Context:
India plans to establish a Regional Service Centre (RSC) in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands to strengthen tsunami monitoring and early warning systems in the Indian Ocean Region, supported by a ₹300-crore project involving sub-sea cable infrastructure.
Key Highlights:
- Establishment of Regional Service Centre (RSC)
- The RSC will be set up at Vijaynagar on Swaraj Dweep (Andaman & Nicobar Islands).
- It will provide tsunami monitoring and advisory services to countries in the Indian Ocean region, including Sri Lanka.
- The centre will significantly strengthen regional disaster preparedness and early warning capabilities.
- Infrastructure and Technology Upgrade
- A 270-km sub-sea cable will be laid along the subduction zone near the Andaman trench.
- This cable will collect real-time seismic and acoustic data from the ocean floor.
- The project aims to overcome the limitations of existing monitoring tools such as surface buoys, tidal gauges, and satellite data, which can be affected by vandalism or insufficient coverage.
- Multi-Hazard Monitoring Capability
- The upgraded system will detect tsunamis triggered by both seismic and non-seismic sources, including:
- Undersea earthquakes
- Submarine landslides
- Volcanic activity
- The monitoring system will also analyze underwater acoustic signals, allowing faster detection of disturbances.
- Strategic Disaster Management Significance
- About 80% of global tsunamis are triggered by undersea earthquakes.
- The Makran Subduction Zone along the Pakistan–Iran coast poses a potential tsunami risk for India’s west coast due to fragile marine geology and underwater mud volcanoes.
- Barren Island volcano, India’s only active volcano, located in the Andaman Sea, could also generate tsunami threats in the region.
Relevant Prelims Points:
- Tsunami
- A series of large ocean waves caused by sudden displacement of water due to earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, or meteor impacts.
- Characterized by long wavelengths and high energy propagation across oceans.
- Subduction Zone
- A region where one tectonic plate slides beneath another.
- Often associated with earthquakes, volcanic arcs, and tsunami generation.
- Barren Island Volcano
- Located in the Andaman Sea.
- It is India’s only active volcano.
- Part of the Andaman volcanic arc formed by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate beneath the Burma Plate.
- Indian Tsunami Early Warning System (ITEWS)
- Operated by INCOIS (Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services) in Hyderabad.
- Provides real-time tsunami advisories for the Indian Ocean region.
- Makran Subduction Zone
- Located off the coasts of Iran and Pakistan in the Arabian Sea.
- Historically produced the 1945 Makran tsunami, which affected India’s west coast.
Relevant Mains Points:
- Importance of Advanced Tsunami Monitoring Systems
- Early detection systems help reduce loss of life and infrastructure damage.
- Provide real-time alerts to coastal communities and authorities.
- Improve regional disaster resilience in tsunami-prone areas.
- Strategic Importance of Andaman & Nicobar Islands
- Located near major tectonic boundaries and the Andaman trench.
- Serve as a natural observation point for seismic and oceanographic activity in the Indian Ocean.
- Enhance India’s regional leadership in disaster warning systems.
- Challenges in Ocean Monitoring
- Difficulties in collecting real-time seabed data.
- Equipment vulnerability due to deep-sea pressure, vandalism, and theft.
- Need for integrated monitoring combining seismic, acoustic, and oceanographic data.
- Way Forward
- Expand deep-sea monitoring infrastructure in the Indian Ocean.
- Strengthen regional cooperation for disaster warning dissemination.
- Integrate AI and advanced ocean sensors for real-time hazard detection.
- Increase investment in coastal disaster preparedness and public awareness.
UPSC Relevance:
• GS Paper 1 – Geography: Plate tectonics, tsunami formation, Andaman & Nicobar geography.
• GS Paper 3 – Disaster Management: Early warning systems and coastal disaster preparedness.
• GS Paper 3 – Science & Technology: Ocean monitoring technologies and subsea infrastructure.
• Prelims: Subduction zones, Barren Island volcano, tsunami monitoring systems.