Ocean Engineering Applications

OCEAN ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS

Software to retrieve and analyse the raw data on heave/pitch/roll time series to obtain Directional Wave Spectra has been developed by NIO. The European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) for worldwide distribution as DNACLONE package has adopted software generated by IMTECH scientists associated with the National Facility of Distributed Information Centre on Enzyme Engineering, Immo-bilized Biocatalysts, Microbial Fermentation and Bioprocessing Engineering.

The computer software packages developed by SERC (M) continued to attract several user agen-cies in the Government and Public and Private Sectors. Fifty-four packages were licensed to twenty parties in different parts of India. An improved version of the Flosolver Parallel Computer with sixteen Intel 80386?80387 Processors (32 bit) has become operational during the year, marking a significant advance in NAL?s Parallel Computer Development Programme. The new version attains a sustained speed of three-four MFLOPS.

Inherently present Josephson junctions have been exploited in making a two hole SQUID which operates at Liquid Nitrogen Temperature (77 K). It is an r.f. SQUID and is made out of bulk yttrium-barium-copper oxide (YBCO) Superconductor which remains super conducting up to about 90 K.

OCEAN DEVELOPMENT

For centuries, people of India have been using the seas around the Indian Sub-continent for transport, communication and food During the last few years, exploration and exploitation of living and non-living resources of the seas have acquired a new thrust. The new ?Ocean Regime? established by United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, which has been signed by 159 countries including India and ratified by 42 countries besides United Nations Council of Namibia as on 25 November, 1989, assigns much of the World Ocean to Exclusive Economic Zones where coastal states have jurisdiction over exploration and exploitation of resources and for other economic purposes.

Recognizing the importance of oceans in economic development and progress of the Nation, the Government set-up Department of Ocean Development in July, 1981, for planning and coordinating oceanographic survey, research and development, management of ocean resources, development of manpower and marine technology. The department is entrusted with the responsibility for protection of marine environment on the high seas.

The budget outlay for various schemes for ocean development during 1990?91 is Rs. 35 crore under Plan and Rs. 7.02 crore under Non-Plan. The revised estimates are Rs. 43.50 crore under Plan and Rs. 12.17 crore under Non-Plan.

The objectives of ?ocean development? have been laid down by Parliament in the Ocean Policy Statement of November 1982. The domain of our concern for development of oceanic resources and its environment extends from the coastal lands and islands lapped by Brackish Water to the wide Indian Ocean. India?s Costline is more than 6000 km long and its territory include 1256 islands. Its Exclusive Zone covers an area of 2.02 million-sq.km. and the continental shelf extends up to 350 nautical miles from the coast. Briefly stated, the objectives of development of the oceanic regime are:

        To explore and assess living and non-living resources;

        To harness and manage its resources (materials, energy and biomass) and create additional resources such as mariculture;

        To cope with and protect its environment (weather, waves and coastal front);

                              To develop human resources (knowledge, skill and expertise); and To play our rightful role in Marine Science and Technology in the International Arena.