INCOIS commissions ‘Tarang’ HPC to sharpen tsunami alerts, ocean observations

The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is working to provide real-time tsunami alerts and forecasts for the entire Indian Ocean region with the commissioning of its new high-performance computer ‘Tarang’, said Director T. M. Balakrishnan Nair on Monday.

The flagship system, powered by Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning (ML), will enhance sustained and uninterrupted operational services, deliver high-resolution forecasts, and enable 24/7 real-time Indian Ocean modelling, he said during the 27th Foundation Day celebrations held at the INCOIS campus in Pragatinagar.

The institute, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), has also completed a district-wise ocean forecast dashboard web-based advisory platform designed to support marine safety and coastal communities, said the Director.

Highlighting ‘people-centric’ last-mile delivery of scientific services, Dr. Nair said that along with improved tsunami alerts and early warning systems through a common application forecast framework, INCOIS has been focusing on forecasting low-profile but high-impact hazards such as swell surges and high waves, which have caused loss of life in Kerala and Tamil Nadu in recent years.

The Potential Fishing Zone (PFZ) advisories continue to benefit coastal communities, and work is underway to make these advisories species-specific. The institute has also strengthened global capacity building by training nearly 7,000 participants from 100 countries across multiple programmes.

ISRO Space Applications Centre (SAC) Director Nilesh M. Desai announced that about one lakh fishing boats under 20 metres in length will soon be equipped with transponders to help fishermen identify potential fishing zones, high waves, tsunami alerts, and maritime boundaries. This information will be disseminated daily between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. in 13 Indian languages.

SAC has been collaborating with INCOIS on developing sensors for ocean observations, said Mr. Desai and noted that combining satellite imagery with in situ observations significantly improves forecasting accuracy. The forthcoming launch of Oceansat-3A satellite equipped with temperature, humidity and other sensors will further strengthen ocean monitoring and ongoing research in areas such as ocean mixing, the monsoon and the Deep Ocean Mission.

ISRO Chairman V. Narayanan praised INCOIS’ work and urged scientists to prepare a 25-year vision document. The recent launch vehicle failures has been taken in stride as lessons to improve upon systems, He also unveiled a new INCOIS logo and launched three user-focused ocean services: the Jellyfish Aggregation Information Interactive Portal, the SAMUDRA 2.0 mobile app, and the Swell-Surge Inundation Vulnerability Advisory System for Kerala. UK Met Office science manager Gill Martin, Plymouth Marine Laboratory scientist Subha Sathyendranath, and MoES financial adviser Yatinder Prasad also addressed the gathering.

INCOIS signed Memoranda of Understanding with SAC, Kerala’s Institute for Climate Change Studies, and the Association of Lady Entrepreneurs of India (ALEAP) to strengthen collaboration in satellite applications, ocean and climate services, research, innovation and capacity building on the occasion.