India's winter expedition aims to enable year-round scientific monitoring in the Arctic, which is crucial for understanding climate change, sea-ice and ocean circulation, ecosystem adaptations, and astrophysics.
Winter offers unique conditions for scientific study, such as polar nights and ice cover. These conditions are important for understanding climatic changes and atmospheric phenomena in the Arctic.
The scientists will focus on several critical areas:
Observations during winter help to comprehend challenges associated with climate change, which can significantly affect global weather patterns, including tropical monsoons.
Previously, automated observations continued in winter; however, field experiments were not feasible due to harsh conditions. This expedition addresses the lack of direct data collection during polar nights.
Himadri is India’s research station located in the International Arctic Research base at Svalbard, Norway. It facilitates various experimental labs and accommodates researchers working on the expedition.
Scientists from various institutes, including the Raman Research Institute, National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, and Indian Institute of Technology are part of the expedition.
Challenges include adapting to polar nights, extremely low temperatures, and potential threats from wildlife like polar bears during field campaigns.
India has more established operational facilities in Antarctica. The Arctic expedition focuses more on research with limited field experiments due to the unique challenges of the region.
India plans to increase activities and collaborations with international institutes for comprehensive research that contributes to the global understanding of the Arctic's role in climatic systems.
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