Polar and Ocean Museum,

Sagar Bhavan

• It is a storage facility dedicated to archiving and processing polar samples.
• It supports cryosphere and oceanographic research.
• It enables high-precision analysis of polar and deep-sea samples.
• It enhances India’s capacity in,
  • Climate change research
  • Sea-level monitoring
  • Marine and polar geochemistry

Significance

• It supports Blue Economy, climate resilience, and ocean geopolitics.
• It is expected to make NCPOR a global hub for integrated polar and ocean science.
• It helps India participate more actively in international climate initiatives.

Reference

PIB| Union Minister inaugurated Sagar Bhavan and Polar Bhavan