Another Indian research base at Antarctica soon

New Delhi, Apr 21: India will set up another research station at Antarctica and send its scientists to Arctic this summer, Minister for Earth Sciences Kapil Sibal said here.

The proposed site for the station is Larsemann Hills, east Antarctica.

The Government hopes to get the proposal cleared at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) going to be held in Delhi for the first time from April 30, Mr Sibal said at function held on the eve of 'Earth Day'.

He, however, expressed the country's strong opposition to allowing tourism in the Arctic region.

The research station will greatly help in advancing the research in atmospheric, earth, ocean, biology and environmental sciences, he said.

The close proximity of the base to the Australian, Chinese, Romanian and Russian stations would help in collaboration and co-operation with those countries in polar science.

Pointing out that this year's Earth Day focuses on climate change, Mr Sibal said, the study of the polar regions was very important as the melting of their ice due to global warming would have a tremedous impact on ocean water temperature which might trigger off climatic changes beyond the control of human beings.

He said the Ministry of Earth Sciences had taken some positive steps in view of concerns raised by scientists on climate change in recent times.

The Ministry has also stepped up efforts on research in the fields of polar sciences, including the southern ocean and the adjoining Indian Ocean. The oceans have a much greater influence on the country's weather system and global climate patterns, he said.

Mr Sibal said India had two International Polar Year (IPY) endorsed science projects. One was 'Monitoring of the upper ocean circulation, transport and water masses between Africa and Anatarctica' which aims at studying the Indian sector of the Southen Ocean, and the second will be looking at human impacts on Atarctica.

He also said that to mark the IPY 2007-08 in a very special way, India will be sending its scientsits to Arctic this summer. It will be a joint effort with Norway. The areas selected for research are atmospheric sciences and space weather, glacilogy including sea ice and marine sciences.

Later, interacting with mediapersons, Mr Sibal said India was strongly opposed to the pollution in Arctic and its stations based there were following strict enviromental norms. ''It is our firm stand that the prestine atmosphere of the Arctric should be saved from human interference and that's why we strongly oppose any tourism there,'' he said.

The Minister said that when the 1969 Antarctica Treaty was signed, nobody had ever thought that tourism could be possible in that region, so there was as such no mention of it.

It, however, said that there shall be no human exploitation of the Arctic region.

Replying to a question, Mr Sibal said that an Institute of Environmental technology would be opened soon. ''Hopefully, it would be based in the capital and will have a public private partnership model,'' he added.

On this occasion, the Minister released the IPY poster and also inaugurated an exhibition displaying photographs of various regions of the Antarctica.

UNI