INCOIS to lay 150 km submarine cable at Andaman & Nicobar Islands to study Indian Ocean

Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has been chosen by the international scientific community to take up a submarine cable initiative for undertaking long term observations of the Indian Ocean.

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The submarine cable multi-parameter observatory of approximately 150 km in length is to be situated west of Wandoor in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The infrastructure will comprise two science nodes along the cable, equipped with oceanographic and geophysical sensors positioned at water depths, ranging from 2,000 to 2,500 metres.

The landing station will be established at an observatory in Wandoor, with a control centre for real-time data acquisition and monitoring at the institute headquarters here in Hyderabad, said INCOIS Director T.M. Balakrishnan Nair.

This observatory is expected to play a transformative role in understanding the churning occurring in the ocean, including the seismic activity and the potential to trigger tsunamis. It will also study the various oceanographic, geophysical parameters for climate research and operational applications related to tsunami and storm surge early warning system, he said.