Chennai researchers look for crucial ocean data buoy in Arabian sea

CHENNAI: City researchers have launched a search for an ocean data buoy that has gone missing in the

Arabian Sea

off Lakshadweep. It transmits key information for weather forecast models and tracking cyclones. Deployed and maintained by city-based National Institute of Ocean Technology (

NIOT

), it had stopped transmitting data in July at the peak of the southwest monsoon. The search intensified earlier this month after videos surfaced on social media showing fishermen perched on it.


NIOT officials said the buoy had been measuring many ocean parameters. When it stopped sending data, the NIOT team which usually conducts periodic maintenance of these instruments in Indian waters could not venture into the sea due to rough weather and lack of ships. “We didn’t know if it had drifted or if it was in its actual location until we saw the social media post where fishermen were sitting on top of it and shouting in the local language. We now suspect the buoy could be somewhere between Kerala and south Karnataka based on coastal currents. We have requested coastal police and the

Coast Guard

to conduct aerial reconnaissance to find its position,” said NIOT director

G A Ramadass

.

The missing buoy was deployed in a new location closer to its previous location after yearly periodic maintenance in 2020. It is among the 12 instruments in Arabian Sea and

Bay of Bengal

to track cyclones, measure and transmit key ocean and atmospheric parameters including sea surface temperature used in weather models for forecast by IMD and also for climate studies. It also helped track the health of corals.

After videos surfaced on social media of fishermen on the buoy, a few other fishermen sent to the NIOT a photo of a buoy drifting near

Netrani Island

, off Karnataka. “Some components like solar panels were missing in the buoy. The fishermen who sat on it might have taken it,” Ramadass said. “There is a possibility for mooring failure due to bad weather. It can also be due to vandalism. If the electronics continue to work, we can track the buoy through GPS even if it drifts,” he added.