NCOIS launched three new advance warning systems

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  NCOIS launched three new advance warning systems

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1. The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has launched three new products for the benefit of fishermen, people living in coastal areas of South India. First, the Small Advisory and Forecast Services System (SVAS). Second, Swell Surge Forecast System (SSFS) and third Algal Bloom Information Service (ABIS). 
2. All three products are available for free and will help in significantly reducing damage and losses for the users concerned and for authorities to make contingency plans for reducing damage. 
3. SVAS is for small vessels of beam width up to seven metres covering the entire range of beam widths of the fishing vessels used in all the nine coastal States and Union Territories. It warns them about potential sites where vessel overturning can take place, 10 days in advance. The warning system is based on ‘Boat Safety Index' (BSI) derived from wave model forecast outputs like wave height, steepness, directional spread and rapid development of wind at sea which is boat-specific.
4. SSFS has been designed for forecasting swell surges occurring in the west coast two-three days in advance as they generally catch the local people by surprise. Such events are intermittent throughout the year. ‘Kallakkadal' is a colloquial term used by Kerala fishermen to refer to the freaky flooding episodes. During ‘Kallakkadals', the sea surges into the land and inundates vast areas. It is different from Tsunamis as two different kind of waves are involved.
5. The ABIS is to help fishermen, fishery resource managers and ecologists get realtime information about the spread of phytoplankton blooms with details of species and size in North Eastern Arabian Sea, coastal waters off Kerala, Gulf of Mannar and coastal waters of Gopalpur. Harmful algal blooms are not only detrimental to coastal fisheries but tend to induce respiratory problems within the coastal population.
6. Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) – INCOIS – It was established as an autonomous body in 1999 under the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and is a unit of the ESSO. Its aim is to provide the best possible ocean information and advisory services to society, industry, government agencies and the scientific community through sustained ocean observations and constant improvement through systematic and focussed research. For this it provides round-the-clock monitoring and warning services for the coastal population on tsunamis, storm surges, high waves, etc. through the in-house Indian Tsunami Early Warning Centre (ITEWC). The Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO designated ITEWC as a Regional Tsunami Service Provider (RTSP) to provide tsunami warnings to countries on the Indian Ocean Rim. It also provides daily advisories to fisher folk to help them easily locate areas of abundant fish in the ocean while saving on both fuel and time used to search for the same.

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