Deep Ocean Mission: Targets & Challenges

On 16^th June, 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the proposal of Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) on Deep Ocean Mission.

About the Mission

The mission aims to explore deep-ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.

• Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional ambitious mission.
• To be implemented in a phase-wise manner, the estimated cost of the mission will be Rs. 4077 crore for a period of 5 years.
• It will be a mission mode project to support the Blue Economy Initiatives of the Government of India.

Targets of the Mission

The mission includes following targets:

• Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining and Manned Submersible: It includes the development of a manned submersible capable of carrying three persons and a suite of scientific sensors and tools to a depth of 6000 metres in the ocean. An Integrated Mining System will also be developed for mining Polymetallic Nodules (PMN) from the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
• Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services: This is a proof of concept component wherein a suite of observations and models will be developed to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales.
• Technological Innovations for Exploration and Conservation of Deep Sea Biodiversity: Under this component, bio-prospecting of deep-sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilization of deep sea bio-resources will be the main focus.
• Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration: This component aims to explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
• Energy and Freshwater from the Ocean: In this proof of concept component, studies and detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plant are envisaged.
• Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology: This component has the objective of developing human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering. It will translate research into industrial application and product development through on-site business incubator facilities.

Significance

• Ocean as a Resource: Oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the globe, remain a key part of our life. About 95 percent of Deep Ocean remains unexplored. Oceans are also storehouse of food, energy, minerals, medicines, modulator of weather and climate and underpin life on Earth.
• Employment Opportunities: A research vessel for deep ocean exploration would be built in an Indian shipyard which would create employment opportunities. This mission is also directed towards capacity development in Marine Biology, which will provide job opportunities in Indian industries.
• Economic Growth: Design, development and fabrication of specialised equipment, ships and setting up of required infrastructure are expected to spur the growth of the Indian industry, especially the MSME and Start-ups.
  • Being surrounded by oceans on three sides and with 30% of its population residing in coastal areas, ocean is a major resource for India with respect to fisheries and aquaculture, tourism and livelihoods.
  • The Deep Ocean Mission will significantly boost India’s economy by developing the Blue Economy priority areas of exploring and harnessing of deep sea minerals and energy, coastal tourism, marine fisheries and allied services, deep sea exploration of ocean resources, off-shore energy development, and marine biology, etc.
• Energy Security: India has been allotted a site of 75,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the International Sea Bed Authority for exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN). It has been estimated that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the bottom of the seas in the Central Indian Ocean. With India’s Exclusive Economic Zone spreading over 2.2 million square kilometres, being able to explore even a fraction of that reserve can meet the energy requirement of India for a long time to come.
• In line with SDG goals: The mission is in line with the Sustainable Development Goal 14 (Life Below Water) which talks about conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.

Challenges

• Technological Issues: The technologies required for deep sea mining have strategic implications and are not commercially available.
• Environmental Concerns: The mission faces following environment concerns-
  • Deep remote locations can be home to unique species that have adapted themselves to conditions such as poor oxygen and sunlight, high pressure and extremely low temperatures. Thus, such mining expeditions can lead to the loss of species and fragmentation or loss of ecosystem structure and function.
  • The generation of sediment plumes as the suspended particles which can rise to the surface harming the filter feeders in the upper ocean layers.
  • The noise and light pollution from the mining vehicles and oil spills from the operating vessels.
• Inadequate Funding: India spends less than 1% of its GDP on research, development and innovation.
• General Issues in Deep Sea Exploration: The general challenges in deep sea exploration are-
  • Sea water is corrosive in nature.
  • Extreme pressure is exerted on the components of equipment in the deep ocean.
  • The power supply is insufficient, unreliable, or expensive.
  • The processes involved in exploration and extraction are complex.