Bharathi (research station)

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Bharati (Sanskrit: भारती) is the name of an upcoming Antarctic research station commissioned by India. It will be India's third Antarctic research facility and, after completion, one of two active Indian research stations, alongside Maitri. India's first committed research facility, Dakshin Gangotri, is currently used as a supply base. India has demarcated an area beside Larsemann Hills at 69°S, 76°E for construction. The survey has already been completed and the station is scheduled to be operational by 2012.^[1][2] Upon completion, India will be one of nine nations having multiple stations within the Antarctic Circle. Bharati's research mandate will focus on oceanographic studies and the phenomenon of continental breakup. It will also attempt to refine the current understanding of the Indian subcontinent's geological history. News sources have referred to the station variously as "Bharathi",^[3] "Bharti"^[4] and "Bharati".^{[5] [6]}

Facilities

The project for setting up of the ground station is undertaken by the Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) from the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) for a contract value of Rs.50 crore. High-speed satellite raw data would be beamed in real time from Bharati Station to NRSC (National Remote Sensing Centre) in Hyderabad for processing the images once the project starts functioning. In 2007, ECIL also established the communication link between Maitri, the second Indian research station in Antarctica and NCAOR. Among others, research on tectonics and geological structures would be undertaken at Bharati Station by Indian scientists.^[7]

References