ACTIVITIES IN ANTARCTICA

• GSI participated in the first ‘Indian Antarctica Expedition’ in 1982, organized by DOD. This year GSI is leading the 23rd expedition which sailed from Cape Town on 19th December, 2003 with the following objectives
• Work on evolutionary trends of east Antarctic crust and gather evidences for Gondwanaland and Rhodinia breakup/amalgamation.
• Establish Palaeoclimatic history of Schirmacher and other parts of central Dronning Maud Land, east Antarctica by glaciological studies to contribute to Global climatic change programme.
  
• As a member of the ‘Antarctica Treaty’, India is entitled to collect all shorts of scientific data from the off-shore and on-shore tract of 14 million sq. km. of icy continent of Antarctica.
• There is now a permanent Indian Research Station, Maitri in Schirmacher Hill area, East Antarctica; GSI has recommended a site for India's Third Antarctic Station.
• Multidisciplinary studies aided by airborne traverses have been extended into the interior of Antarctica by establishing additional camps in ‘WOHLTHAT’ mountains ‘PETERMANN’ mountains, ORVIN mountains and introduced fully operating communication system at WOHLTHAT mountains.
• Besides geological mapping and regional mineral assessment, glaciological studies on Polar Ice/shelf in an around Indian Station are also being carried out since 1983.
• GSI has been conducting regional and thematic geological mapping and glaciological studies in different parts of east Antarctica. Till the previous Expedition (22nd; 2002-2003), a total area of 18,000 sq.km upto 05O 20’E Longitude and 72O 10’ S Latitude has been covered on 1:50,000 scale and 2427 nos. of samples have been collected.
• Geomorphological mapping in Schirmacher Oasis completed.
• Antarctica Division of GSI is located at Faridabad (NR).

• Basic information from the inventory of rock types of Antarctica.
• Reports on Antarctica expeditions, published by DOD as Technical Publication.
• Updated geological maps (mostly unpublished) which covers the areas viz. Gruber mountain, Humboldt mountain, Wohlthat mountain, Petermann ranges, & Orvin mountains.

Contact :- The Director General, GSI, 27, J.N. Road, Calcutta 700 016.
OR
Send mail to GSI, CHQ for more information.