The National Centre for Earth Science Studies(NCESS) (

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian languages, Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (union territory), Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 2 ...

: ദേശിയ ഭൗമ ശാസ്ത്ര പഠന കേന്ദ്രം) is an autonomous research centre to promote scientific and technological research and development studies in the

earth sciences Earth science or geoscience includes all fields of natural science related to the planet Earth. This is a branch of science dealing with the physical, chemical, and biological complex constitutions and synergistic linkages of Earth's four spheres ...

. NCESS pursues problems related to land, sea and atmosphere. It was instituted by the government of Kerala in 1978, at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. CESS was the earliest institute in the country to embrace the concept of Earth System Science (ESS). CESS contributions over the years have enhanced knowledge of the geological evolution of south India, the complexity of coastal processes and natural hazards, as well as in proposing mitigatory measures to deal with natural hazards. CESS carries out studies in

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of w ...

basin evaluation,

ground water Groundwater is the water present beneath Earth's surface in rock and soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. About 30 percent of all readily available freshwater in the world is groundwater. A unit of rock or an unconsolidate ...

management,

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwa ...

, and other special problems. CESS does research in

earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

system, micro-level watershed planning,

natural hazards A natural hazard is a natural phenomenon that might have a negative effect on humans and other animals, or the environment. Natural hazard events can be classified into two broad categories: geophysical and biological. An example of the distincti ...

management,

chemical analysis Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

, CRZ mapping, and studies of air, water, land,

noise pollution Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them are harmful to a degree. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is ma ...

, etc. CESS also does environmental impact assessment, coastal and estuarine management,

terrain Terrain or relief (also topographical relief) involves the vertical and horizontal dimensions of land surface. The term bathymetry is used to describe underwater relief, while hypsometry studies terrain relative to sea level. The Latin wo ...

analysis, natural resources management, laser applications, river

sand mining Sand mining is the extraction of sand, mainly through an open pit (or sand pit) but sometimes mined from beaches and inland dunes or dredged from ocean and river beds. Sand is often used in manufacturing, for example as an abrasive or in conc ...

, and microlevel planning. CESS conducts research courses leading to doctoral degree. Recognizing the growth potential of CESS, resource constraints of the State Government and the role CESS can play in national development, the government of Kerala proposed the taking over of the institute by the

Ministry of Earth Sciences The Ministry of Earth Sciences was formed on 29 January 2006 from a merger of the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune ...

, Government of India. An expert committee made an assessment of the scientific programs pursued by the institute and deliberated on a long-term vision for the institute as a national centre. The committee recommended the taking over of CESS by the MoES and according it the status of an autonomous institute under the Earth System Science Organization (ESSO) of MoES. The proposed thrust areas of research will be crustal evolution and geodynamics, sedimentology and depositional processes, coastal dynamics and cloud microphysics. The total estimated budget requirements of CESS will be Rs.128.67 crore for the balance period of the 12th FYP.

Campus

The Centre for Earth Science Studies is housed in a 50,000 sq. ft building constructed in a campus of 19 acres. The development of the CESS campus in 1986 saw the transformation of an abandoned clay mining site to a beautiful green campus within one year. The campus was the vision of the founder Director Prof. C. Karunakaran, realised through the leadership of Dr. H. K. Gupta, the then director and Sri M. Sethumadhavan, the then registrar, and Dr S. Satheeschandran Nair. The CESS building is constructed on natural gradients, slopes and excavated mining areas in a nature friendly architectural design. Buildings are spread as different blocks. Main building houses Administration, Library, Conference Hall and an auditorium. Four interconnected blocks provide seating spaces for scientists. Laboratory block houses main laboratories of all divisions with a centralised access to scientists of all disciplines. A separate building for canteen and guest house is built away from the main buzz of activity. The canteen functions from 9 am to 4:30 pm providing Kerala style breakfast and lunch with snacks and tea and coffee. In 2004 a laboratory block was added over the existing block to house new facilities and provide two smaller meeting and discussion halls.

Research Groups

* Solid Earth Research Group (SERG) * Crustal Dynamics Group (CDG) * Hydrology Group (HyG) * Biogeochemistry Group (BgG) * Marine Geoscience Group (MGG) * Atmospheric Science Group (ASG)

Facilities

X-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
* X-Ray defractometer * Petrology and crustal evolution studies * Seismology * Palaeomagnetism * Fluid inclusion * Thin Sectioning Laboratory * Sedimentology * Placer laboratory * Gas chromatograph * Photo interpretation * Geoinformatics Laboratory

External links

Official website of National Centre for Earth Science Studies
{{authority control Geology education Research institutes in Thiruvananthapuram Earth science research institutes Earth sciences organizations Scientific organisations based in India Research institutes established in 1978 1978 establishments in Kerala