PARLIAMENT QUESTION: EXPANSION OF OCEAN OBSERVATION NETWORK

The Ministry of Earth Sciences reports that the national ocean observation network has been significantly expanded. It now includes 19 subsurface moorings, 17 directional wave rider buoys, 20 ADCPs, 32 AWS, 2 water‑quality buoys, 50 tide gauges, 302 Argo profiling floats (2014‑2025), 12 deep‑sea gliders, 45 drifting buoys, 64 wave drifters and a tsunami early‑warning system of 17 seismic stations, 7 deep‑ocean buoys, 36 coastal tide gauges, 35 GNSS receivers and strong‑motion accelerometers. Recent additions comprise 14 tide gauges, 15 GNSS receivers and a wave rider buoy off Mauritius. Real‑time data from these platforms are assimilated at INCOIS into global ocean data assimilation systems, improving monsoon and cyclone forecast accuracy (up to ~43 % for wave forecasts) and enabling tsunami advisories within 10 minutes.