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Water is the most important resource whose continued supply is to be ensured for the sustenance of life on earth. Agricultural productivity, environmental purity, industrial growth, power generation and several other natural and man-made processes are also depended on water availability. Hydrology, the scientific study of water in relation to the effects of precipitation, evaporation and transpiration as well as its occurrence in rivers, lakes and on or below the land surface receives paramount importance in this era of ever-changing climate and human interventions on environment. Many studies reveal that the skin of the earth from its surface to the aquifer bottom is under severe stress, mainly due to the adversities of anthropogenic activities. A comprehensive understanding of the different hydrological processes operating in different environmental components/subsystems in the surface and subsurface horizons is a pre-requisite for better planning and sustainable development of our limited fresh water resources.

The Hydrology Group focuses on basic and applied aspects of research in hydrology and water resources with specific reference to Earth’s Critical Zone. Earth’s Critical Zone is a complex natural reactor where inputs of solar energy and, atmospheric deposition and gases interact with biota and rock masses of the continents to maintain soil, nourish ecosystems and yield clear water. The Critical Zone is experiencing ever increasing pressure from rapid economic developments. A better understanding of these processes taking place from tree to the aquifer bottom is very essential in the context of India’s rapid economic developments.

This Group addresses scientific issues related to near surface dynamic processes. The focus has been understanding the cause and effect of slope failures. With the help of satellite imagery, field studies and geochemical characterization of soil/rock the group attempts to help predict landslides and suggest mitigation. The activities of the group also include understanding of hydrocarbon fluid movements in the crust leading to mineralization.

The focus of the Marine Geoscience Group has been the understanding of waves, currents and sediment transport and their effects on beaches and nearshore including modelling of coastal processes of the west coast of India. The activities include setting up of high-resolution numerical models capable of simulating coastal ocean dynamics and boundary exchanges, establishing video based Coastal Monitoring network and investigating on evolution of Alleppey Terrace and its impact on shelf economic mineral deposits.

The national network project on Submarine Groundwater Discharge, to quantify the amount of fresh groundwater discharge to Bay of Bengal as well as to Arabian Sea through coastal aquifers, also forms a major activity under this subtheme of NCESS. The program on SGD is implemented by NCESS with the participation of twelve agencies in the country using different methods of remote sensing, hydrogeological, hydrochemical, isotopic and modelling techniques.

The Atmospheric Science Group in NCESS is actively engaged in the basic research on atmospheric clouds, thunderstorms, lightning and atmospheric electricity, and regional climate over Western Ghats to improve the forecasting of atmospheric natural hazards. It is a fact that the value of weather, climate, and environmental data, and forecasts is growing in the country as it linked to economy. Weather affects aviation, air quality, health, ground and marine transportation, defense, agriculture, fisheries, water, energy, construction, tourism, and many other sectors of the economy.