Explore the Deep

The one area of the planet that stills remains unexplored is the ocean. With more than two-thirds of the earth''s area comprising water, oceans are virgin territories, whose potential is yet to be tapped fully. Oceans of the world have a wealth of energy, minerals and sea food, which if exploited to its full potential could change the face of the world order, as it exists today.
India, too, has a vast coastline that stretches to 7,000 km.Only a small fraction of the large resources of the oceans have been tapped in our country.
Recognising the influence of the ocean on the land mass and its potential for providing rich resources for the benefit of mankind, the Government of India established the Department of Ocean Development (DOD) in 1981. There are several disciplines in which the DOD is undertaking work. These include the Antarctic programme, non-living resources, marine pollution research, remote sensing, living resources, data collection and dissemination, energy from the sea, and use of marine research and development fund.
Profession
The professionals engaged in studying various aspects relating to the ocean are known as oceanographers. An oceanographer studies the physical, chemical, biological and other scientific aspects of the ocean. The biological oceanographer or the marine biologist studies various types of marine organisms and life under the sea.
The physical oceanographer or marine physicist studies physical aspects such as temperature and atmosphere. The geological oceanographer or marine geologist studies the topographic features of the sea bottom and the mineral composition of the bottom sediments and deposits. The marine geologists explore the ocean floor in search of petroleum and mineral deposits and study conditions for a healthy marine life. The chemical oceanographer studies the process that controls the concentration and distribution of elements and their compounds in the ocean.
TRAINING
The study of oceanography is offered at the postgraduate (PG) level, where many aspects related to it are taught. The subjects available at the PG level are marine biology, zoology, sciences, geology, chemistry and physical oceanography. Science graduates with the related subject background are enrolled for the PG programmes at various universities.
Employment
Most of the openings are in organisations handling environmental conservation and protection. Industries dealing with packing, marketing and export of marine products provide ample job opportunities to oceanographers. Public sector undertakings engaged in exploration work, the Geological Survey of India and meteorological departments require services of oceanographers. The increasing demand for sea food, sea-based medicine and grooming of eco-friendly industries is going to create a huge demand for oceanographers. In future, web engineering will open new vistas. Oceanographers may be self-employed.
There are job opportunities in marine engineering and technology such as designing scientific instruments and marine structures. Public education and marine recreation are other areas of special opportunity along with science journalism. Aquariums are becoming increasingly popular and many marine-related jobs can be found there.
Inputs by Suresh Chandra